Owning Your Calcutta

Last week I asked you, "Where's your Calcutta" in reference to the question Mother Theresa asked a new volunteer who was trying to find where she could serve God best. This week I want to talk to you about owning your Calcutta. In other words, taking on that place God is directing you to as your own, and its people as your people.

Let me give you a personal example. For years we were in youth ministry. One of the places we served was in Northwest Kansas in a Norman Rockwell type of a town called Oberlin (4 hours east of Denver). A leader in that community contacted me while I was in Bible school and asked my family to consider coming and setting up a community-wide youth ministry. It was a daunting invitation, but we came to realize this would be our "Calcutta" for how ever long God would have us there. After moving the six of us out there, I would go to the high school track each morning and run. For each lap I had a prayer that I put up to God for my family and then the community there. As I prayed for the community I looked at the stands that overlooked the track and football field and I declared, "These are the people you have called me to God. They are my brothers and my sisters and I long for all of them to know You and be released from all the enemy's plans against them. In time they adopted us as family into their community and we adopted them as our family. Best of all, we saw God move in our lives and in their lives in some very special ways.

When I look at the Book of Nehemiah (chapter 1 particularly) I see Nehemiah taking ownership and personal responsibility for Jerusalem. We see this most clearly in his prayer (Nehemiah 1:5-11). In his prayer we see these characteristics:

1. He starts with worship - Nehemiah understood perspective is everything! He understood that first things first meant he would start his journey to Jerusalem by worshiping the God he had loved and served his whole life.
2. He cries out for God's ear - In this way Nehemiah revealed the depth of his intentions to God. He knew he needed God's help and he was also letting God know that he was fully invested in this venture.
3. He confesses the sins of his people and his own sin - Listen to his words, "I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against You." Do you see how Nehemiah takes personal ownership for the sins of his people and himself, acknowledging this is why Jerusalem was in such a mess? It is so important for us as Christians not to stand aloof and distant from the problems around us, but to engage, take ownership, repent and then move forward with our active involvement.
4. He reminds God of His judgment again Israel - Nehemiah brought back to God's attention what He said He would do if the people turned against Him and His commandments, specifically that He would scatter the peoples. In fact, this is exactly what happened as the people were overtaken in war, captured and exiled throughout Babylon.
5. He reminds God of His promise - Nehemiah repeats the promise God gave that if His people would return to Him and turn away from their sins, He would gather them again into His holy city, Jerusalem (which is a foreshadowing of what He will do when He gathers His people to Himself when He comes again). Hallelujah!
6. He then closes by asking for the help he would need - Nehemiah is not only a classic leader, but he is also very practical. He ends his prayer by basically saying, "Lord, here we go. I must ask favor of this king you have directed me to serve. However, if you are not with me and your favor is not upon me, I'm toast. Help!"

In this prayer Nehemiah is laying out a great model of prayer for us. So, may I ask you again, "Where's your Calcutta?" And, if you understand where it is God would have you serve Him (in your office, your kitchen, your truck, a ministry somewhere, etc.), have you taken personal ownership of it. Are you all in? If so, I would encourage you to craft a prayer using Nehemiah's model above.

Next week I want to talk to you about taking action concerning the place God has appointed for you. In the meantime, may He richly bless and encourage you. There is nothing too big for Him for all things are possible with Him!

See you next week,

Pastor Eric

P.S. I'm looking outside my office window right now and seeing our first real snow fall of the year in Western New York. Time to pull the cross-country skate skis out!