Purpose Driven Life - Day 39

 

Balancing Your Life

Blessed are the balanced; they shall outlast everyone.

Your life is a pentathlon of five purposes, which you must keep in balance.  These purposes were practiced by the first Christians in Acts 2, explained by Paul in Ephesians 4, and modeled by Jesus in John 17, but they are summarised in the Great Commandment and the Great Commission of Jesus.  God's five purposes for your life:

1. Love God with all your heart.  You were planned for God's pleasure, so your purpose is to love God through worship.
   
2. Love your neighbour as yourself.  You were shaped for serving, so your purpose is to show love for others through ministry.
   
3. Go and make disciples.  You were made for a mission, so your purpose is to share God's message through evangelism.
   
4. Baptise them into.  You were formed for God's family, so your purpose is to identify with His church through fellowship.
   
5. Teach them to do all things.  You were created to become like Christ, so your purpose is to grow to maturity through discipleship.

A great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission will make you a great Christian.  To keep these five purposes in balance, you will need to develop these habits.

1. Talk it through with a spiritual partner or small group.
2. Give yourself a regular spiritual check-up.
3. Write down your progress in a journal.
4. Pass on what you know to others.

Jesus prepared His disciples to live for God's purposes.  He helped them to know and love God (worship), taught them to love each other (fellowship), gave them the Word so they could grow to maturity (discipleship), showed them how to serve (ministry), and sent them out to tell others (mission).  Jesus modeled a purpose-driven life, and He taught others how to live it, too.

Today God calls each of us to the same work.  Not only does He want us to live out His purposes, He also wants us to help others do the same.  God wants us to introduce people to Christ, bring them into His fellowship, help them grow to maturity and discover their place of service, and then send them out to reach others, too.

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DAY THIRTY-NINE

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder:  Blessed are the Balanced.

Verse to Remember:  "Live life with a due sense of responsibility, not as those who do not know the meaning of life but as those who do."  Ephesians 5:15 (Ph)

Question to Consider:  Which of the four activities will I begin in order to stay on track and balance God's five purposes for my life?

Purpose Driven Life - Day 40

 

Living with Purpose

Living on purpose is the only way to really live.

Everything else is just existing.

Most people struggle with three basic issues in life.  The first is identity:  "Who am I?"  The second is importance:  "Do I matter?"  The third is impact:  "What is my place in life?"  The answers to all three questions are found in God's five purposes for you.  As we come to the end of this journey, now that you know God's purposes for your life, you will be blessed if you do them!

WHAT IS A LIFE PURPOSE STATEMENT?

• It's a statement that summarises God's purposes for your life.
• It's a statement that points the direction of your life.
• It's a statement that defines "success" for you.
• It's a statement that clarifies your roles.
• It's a statement that expresses your shape.

LIFE'S FIVE GREATEST QUESTIONS

• What will be the centre of my life?  Who am I going to live for?
• What will be the character of my life?  What kind of person will I be?
• What will be the contribution of my life?  My role in the family of God?
• What will be the communication of my life?  My mission to unbelievers?
• What will be the community of my life?  My connection to Gods family?

GOD WANTS TO USE YOU

"David served God's purpose in his generation."  Now I understood why God called David "a man after my own heart".  David dedicated his life to fulfilling God's purposes on earth.  Neither past nor future generations can serve God's purpose in this generation.  Only we can.  Like Esther, God created you "for such a time as this."  Will you be a person God can use for His purposes?  Will you serve God's purpose in your generation?

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DAY FORTY

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder:  Living with purpose is the only way to really live.

Verse to Remember:  "For David ... served the purpose of God in his own generation."  Acts 13:36 (NASB)

Question to Consider:  When will I take the time to write down my answers to life's five great questions?  When will I put my purpose on paper?

Purpose Driven Life - Day 38

 

Becoming a World-Class Christian

The Great Commission is your commission.

You will be either a world-class Christian or a worldly Christian.  Worldly Christians look to God primarily for personal fulfillment.  They are saved, but self-centred.  Their prayers focus on their own needs, blessings, and happiness.  It's a "me-first" faith:  How can God make my life more comfortable?  They want to use God for their purposes instead of being used for His purposes. 

In contrast, world-class Christians know they were saved to serve and made for a mission.  They are eager to receive a personal assignment and excited about the privilege of being used by God.  They wake up each morning expecting God to work through them in fresh ways.

God invites you to participate in the greatest, largest, most diverse, and most significant cause in history - His Kingdom.  The opportunities for normal, everyday Christians to become involved in short-term international missions are now literally limitless.  Now, with the Internet, the world has gotten even smaller.  Even many remote villages get email, so you can now carry on "e-vangelistic" conversations with people on the other side of the world.

HOW TO THINK LIKE A WORLD-CLASS CHRISTIAN

Shift from self-centred thinking to other-centred thinking.  Begin asking the Holy Spirit to help you to think of the spiritual need of unbelievers whenever you talk to them.  With practice you can develop the habit of praying silent "breath prayers" for those you encounter.  Say, "Father, help me to understand what is keeping this person from knowing you."

Shift from local thinking to global thinking.  Begin praying for specific countries.  Get a globe or map and pray for nations by name.  Pray for opportunities to witness, for courage to speak up, for those who will believe, for the rapid spread of the message, and for more workers.

Shift from "here and now" thinking to eternal thinking.  Maintain an eternal perspective.  This will keep you from majoring on minor issues and help you distinguish between what's urgent and what's ultimate.  Use the money God gives you to bring people to Christ.  It's the best financial investment you'll ever make.

Shift from thinking of excuses to thinking of creative ways to fulfill your commission.  Whether it was Sarah claiming she was too old to be used by God or Jeremiah claiming he was too young, God rejected their excuses.  Many Christians have missed God's plan for their lives because they have never even asked God if He wanted them to serve as a missionary somewhere.

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DAY THIRTY-EIGHT

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder:  The Great Commission is my commission.

Verse to Remember:  "Send us around the world with the news of your saving power and your eternal plan for all mankind."  Psalm 67:2 (LB)

Question to Consider:  What steps can I take to prepare to go on a short-term missions experience in the next year?

Purpose Driven Life - Day 37

 

Sharing Your Life Message

God has given you a Life Message to share.

When you became a believer, you also became God's messenger.  God wants to speak to the world through you. 

You may feel you don't have anything to share, but that's the devil trying to keep you silent.  You have a storehouse of experiences that God wants to use to bring others into His family. 

Your Life Message includes your Testimony

Your testimony is the story of how Christ has made a difference in your life.  This is the essence of witnessing - simply sharing your personal experiences regarding the Lord.  Your personal testimony is more effective than a sermon, because unbelievers see pastors as professional salesmen, but see you as a "satisfied customer", so they give you more credibility.

Your Life Message includes your Life Lessons

These are lessons and insights you have learned about God, relationships, problems, temptations, and other aspects of life.  While it is wise to learn from experience, it is wiser to learn from the experiences of others.  I urge you to make a list of your life lessons.  Here are a few questions to jog your memory and get you started:

• What has God taught me from failure?
• What has God taught me from a lack of money?
• What has God taught me from pain or sorrow or depression?
• What has God taught me through waiting?
• What has God taught me through illness?
• What has God taught me from disappointment?
• What have I learned from my family, my church, my relationships, my small group, and my critics?

Your Life Message includes sharing your Godly Passions

As you grow closer to God, He will give you a passion for something He cares about deeply so you can be a spokesman for Him in the world.  It may be a passion about a problem, a purpose, a principle, or a group of people.  Whatever it is, you will feel compelled to speak up about it and do what you can to make a difference.  It's often a problem you have personally experienced such as abuse, addiction, infertility, depression, a disease, or some other difficulty.

Sometimes God gives people a passion to speak up for a group of others who can't speak for themselves:  the unborn, the persecuted, the poor, the imprisoned, the mistreated, the disadvantaged, and those who are denied justice.  God gives us different passions so that everything He wants done in the world will get done.  You should not expect everyone else to be passionate about your passion.

Your Life Message includes the Good News

The Good News is that when we trust God's grace to save us through what Jesus did, our sins are forgiven, we get a purpose for living, and we are promised a future home in heaven.  We must learn to love lost people the way God does.  If you've been afraid to share the Good News with those around you, ask God to fill your heart with His love for them.

We have learned God's five purposes for life on earth:  He made you to be a member of His family, a model of His character, a magnifier of His glory, a minister of His grace, and a messenger of His Good News to others.  Of these five purposes, the fifth can only be done on earth.  That's why spreading the Good News is so important; you only have a short time to share your life message and fulfill your mission.

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DAY THIRTY-SEVEN

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder:  God wants to say something to the world through me.

Verse to Remember:  "Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect."  1 Peter 3:15b-16 (TEV)

Question to Consider:  As I reflect on my personal story, who does God want me to share it with?

Purpose Driven Life - Day 36

 

Made for a Mission

You were made for a mission.

God is at work in the world, and He wants you to join Him.  This assignment is called your mission.  God wants you to have both a ministry in the Body of Christ and a mission in the world.  Your ministry is your service to believers, and your mission is your service to unbelievers. 

Being a Christian includes being sent into the world as a representative of Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."  The mission Jesus had while on earth is now our mission.  What is that mission?  Introducing people to God.  We are the messengers of God's love and purposes to the world.

THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR MISSION

Your mission is a continuation of Jesus' mission on earth.  Jesus calls us not only to come to him, but to go for him.  In the Great Commission Jesus said, "Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples.  Baptise them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you."  This commission was given to every follower of Jesus, not to pastors and missionaries alone.  These words of Jesus are not the Great Suggestion.  You are the only Christian some people will ever know, and your mission is to share Jesus with them.

Your mission is a wonderful privilege.  Although it is a big responsibility, it is also an incredible honour to be used by God.  Your mission involves two great privileges:  working with God and representing Him.  We get to partner with God in the building of His Kingdom!

Telling others how they can have eternal life is the greatest thing you can do for them.  One problem long-term Christians have is that they forget how hopeless it felt to be without Christ.  We must remember that no matter how contented or successful people appear to be, without Christ they are hopelessly lost and headed for eternal separation from God.  Everybody needs Jesus.

Your mission has eternal significance.  It will impact the eternal destiny of other people.  We will have all of eternity to celebrate with those we have brought to Jesus, but we only have our lifetime in which to reach them.  God wants you to share the Good News where you are.  As a student, mother, preschool teacher, salesman, or manager or whatever you do, you should continually look for people God places in your path with whom you can share the Gospel.

Your mission gives your life meaning.  There are people on this planet whom only you will be able to reach, because of where you live and what God has made you to be.  If just one person will be in heaven because of you, your life will have made a difference for eternity.  Start looking around at your personal mission field and pray, "God, who have you put in my life for me to tell about Jesus?"

God's timetable for history's conclusion is connected to the completion of our commission.  Today there's a growing interest in the second coming of Christ and the end of the world.  When the disciples wanted to talk about prophecy, Jesus quickly switched the conversation to evangelism.  He wanted them to concentrate on their mission in the world.  He said in essence, "The details of my return are none of your business.  What is your business is the mission I've given you.  Focus on that."

WHAT IT COSTS TO FULFILL YOUR MISSION

To fulfill your mission will require that you abandon your agenda and accept God's agenda for your life.  You yield your rights, expectations, dreams, plans, and ambitions to Him.  You stop praying selfish prayers like "God bless what I want to do."  Instead you pray, "God help me to do what you're blessing!" 

ONE MORE FOR JESUS

If you want to be used by God, you must care about what God cares about; what He cares about most is the redemption of the people He made.  He wants His lost children found!  Nothing matters more to God; the Cross proves that.  I pray that you will always be on the lookout to reach "one more for Jesus" so that when you stand before God one day, you can say, "Mission accomplished!"

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DAY THIRTY-SIX

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder:  I was made for a mission.

Verse to Remember:  "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)

Question to Consider:  What fears have kept me from fulfilling the mission God made me to accomplish?  What keeps me from telling others the Good News?

Purpose Driven Life - Day 35

 

God's Power in Your Weakness

God loves to use weak people.

Everyone has weaknesses.  In fact, you have a bundle of flaws and imperfections: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.  You may also have uncontrollable circumstances that weaken you, such as financial or relational limitations.  The more important issue is what you do with these.

We think that God only wants to use our strengths, but He also wants to use our weaknesses for His glory.  The Bible is filled with examples of how God loves to use imperfect, ordinary people to do extraordinary things in spite of their weaknesses. 

A weakness is not a sin or a vice or a character defect that you can change, such as overeating or impatience.  A weakness is any limitation that you inherited or have no power to change.  It may be a physical limitation, like a handicap, a chronic illness, naturally low energy, or a disability.  It may be an emotional limitation, such as a trauma scar, a hurtful memory, a personality quirk, or a hereditary disposition.  Or it may be a talent or intellectual limitation.  We're not all super bright or talented.

God is never limited by our limitations.  He will use us if we allow Him to work through our weaknesses. 

Admit your weaknesses.  Own up to your imperfections.  Instead of living in denial or making excuses, take the time to identify your personal weaknesses.

Be content with your weaknesses.  They cause us to depend on God and keep us humble.  Whenever you feel weak, God is reminding you to depend on Him.  Our limitations also show how much we need each other.    Most of all, our weaknesses increase our capacity for sympathy and ministry.  God specialises in turning weakness into strengths.  He wants to take your greatest weakness and transform it.

Honestly share your weaknesses.  Ministry begins with vulnerability.  The more you let down your guard, take off your mask, and share your struggles, the more God will be able to use you in serving others.  Opening up relieves stress, defuses your fears, and is the first step to freedom.

Glory in your weaknesses.  Instead of posing as self-confident and invincible, see yourself as a trophy of grace.  Sometimes God turns a strength into a weakness in order to use us even more.  It forces us to lean on God whether we like it or not.

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DAY THIRTY-FIVE

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder:  God works best when I admit my weakness.

Verse to Remember:  "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness."  2 Corinthians 12:9a (NIV)

Question to Consider:  Am I limiting God's power in my life by trying to hide my weaknesses?  What do I need to be honest about in order to help others?

Purpose Driven Life - Day 34

 

Thinking Like a Servant

Service starts in your mind.

To be a servant requires a mental shift, a change in your attitudes.  God is always more interested in why we do something than in what we do.  Attitudes count more than achievements.  Real servants serve God with a mindset of five attitudes:

Servants think more about others than about themselves.  This is true humility:  not thinking less of ourselves but thinking of ourselves less.  When we stop focusing on our own needs, we become aware of the needs around us.  You can't be a servant if you're full of yourself.  It's only when we forget ourselves that we do the things that deserve to be remembered.

Real servants don't try to use God for their purposes.  They let God use them for His purposes.  We can measure our servant's heart by how we respond when others treat us like servants.  How do you react when you're taken for granted, bossed around, or treated as an inferior?

Servants think like stewards, not owners.  Servants remember that God owns it all.  Servanthood and stewardship go together.  How are you handling the resources God has entrusted to you?

To become a real servant you are going to have to settle the issue of money in your life.  Money has the greatest potential to replace God in your life.  More people are sidetracked from serving by materialism than by anything else.  They say, "After I achieve my financial goals, I'm going to serve God".  Servants of God are always more concerned about ministry than money.  How you manage your money affects how much God can bless your life.

Servants think about their work, not what others are doing. They don't compare, criticize, or compete with other servants or ministries.  They're too busy doing the work God has given them.  They just trust God and keep serving. 

Servants base their identity in Christ.  Because they remember they are loved and accepted by grace, servants don't have to prove their worth.  They willingly accept jobs that insecure people would consider "beneath" them.  When you base your worth and identity on your relationship to Christ, you are freed from the expectations of others, and that allows you to really serve them best.  The closer you get to Jesus, the less you need to promote yourself.

Servants think of ministry as an opportunity, not an obligation.  They enjoy helping people, meeting needs, and doing ministry.  They love the Lord and are grateful for His grace, they know serving is the highest use of life, and they know God has promised a reward.  It doesn't matter what your age is, God will use you if you will begin to act and think like a servant.

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DAY THIRTY-FOUR

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder:  To be a servant I must think like a servant.

Verse to Remember:  "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."  Philippians 2:5 (NIV)

Question to Consider:  Am I usually more concerned about being served or finding ways to serve others?

Purpose Driven Life - Day 33

How Real Servants Act

We serve God by serving others.

Jesus measured greatness in terms of service, not status.  God determines your greatness by how many people you serve, not how many people serve you.  While knowing your shape is important for serving God, having the heart of a servant is even more important.

God often tests our hearts by asking us to serve in ways we're not shaped.  While you may not be gifted for a particular task, you may be called to do it if no one gifted at it is around. 

Your shape reveals your ministry, but your servant's heart will reveal your maturity.  No special talent or gift is required to stay after a meeting to pick up trash or stack chairs.  Anyone can be a servant.  All it requires is CHARACTER.

Real servants make themselves available to serve.  Servants don't fill up their time with other pursuits that could limit their availability.  They want to be ready to jump into service when called on.  Much like a soldier, a servant must always be standing by for duty.

Are you available to God anytime?  Can He mess up your plans without you becoming resentful?  Being a servant means giving up the right to control your schedule and allowing God to interrupt it whenever He needs to.  Servants see interruptions as divine appointments for ministry.

Real servants pay attention to needs.  Servants are always on the lookout for ways to help others.  When God puts someone in need right in front of you, He is giving you the opportunity to grow in servanthood.  You can begin by looking for small tasks that no one else wants to do.  Do these little things as if they were great things, because God is watching.

Real servants do their best with what they have.  Servants don't make excuses, procrastinate, or wait for better circumstances.  They just do what needs to be done.  God expects you to do what you can, with what you have, wherever you are.  It doesn't have to be perfect for God to use and bless.

Real servants do every task with equal dedication.  Whatever they do, servants "do it with all their heart".  The size of the task is irrelevant.  The only issue is, does it need to be done?  Small tasks often show a big heart.  Your servant's heart is revealed in little acts that others don't think of doing.  Great opportunities often disguise themselves in small tasks.

Real servants are faithful to their ministry.  Servants finish their tasks, fulfill their responsibilities, keep their promises and complete their commitments.  Can you be counted on by others?  Are there promises you need to keep, vows you need to fulfill, or commitments you need to honour?  You can retire from your career, but you will never retire from serving God.

Real servants maintain a low profile.  Servants don't promote or call attention to themselves.  Real servants don't serve for the approval or applause of others.  They live for an audience of One.  The most significant service is often the service that is unseen.  Don't be discouraged when your service is unnoticed or taken for granted.  Keep on serving God!

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DAY THIRTY-THREE

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder:  I serve God by serving others.

Verse to Remember:  "If you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded."  Matthew 10:42 (NLT)

Question to Consider:  Which of the six characteristics of real servants offers the greatest challenge to me?

Purpose Driven Life - Day 32

Using What God Gave You

God deserves your best.

He shaped you for a purpose, and He expects you to make the most of what you have been given.  He wants you to focus on talents He has given you to use.  To do this you must discover your shape, learn to accept and enjoy it, and then develop it to its fullest potential.

DISCOVER YOUR SHAPE

Start finding out and clarifying what God intends for you to be and do.

Begin by assessing your gifts and abilities.  Spiritual gifts and natural abilities are always confirmed by others.  Make a list.  Ask other people for their candid opinion.  Ask questions like:  Where have I seen fruit in my life that other people confirmed?  Where have I already been successful?

The best way to discover your gifts and abilities is to experiment with different areas of service.  Just start serving, experimenting with different ministries, and then you'll discover your gifts.  Until you're actually involved in serving, you're not going to know what you're good at.  When it doesn't work out, call it an "experiment", not a failure.  You will eventually learn what you're good at.

Consider your heart and your personality.  Ask yourself:  What do I really enjoy doing most?  When do I feel the most full alive?  What am I doing when I lose track of time?  Do I like routine or variety?  Do I prefer serving with a team or by myself?  Am I more introverted or extroverted?  Am I more a thinker or a feeler?  Which do I enjoy more - competing or co-operating?

Examine your experiences and extract the lessons you have learned.  Forgotten experiences are worthless; that's a good reason to keep a spiritual journal.  We rarely see God's good purpose in pain or failure or embarrassment while it is happening.  Only in hindsight do we understand how God intended a problem for good.

ACCEPT AND ENJOY YOUR SHAPE

Your shape was sovereignly determined by God for His purpose, so you shouldn't resent it or reject it.  Instead of trying to reshape yourself to be like someone else, you should celebrate the shape God has given only to you.  Part of accepting your shape is recognising your limitations.  Nobody is good at everything, and no one is called to be everything.  When we try to overextend our ministry reach beyond what God shaped us for, we experience stress.  Avoid comparisons, resist exaggerations, and seek only God's commendation.

KEEP DEVELOPING YOUR SHAPE

God expects us to make the most of what He gives us.  We are to cultivate our gifts and abilities, keep our hearts aflame, grow our character and personality, and broaden our experiences so we will be increasingly more effective in our service.  Fail to use what you've been given and you'll lose it.  Use the ability you've got and God will increase it.    Don't settle for a half-developed gift.  Stretch yourself and learn all you can.  Take advantage of every training opportunity to develop your shape and sharpen your serving skills.

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DAY THIRTY-TWO

THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder:  God deserves my best.

Verse to Remember:  "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."  2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)

Question to Consider:  How can I make the best use of what God has given me?