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DAY 252 or September 9.—Just do it.

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Our thoughts today come from Amos chapter 7, verses 14 and 15.

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Amos answered Amaziah, I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd,

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and I also took care of sycamore fig trees.

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But the LORD took me from tending the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people

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Israel.

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Now the big picture surrounding these verses.

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God speaks to Amos, a practical man, using tools he would have been very familiar with.

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An example was the plumb line, a simple yet invaluable piece of equipment to many workers

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in those days.

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Even today's building sites use this simple piece of kit, even if some now use laser technology

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rather than a weight on a piece of string.

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Unlike many sophisticated tools, a plumb line is infallible and always shows error no matter

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who uses it.

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It requires little training to use, and always shows if you are wandering from the straight

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and narrow.

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And now today's action step.

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When I was originally called to join the pastoral team of a large free church in Essex, it was

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because I was around forty years of age, married, with a family, and had lots of experience

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working in the world.

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I think being a Christian helped too.

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Maybe having served as an elder for several years might have also helped.

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But seriously, I believe the church that called me got it right.

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I am convinced we ought to be calling men and women who were obviously gifted by God

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to do a specific job suited to their gifting.

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I am not anti-qualification, I am pro-gifting.

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I always find it interesting to read that none of the early disciples were qualified

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in the religious field of their day, but they all had a heart for ministry and learned from

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the greatest teacher of all time.

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I have to admit that I spent two years studying at theological college, so I am convinced

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that this is important too.

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If you sense God is calling you to do a job for him today, just do it.

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However, don't ignore learning more to broaden your impact and polish up your God-given gift

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too.