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?