Day 5
Point to ponder: Life is a test and a trust.
Verse to remember: Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won't be faithful in large ones. Luke 16: 10a(NLT) To apply these concepts to our daily lives in itself is a test. Think of the affect it would have on our lives if we remembered these two simple truths in every little thing we do, say , think,and feel. And to consider everything "we own" to be really just borrowed from God. "MY" house becomes His. "My" car( leaking fluids and needing tires etc..) belongs to him. "My" clothes, bed, toothbrush, HIS. "My" body , breath, Soul His again. My broken heart, His. I'm supposed to be taking care of it all, He's trusting me to take care of it all. Boy do I feel like a failure right about now.
Question to consider: What has happened to me recently that I now realize was a test from God? What are the greatest matters God has entrusted to me?We recently had a visitor at church who delivered "a message from God" to our congregation. Now I don't know who he was and his message was for us to be ready for future events. Some considered Him loony. But I heard the message and I was in awe that God could be literally sending our church a direct message. I think it could have been a test for all present. How open are we to the Holy Spirit? Do we recognize when God is speaking to us? Will we hear Him? I have to say I'm not so confident in my ability to hear a loud message sent from God let alone His still small voice. All I know to do is to seek. He promises if we seek him We will find him. If we knock he will open the door. At any rate it opened my eyes to some of my spiritual needs.
The greatest matters God has entrusted to me are my children. This to is a matter I have to keep in His hands,and remember thy are His children I am just to care for them to the best of my ability and put the rest in His hands. Most importantly I am to love them and allow Him to love them through me.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Day 4
Point to ponder: There is more to life than just here and now.
Verse to remember: This world is fading away along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever. 1 John 2:17(NLT)
I agree with what Rick said on p. 27-28" The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears....You place a higher premium on relationships and character instead of fame or wealth or achievements or even fun. Your priorities are reordered." A few years ago God really started convicting me of how important the relationships in our lives are. How in each one whether it be with mom, dad, sister, cousin, lifelong friend, church family, others children, etc they can all show me a different side of Gods love. His love is so complete that it takes all of these different types of love relationships to describe or reveal IT. Of course Humans in themselves can't fully do The revealing of God's love a whole lot of justice. But we Have Jesus to look to for an example. He was sent to reveal the Father. So often we focus on our actions or others actions and when we do this we lose focus of the unconditional love that's involved in our relationship with God and should be involved with our relationship with others ( I'm talking to me now, It's so easy for me to point my finger and condemn others for the speck in their eye when I've got this beam sticking out of my own eye )We put up walls when we do this and the relationship is marred with untruest. How do you trust those who hurt you? Purposely hurt you again and again and again.? Are we required to trust again? I know we have to forgive but I don't think forgiveness means putting yourself in the same situation to be hurt over and over again. We can forgive and keep our distance and even show kindness without allowing them to hurt us. OK. OK sorry I've strayed from the subject at hand.
I like this quote to" To make the most of your life, You must keep the vision of eternity continually in your mind and the value of it in your heart." and this one " We will enjoy unbroken fellowship with God, and he will enjoy us for an unlimited, endless forever." How awesome to think of spending eternity with the one who knows everything about me and still loves me and was willing to die for me in spite of all He knows. If I could only love that good then maybe I could deserve it. Thank God I don't have to deserve it,( I never will I need Jesus' character to cover me) but he gives me salvation any way.
Question to consider: Since I was made to last forever what is the one thing I should stop doing and the one thing I should start doing today?
I pray God will reveal the answers to these questions today and daily as we grow our relationship with Him.
Point to ponder: There is more to life than just here and now.
Verse to remember: This world is fading away along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever. 1 John 2:17(NLT)
I agree with what Rick said on p. 27-28" The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears....You place a higher premium on relationships and character instead of fame or wealth or achievements or even fun. Your priorities are reordered." A few years ago God really started convicting me of how important the relationships in our lives are. How in each one whether it be with mom, dad, sister, cousin, lifelong friend, church family, others children, etc they can all show me a different side of Gods love. His love is so complete that it takes all of these different types of love relationships to describe or reveal IT. Of course Humans in themselves can't fully do The revealing of God's love a whole lot of justice. But we Have Jesus to look to for an example. He was sent to reveal the Father. So often we focus on our actions or others actions and when we do this we lose focus of the unconditional love that's involved in our relationship with God and should be involved with our relationship with others ( I'm talking to me now, It's so easy for me to point my finger and condemn others for the speck in their eye when I've got this beam sticking out of my own eye )We put up walls when we do this and the relationship is marred with untruest. How do you trust those who hurt you? Purposely hurt you again and again and again.? Are we required to trust again? I know we have to forgive but I don't think forgiveness means putting yourself in the same situation to be hurt over and over again. We can forgive and keep our distance and even show kindness without allowing them to hurt us. OK. OK sorry I've strayed from the subject at hand.
I like this quote to" To make the most of your life, You must keep the vision of eternity continually in your mind and the value of it in your heart." and this one " We will enjoy unbroken fellowship with God, and he will enjoy us for an unlimited, endless forever." How awesome to think of spending eternity with the one who knows everything about me and still loves me and was willing to die for me in spite of all He knows. If I could only love that good then maybe I could deserve it. Thank God I don't have to deserve it,( I never will I need Jesus' character to cover me) but he gives me salvation any way.
Question to consider: Since I was made to last forever what is the one thing I should stop doing and the one thing I should start doing today?
I pray God will reveal the answers to these questions today and daily as we grow our relationship with Him.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Day 3
Point to ponder: Living on purpose is the path to peace.
Verse to remember: You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you. Is 26:3 (TEV)
Point to ponder: Living on purpose is the path to peace.
Verse to remember: You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you. Is 26:3 (TEV)
Wow! I Can totally relate to this chapter. I'm sure at different times in my life I've been driven by all five of these. Probably we all have. I most relate to to being driven by fear , guilt, and the need for others approval. That last one especially. I really hate for someone to be disappointed in me, or to think badly about me. That's why I have such a hard time saying no. Then I end up so stressed because I have too much on my plate. I've been feeling that a lot lately. I know I'm in over my head but I can't decide what I should give up because their all such good things to be involved in and I enjoy doing them. I have to admit I feel a little relieved to think this journey could help me decide. I like to be involved in things and often when I 'm not I feel left out.
The benefits of a purpose driven life sound pretty good to especially about simplifying my life.I like what Rick says on p. 31 " You just have enough time to do God's will. If you can't get it all done, it means you're trying to do more than God intended for you to do... Purpose-driven living leads to a simpler lifestyle and a saner schedule...It also leads to peace of mind." just reading that fills me with peace.
Question to Consider: What would my family and friends say is the driving force of my Life? What do I want it to be?
I'm not sure what family and friends would say. I definitely want it to be God's will. I could use some serious peace. I want to prepare for eternity.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Day 2
Point to ponder: I am not an accident.
Verse to Remember: I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born." Is 44:2(CEV)
I like what Rick says on page 23" God knew that those two individuals possessed exactly the right genetic makeup to create the custom 'you' he had in mind. They had the DNA God wanted to make you." I never thought of it in those terms before. I think he's getting a little to deep in the predestination theme. What do you think. I mean I believe God created me to be a certain way with certain talents etc. But He also gave us free will, and well I admit my free will takes me in the opposite direction than God has in mind all to often. I just don't believe that every thing that happens in this world is God's will. I don't believe that rape is god's will or death etc. They are all results of someone making the choice to go against God's will. They are all just a part of living in this sinful self centered world. When He created it it wasn't His intention that man would sin but he did,and we live with those consequences. Think about the Lords Prayer. Jesus prayed " Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven" . This tells me that God will is being done in heaven but not here on earth otherwise why would he have to ask for it . Maybe I'm getting off the subject a little. Yes God created me on purpose with certain talents and the desire to have a relationship with him( deep inside we all seek him we just don't always know He is what we're looking for)and if I commit and grow in that relationship with him I will become more of the person with the character He had in mind for me . Ultimately His character" LOVE" Pure unselfish unconditional love. It's hard to imagine I could ever be that loving but with Gods help I can. I can tell you this "He's still working on me to make me what I ought to be..."( it's a song la la la).
Question to consider: I know that God uniquely created me. What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?
I don't want to be the person that I am. I don't like the thoughts I have, or the way I react to things that I don't like. I don't want to have a bad attitude. I don't want to be afraid of what others think of me of that maybe I disappointed them. I want to be happy. I want to always have a song in my heart.I want to see people through Gods eyes not mine.I want to have compassion for others. I want people to walk away from me with a smile on their face and knowing that they are loved. I want His character in me so others will want to know more about Him because they saw Him in me. But all too often, no most of the time , they just see me. Just Me.
Prayer:God Please help me(us) to see others through your eyes. As a christian I(we) want others to see a true representation of your love in me(us).
Point to ponder: I am not an accident.
Verse to Remember: I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born." Is 44:2(CEV)
I like what Rick says on page 23" God knew that those two individuals possessed exactly the right genetic makeup to create the custom 'you' he had in mind. They had the DNA God wanted to make you." I never thought of it in those terms before. I think he's getting a little to deep in the predestination theme. What do you think. I mean I believe God created me to be a certain way with certain talents etc. But He also gave us free will, and well I admit my free will takes me in the opposite direction than God has in mind all to often. I just don't believe that every thing that happens in this world is God's will. I don't believe that rape is god's will or death etc. They are all results of someone making the choice to go against God's will. They are all just a part of living in this sinful self centered world. When He created it it wasn't His intention that man would sin but he did,and we live with those consequences. Think about the Lords Prayer. Jesus prayed " Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven" . This tells me that God will is being done in heaven but not here on earth otherwise why would he have to ask for it . Maybe I'm getting off the subject a little. Yes God created me on purpose with certain talents and the desire to have a relationship with him( deep inside we all seek him we just don't always know He is what we're looking for)and if I commit and grow in that relationship with him I will become more of the person with the character He had in mind for me . Ultimately His character" LOVE" Pure unselfish unconditional love. It's hard to imagine I could ever be that loving but with Gods help I can. I can tell you this "He's still working on me to make me what I ought to be..."( it's a song la la la).
Question to consider: I know that God uniquely created me. What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?
I don't want to be the person that I am. I don't like the thoughts I have, or the way I react to things that I don't like. I don't want to have a bad attitude. I don't want to be afraid of what others think of me of that maybe I disappointed them. I want to be happy. I want to always have a song in my heart.I want to see people through Gods eyes not mine.I want to have compassion for others. I want people to walk away from me with a smile on their face and knowing that they are loved. I want His character in me so others will want to know more about Him because they saw Him in me. But all too often, no most of the time , they just see me. Just Me.
Prayer:God Please help me(us) to see others through your eyes. As a christian I(we) want others to see a true representation of your love in me(us).
Day 1:
Point to ponder: It's not about me.
This is such a simple concept yet it defies every ounce of our self centered lives. If we could just remember this in everything that we do, think, and say how easily surrender to God would be. Even though I know without a shadow of a doubt that any and every thing God plans for my life is the absolute best thing for me, self still gets in the way. It's like what Paul said in his writings,the things I want to do I don't do and the things I don't want to do I do( I know it's not an exact quote and I didn't give a reference either and I'm not sure but it could have been Peter and not Paul that wrote it. But I think its in Romans. I know I know I'm just being to lazy to look it up). Any way You get what I'm saying,Right?
Verse to Remember: Everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him. Col. 1 : 16(Msg)
This verse takes me back to Genesis and creation. Why did God create us? I believe He created us so he could love us and be loved by us. Not that the trinity wasn't in a loving relationship already with each other but they wanted to share that love with others. Kinda like a family. A couple starts out in marriage as two but pretty soon they want to share their love with another so they have children and so on. That's one way that we are created in Gods image. We desire to love others and receive love in return. We were created to be social being in that way. God placed in us a desire to love and be loved. But we also have the freedom to choose whom we will love. Will we love ourselves more than He or others. Unfortunately this is to often the case.
Question to consider: In spite of all the advertising around me, how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God, not myself ?
Well I guess one direct way would be to avoid as much of that advertising as possible. Another thing might be to make some advertisement of my own and place it in highly visible places around the house in the car etc. Most importantly I need to be in prayer AMAP(as much as possible). And I need to surrender to God every day, every time I pray. I like to sing so I'll probably sing about it a little too.
Point to ponder: It's not about me.
This is such a simple concept yet it defies every ounce of our self centered lives. If we could just remember this in everything that we do, think, and say how easily surrender to God would be. Even though I know without a shadow of a doubt that any and every thing God plans for my life is the absolute best thing for me, self still gets in the way. It's like what Paul said in his writings,the things I want to do I don't do and the things I don't want to do I do( I know it's not an exact quote and I didn't give a reference either and I'm not sure but it could have been Peter and not Paul that wrote it. But I think its in Romans. I know I know I'm just being to lazy to look it up). Any way You get what I'm saying,Right?
Verse to Remember: Everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him. Col. 1 : 16(Msg)
This verse takes me back to Genesis and creation. Why did God create us? I believe He created us so he could love us and be loved by us. Not that the trinity wasn't in a loving relationship already with each other but they wanted to share that love with others. Kinda like a family. A couple starts out in marriage as two but pretty soon they want to share their love with another so they have children and so on. That's one way that we are created in Gods image. We desire to love others and receive love in return. We were created to be social being in that way. God placed in us a desire to love and be loved. But we also have the freedom to choose whom we will love. Will we love ourselves more than He or others. Unfortunately this is to often the case.
Question to consider: In spite of all the advertising around me, how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God, not myself ?
Well I guess one direct way would be to avoid as much of that advertising as possible. Another thing might be to make some advertisement of my own and place it in highly visible places around the house in the car etc. Most importantly I need to be in prayer AMAP(as much as possible). And I need to surrender to God every day, every time I pray. I like to sing so I'll probably sing about it a little too.
Hello! The original intent of this Blog is to share our thoughts and experiances as we study through " The purpose Driven Life" written By Rick Warren. It's a 40 day journey that a small group( made up of christian friends and family) decided to take together. All are welcome to join as we search out God's purpose for our lives and seek His guidence for us individually and as a group if that be the case. May God bless this blog and it's participants.
Stachbe
Stachbe
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)