DAY 252 or September 9.—Just do it.
Our thoughts today come from Amos chapter 7, verses 14 and 15.
Amos answered Amaziah, I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd,
and I also took care of sycamore fig trees.
But the LORD took me from tending the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people
Israel.
Now the big picture surrounding these verses.
God speaks to Amos, a practical man, using tools he would have been very familiar with.
An example was the plumb line, a simple yet invaluable piece of equipment to many workers
in those days.
Even today's building sites use this simple piece of kit, even if some now use laser technology
rather than a weight on a piece of string.
Unlike many sophisticated tools, a plumb line is infallible and always shows error no matter
who uses it.
It requires little training to use, and always shows if you are wandering from the straight
and narrow.
And now today's action step.
When I was originally called to join the pastoral team of a large free church in Essex, it was
because I was around forty years of age, married, with a family, and had lots of experience
working in the world.
I think being a Christian helped too.
Maybe having served as an elder for several years might have also helped.
But seriously, I believe the church that called me got it right.
I am convinced we ought to be calling men and women who were obviously gifted by God
to do a specific job suited to their gifting.
I am not anti-qualification, I am pro-gifting.
I always find it interesting to read that none of the early disciples were qualified
in the religious field of their day, but they all had a heart for ministry and learned from
the greatest teacher of all time.
I have to admit that I spent two years studying at theological college, so I am convinced
that this is important too.
If you sense God is calling you to do a job for him today, just do it.
However, don't ignore learning more to broaden your impact and polish up your God-given gift
too.