Purpose Driven Life - Day 40

Day 40--  Living on Purpose

 

In the Upper Room, as Jesus was concluding his last day of ministry with his disciples, he washed their feet as an example and said, "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." Once you know what God wants you to do, the blessing comes in actually doing it. As we come to the end of our forty-day journey together, now that you know God's purpose for your life, you will be blessed if you do them!

You may wonder, "What about God's will for my job or marriage or where I'm supposed to live or go to school?" Honestly, these are secondary issues in your life, and there may be multiple possibilities that would all be in God's will for you. What matters most is that you fulfill God's eternal purposes regardless of where you live or work or whom you marry. Those decisions should support your purposes. The Bible says, "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." Focus on God's purposes for your life, not your plans, since that's what will last forever.

Imagine what it is going to be like one day, with all of us standing before the throne of God presenting our lives in deep gratitude and praise to Christ. Together we will say, "Worthy, Oh Master! Yes, our God! Take the glory! the honor! the power! You created it all; It was created because you wanted it!"

We will praise him for his plan and live for his purposes forever!

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Purpose Driven Life - Day 39

Day 39  --Balancing Your Life

 

Blessed are the balanced; they shall outlast everyone. One of the events in the summer Olympics is the pentathlon. It is composed of five events: pistol shooting, fencing, horseback riding, running, and swimming. The pentathlete's goal is to succeed in all five areas, not just one or two. 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 summarized in the Great Commandment and the Great Commission of Jesus. These two statements sum up what this daily broadcast is all about--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 neighbor 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. "baptize 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

Purpose Driven Life - Day 38

Day 38 -- Becoming a World Class Christian

 

The Great Commission is your commission. You have a choice to make. 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-centered. They love to attend concerts and enrichment seminars, but you would never find them at a missions conference because they aren't interested. Their prayers focus on their own needs, blessings, and happiness. 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. World-class Christians are the only fully alive people on the planet. Their joy, confidence, and enthusiasm are contagious because they know they're making a difference. They wake up each morning expecting God to work through them in fresh ways. Which type of Christian do you want to be?

If you want to be like Jesus, you must have a heart for the whole world. You can't be satisfied with just your family and friends coming to Christ. There are over 6 billion people on earth, and Jesus wants all his lost children found. Jesus said, "Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live!" The Great Commission is your commission, and doing your part is the secret to living a life of significance.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 37

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. Paul said, "We speak the truth before God, as messengers of God.”

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. The Bible says, "Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony of God in them." Your Life Message has four parts to it:

• Your testimony: the story of how you began a relationship with Jesus
• Your life lessons: the most important lessons God has taught you
• Your godly passions: the issues God shaped that you care about most
• The Good News: the message of salvation

Is anyone going to be in heaven because of you? Will anyone in heaven be able to say to you, "I want to thank you. I'm here because you cared enough to share the Good News with me"? Imagine the joy of greeting people in heaven whom you helped get there. The eternal salvation of a single soul is more important than anything else you will ever achieve in life. Only people are going to last forever

Purpose Driven Life - Day 36

Day 36 -- 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.

Your life mission is both shared and specific. Jesus clearly understood his life mission on earth. At age twelve he said, "I must be about my Father's business," and twenty-one years later, dying on the cross, he said, "It is finished." Like bookends, these two statements frame a well-lived, purpose-driven life.

If you will commit to fulfilling your mission in life no matter what it costs, you will experience the blessing of God in ways that few people ever experience. There is almost nothing God won't do for the man or woman who is committed to serving the kingdom of God.

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!"

Purpose Driven Life - Day 35

Day 35  --  God's Power in Your Weakness

 

Everyone has weaknesses. In fact, you have a bundle of flaws and imperfections: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. Usually we deny our weaknesses, defend them, excuse them, hide them, and resent them. This prevents God from using them the way he desires.

A weakness is any limitation that you inherited or have no power to change. It may be a physical limitation; it may be an emotional limitation, or it may be a talent or intellectual limitation. When you think of the limitation in your life, you may be tempted to conclude, "God could never use me." But God is never limited by our limitations. In fact, he enjoys putting his great power into ordinary containers. Like common pottery, we are fragile and flawed and break easily. But God will use us if we allow him to work through our weaknesses.

Sometimes, however, God turns strength into a weakness in order to use us even more. Jacob was a manipulator who spent his life scheming and then running from the consequences. One night he wrestled with God and said, "I'm not letting go until you bless me." God said, "All right," but then he grabbed Jacob's thigh and dislocated his hip. What is the significance of that? God touched Jacob's strength and turned it into a weakness. From that day forward, Jacob walked with a limp so he could never run away again. It forced him to lean on God whether he liked it or not. If you want God to bless you and use you greatly, you must be willing to walk with a limp the rest of your life, because God uses weak people

Purpose Driven Life - Day 34

Day 34 -- Thinking Like a Servant

 

To be a servant requires a mental shift, a change in your attitudes. Attitudes count more than achievements. King Amaziah lost God's favor because "he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not with a true heart." Real servants serve God with a mindset of five attitudes.

Servants think more about others than about themselves.
Servants think like stewards, not owners.
Servants think about their work, not what others are doing.
Servants base their identity in Christ.
And servants think of ministry as an opportunity, not an obligation.

Henri Nouwen said, "In order to be of service to others we have to die to them; that is, we have to give up measuring our meaning and value with the yardstick of others...thus we become free to be compassionate." 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.

Imagine what could happen if just 10 percent of all Christians in the world got serious about their role as real servants. Imagine all the good that could be done. Are you willing to be one of those people? It doesn't matter what your age is, God will use you if you will begin to act and think like a servant. Albert Schweitzer said, "The only really happy people are those who have learned how to serve."

Purpose Driven Life - Day 33

Day 33 -- How Real Servants Act

 

The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige, and position. If you can demand service from others, you've arrived. In our self-serving culture with its me-first mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept. Jesus, however, measured greatness in terms of service, not status. God determines your greatness by how many people you serve, not how many people serve you. It is possible to serve in church for a lifetime without ever being a servant. You must have a servant's heart.

There are more than 750 "Halls of Fame" in America and more than 450 "Who's Who" publications, but you won't find many real servants in these places. Notoriety means nothing to real servants because they know the difference between prominence and significance. In heaven God is going to openly reward some of his most obscure and unknown servants--people we never heard of on earth, who taught emotionally disturbed children, cleaned up after incontinent elderly, nursed AIDS patients, and served in thousands of other unnoticed ways.

Knowing this, don't be discouraged when your service is unnoticed or taken for granted. Keep on serving God! "Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort." Even the smallest service is noticed by God and will be rewarded. Remember the words of Jesus: "If, as my representatives, you give even a cup of cold water to a little child, you will surely be rewarded."

Purpose Driven Life - Day 32

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.

Don't let another day go by. Start finding out and clarifying what God intends for you to be and do. Begin by assessing your gifts and abilities. The best way to discover your gifts and abilities is to experiment with different areas of service. I could have taken a hundred gifts and ability tests as a young man and would have never discovered that I was gifted at teaching because I had never done it! It was only after I began accepting opportunities to speak that I saw the results, received confirmation from others, and realized, "God has gifted me to do this!" Consider your heart and your personality. This is simple -- Paul advised, "Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that." Examine your experiences and extract the lessons you have learned. Review your life and think about how it has shaped you. Moses told the Israelites, "Remember today what you have learned about the Lord through your experiences with him." Forgotten experiences are worthless; that's a good reason to keep a spiritual journal.

In heaven we are going to serve God forever. Right now, we can prepare for that eternal service by practicing on earth. Like athletes preparing for the Olympic, we keep training for that big day: "They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You're after one that's gold eternally." We're getting ready for eternal responsibilities and rewards.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 31

Day 31 --  Understanding Your Shape

Only you can be you. God designed each of us so there would be no duplication in the world. No one has the exact same mix of factors that make you unique. That means no one else on earth will ever be able to play the role God planned for you. If you don't make your unique contribution to the Body of Christ, it won't be made. The Bible says, "There are different kinds of spiritual gifts... different ways of serving...and different abilities to perform service."

One of the most common excuses people give for not serving is "I just don't have any abilities to offer." This is ludicrous. You have dozens, probably hundreds, of untapped, unrecognized, and unused abilities that are lying dormant inside you. Many studies have revealed that the average person possesses from 500 to 700 different skills and abilities--far more than you realize. Like stained glass, our different personalities reflect God's light in many colors and patterns. This blesses the family of God with depth and variety. It also blesses us personally. It feels good to do what God made you to do. When you minister in a manner consistent with the personality God gave you, you experience fulfillment, satisfaction, and fruitfulness.

Using your shape is the secret of both fruitfulness and fulfillment in ministry. You will be most effective when you use your spiritual gifts and abilities in the area of your heart's desire, and in a way that best expresses your personality and experiences. The better the fit, the more successful you will be.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 30

Day 30 -- Shaped for Serving God

God formed every creature on this planet with a special area of expertise. Some animals run, some hop, some swim, some burrow, and some fly. Each has a particular role to play, based on the way they were shaped by God. The same is true with humans. Each of us was uniquely designed, or "shaped," to do certain things.

Before architects design any new building they first ask, "What will be its purpose? How will it be used?" The intended function always determines the form of the building. Before God created you, he decided what role he wanted you to play on earth. He planned exactly how he wanted you to serve him, and then he shaped you for those tasks.

Not only did God shape you before your birth, he planned every day of your life to support his shaping process. David praised God for this incredible personal attention to detail, "Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." This means that nothing that happens in your life is insignificant. God uses all of it to mold you for your ministry to others and shape you for your service to him.

God never wastes anything. He would not give you abilities, interests, talents, gifts, personality, and life experiences unless he intended to use them for his glory. By identifying and understanding these factors, you can discover God's will for your life.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 29

Day 29 -- Accepting Your Assignment

God designed you to make a difference with your life. While many best-selling books offer advice on how to "get" the most out of life, that's not the reason God made you. You were created to add to life on earth, not just take from it. God wants you to give something back.

You were created to serve God. The Bible says, "God has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do." These "good deeds" are your service to the world. Whenever you serve others in any way, you are actually serving God and fulfilling one of your purposes. You were saved to serve God. Have you ever wondered why God doesn't just immediately take us to heaven the moment we accept his grace? Once you are saved, God intends to use you for his goals. God has a ministry for you in his church and a mission for you in the world. You are called to serve God. The Bible says, "All of you together are Christ's body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it." Each of us has a role to play, and every role is important. You are commanded to serve God. The mature follower of Jesus stops asking, "Who's going to meet my needs?" and starts asking, "Whose needs can I meet?" Do you ever ask that question?

At the end of your life on earth you will stand before God, and he is going to evaluate how well you served others with your life. Think about the implications of that. One day God will compare how much time and energy we spent on ourselves compared with what we invested in serving others.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 28

Day 28  -- It Takes Time

 

There are no shortcuts to maturity. It takes years for us to grow to adulthood, and it takes a full season for fruit to mature and ripen. The same is true for the fruit of the Spirit. Spiritual growth, like physical growth, takes time.

While we worry about how fast we grow, God is concerned about how strong we grow. Today we're obsessed with speed, but God is more interested in strength and stability than swiftness. We want the quick fix, the shortcut, and the on-the-spot solution. We want a sermon, a seminar, or an experience that will instantly resolve all problems, remove all temptation, and release us from all growing pains. But real maturity is never the result of a single experience, no matter how powerful or moving. Growth is gradual. The Bible says, "Our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him."

When Habakkuk became depressed because he didn't think God was acting quickly enough, God had this to say: "These things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!" A delay is not a denial from God.

Remember how far you've come, not just how far you have to go. You are not where you want to be, but neither are you where you used to be. God isn't finished with you, so keep on moving forward. Even the snail reached the ark by persevering!

Purpose Driven Life - Day 27

Day 27 -- Defeating Temptation

 

You may sometimes feel that a temptation is too overpowering for you to bear, but that's a lie from Satan. God has promised never to allow more on you than he puts within you to handle it. He will not permit any temptation that you could not overcome. However, you must do your part too by practicing four biblical keys to defeating temptation.

Refocus your attention on something else. Ignoring a temptation is far more effective than fighting it. Once your mind is on something else, the temptation loses its power. So when temptation calls you on the phone, don't argue with it, just hang up! Reveal your struggle to a godly friend or support group. Authentic, honest fellowship is the antidote to your lonely struggle against those sins that won't budge. God says it is the only way you're going to break free. Resist the Devil. Without Christ we are defenseless against the Devil, but with "the helmet of salvation" our minds are protected by God. Remember this: If you are a believer, Satan cannot force you to do anything. He can only suggest. Realize your vulnerability. Given the right circumstances, any of us are capable of any sin. We must never let down our guard and think we're beyond temptation.

Don't carelessly place yourself in tempting situations. Remember that it is easier to stay out of temptation than to get out of it. The Bible says, "Don't be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence."

Purpose Driven Life - Day 26

Day 26 --  Growing Through Temptation

 

On the path to spiritual maturity, even temptation becomes a stepping-stone rather than a stumbling block when you realize that it is just as much an occasion to do the right thing, as it is to do the wrong thing. While temptation is Satan's primary weapon to destroy you, God wants to use it to develop you. Every time you choose to do good instead of sin, you are growing in the character of Christ.

To understand this, you must first identify the character qualities of Jesus. One of the most concise descriptions of his character is the fruit of the Spirit: "When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."

God develops the fruit of the Spirit in your life by allowing you to experience circumstances in which you're tempted to express the exact opposite quality! Character development always involves a choice, and temptation provides that opportunity.

Temptations keep us dependent upon God. Just as the roots grow stronger when wind blows against a tree, so every time you stand up to a temptation you become more like Jesus. Instead of giving in or giving up, look up to God, expect him to help you, and remember the reward that is waiting for you: "When people are tempted and still continue strong, they should be happy. After they have proved their faith, God will reward them with life forever."

Purpose Driven Life - Day 25

Day 25  --  Transformed By Trouble

God has a purpose behind every problem. He uses circumstances to develop our character. In fact, he depends more on circumstances to make us like Jesus than he depends on our reading the Bible. The reason is obvious: You face circumstances twenty-four hours a day.

Jesus warned us that we would have problems in the world. No one is immune to pain or insulated from suffering, and no one gets to skate through life problem-free. Life is a series of problems. Every time you solve one, another is waiting to take its place. Not all of them are big, but all are significant in God's growth process for you.

God uses problems to draw you closer to himself. The Bible says, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit." Your most profound and intimate experiences of worship will likely be in your darkest days--when your heart is broken, when you feel abandoned, when you're out of options, when the pain is great--and you turn to God alone. It is during suffering that we learn to pray our most authentic, heartfelt, honest-to-God prayers.

You see, every problem is a character-building opportunity, and the more difficult it is, the greater the potential for building spiritual muscle and moral fiber. Paul said, "We know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character." What happens outwardly in your life is not as important as what happens inside you. Your circumstances are temporary, but your character will last forever.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 24

Day 24 -- Transformed by Truth

 

The truth transforms us. Spiritual growth is the process of replacing lies with truth. Jesus prayed, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." Sanctification requires revelation. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make us like the Son of God. To become like Jesus, we must fill our lives with his Word. The Bible says, "Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us."

To be a healthy disciple of Jesus, feeding on God's Word must be your first priority. Jesus called it "abiding." He said, "If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine." In day-to-day living, abiding in God's Word includes three activities. You must accept its authority. You must assimilate its truth. And you must apply its principles.

The best way to become a "doer of the Word" is to always write out an action step as a result of your reading or studying or reflecting on God's Word. Develop the habit of writing down exactly what you intend to do. This action step should be personal (involving you), practical (something you can do), and provable (with a deadline to do it).

What has God already told you to do in his Word that you haven't started doing yet? As D. L. Moody said, "The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge but to change our lives."

Purpose Driven Life - Day 23

Day 23 -- How We Grow

 

God wants you to grow up. Your heavenly Father's goal is for you is to mature and develop the characteristics of Jesus Christ. Sadly, millions of Christians grow older but never grow up. They are stuck in perpetual spiritual infancy, remaining in diapers and booties. The reason is that they never intended to grow.

When the first disciples chose to follow Jesus, they didn't understand all the implications of their decision. They simply responded to Jesus' invitation. That's all you need to get started: Decide to become a disciple.

Christlikeness is the result of making Christlike choices and depending on his Spirit to help you fulfill those choices. Once you decide to get serious about becoming like Christ, you must begin to act in new ways. You will need to let go of some old routines, develop some new habits, and intentionally change the way you think. You can be certain that the Holy Spirit will help you with these changes. The Bible says, "Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."

Today many assume that spiritual maturity is measured by the amount of biblical information and doctrine you know. While knowledge is one measurement of maturity, it isn't the whole story. The Christian life is far more than creeds and convictions; it includes conduct and character. Our deeds must be consistent with our creeds, and our beliefs must be backed up with Christlike behavior.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 22

Day 22 --  You Were Created to Become Like Christ

From the very beginning, God's plan has been to make you like his Son, Jesus. God announced this intention at Creation: "Then God said, 'Let us make human beings in our image and likeness.'" What does the full "image and likeness" of God look like? It looks like Jesus Christ! The Bible says Jesus is "the exact likeness of God," "the visible image of the invisible God," and "the exact representation of his being."

God's ultimate goal for your life on earth is not comfort, but character development. He wants you to grow up spiritually and become like Christ. Becoming like Christ does not mean losing your personality or becoming a mindless clone. God created your uniqueness, so he certainly doesn't want to destroy it. Christlikeness is all about transforming your character, not your personality. Christlikeness is not produced by imitation, but by inhabitation. We allow Christ to live through us. "For this is the secret: Christ lives in you." How does this happen in real life? Through the choices we make. We choose to do the right thing in situations and then trust God's Spirit to give us his power, love, faith, and wisdom to do it. Since God's Spirit lives inside of us, these things are always available for the asking.

Sadly, a quick review of many popular Christian books reveals that many believers have abandoned living for God's great purposes and settled for personal fulfillment and emotional stability. That is narcissism, not discipleship. Jesus did not die on the cross just so we could live comfortable, well-adjusted lives. His purpose is far deeper: He wants to make us like himself before he takes us to heaven. This is our greatest privilege, our immediate responsibility, and our ultimate destiny.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 21

Day 21.. Protecting Your Church

Unity is the soul of fellowship. Destroy it, and you rip the heart out of Christ's Body. It is the essence, the core, of how God intends for us to experience life together in his church.

In his final moments before being arrested, Jesus prayed passionately for our unity. It was our unity that was uppermost in his mind during those agonizing hours. That shows how significant this subject is. Nothing on earth is more valuable to God than his church. He paid the highest price for it, and he wants it protected, especially from the devastating damage that is caused by division, conflict, and disharmony. You are commissioned by Jesus Christ to do everything possible to preserve the unity, protect the fellowship, and promote harmony in your church family and among all believers. The Bible says, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." How are we to do this? The Bible gives us practical advice. Focus on what we have in common, not our differences. Be realistic in your expectations. Choose to encourage rather than criticize. Refuse to listen to gossip. Practice God's method for conflict resolution. And most importantly, support your pastor and leaders.

What are you doing personally to make your church family more warm and loving? There are many people in your community who are looking for love and a place to belong. The truth is, everyone needs and wants to be loved, and when people find a church where members genuinely love and care for each other, you would have to lock the doors to keep them away.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 20

Day 20... Restoring Broken Fellowship

Relationships are always worth restoring.

Because life is all about learning how to love, God wants us to value relationships and make the effort to maintain them instead of discarding them whenever there is a rift, a hurt, or a conflict. In fact, the Bible tells us that God has given us the ministry of restoring relationships.

For this reason a significant amount of the New Testament is devoted to teaching us how to get along with one another. Paul wrote, "If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, . . . Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends." Paul taught that our ability to get along with others is a mark of spiritual maturity. If you want God's blessing on your life and you want to be known as a child of God, you must learn to be a peacemaker.

Who do you need to contact as a result of today's broadcast? With whom do you need to restore fellowship? Don't delay another second. Pause right now and talk to God about that person. Then pick up the phone and begin the process. It takes a lot of effort to restore a relationship. That's why Peter urged, "Work hard at living in peace with others." But when you work for peace, you are doing what God would do. That's why God calls peacemakers his children.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 19

 

Day 19  --  Cultivating Community

 

Community requires commitment. If you are tired of fake fellowship and you would like to cultivate real fellowship and a loving community in your small group, Sunday school class, and church, you will need to make some tough choices and take some risks.

Cultivating community takes honesty. Real fellowship depends on frankness. In fact, the tunnel of conflict is the passageway to intimacy in any relationship. Until you care enough to confront and resolve the underlying barriers, you will never grow close to each other.

Cultivating community takes humility. Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Humility is thinking more of others. Humble people are so focused on serving others, they don't think of themselves.

Cultivating community takes courtesy. The truth is, we all have quirks and annoying traits. But community has nothing to do with compatibility. The basis for our fellowship is our relationship to God: We are family.

Cultivating community takes confidentiality. Only in the safe environment of warm acceptance and trusted confidentiality will people open up and share their deepest hurts, needs, and mistakes. Confidentiality does not mean keeping silent while your brother or sister sins. It means that what is shared in your group needs to stay in your group, and the group needs to deal with it, not gossip to others about it.

Cultivating community takes frequency. You must have frequent, regular contact with your group in order to build genuine fellowship. Relationships take time.

When you look at the list of characteristics, it is obvious why genuine fellowship is so rare. But the benefits of sharing life together far outweigh the costs, and it prepares us for heaven.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 18

Day 18  Experiencing Life Together

God intends for us to experience life together. The Bible calls this shared experience fellowship. Fellowship now usually refers to casual conversation, socializing, food, and fun. The question, Where do you fellowship? means Where do you attend church? Stay after for fellowship usually means Wait for refreshments.

Real fellowship is so much more than just showing up at services. It is experiencing life together. It includes unselfish loving, honest sharing, practical serving, sacrificial giving, sympathetic comforting, and all the other one another commands found in the New Testament.

The Body of Christ, like your own body, is really a collection of many small cells. The life of the Body of Christ, like your body, is contained in the cells. For this reason, every Christian needs to be involved in a small group within their church, whether is it a home fellowship group, a Sunday school class, or a Bible study. If you think of your church as a ship, the small groups are the lifeboats attached to it. It is only as we become open about our lives that we experience real fellowship.

The Bible says, If we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves. The world thinks intimacy occurs in the dark, but God says it happens in the light. Darkness is used to hide our hurts, faults, fears, failures, and flaws. But in the light, we bring them all out into the open and admit who we really are. You were created for community.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 17

Day 17 -  A Place to Belong

 

You are called to belong, not just believe. We are created for community, fashioned for fellowship, and formed for a family, and none of us can fulfill God's purposes by ourselves.

The Bible says we are put together, joined together, built together, members together, heirs together, fitted together, and held together and will be caught up together. You are not on your own anymore. While your relationship to Christ is personal, God never intends it to be private. In God's family you are connected to every other believer, and we will belong to each other for eternity.

The Bible says, In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. It also says a Christian without a church home is like an organ without a body, a sheep without a flock, or a child without a family. It is an unnatural state.

The Christian life is more than just commitment to Christ; it includes a commitment to other Christians. The Christians in Macedonia understood this. Paul said, First they gave themselves to the Lord; and then, by God's will, they gave themselves to us as well. Joining the membership of a local church is the natural next step once you've become a child of God. You become a Christian by committing yourself to Christ, but you become a church member by committing yourself to a specific group of believers. The first decision brings salvation; the second brings fellowship.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 16

Day 16 - What Matters Most

 

Life is all about love. Because God is love, the most important lesson he wants you to learn on earth is how to love. It is in loving that we are most like him, so love is the foundation of every command he has given us: The whole Law can be summed up in this one command: Love others as you love yourself.

Learning to love unselfishly is not an easy task. That's why we are given a lifetime to learn it. Of course, God wants us to love everyone, but he is particularly concerned that we learn to love others in his family.

Why does God insist that we give special love and attention to other believers? Because God wants his family to be known for its love more than anything else. Jesus said our love for each other not our doctrinal beliefs is our greatest witness to the world. He said, Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples.

In heaven we will enjoy God's family forever, but first we have some tough work to do here on earth to prepare ourselves for an eternity of loving. God trains us by giving us family responsibilities, and the foremost of these is to practice loving each other.

The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 15

Day 15 -  Formed For God Family

 

God wants a family, and he created you to be a part of it.

The entire Bible is the story of God building a family who will love him, honor him, and reign with him forever. It says, His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure. When we place our faith in Christ, God becomes our Father, we become his children, other believers become our brothers and sisters, and the church becomes our spiritual family. The family of God includes all believers in the past, the present, and the future.

Our families on earth are wonderful gifts from God, but they are temporary and fragile, often broken by divorce, distance, growing old, and inevitably, death. On the other hand, our spiritual familyour relationship to other believers will continue throughout eternity.

The Bible says, Jesus and the people he makes holy all belong to the same family. That is why he isn't ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. Let that amazing truth sink in. You are a part of God's family, and because Jesus makes you holy, God is proud of you! Being included in God's family is the highest honor and the greatest privilege you will ever receive. Nothing else comes close. Whenever you feel unimportant, unloved, or insecure, remember to whom you belong.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 14

Day 14...  When God Seems Distant

 

God is real, no matter how you feel. It is easy to worship God when things are going great in your life when he has provided food, friends, family, health, and happy situations. But circumstances are not always pleasant. How do you worship God then? What do you do when God seems a million miles away? The deepest level of worship is praising God in spite of pain, thanking God during a trial, trusting him when tempted, surrendering while suffering, and loving him when he seems distant. How do you praise God when you don't understand what's happening in your life and God is silent? How do you stay connected in a crisis without communication? How do you keep your eyes on Jesus when they're full of tears? You do what Job did: Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;  may the name of the LORD be praised. Tell God exactly how you feel. Focus on who God is his unchanging nature. Trust God to keep his promises. And remember what God has already done for you. Jesus gave up everything so you could have everything. He died so you could live forever. That alone is worthy of your continual thanks and praise. Never again should you wonder what you have to be thankful for.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 13

Day 13  Worship That Pleases God

God doesn't want a part of your life. He asks for all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. God is not interested in halfhearted commitment, partial obedience, and the leftovers of your time and money. He desires your full devotion, not little bits of your life.

A Samaritan woman once tried to debate Jesus on the best time, place, and style for worship. Jesus replied that these external issues are irrelevant. Where you worship is not as important as why you worship and how much of yourself you offer to God when you worship. The Bible says, Let us be grateful and worship God in a way that will please him. The kind of worship that pleases God has four characteristics: God is pleased when our worship is accurate. God is pleased when our worship is authentic. God is pleased when our worship is thoughtful. And God is pleased when our worship is practical.

When Jesus said, Love God with all your strength, he pointed out that worship takes effort and energy. It is not always convenient or comfortable, and sometimes worship is a sheer act of the will a willing sacrifice.

When you praise God even when you don't feel like it, when you get out of bed to worship when you're tired, or when you help others when you are worn out, you are offering a sacrifice of worship to God. That pleases God.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 12

Day 12  ....  (Friendship With God)

 

You are as close to God as you choose to be. Like any friendship, you must work at developing your friendship with God. It won't happen by accident. It takes desire, time, and energy. The first building block of a deeper friendship with God is complete honesty about your faults and your feelings. God doesn't expect you to be perfect, but he does insist on complete honesty. None of God's friends in the Bible were perfect. If perfection was a requirement for friendship with God, we would never be able to be his friends. Fortunately, because of God's grace, Jesus is still the friend of sinners.

Every time you trust God's wisdom and do whatever he says, even when you don't understand it, you deepen your friendship with God. We don't normally think of obedience as a characteristic of friendship; that's reserved for relationships with a parent or the boss or a superior officer, not a friend. However, Jesus made it clear that obedience is a condition of intimacy with God. He said, You are my friends if you do what I command.

There is nothing absolutely nothing more important than developing a friendship with God. Paul told Timothy, "Some of these people have missed the most important thing in life they don't know God. Have you been missing out on the most important thing in life? You can do something about it starting now. Remember, it's your choice. You are as close to God as you choose to be.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 11

Day 11-- Becoming Best Friends with God

 

Your relationship to God has many different aspects: God is your Creator and Maker, Lord and Master, Judge, Redeemer, Father, Savior, and much more. But the most shocking truth is this: Almighty God yearns to be your Friend!

Friendship with God is possible only because of the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus. The old hymn says, "What a friend we have in Jesus," but actually, God invites us to enjoy friendship and fellowship with all three persons of the Trinity: our Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." The word for friend in this verse does not mean a casual acquaintance but a close, trusted relationship. The same word is used to refer to the best man at a wedding and a king's inner circle of intimate, trusted friends. In royal courts, servants must keep their distance from the king, but the inner circle of trusted friends enjoy close contact, direct access, and confidential information.

Knowing and loving God is our greatest privilege, and being known and loved is God's greatest pleasure. God says, "If any want to boast, they should boast that they know and understand me. These are the things that please me."

Purpose Driven Life - Day 10

Day 10 --- The Heart of Worship

 

The heart of worship is surrender. In today's competitive culture we are taught to never give up and never give in--so we don't hear much about surrendering. If winning is everything, surrendering is unthinkable. We would rather talk about winning, succeeding, overcoming, and conquering than yielding, submitting, obeying, and surrendering. But surrendering to God is the heart of worship.

We give ourselves to him, not out of fear or duty, but in love, "because he first loved us." True worship--bringing God pleasure--happens when you give yourself completely to God. As Joshua approached the biggest battle of his life, he encountered God, fell in worship before him, and surrendered his plans. That surrender led to a stunning victory at Jericho. This is the paradox: Victory comes through surrender. Surrender doesn't weaken you; it strengthens you. William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, said, "The greatness of a man's power is the measure of his surrender." Surrender is not the best way to live; it is the only way to live.

Surrendered people are the ones God uses. God chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus, not because she was talented or wealthy or beautiful, but because she was totally surrendered to him. When the angel explained God's improbable plan, she calmly responded, "I am the Lord's servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants." Nothing is more powerful than a surrendered life in the hands of God. "So give yourselves completely to God"

Purpose Driven Life - Day 9

Day 9..What Makes God Smile

The smile of God is the goal of your life.

Since pleasing God is the first purpose of your life, your most important task is to discover how to do that. The Bible says, "Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it." Today, we'll learn the five acts of worship that make God smile. God smiles when we love him supremely. God smiles when we trust him completely. God smiles when we obey him wholeheartedly. God smiles when we praise and thank him continually. And God smiles when we use our abilities.

You may feel that the only time God is pleased with you is when you're doing "spiritual" activities--like reading the Bible, attending church, praying, or sharing your faith. And you may think God is unconcerned about the other parts of your life. Actually, God enjoys watching every detail of your life, whether you are working, playing, resting, or eating. He doesn't miss a single move you make. The Bible tells us, "The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD. He delights in every detail of their lives." Every human activity, except sin, can be done for God's pleasure if you do it with the attitude of praise.

Will you make pleasing God the goal of your life? There is nothing that God won't do for the person totally absorbed with this goal.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 8

Day 8 -- Planned For God's Pleasure

 

The moment you were born into the world, God was there as an unseen witness, smiling at your birth. He wanted you alive, and your arrival gave him great pleasure. God did not need to create you, but he chose to create you for his own enjoyment. You exist for his benefit, his glory, his purpose, and his delight.

Bringing enjoyment to God, living for his pleasure, is the first purpose of your life. When you fully understand this truth, you will never again have a problem with feeling insignificant. It proves your worth. You are a child of God, and you bring pleasure to God like nothing else he has ever created. The Bible says, "Because of his love God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his children--this was his pleasure and purpose." We often forget that God has emotions, too. He feels things very deeply. The Bible tells us that God grieves, gets jealous and angry, and feels compassion, pity, and sympathy as well as happiness, gladness, and satisfaction.

Anything you do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship. Like a diamond, worship is multifaceted. Worship is not a part of your life - it is your life. We are told to "worship him continually" and to "praise him from sunrise to sunset." Praise should be the first activity when you open your eyes in the morning and the last activity when you close them at night. David said, "I will thank the Lord at all times. My mouth will always praise him."

Purpose Driven Life - Day 7

Day 7  -- The Reason for Everything

 

The ultimate goal of the universe is to show the glory of God. It is the reason for everything that exists, including you. God made it all for his glory. Without God's glory, there would be nothing.

The glory of God is who God is. It is the essence of his nature, the weight of his importance, the radiance of his splendor, the demonstration of his power, and the atmosphere of his presence. God's glory is best seen in Jesus Christ. He, the Light of the world, illuminates God's nature. Because of Jesus, we are no longer in the dark about what God is really like

There are many ways to bring glory to God, but they can be summarized in God's five purposes for your life. We bring God glory by worshiping him, loving other believers, becoming like Christ, serving others with our gifts, and by telling others about him.

It's time to settle this issue. Who are you going to live for--yourself or God? Right now, God is inviting you to live for his glory by fulfilling the purposes he made you for. Real life begins by committing yourself completely to Jesus Christ. If you are not sure you have done this, all you need to do is receive and believe. The Bible promises, "To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." Will you accept God's offer?

Purpose Driven Life - Day 6

Day 6-- Life is a Temporary Assignment

 

To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths: First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. You won't be here long, so don't get too attached. Ask God to help you see life on earth as he sees it. David prayed, "Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more."

In order to keep us from becoming too attached to earth, God allows us to feel a significant amount of discontent and dissatisfaction in life--longings that will never be fulfilled on this side of eternity. We're not completely happy here because we're not supposed to be! Earth is not our final home; we were created for something much better.

In God's eyes, the greatest heroes of faith are not those who achieve prosperity, success, and power in this life, but those who treat this life as a temporary assignment and serve faithfully, expecting their promised reward in eternity. Your time on earth is not the complete story of your life. You must wait until heaven for the rest of the chapters. It takes faith to live on earth as a foreigner.

When life gets tough, when you're overwhelmed with doubt, or when you wonder if living for Christ is worth the effort, remember that you are not home yet. At death you won't leave home--you'll go home.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 5

Day 5 .. Seeing Life From God's View

 

How you define life determines your destiny. The way you view life is your life metaphor. It's your description of how life works and what you expect from it; it influences your life more than you realize and determines your expectations, values, relationships, goals, and priorities.

To fulfill the purposes God has for you, you will have to base your view on the biblical metaphors of life. These are: Life is a test, life is a trust, and life is a temporary assignment.

Life is a test. God continually tests people's character, faith, obedience, love, integrity, and loyalty. Character is both developed and revealed, and all of life is a test. When you understand that life is a test, you realize that every day is important. God wants you to pass the tests of life, so he never allows the tests to be greater than the grace he gives you to handle them.

Life is a trust. We are to be stewards of whatever God gives us. All we enjoy is to be treated as a trust that God has placed in our hands. If you treat everything as a trust, God promises three rewards in eternity: affirmation, promotion, and celebration.

Life is a test and a trust; the more God gives you, the more responsible he expects you to be.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 4

Day 4   Made to Last Forever

 

This life is not all there is. Life on earth is just the dress rehearsal before the real production. You will spend far more time on the other side of death--in eternity--than you will here. This life is preparation for the next.

The Bible says "God has planted eternity in the human heart. You have an inborn instinct that longs for immortality. This is because God designed you, in his image, to live for eternity. Even though we know everyone eventually dies, death always seems unnatural and unfair. The reason we feel we should live forever is that God wired our brains with that desire!

Just as the nine months you spent in your mother's womb were not an end in themselves but preparation for life, so this life is preparation for the next. If you have a relationship with God through Jesus, you don't need to fear death. The Bible says, "This world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven."

Measured against eternity, our time on earth is just a blink of an eye, but the consequences of it will last forever. Years ago a popular slogan encouraged people to live each day as "the first day of the rest of your life." Actually, it would be wiser to live each day as if it were the last day of your life. Matthew Henry said, "It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day."

Purpose Driven Life - Day 3

Day 3:  What Drives Your Life?

 

Everyone's life is driven by something. Most dictionaries define the verb drive as "to guide, to control, or to direct." Whether you are driving a car, a nail, or a golf ball, you are guiding, controlling, and directing it at that moment. What is the driving force in your life?

This forty-day journey will show you how to live a purpose-driven life--a life guided, controlled, and directed by God's purposes. Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction, and events without reason.

There are five great benefits of living a purpose-driven life: Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life, simplifies your life, focuses your life, motivates your life. And knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity.

Many people spend their lives trying to create a lasting legacy on earth. Yet, what ultimately matters most will not be what others say about your life but what God says. In college James Dobson's goal was to become the school's tennis champion. He felt proud when his trophy was prominently placed in the school's trophy cabinet. Years later, someone mailed him that trophy. They had found it in a trashcan when the school was remodeled. Jim said, "Given enough time, all your trophies will be trashed by someone else!" Living to create an earthly legacy is a shortsighted goal. A wiser use of time is to build an eternal legacy. You weren't put on earth to be remembered. You were put here to prepare for eternity.

Purpose Driven Life - Day 2

Day 2:  You Are Not An Accident

 

Your birth was no mistake or mishap, and your life is no fluke of nature. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. He was not at all surprised by your birth. In fact, he expected it. God never does anything accidentally, and he never makes mistakes. He has a reason for everything he creates. God planned every plant and every animal, and every person was designed with a purpose in mind. God's motive for creating you was his love. The Bible says, "Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love." Dr. Michael Denton, senior research fellow in human molecular genetics at the University of Otago in New Zealand, has concluded, "All the evidence available in the biological sciences supports the core proposition -- that the cosmos is a specially designed whole with life and mankind as its fundamental goal and purpose, a whole in which all facets of reality have their meaning and explanation in this central fact." The Bible said the same thing thousands of years earlier: "God formed the earth -- He did not create it to be empty but formed it to be inhabited." Why did God do all this? Why did he bother to go to all the trouble of creating a universe for us? Because he is a God of love. This kind of love is difficult to fathom, but it's fundamentally reliable. You were created as a special object of God's love! God made you so he could love you. This is a truth to build your life on.