Yesterday evening, there was a celebration concert held at the local movie theater. It was a special conclusion to the “see you at the pole” prayer time at schools that took place early that morning. This event was sponsored by a new church and the focus on challenging the kids to commit their lives to Jesus as well as worshiping him was very encouraging.

Event invitation

Mike Salazar, the church’s youth pastor, spoke on 1 Samuel 3: 1-11: Young Samuel was living with Eli the priest in the “house of the Lord” in Shiloh. Samuel was lying down at night and God spoke audibly to him, calling his name. It is understandable that the boy assumed that Eli was calling him, rather than God. It was only after the third time of being called that Eli concluded that it was God who was calling Samuel and he advised Samuel to respond to God by answering, “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.”

Last night Mark challenged the kids to respond to God’s call. If they were not yet followers of Jesus he suggested that they should respond in repentance and faith. If they already believed, he encouraged them to surrender their lives to Him as Lord (rather than seeing him as some distant, rather irrelevant figure). Mark challenged those who were already committed to Jesus to be missionaries in their schools.

Many kids responded and I trust that this will push them to become wholehearted in their response and in their attitude to those around them, that they should truly offer love and speak truth to their friends at school.

The challenge also applies to the rest of us. How do we respond to the living God? Are we prepared to read the Word of God, the Bible, and really listen to Him and change? We may not hear him audibly but the Bible is Jesus’s voice and we are wise when we apply this to our lives. In the book of James chapter 1 verses 22-25, we are told: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it- he will be blessed in what he does.”

Young Samuel was being called by God to tell Eli a tough message. God had warned Eli that he needed to restrain his sons who were officially priests but were acting in a contemptible manner. Eli had ignored God in this respect and now God, through Samuel, was pronouncing the dire consequences of failing to respond to God’s warning (1 Samuel 1: 11-18). God is powerful, loving and merciful but also just. We need to pay attention to Him and respond humbly and obediently, believing that He will bless us if we listen to His voice and take necessary action.

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