by Elizabeth | Oct 23, 2022 | Daily Prayer, kingdom living, Work
A Prayer about Knowing What Work We’re Called to Do
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God… 2 Cor. 5:20
Heavenly King,
Many of us struggle with knowing our calling
and purpose here on this earth.
We’re not sure which job we’re meant to do,
or if we’re meant to not work outside the home
at all in this season.
As we begin this “work week,”
show us that we all have a role to play
in your heavenly kingdom.
You have given us a title,
“Ambassador for Christ,”
and with it comes both privileges and responsibilities.
We are called to share the good news
of your peace treaty with others,
to implore others on behalf of Christ the King—
be reconciled to God.
We are called to protect the citizens of your country,
to point them to their safe place in Christ.
We are called to be compelling representatives of you,
the King, in this foreign country of the world.
One day, we will gather together
with all who serve and worship you
in your heavenly kingdom,
the new heavens and the new earth.
Meanwhile, we seek to do your will
in carrying out your kingdom plan.
Energize for us this work this week,
and show us where you would have us go
with your message.
In the name of Christ our King we pray. Amen.
Read 2 Corinthians 5:14-21.
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by Elizabeth | Feb 5, 2015 | Learning Story
In my ongoing study of Ephesians, I continue to be happily confronted with God’s story of grace. Join me today for a quick look into the gospel call of Ephesians 4.
Gospel realities:
Through Christ we are made right with God.
We can’t do anything to make God love us anymore than he already does.
Also, gospel reality:
We are called to “walk in a manner worthy of our calling” (Eph. 4:1).
My son and I recently helped my 81-year-old dad select and acquire a new cell phone. His current phone is a beige cordless with an antenna sticking out of the top. He has an answering machine, which he checks to see if he wants to take a call. He does not own a computer; he’s never even used one. Learning how to use an iPhone was going to be a learning challenge, to say the least.
A retired English professor, my Dad knows how to teach – and learn. After we gave him a brief but somewhat chaotic lesson, he took the iPhone for Seniors tome we provided and scheduled self-study sessions. Each day he devotes one hour to reading the book and practicing technique. He’s catching on.
The time eventually came when my Dad had to apply the knowledge in real-life situations. (You should hear how surprised he is when he phones me and I say “hello”!) As he uses the phone, he discovers what he knows and what he doesn’t know. He returns to his book and his weekly lessons to answer these questions, then he attempts some more real-life situations.
(Have I mentioned how proud I am of him?!:-)!
In Ephesians, Paul talks about the process of learning and living the gospel. For the first three chapters, he lays out their new story, telling them who they are as a grace-renewed people. Once cursed in sin, believers are now grace-soaked in spiritual blessings (Eph. 1:3). Once the walking dead; they are now spiritually alive (Eph. 2:1-5). Once alienated and alone; they are now joined together as a kingdom, a family, and a church(Eph. 2:19-22). By God’s grace, they have been saved through faith (Eph.2:8).
In Chapter 4, Paul urges them to do something far more profound and challenging than using a new iPhone. Here’s how Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message:
In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel.
We can’t simply soak in the warm heat of God’s lavish spiritual blessings (Eph. 1); we must live as humble, gentle, patient, forbearing, loving people (Eph. 4). We can’t take the gifts Christ gave for the sake of the body and play with them in a corner; we must share them with others. We noses can’t desert the face — it would look ridiculous!
Yes, we will fail to live in the manner worthy of the calling. We will constantly need to back to the story that tells us who God is and what he’s done and who we are because of it. We will need the Spirit to teach us the lessons of humility and forgiveness, and we’ll need to feast regularly at the table that reminds us Christ’s body was broken for us. And as we continue to learn and live in love, we will be walking in a manner worthy of our calling.
This is part of the Ephesians Bible study I am writing. Once it is complete, I will make it available as an e-book. Please sign up to receive newsletters in order to know when you can get your free copy!
by Elizabeth | Jan 23, 2015 | Learning Story
For years, I have been writing, teaching, and coaching about the importance of sharing story in community. It is my calling; it is my work; it is my passion. But years ago, when I was training to pursue this mission, there were times I struggled with the process. I doubted my calling; I wanted to give up. On one of these nights, I was meeting with the women in my Bible study for a story feast. Our topic was “The Death of a Dream.” I shared my story, and they responded. This story demonstrates how a community can strengthen faith, restore hope, and compel love.
“Death of a Dream” Story
“As most of you know, this summer I took a seminary class that caused me to question my foolish dream of finishing my degree. I was well on my way to reaching this impossible dream, having already completed one-third of the coursework. Each course had changed my heart profoundly and stirred a new passion for God, his calling to me, and my community. But this class was different. The professor seemed cynical and mocking, and over the four days of class, I began to wonder if I belonged. I felt like a stranger in a strange land, as others seemed to question everything I placed my hope in. I don’t know that I want to continue my studies there.”
When I finished, the group, many of whom had walked with me from the beginning of the story of pursuing the degree, had questions and comments for me.
One woman reminded me that we tell our children that they won’t always get along with a teacher. She asked me whether I really thought that God wanted me to give up so quickly just because I had a negative experience with a professor.
Another woman observed, “It sounds like you did something you never would have done in the past. You voiced your beliefs. Even if you weren’t heard by the professor or your classmates, you spoke up for what you believed, and that’s very important.”
“It sounds like you did something you never would have done in the past. You voiced your beliefs.”
The last to speak, a young woman relatively new to the group, gave me reason to continue in faith: “I haven’t been in this group for very long, but since the beginning, the idea that God would call you to such a strange dream has encouraged me to consider that my calling too might be from God. Now I am seeing that moving into this mission may be fraught with trials, and that without a community that knows who God is and what he’s done in my life, I’m sunk.”
Touché. Our new friend summed up the whole purpose of story feasts – to help one another continue in faith by remembering the marvelous deeds God had done and to encourage one another to wait in hope for God to do the impossible again.
Linking up with The High Calling today.
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by Elizabeth | Jul 10, 2013 | Learning Story
I’ve been reading the excellent series The High Calling is running on #vocationfocus, and it made me think of this story:
“Hi-i-i, Meezes Turnage,
You are an author, no?”
Caught by surprise, first because I had expected him to say, “You are the Doctor’s wife,” and secondly, because I wasn’t sure how he knew I was an author, I hesitantly agreed, “Well, yes… I am.”
“And what is this Leeving Story,” he asked, his Panama accent strong.
“Oh, yes, that is my ministry.”
Quickly, he followed with, “And what type of books do you write?”
“Oh, um, Bible studies...to help people know how God’s grace is working out in their stories.”
“You are Christian?”
“Yes, I am!”
What a delightful welcome by Juan Diego, the concierge whose job was to assist us as we cruised through Alaska.And not just because his lively Latino persona and warm, wide smile lit the room with his joy. But because he “knew” me.
When people hear my last name, they regularly ask, “Are you Dr. Turnage’s wife?” and whenever that question comes, I prepare myself for the “spontaneous overflow” of high praise and deep gratitude for both his excellent skill and his widely-recognized compassion. And, having been “Mr.” Turnage’s wife for almost 31 years and “Dr.” Turnage’s wife for 27, I am proud and delighted to be so-named.
But sometimes, as self-focused as this may sound, I want people to know me for me. To know my passions, my work, my calling. My calling isn’t really about me, though. It’s about — dare I say it — the glory of God revealed in me? I am fearfully and wonderfully made –God has actually “crafted” me, the Bible says.
Like many women, I have a multitude of vocations, one of which is to support and encourage my husband in his work and ministry (he puts bones and joints back together, but truly his work is a healing ministry!) God has also named me as the mother of four crazy, amazing children. He has given me a strong passion for teaching and writing and working and cheering people on as they themselves discover and live their God-created calling.
The exchange with Juan Diego reminded me of a powerful threat to women. It is not, as so many in our culture might suggest, the danger of losing ourselves. It is, however, the danger of losing the knowledge of who God has created us to be. The Bible teaches that God created woman and man “in his image.” He endowed us with gifts and calling. Yes, we are born sinners, but in Christ, we are new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
In order to understand the magnificence of God’s redemptive story, we ought to spend some time asking, “What is my name, what is my calling, what is my purpose?” As we do, we will discover our names and live in love and curiosity about others’.
I am “the doctor’s wife,” “[four children’s] mother,” “a coach,” “an author,” and…most importantly, “beloved child of the King.” Each of these names tell something about the vocation God has given me, the place in the kingdom he has called me to serve.
Join the conversation: How have you been named, and what does it tell about your calling?
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by Elizabeth | Apr 24, 2012 | Learning Story
It’s that time of year–graduation season. For many, it is a time when many people start asking, “what am I going to be when I grow up?” Unfortunately, John Stott’s thoughts on vocation don’t answer that question, but they do give us some help in getting there.
John Stott: The Contemporary Christian
On Vocation
“The whole of our life belongs to God and is part of his calling, both before conversion and outside religion. We must not imagine that God first became interested in us when we were converted, or that now he is interested only in the religious bits of our lives.”
“God’s sovereignty extends over both halves of our life. He did not begin to work in and for us at our conversion, but at our birth, even before our birth in our genetic inheritance, as later in our temperament, personality, education and skills. And what God made us and gave us before we became Christians, he redeems, sanctifies, and transforms afterwards. There is a vital continuity between our pre-and post-conversion life. For although we are a new person in Christ, we are still the same person we were by creation, whom Christ has made new.”
on Ministry
“It seems to me fully compatible with our Christian doctrines of creation and redemption that we should talk to ourselves somewhat as follows: ‘I am a unique person. (That is not conceit. It is a fact….My uniqueness is due to my genetic endowment, my inherited personality and talents, inclinations and interests, my new birth and spiritual gifts. By the grace of God I am who I am. How then can I, as the unique person God has made me, be stretched in the service of Christ and of people, so that nothing he has given me is wasted, and everything he has given me is used?”
To ponder: What are your genetic inheritance, temperament, personality, education, and skills? Think about the “vital continuity” between your pre- and post- conversion life? Into what cultural spheres does that take you? How can you live as a “redeemed redeemer” in that sphere, using all that God created and redeemed you to be?
