The Purpose Driven Life : You Are Not An Accident - April 18, 2015

The word and the works of the Lord will not return empty. The lord will use me and fill me for and with His purpose.

Isaiah 41:10     So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Jeremiah 1:5     "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

Psalm 139: 14-16     …14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; 16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.…

James 1:17 - 18     …17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. 18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary     1:12-18 It is not every man who suffers, that is blessed; but he who with patience and constancy goes through all difficulties in the way of duty. Afflictions cannot make us miserable, if it be not our own fault. The tried Christian shall be a crowned one. The crown of life is promised to all who have the love of God reigning in their hearts. Every soul that truly loves God, shall have its trials in this world fully recompensed in that world above, where love is made perfect. The commands of God, and the dealings of his providence, try men's hearts, and show the dispositions which prevail in them. But nothing sinful in the heart or conduct can be ascribed to God. He is not the author of the dross, though his fiery trial exposes it. Those who lay the blame of sin, either upon their constitution, or upon their condition in the world, or pretend they cannot keep from sinning, wrong God as if he were the author of sin. Afflictions, as sent by God, are designed to draw out our graces, but not our corruptions. The origin of evil and temptation is in our own hearts. Stop the beginnings of sin, or all the evils that follow must be wholly charged upon us. God has no pleasure in the death of men, as he has no hand in their sin; but both sin and misery are owing to themselves. As the sun is the same in nature and influences, though the earth and clouds, often coming between, make it seem to us to vary, so God is unchangeable, and our changes and shadows are not from any changes or alterations in him. What the sun is in nature, God is in grace, providence, and glory; and infinitely more. As every good gift is from God, so particularly our being born again, and all its holy, happy consequences come from him. A true Christian becomes as different a person from what he was before the renewing influences of Divine grace, as if he were formed over again. We should devote all our faculties to God's service, that we may be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures.

The Purpose Driven Life : It All Starts With God - April 17, 2015

 

Colossians 1:20     and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Acts 17:28     For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

Romans 8: 5 - 7      …5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,…

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary     8:1-9 Believers may be chastened of the Lord, but will not be condemned with the world. By their union with Christ through faith, they are thus secured. What is the principle of their walk; the flesh or the Spirit, the old or the new nature, corruption or grace? For which of these do we make provision, by which are we governed? The unrenewed will is unable to keep any commandment fully. And the law, besides outward duties, requires inward obedience. God showed abhorrence of sin by the sufferings of his Son in the flesh, that the believer's person might be pardoned and justified. Thus satisfaction was made to Divine justice, and the way of salvation opened for the sinner. By the Spirit the law of love is written upon the heart, and though the righteousness of the law is not fulfilled by us, yet, blessed be God, it is fulfilled in us; there is that in all true believers, which answers the intention of the law. The favor of God, the welfare of the soul, the concerns of eternity, are the things of the Spirit, which those that are after the Spirit do mind. Which way do our thoughts move with most pleasure? Which way go our plans and contrivances? Are we most wise for the world, or for our souls? Those that live in pleasure are dead, 1 Timothy 5:6. A sanctified soul is a living soul; and that life is peace. The carnal mind is not only an enemy to God, but enmity itself. The carnal man may, by the power of Divine grace, be made subject to the law of God, but the carnal mind never can; that must be broken and driven out. We may know our real state and character by inquiring whether we have the Spirit of God and Christ, or not, verse 9. Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. Having the Spirit of Christ, means having a turn of mind in some degree like the mind that was in Christ Jesus, and is to be shown by a life and conversation suitable to his precepts and example.

The Purpose Driven Life : What On Earth Am I Here For? - April 16, 2015

A life with attachments and devotion to "things" is a life wasted

Psalm 40:4     Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.

Jeremiah 17:7     "But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary:     17:5-11 He who puts confidence in man, shall be like the heath in a desert, a naked tree, a sorry shrub, the product of barren ground, useless and worthless. Those who trust to their own righteousness and strength, and think they can do without Christ, make flesh their arm, and their souls cannot prosper in graces or comforts. Those who make God their Hope, shall flourish like a tree always green, whose leaf does not wither. They shall be fixed in peace and satisfaction of mind; they shall not be anxious in a year of drought. Those who make God their Hope, have enough in him to make up the want of all creature-comforts. They shall not cease from yielding fruit in holiness and good works. The heart, the conscience of man, in his corrupt and fallen state, is deceitful above all things. It calls evil good, and good evil; and cries peace to those to whom it does not belong. Herein the heart is desperately wicked; it is deadly, it is desperate. The case is bad indeed, if the conscience, which should set right the errors of other faculties, is a leader in the delusion. We cannot know our own hearts, nor what they will do in an hour of temptation. Who can understand his errors? Much less can we know the hearts of others, or depend upon them. He that believes God's testimony in this matter, and learns to watch his own heart, will find this is a correct, though a sad picture, and learns many lessons to direct his conduct. But much in our own hearts and in the hearts of others, will remain unknown. Yet whatever wickedness there is in the heart, God sees it. Men may be imposed upon, but God cannot be deceived. He that gets riches, and not by right, though he may make them his hope, never shall have joy of them. This shows what vexation it is to a worldly man at death, that he must leave his riches behind; but though the wealth will not follow to another world, guilt will, and everlasting torment. The rich man takes pains to get an estate, and sits brooding upon it, but never has any satisfaction in it; by sinful courses it comes to nothing. Let us be wise in time; what we get, let us get it honestly; and what we have, use it charitably, that we may be wise for eternity.

The Purpose Driven Life: 5 Purposes - April 15, 2015

You were made for a purpose and part of that purpose is to live a life of purpose wholly and pleasing to God!

There are five area of purpose for your life:

1) Worship: We were formed for God's pleasure .

1 Samuel 12:24     But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.

2 ) Fellowship: We were formed to be part of a marvelous family.

Ephesians 1:13     And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,

3) Discipleship: You were created  to become Christ-like.

1 Corinthians 15:49     And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.

4) Ministry: You were dedicated for service to God.

2 Timothy 2:21     Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

5) Evangelism: You have been assigned a mission.

Mark 16:15     He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Acceptance - April 14, 2015

Ephesians 1:6     to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Isaiah 43: 20 -21     20 "The beasts of the field will glorify Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I have given waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My chosen people. 21 "The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise.

Philippians 4:19     And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 1:14     The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

The church is full of "gingerbread men" cookie cutter imitations of what people think it means to be a Christian. Many people imitate the behaviors and follow the plans of others rather than to seek and follow God's plan and purpose for their lives.

God knows and loves you as you are. He does not dole out love based on performance....if he does choose to portion love I would dare to say (hypothetically mind you) it would be based on our honesty about being broken, our honesty about being fearful, our honesty about being frail...

God's love and favor is about returning ALL of who you are back to Him

It Ain't Over - April 13, 2015

 

 

Proverbs 24:16     for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.

2 Corinthians 4:9     persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.         

Psalm 34:19     The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;

Proverbs 14:32     When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous seek refuge in God.

Believers sometimes get frustrated and remove themselves from activities and commitments of the church; this action is often precipitated by their own personal struggles. They tend to throw in the towel, calling the thing finished or hopeless but God say NO WAY! I HAVEN'T BEGUN TO GIVE YOU MY BEST (it's in caps because God sometimes has to shout to get our attention over the noise of our pity party.) You can invite God to the party but He rarely indulges anyone in self-pity; If you want Him to stay you'll have to explain that you have no intentions on getting up so He can share why you must do exactly that...get up!

The essence of this thing that we call "faith" is the belief that of rising again. If you never fall, you can't rise. This doesn't mean that you fall and then wallow in a life less than. It means that when you fall, let it be on your knees, let it be to look to the power of resurrection.  When you fall in faith you can see that the obstacles in life are ever-present but they are also stepping stones to productivity.

I would rather drown in the storm with the disciples on the boat than to play it safe on the shore doing nothing. 

Recovery - April 12, 2015

Hebrew 4:15     For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21     God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Matthew 4:1     Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Romans 8:3     For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh,

Have you ever tried to hold a conversation with someone who is distracted by other things; you know someone who gives you just enough attention to let you know they heard you but they are not fully engaged in the conversation? True fact, pain can't be played out, rehearsed or nursed in the life of a distracted person. Everyone has something that they wish they could forget; the thing to learn from forgetting is that it is the ultimate release and pardon.

Jesus set the woman in Luke 13 free...........He placed her in right standing, made her upright. He released her from her "crippling." God is a 24 hour hotline for healing and deliverance.

Note to you......God never set anyone free that He didn't intend to use mightily!