Life of Purpose

Chuckle: A children's Sunday school class was studying the Ten Commandments. They were ready to discuss the last one. The teacher asked if anyone could tell her what it was. Susie raised her hand, stood tall, and quoted, "Thou shall not take the covers off thy neighbor's wife."

Good Quote: "The nearer a person approaches the Lord, a greater power will be manifested by the adversary to prevent the accomplishment of His purposes." --Orson Ferguson Whitney

LIFE OF PURPOSE

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in a secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (Psalm 139:13-16 NIV).

If we go through life without realizing and fulfilling the purposes God intended for us, we risk coming to the end of our lives without peace, fulfillment, and completeness. Even if we achieve great success by worldly standards, at the end of our lives, we might have to say, "I have reached the top rung of the ladder -- only to learn I had placed the ladder against the wrong wall."

Rick Warren has written a best-selling book, "The Purpose Driven Life." He also published a booklet, "Meditations On the Purpose Driven Life." You may have read this book and, if so, I'm certain it changed your life. I'm taking the liberty of summarizing the purposes for which you and I were created -- taken from the "meditations" booklet.

WORSHIP: You were planned for God's pleasure! "After all this, there is only one thing to say: Have reverence for God, and obey his commands, because this is all that we were created for" (Ecclesiastes 12:13 TEV).

FELLOWSHIP: You were formed for a family! "It was a happy day for him when he gave us our new lives, through the truth of his Word, and we became, as it were, the first children in his new family" (James 1:18 LB).

DISCIPLESHIP: You were created to become like Christ! "God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son . . . We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him" (Romans 8:29 The Message).

MINISTRY: You were shaped for serving God! "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10 NIV).

EVANGELISM: You were made for a mission! "Jesus said, '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 everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age'" (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV).

If you have further interest in the study of God's purposes for your life, I recommend you get a copy of Rick Warren's book, "The Purpose Driven Life." It is potentially a life-changing read.

Have a great day as you reflect on God's purposes for your life!

Love, Jerry & Dotse