Sunday, January 5, 2014

January 6, 2014

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2

The key to knowing God's purpose for your life is to know God on purpose. Paul, writing to the Romans, says that if your want to know God's purpose for your life make knowing God your purpose. If you do that, He promises that He will reveal His will for you.

Why is it important to know your purpose for living?

If you are not guided by your purpose, you will be misguided by your personal preferences. A purpose gives you something to live for that is bigger than yourself and what you want. A life guided by personal desires never seems to end well.

If you are not guided by your purpose, you will be misguided by your passions. A purpose takes emotions and emotional decision out of play. How many good decisions have you made when you were overcome by your emotions? A purpose begins with the end in mind and chooses or decides based on what accomplishes your purpose.

If you are not guided by your purpose, you will be misguided by your prejudices. A purpose is based on a process and on principles not on personalities or people. A purpose is focused on arriving at a certain result and prioritizes according to whatever accomplishes the purpose rather your petty personal judgments.

Are you living on purpose? Do you have a clear idea of what your life is to accomplish? If so, it is because you have purposed to know your purpose. You have purposely made knowing God your purpose. That purposeful quest has lifted you above your personal preferences, above your passions and above your prejudices.

Know God, know purpose. No God, no purpose.

January 5, 2014

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2

What if someone offered to trade you his 2014 BMW straight up for your 2005 Toyota Corolla?

Would you take that deal? You certainly would want to check him out and make sure he actually owns the car and has the title and registration for it. But once that all checked out, don't you think you would be eager to make that deal?

If you pass on that deal I hope you would call me so I would have a chance to take it! That would be an amazing deal! You would be exchanging something of high value for something of significantly less value.

Don't hold your breath waiting for a deal like that. I seriously doubt it will happen. Who would take something of less value in trade for something of much greater value?

God would!

This Sunday I will begin a study on finding your purpose. Unfortunately, many people live and die without knowing why they were here. A life is a terrible thing to waste!

One of the first things you need to understand before you find your purpose is your value. You need to know how valuable you are and to whom and how that value is determined. After all, if you don't know your own value, how can you determine the relative worth of yourself against other things of value?

Getting back to my illustration, if you don't know the approximate value of your Corolla or the ballpark value of the BMW, how can you determine what sort of a deal you have been offered?

You could miss out on the deal of your lifetime!

If you want to determine your purpose for being on earth you must understand you value and how that value is determined. You must be prepared to recognize a good offer in case one is made to you!

In Romans 12:1-2, God makes an incredible offer that gives an insight on how He values you.

Here's the deal, He offers to reveal His will and purpose for you if you are willing to surrender your life to Him. You offer yourself to Him and He will give you as much as you can receive of Him!

Wow! That is a deal! You may want to give that some SERIOUS thought!