I’m listening to a song by B.J. Putnam entitled “Here For You” and the “bridge” of the song is repeated over and over. It simply states:
“I hear You call my name.
I’ll never be the same”
If you ever had God call you (and most of you reading this have), you know this is true. Once you grasp the moment in front of you… once you heed His call and take His hand… once you give your life to Jesus, everything changes. You are never the same.
It’s not that you all of a sudden have to follow all the Christian rules. That would be religion. That’s not it. At all. It’s not that you have to stop cussing, or drinking, or smoking… or start giving to charities or helping little old ladies across the street. Again, if you’ve never heeded the call of God in your life, trust me… that’s not it either.
It is recognizing that your way isn’t the right way. It’s allowing God to wipe the slate clean by the blood of Jesus, giving you a fresh start and eternal life. It’s a refreshing freedom not found anywhere or in anything but Him. It is simply surrendering your life to God, moment by moment, more and more. Romans 12:1 in The Message paraphrase of the Bible really says it well:
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.”
That’s what it means to embrace the call of God your life. That’s how you worship God everyday, moment-by-moment.
Beside the initial call that makes you come forward in a church service (or bow your heart somewhere/anywhere else) to accept the free gift that God offers, namely eternal life, there seems to be other opportunities to give more and more of yourself. Different doctrines call it different things: Consecration, Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Entire Sanctification, and other terms. Different strokes for different strokes, I guess. However, for each denomination, it includes yielding… surrendering… submitting… to more of God’s leadership in your life.
B.J. Putnam talks about it in his own words in the video below. It’s the guitar tutorial of the song, but he also gives a brief backstory behind the song.
It is answering the call.
Here’s the lyrics of part the song:
“I am here for You…
To worship You.
This moment will not pass me by.
‘Cause I’m in love with You,
In awe of You,
I’m giving everything…
I’m giving everything away.
I hear You call my name.
I’ll never be the same.”
I hear Him. Do you?
What is He saying to you?