Jeremiah 1:4-5 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

4The word of the LORD came to me, saying: 5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Called of God Before Birth

Before Jeremiah was even formed in the womb of his mother God knew him, because God is the one who formed him in his mother’s womb, i.e. God created him. And before Jeremiah was even born God set him apart and He appointed him as a prophet to the nations. And God created all of us. He formed us in our mother’s wombs. Those God foreknew “He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” He “chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”

See [Romans 8:29; 2 Timothy 1:8-9; Ephesians 1:3-4; 1 Peter 1:14-16]

“13For You formed my inmost being;
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14I praise You,
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Marvelous are Your works,
and I know this very well.
15My frame was not hidden from You
when I was made in secret,
when I was woven together
in the depths of the earth.
16Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all my days were written in Your book
and ordained for me
before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:13-16 BSB)

Called to Share the Gospel

Jeremiah was called of God to be a prophet of God. But not all of us are called to be prophets. However, all of us who are of faith in Jesus Christ, who have died with Christ to sin, and who have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in Him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as servants of righteousness in walks of obedience to His commands, we are called of God in much the same ways in which God called Jeremiah. For all of us are called of God to share the message of the gospel of our salvation with the people.

Sharing the Gospel: [Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 28:18-20; John 4:34-38; John 13:13-17; John 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 26:16-18; Romans 10:14-15; Ephesians 2:10; Ephesians 5:11-14; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 2:3-6]

We are to let our lights shine before men, that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven. We are to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that Jesus Christ commanded us. And we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, and we will be God’s witnesses to the ends of the earth. And we are to proclaim the virtues of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Jeremiah 1:6-10 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

6“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!” But the LORD told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak. 8Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.

9Then the LORD reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and said to me:
“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. 10See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.”

No Excuses

Now, I don’t believe that Jeremiah was just making excuses for why he could not obey God in this. I believe he just lacked the maturity to comprehend what all God was capable of doing in his life, and all that God could do in him and through him in the power of God. So the Lord explained to him that it would be God sending him, and that God would give him the words to speak, and that God would be there to deliver him from all who might oppose him. So he was not to be afraid of the people or what they might do to him.

But I do believe there are many who God has called to ministry who have made excuses for why they cannot serve the Lord according to the calling He has placed on their lives (and on all of our lives). For all of us who are faith in Jesus Christ are to be sharing the truth of the gospel, as taught by Jesus and by His New Testament apostles, in the correct biblical context. And we are to call the people to faith in Jesus Christ, to deny self, die to sin, and follow Jesus in walks of obedience to His commands, empowered by God.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

So, listen for God’s voice. Hear what He says. Then obey Him in practice.

Called of God
An Original Work / October 18, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Near the Cross

Hymn lyrics by Fanny J. Crosby, 1869
Music by William H. Doane, 1869

Jesus, keep me near the cross;
There a precious fountain,
Free to all, a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary’s mountain.

Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Sheds its beams around me.

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day
With its shadow o’er me.

Near the cross I’ll watch and wait,
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand
Just beyond the river.

In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever,
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.

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