From the Desk of Steve Shultz:
This is a very thought-provoking word from Anne Ballard of Texas.
Yes, we all have a calling and destiny in Christ...and the earth needs us to rise up in our calling more than ever.
I want you to read this slowly and carefully as you answer the title of Anne's article: "Will You Accept The Call?"
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Accepting the Call
"And they shall rebuild the old ruins. They shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations." (Isaiah 61:4 NKJV)
As human beings, we know that it is better to give than to receive. As Believers, we know that we were created and called to serve others. Will you accept the call?
For some, the call would look like taking care of orphans, being a father and a mother to the fatherless, taking action for racial inequality or speaking up on how religion is not founded in love. God grants us favor when we are aligned with our purposes so that He can use us to accomplish His divine purpose on the earth. We are all called to advocate for someone.
This season, there is a special grace to align with your destiny. What makes your heart burn? What makes you come alive? What do you have to offer the world? We were all created with a divine purpose and a reason that we were born. If you still have breath in your lungs, then you have yet to fulfill your calling.
I encourage you to spend some time asking God to speak to you specifically about your purpose and your destiny. Who are you called to serve? In this season, as you step out into your destiny, God is bringing a radical, divine reversal. Will you accept the call?
Fathers to the Fatherless
"God sets the lonely in families..." (Psalm 68:6)
We are living in a time when fatherlessness is rampant. In the US, according to the Census Bureau, 19.7 million children (more than 1 in 4) were living in a home without the physical presence of a father. Even greater than in times of war when men were killed in combat, children now (young and old) are without fathers. Whether the men abdicated their roles, abandoned their families, were physically present but emotionally absent, or were never present from the very beginning, they are missing from the family unit.
The children of today bear the weight of their absence and they ultimately pay the price for their fathers' choices. Fathers were intended to speak identity into their children, protecting and providing for them. So many children of today have felt this lack in their own lives. This deficiency has caused them to come under a poverty mindset of "There's not enough and I must provide for myself," to feel alone and unsafe, or like they must protect themselves. They are lacking personal identity in knowing who they were created to be. The fruit of fatherlessness affects children in the following ways:
• 4 times greater risk of poverty
• 7 times more likely to become pregnant as a teen
• more likely to have behavioral health problems
• more likely to face abuse and neglect
• 2 times greater risk of infant mortality
• more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol
• more likely to go to prison
• 2 times more likely to suffer obesity
• more likely to commit a crime
• 2 times more likely to drop out of high school (2017 US Census Bureau) (Photo via Unsplash)
This season, many of you men, who have been touched by this need, will be faced with opportunities that may seem out of the box for you. They may require a personal sacrifice, as you boldly step up to meet the need that you see in front of you. Watch as God makes your steps clear. He will honor your faith, and for many it will reveal to you a God-given call for an area of your ministry. It may be inside of the church, but it may not be. It may simply be a calling to take care of people that you connect with and care for deeply.
In this season, God is strategically raising up an army of fathers that are trained and equipped to fight for their sons and their daughters. He is broadening our idea of what "family" looks like to include more people. God, our perfect heavenly Father, has given us the spirit of sonship, and the Bible tells us that our spirits testify that we are God's children (Romans 8:15-17). Revival is being birthed in family and will... (continue reading)
