If you're just catching up with my blog today, this title will need some explaining. Mother Theresa once asked a woman desiring to minister with her, "Where is your Calcutta?" This question sent this woman on her own journey with God to find the place God was calling her to and resourcing her for. However, knowing where your "Calcutta" is and actually doing something about it are two different things. This week I want to write to you about building in your Calcutta and it building something in you.
Building requires action. Unfortunately, many of us adopt a hyper-predestined mentality that births an attitude that thinks, "If God wants it done, He'll get it done." I can tell you that mentality does not impress God and it does not save lives or restore dignity to broken people. Yes, building requires action. In the Book of Nehemiah we find Nehemiah appalled when he hears of the conditions in Jerusalem (broken walls and broken people). In his recognition of this and then ownership of it (he took personal responsibility for Jerusalem), he then took action. From his privileged position as a Cupbearer, won through faithfulness and integrity, he makes a bold but calculated move (there were four months between his hearing about Jerusalem and his coming before the king to ask his favor). He approaches the king with sadness. Because the king had never seen him sad before, he asked him about this. Nehemiah then lays out the situation. While he is doing this, Nehemiah is talking to God, and God is talking to the king. How do we know this? Because the king does something completely unexpected. He not only frees Nehemiah to go to his homeland and repair it, but he gives him an armed escort, papers stating this is the king's business and also all the lumber he needs to get the job done. Wow! Do you see how God meets Nehemiah's bold action with extravagant provision? It's really amazing.
I've been reading a great book lately called, "Sun Stand Still" by Steven Furtick. Listen to what he says,
"It's one thing to acknowledge that God is great. Most major world religions recognize that much about their respective deities. What sets the Christian faith apart is an unrelenting hope in the fact that God is good. That fact was settled once and for all on the cross. And it's really good news. After all, what good is infinite power if you have no access to it? Yes, God does whatever he desires. Thankfully, what he desires is to make his power and resources available to you. Then he wants them to seep from every pore of your life."
Do you see that last part? He desires to make His power and resources available to you! And for us to build in our Calcuttas, we absolutely need His power and resources.
I want to close this mini-series with this closing thought - When you and I recognize our Calcutta, own it and then take action to access God's power and resources, a certain discipline comes into our lives to maintain what God is doing. Why a certain discipline? Because it takes discipline to actually occupy your Calcutta day in and day out. I believe that when you walk down this R.O.A.D. (yes this was a build up to an acronym:) you will not want to go back to mediocre living. You will want this as a lifestyle of walking in cooperation with God's work on the earth (John 5:19).
Well, I hope I've provoked you to discover your Calcutta, own it, take action toward it and discipline it in your life. And just so you know I do my best not to just "spout words", but to live them myself, my wife and I have been living on this R.O.A.D. for years, but especially lately as we've prepared to go to China. Yes, this time next week we'll be in China. I can't believe it myself, but we'll be there for twelve days connecting with the Campus Target missionaries and taking them through a seminar called the R.O.A.D. How about that? You got the preview! Please do pray for us as we go into this nation, and also that my wife would have the support she needs to serve Campus Target not just for these twelve days, but for the next seven months. She has been commissioned to work on a special project here in Lima, NY for Campus Target until August. Thank you for your prayers and I'll be blogging again come February 10th!
Have a great week,
Pastor Eric
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