How Can You Say No To God?

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***This is one of the most difficult Devotionals that I have ever written. It is a message that God told me to deliver 2 years ago, and has been sitting in my "Devotional To-Do" file ever since. I have started to send this numerous times over the past several years, but simply could not do it because I knew that it would be difficult for most to read. As painful as it was for me to write this, and as painful as it will be for you to read it, it is a word that God wants to be told and I need to be faithful to what He has called me to do. Please pray before reading this message, and ask God to prepare your heart to receive it. Never forget that even in times of great judgment, God always has a remnant that remains faithful to Him. May we be faithful and part of His remnant, and may God be merciful to us even in His judgment.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL FRIDAY JUNE 27, 2003
(Genesis 12:1-3, Matthew 9:9)

After the death of Abram's father, God told him, "Leave your own country behind you, and your own people, and go to the land I will guide you to. If you do, I will cause you to become the father of a great nation; I will bless you and make your name famous, and you will be a blessing to many others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and the entire world will be blessed because of you."

As Jesus was going on down the road, he saw a tax collector, Matthew, sitting at a tax collection booth. "Come and be my disciple," Jesus said to him, and Matthew jumped up and went along with him.

How can you say no to God? Every day people ask us to do things for them. Family members, friends, co-workers, often total strangers ask us to do something for them. In the course of our daily lives, the people that mean the most to us will ask us to do something special for them. It may be a parent or a sibling, it may be our spouse, it may be a very close friend, or it could be someone that we look up to and respect like our boss or pastor. All throughout our life, people ask us to do things for them, and we do our best to do what they ask.

What about when God asks you to something for Him? Why are we able to do things for others, but not for God? I have often wondered, how many God called to do the job that Abraham did. Human beings have not changed since the Garden of Eden. Knowing that fact, I have no doubt that God called many men before Abraham who said yes to God.

Likewise, when Jesus called Matthew to follow Him, how many before Matthew said no? Throughout history, we have men and women that God called to do great things for the Kingdom. I often wonder who God may have called to do that work, but turned God down.

Some of the most disappointing times in my life have been those when God was calling me to do something for Him and I said no. I was too busy. It wasn't the right time. I had MY SCHEDULE and what God was asking me to do didn't fit in. God really didn't need me, He would find someone else. There are a million excuses that we can come up to basically tell God NO.

In looking back now, how could I have ever said no to God? This is GOD!!! The creator of the Heavens and the earth. MY CREATOR!!! God Himself came to me and said, "Bill, will you do something for me?" and I said NO! If complete stranger came up to me and asked me to do something for them, as long as it was not something outrageous I would most likely do it. Yet I tell God no???

I love you and care about you so much. The sad reality is that when we say no to God, we are the one that loses. God blesses us for our obedience. When we say no to God, we miss our blessing. Our purpose in this life is to serve and glorify Him. When we say no to God, we are not fulfilling our purpose.

The greatest calling we have in this life is what God asks us to do for Him. When we say no to God, we miss our calling. The reality is, when we say no to God, He calls someone else to do what He asked us to do. Someone else is answering the call of God on their life, fulfilling their purpose, and receiving the blessing we could have had. The work of God does not stop because we say no to God. It simply goes on without us.

I will be praying for you today. As I say often, we only get one shot at life. This is it. MAKE IT COUNT! The fact is, God has a Diving plan and purpose for each one of us. God has a calling on the life of every person that comes to know Christ as their Savior. Our purpose in this life is to serve and glorify Him with our lives. There is no greater thing that we can do with our life than to serve our God. It is an honor and a privilege that He gives us to work for Him. In faithfully and obediently serving God, we are blessed beyond all that we could ever ask or think.

MAKE YOUR LIFE COUNT BY DOING SOMETHING GREAT FOR GOD! Before Abraham, Matthew, Billy Graham, or anyone else that God has used could do great things for God, they first had to say yes when He called them. God is speaking to YOU today. He is asking you to do something for Him. SAY YES to God!!!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

If I can help you in any way you can contact me through my personal email at bkeller@liveprayer.com.

***I am excited to let you know that the Liveprayer Daily Devotional is now available via audio each day. Simply go to http://www.liveprayer.com/DailyDevotionalAudio.html. Click on "Search by Category", then locate DAILY DEVOTIONAL. I want to thank Ed Morando for making this service available for FREE to Liveprayer.com.

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