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Day 36

Day 36
Made for a Mission

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. Acts 20:24

A monastery in Germany trained Christian Brothers for various responsibilities within the Roman Catholic Church. One Christian Brother in training lived in mortal fear of being called upon to preach the chapel service. So, he thought he would cut this off at the pass, and he went to his prior, the chief monk, and he said to him, "Look, I will do any job that you ask me to do. I will go out into the fields, I will fertilize, I will irrigate, I will scrub floors, I will polish silverware, just please do not ask me to preach at the chapel service." Well, the prior said to himself, this is exactly what this guy needs to grow. So he decided to say to him right there on the spot, "Tomorrow you are going to preach the chapel service." Well, he went back to his cell; he did not know what to do. He got up the next morning and he looked into the eyes of his peers, he was so apprehensive and his insides were turning. He was so nervous he did not know what to do, and he started his sermon by asking, "Brothers, do you know what I am going to say?" And they all shook their heads in the negative (no). He continued, "Well, neither do I, let’s stand for the benediction." And they all went out. Well, the prior was so angry he came to him right away and said, "Look I am going to give you another chance tomorrow and you better do it right. You are going to preach the message. This is what you need." So the next day came. The scene was the same. The young man began as he had the day before. "Brothers, do you know what I am going to say?" And they all nodded (yes), they knew he wasn't going to say anything. And he said, "Well, since you already know, there is no point in my saying it, let's stand for the benediction." And they all went out. Well, now the prior was livid with anger and once again he said, "I am tired of your shenanigans. I want you to preach this service or you will go to solitary and just have bread and water. That's it." The third day the scene was the same. The Brother began the way he had the two previous days. He said, "Brothers, do you know what I am going to say?" Well now they are really confused and some were shaking their head yes and others no, and he said, "Well, let those who know tell those who don't, let's stand for the benediction." And out they went.

The fifth purpose of our 40 Days and the key word is the "E" word. Evangelism. And that in and of itself may make most of us want to go out and have a final benediction. We say, "You want me to tell somebody else about God, and about Christ and how they can know him?" But the bottom line of the "E" word is that it is not a suggestion, it is a command.

One day Fulton Sheen, a famous Catholic bishop was in a leper colony over in Africa and he was repulsed by the open cankerous sores that he saw all around him and the lives of everybody there laying in the dirt. He walked by one man lying there and he not only had leprosy, but he had a bunch of other skin diseases and open wounds. As Fulton Sheen leaned over to talk to him, the cross that he was wearing on a chain around his neck broke and the chain broke and the cross fell into the wounds on the man’s leg. He said that for a minute he was repulsed. He wanted to step back. Then all of the sudden, by the power of the Holy Spirit, he said he was filled with overflowing love for this man, this person who had nothing. So he reached into the sore and he took up the cross.

This is what Christianity is all about. It's messy. It's not easy. It sometimes is going to hurt. It's going to repulse us initially. But by God's power and by God's grace we will be able to minister and get past our self-centeredness and our own comfort level. God has promised eternal reward, sheep on one side: goats on the other. What you did to the least of these, you did to me. Did you feed the hungry? Did you clothe the naked? Did you visit the prisoner? Did you go and see the sick and help them? Those are the issues that God will raise in judgment, and so part of our witnessing is going beyond our comfort zone to the hurting and the needy.

We can have four possible responses to this call to be Christ's witnesses everywhere. We can say like Moses, who me? Or we can say like Jonah, not me. Or we can say like Jeremiah, why me? Or we can say like Isaiah, send me. Send me Lord. Let those who know, tell those who don't.

Gracious Lord, I thank you so much for your love that you came, you were sent to me, and I thank you that you come as a shepherd seeking lost sheep, and I know that you are calling me to accept this mission from you. I pray that you will help me be a person of courage to do the right thing and not walk away out of fear or disobedience. Thank you for the privilege of being invited to be a co-laborer for the greatest enterprise of all time, the greatest thing that will last for all eternity. And so I pray Lord, that you would help me from this day forward to walk into your eternal purposes for me, to bring others to me, to fulfill your purpose in my generation and I ask it in Christ's name. Amen.

Point to Ponder: I was made for a mission.

Verse to Remember: 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

React (and share) to the below statements:

  1. What fears have kept me from fulfilling the mission God made me to accomplish?
  2. What keeps me from telling others about the Good News of Jesus?

Day 37

Day 37
Sharing Your Life Message
 
We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.  1 Thessalonians 2:8 
 
How do I share my life message?

The early church grew by leaps and bounds in spite of the fact that they did not have a formal evangelism program or strategy. The earliest Christ-followers knew nothing of visitation night or tent revivals. Yet it was this first generation of believers who literally took the message of Jesus into “all the world.”

How? How did this generation of ordinary believers accomplish such a magnificent task?

They invested themselves in relationships with unbelievers and invited them to Jesus. It’s a theme that is easily seen in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian church.
“You know how we lived among you for your sake” (1 Thessalonians 1:5).
“For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you” (1 Thessalonians 2:3). 
“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us” (1 Thessalonians 2:8).

 
In order to bring lost people to Jesus, we must love them enough to share with them not only words about Jesus but our very lives as well. Effective evangelism is not a complex system of formulas and strategies; it is the result of a believer befriending an unbeliever for the purpose of pointing that person to Jesus.

Rapport and warmth must be cultivated so that the individual trusts our statements and feels comfortable discussing such personal and far-reaching matters with us.  In other words, meaningful evangelism takes place among friends more easily than it does among mere acquaintances.  The make-a-pronouncement-to-a-stranger approach to evangelism is the exception to the rule.  Have-a-personal-discussion-with-a-friend is the rule.

This rule leads to two other suggestions.  First, we should concentrate much of our witnessing among those with whom we are already friends.  Second, when we have an opportunity to witness to a stranger, we ought to make every effort to become their friend so that our message is not hindered because there is no context of friendship.

We must remember that others "read" us as people besides hearing what we say. If they don't like what they “read” they may close their minds to our message as well.  Our message always comes to them as part of a total package, which includes our manners, integrity, habits, even our appearance and smell, and much more.  Even though our message is 100 percent truth, our package may be only 40 percent friendly.
Our friendship must be natural and consistent.  It dare not be the cheap, "hello buddy" friendliness of some sales clerks who have memorized friendly sounding phrases and pasted on a smile.  Such instant friendliness creates suspicion rather than trust.  And if the person on the receiving end suspects us he will suspect our message too. 

Sharing your “Life Message”

There are four different parts to your life message. They are:

Your Testimony-the story of how you began a relationship with Jesus.
What my life was like before I met Jesus. Unless you were baptized as an infant and have been a Christian all your life – then share when you woke up to God working in your life.
How and when I realized I needed Jesus.
How and when I began to take seriously my committed life to Jesus.
The difference Jesus has made in my life.

Your Life Lessons-the most important lessons God has taught you.
What has God taught me through failure?
What has God taught me through a lack of money?
What has God taught me through pain or sorrow or depression?
What has God taught me through waiting?
What has God taught me through illness?
What has God taught me through disappointment?
What have I learned from my family, my church, my relationships, & my critics?

Your Godly Passions-the issues God shaped you to care about the most.

The Good News-the message of salvation.

One Final Thought
Our desire to tell others about God is probably related to our own relationship with him, if it’s no big deal, well then we won’t feel any desire to tell others. But if we understand what God has done for us through his son Jesus and God’s amazing love, then we will want to share this great news with others. So you could say that telling others about God is a by-product of our relationship with him.
 
Dear Lord, Speak through me and what you have done in my life and are in the process of still doing in my life.  Help me share you with the people You have already put in my life who do not know You.  Help me share myself with them and befriend them so that they can see You.  Amen
 
Point to Ponder:  God wants to say something to the world through me.
 
Verse to Remember:  Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect.  1 Peter 3:15-16
 
Questions to reflect and respond to:
Respond (and share) to the statements below:
Who has God placed in my path that He wants me to develop a friendship with and share with?
 
 

Day 38

Day 38
Becoming a World-Class Christian
 
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.  When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore 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 28:16-20
 
It was a Jew who brought the Gospel to Rome; a Roman who took it to France; a Frenchman who took it to Scandinavia; a Scotsman who evangelized Ireland; and an Irishman who in turn made the missionary conquest of Scotland. Most people have received the gospel at the hands of an alien.
 
Every Christian is called to mission. The Gospel commission is your commission. God needs us to accept this call.
 
Do you realize that 97% of the world has heard of Coca-Cola; 72% of the world has seen a can of Coca-Cola; 51% of the world has tasted a can of Coca-Cola; yet Coke has only been around 80 years! If God had given the task of world evangelization to the Coca-Cola Company it would be almost finished by now.
 
The story is told about a little boy who saw a brightly colored poster advertising a circus that was coming to his town. He rushed home and asked his dad if he could go. His dad gave him a list of chores to do. He said if he did the chores, he could go. As the week unfolded, the boy worked hard and completed his chores. Saturday came, and his father gave him a dollar bill in payment for the chores he had done.
 
The little boy ran to town. Just as he turned the corner, he saw it. It was a circus parade. There was a marching band, trailers pulling caged, wild animals. There were acrobats turning somersaults and jumping into the air. There were people with all kinds of unusual costumes.
 
The little boy, never having seen a circus, stood there, his mouth hanging open in awe of what he saw. Finally, when the last clown passed, he rushed to the clown and gave him his dollar. He thought he had been to the circus, but he had only seen the parade.
 
If we think that the good news of the Gospel is just for our city and neighborhood, if we think the kingdom is simply about what God can do for us here, we may think we've been to the circus, but we've only seen the parade. God calls us to be world-class Christians.
 
I. The Authority of Jesus.
"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshipped Him, but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me'" (28:16-18).
 
"Authority" is one of Matthew's favorite words for describing Jesus, and it means "executive power." When Jesus claims to have all executive power, not only in heaven but also on earth, He means to declare for Himself complete and total control over the entire universe. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
 
Christ had already demonstrated this authority during His earthly ministry. He revealed His authority over illness when He restored sight to the blind and enabled the lame to walk again. He revealed His authority over the elements when He calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee. He showed forth His authority over evil when He cast out spirits from the Gadarenes demoniacs who were possessed, and He revealed His authority over sin when He said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven."
 
The Bible says that all spiritual, social, political, and economic authority ultimately are in the hands of Jesus, no matter how powerful and important any of us may feel.
 
II. The Commission of Jesus.
"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore 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'" (28:18-20).
 
The incredible claim of our Lord to possess all authority in verse 18 leads to the incredible commission He gives to His disciples in verse 19. Christ charges His followers to undertake an international mission of global proportions. They are to go into all the world to make disciples of all the nations, all the peoples, all the ethnic groups of the world. Notice how many times the word "all" is used in this passage - it is an all-encompassing mandate.
 
I think that it is interesting to note that Jesus did not use the usual missionary terms when He sent His disciples out into the world with the Great Commission. He did not say "preach the Gospel," or "convert the lost," or "win the world." Rather, our Lord chose a slower and lower profile verb, and he used an almost scholastic or schoolish word when He said "make disciples."  That is the goal. The Great Commission is not about getting people to pray a prayer, or join the church, or walk an aisle. It is about guiding people into a life-long, maturing relationship of discipleship with the living God of the universe through the person of Jesus Christ. It is about cultivating the character of Christ in people with the view in mind that they will become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. To the extent that methods of evangelism encourage that result, they are good methods; and to the extent that they discourage that result, they should be brought into question.
 
III. The Presence of Jesus.
"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (28:20).
 
As we consider the last verse of this passage, I want you to notice that the text begins with a reference to the disciples now being 11 in number. One is missing. There were originally 12 disciples whom Christ called to follow Him. The missing one is Judas. Eleven is not a good number in the Bible. Twelve is a good number: the 12 tribes of Israel; the 12 gates into the city of Jerusalem; the 12 kinds of fruit on the Tree of Life; the 12 Disciples of Christ. Eleven may be a good number for a football team, but it is not a good number in the Bible. Yet it is to these 11 disciples, the "limping eleven," the ones who the passage says worshipped Christ, but some doubted - these are the people to whom Christ gives His Great Commission.
 
The reason I think that it is important to notice the number of the disciples is to emphasize the fact that it was into their state of brokenness, their limping through life as it were, that Christ gave His commission. Our Lord did not give this mandate to a successful group of people who had it all together. They had all abandoned Jesus in His most critical hour of need, and yet it is to these same failing people that our Lord issued His glorious charge.
 
What this says to us is that you and I can never say that we are not up to the task of the Great Commission. We cannot shrink back and think that it is up to the spiritual giants of the church to carry out this mission. We can never say that we are short one person, or we need more space, or more parking, or more money, and another tenor in the choir, or another leader for the youth group. We cannot say, "I'll go when I have my act together," or when I learn more of the Bible, or when I can overcome that sin in my life or when my doubts about God are cleared up. No; we can say none of that. Christ gave His Great Commission to the limping 11, and He said, "Go into all the world!" Our Lord did not allow them to respond, "But we're not whole yet. We haven't got all the pieces in place." He said, "Go," and He gave them the assurance that He would be with them every step of the way.
 
It is the promised presence of Christ that gives us the confidence we need to carry out the Great Commission. You and I are not adequate to the task in and of ourselves, but in the power, the presence, and with the authority of Christ we can do the job.
 
When David Livingstone volunteered as a missionary with the London Missionary Society in 1840, they asked him where he would like to go, and his response was, "Anywhere, so long as it is forward." May that be the attitude of our hearts. 
 
Lord help me see your big picture of going to ALL nations to bring your presence.  Help me to have a passion to seek ALL to TELL your story.  Amen
 
Point to Ponder:  The Great Commission is my commission.
 
Verse to Remember:  Send us around the world with the news of your saving power and your eternal plan for all mankind.  Psalm 67:2
 
Questions to reflect and respond to:
Respond (and share) to the statements below:
  • What steps can I take to prepare to go on a short-term missions experience in the next year?
  • How can God use me to reach others beyond my community in bringing the Gospel and presence of Jesus?

Day 39

Day 39
Balancing Your Life
 
I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.  "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.  Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.  For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.  I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.  All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.  I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name - the name you gave me - so that they may be one as we are one.  While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.  John 17:4-12 
 
Balance (v): To put or keep in steady position.

I know you have seen this guy.  He's green and wears a Santa suit.  I see him standing there with these huge bags, stuffed beyond capacity and stacked almost to the sky on a tiny sled.  The little sled becomes unbalanced and starts over the edge of the cliff.  Remember this scene? There's the little dog Max, being dragged through the snow trying to regain the balance and keep from going over the edge.

 Those overstuffed bags remind me of what I tend to let happen in my life...my bags are way overloaded. I look like Max as I try to regain the balance.

Would you like to see inside my bag?  Maybe you have a similar bag.  Take a look and you will see things that steal my worship and fellowship times, things that block my path to spiritual growth and discipleship. Things that consume me from service to others. There may be things at times in my bag that deflate my ministry or virtually cancel my mission. Sometimes I "just need to do one more thing" at the office.  One thing leads to another and suddenly my time is gone and I didn't spend the time I wanted with God.

Early in the 40 days study, Rick Warren said he prays about not wasting the day.  That really struck me as I realized Satan creates a "to do" list for me that consists of reasonable chores, but they consume my time and energy so that my spiritual life gets cheated.  And since I never seem to get done, I have things on the list leftover everyday that will have to be done tomorrow, so that even before I go to bed, I am already behind for the next day.

Why is it we tend to major in the minors?  I have a friend who keeps saying, "Keep the main thing the main thing".  He is referring to God and His Kingdom.  Everything else is secondary. 
Each morning our staff prays, and we always end our prayer time with "Lord take our agendas and reshape them and make them yours.  I can't tell you the number of times that things on my agenda were left undone - and probably best that way.  What is exciting are the things that God seems to put on my agenda each day (or before me that I did not plan).  I simply have to be moldable and give Him the time to re-work me.

God shows me a better way, a way that will be long lasting. Instead of acting like Max, tugging hard to bring the overload back into balance, God asks me to cut the rope.  Give Him the overstuffed bags.  He has a different plan. So when the Grinch overloads your bags and throws you out of balance, be smarter than Max...cut the rope and ask God to show you what specifically in your life you need to do to remain balanced. "Blessed are the balanced; they shall outlast everyone."

Of the four activities that Rick Warren suggests for achieving balance, here is a to DO list.  The Great Physician has prescribed that this doctor needs regular spiritual check-ups to continually assess the 5 vital signs (5 purposes) of spiritual health. 

"These Things Do"

That God's word is essential to our salvation is beyond dispute. The Scriptures tell us that the word of God is able to save our souls (James 1:21; Romans 1:16, 10:17). We don't always realize, however, the many ways the word of God can influence us.

The apostle Paul advised Christians, "The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you" (Philippians 4:9). In this single verse, Paul mentions four means by which we gain knowledge of God's word.

The things which you learned.  We learn through study -- the concerted pursuit and application of knowledge. "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).

Learning never comes easily. The person who desires to learn the practice of medicine or law knows that he or she faces many years of training just to gain a minimum of proficiency. Once this level is reached, one must devote oneself to ongoing study in the latest techniques or legislation to remain competent.

For the Christian, the learning phase never ends. We will always need to be Biblical Bloodhounds, to mine the Scriptures for the knowledge that enables "life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3).

The things which you received.  Learning is more than simply the intake of information. "Receive" suggests "embracing" something or "making a thing one's own," which takes us beyond mere understanding of God's word to an implanting of it in our hearts (James 1:21).

I learned many things during years of formal education. But I didn't receive everything I learned, as evidenced by the fact that I've forgotten a good deal of the material. Those things I truly received -- that is, the information I impressed into my mind and put to good use in later years -- I recall to this day.

When Simon Peter preached his great sermon on Pentecost, "those who gladly received his word were baptized" (Acts 2:41). Clearly, these not only learned the lesson of the sermon, but took it to heart and obeyed its commands.

The things which you heard. Some of what we learn and receive we gain through our own individual study. But many things we have learned because we heard them from sound teachers who instructed us in the word. Those who are taught inherit a responsibility to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2).

Hearing good teachers is invaluable. We could never in a lifetime learn by ourselves all there is to learn. When we hear the instruction of others, we benefit from their study and gain the advantage of their wisdom and insights into the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:14-15). We must be careful, though, to examine in the light of the Bible everything we hear (Acts 17:11), because not every teacher speaks the truth (1 John 4:1; Galatians 1:6-9).

The things which you saw. One vital outcome of our association with mature Christians is their example. Paul not only taught people what God wanted them to do -- he demonstrated it (1 Thessalonians 2:8-12; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9; 1 Corinthians 11:1).

We can glean much by following the path of those who have walked in faith before us (Hebrews 13:7). By imitating the example of righteous men and women, we avoid many of the errors and pitfalls we would otherwise have to experience on our own (Hebrews 6:12). We just need to take care that we imitate what is good and not what is worldly (3 John 11).

Whatever we learn of God's word -- by study, by instruction, by example -- we must be sure to do. All the learning in the world is of no avail to the one who fails to act as he knows he should (James 4:17).  God in Scripture says to us: "Let your heart retain My words; keep My commands, and live" (Proverbs 4:4).

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.  Philippians 4:9 
 
Give heed. We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.  Hebrews 2:1 
 
Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise. Ephesians 5:15 
 
Dear Lord, help me to keep the main thing the main thing in my life - help me to get rid of the baggage I am carrying around that takes me away from your work and what your purpose is for my life.  Make me moldable in your hands.  Amen

 
Point to Ponder:  Blessed are the balanced.
 
Verse to Remember:  Live life with a due sense of responsibility, not as those who do not know the meaning of life but as those who do.  Ephesians 5:15
 
Questions to reflect and respond to:
Respond (and share) to the statements below:
What do I need to get rid of in my life that is keeping me away from living out God's purpose in my life?

Day 40

Day 40
Living With Purpose
 
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  Philippians 1:21 
 
We speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.  1 Thessalonians 2:4 
 
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  2 Corinthians 4:18 
 
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD'S purpose that prevails.  Proverbs 19:21 
 
Larry Walters was 33 years old and he had this idea that with some friends he would have a great afternoon and went out to his back yard and filled 45 weather balloons that he got from a surplus store with helium and connected them to his lawn chair.  He tethered the line to his jeep so he figured he’d go about 100 feet up into the air and he would just float around.  He had a chair, a bunch of sandwiches, a six-pack of beer, and a pellet gun.  Then his friends let it go to the end of the tether and that’s where the plan went wrong, because he just kept going up and up and up.  Not the 30’ at the end of the line, not up 100’, not 300’, or 2000 feet, but he went up 16,000 feet into the air.  He is up 16,000 feet and the sandwiches go but he holds on to his survival tools.  He jets up to 16,000 feet right in the pathway of LAX Airport.  The Los Angeles Times reported that the first call from a TWA jumbo jet that says, “You’re not going to believe this, there’s a guy sitting outside my window with a pellet gun in his hand.”  He is up so high that he is terrified of shooting a hole into his balloons with his pellets, because how many of us have a seat in our lawn chair.  So he stays up there hour after hour after hour and at the end of the afternoon finally starts pinging away at the balloons and starts to come down, down, down. Finally he comes down, miles and miles away from his house and, of course, tangled up in some power lines but he is safe.  The police do two things: they rescue him and they arrest him.  He is issued a ticket for $4,000 for interfering with the flight way of a jet airplane.  It’s a wild thing.  It turned out so different than what he had in mind.  People said, “What were you thinking?”  And he said, “Well, I don’t know, but a guy can’t just sit around.”  That’s what he said, “A guy can’t just sit around.”  It was a reminder to me that sometimes our life takes a different turn than where we think it’s going to end up.  This guy had the thrill of his life, literally, the thrill of his life.  Sometimes you can’t just sit around.  Sometimes life turns out different than you plan.
 
Sometimes, like eleven years later, Larry thinks about the rest of his life and had another thrill.  He takes a shotgun instead of a pellet gun and turns it to his chest and kills himself.  Stories don’t end the way we think they are going to end.  Larry lived a life of great thrills but apparently with little purpose to hold them together in hard times.  What I sense is that many of us live lives with incredible experiences, negative and positive, and often are unable to answer the question, “What’s this all about?”  What is our purpose for living?  How can I answer somebody who says, “What are you here for?” 
 
Living on purpose is the only way to really live.  Everything else is just existing.
 
Most people struggle with three basic issues in life.  The first is identity:  “Who am I?”  The second is importance:  “Do I matter?”  The third is impact:  “What is my place in life?” The answers to all three questions are found in God’s purposes for you.
 
Think today about life’s five greatest questions:
 
1. What will be the center of my life?
 
2. What will be the character of my life?
 
3. What will be the contribution of my life?
 
4. What will be the communication of my life?
 
3. What will be the community of my life?
 
One day history will come to a close, but eternity will go on forever.  William Carey said, “The future is as bright as the promises of God.”  When fulfilling your purposes seem tough, don’t give in to discouragement.  Remember your reward, which will last forever.
 
Pray about the day that you will stand before God, and God will ask you, “What did you do with my son, Jesus?”  God will also ask you, “What did you do with the gifts for life that I gave you?”
 
Pray about what your answer might be.
 
Pray for discernment and clarity.
 
And then pray that you might start living your life that way.
 
For eight weeks, we have talked about the idea of living with Purpose and finding Meaning. Is the purpose for our lives like being in a balloon; without being tethered to anything, or without the ability to go in a certain direction, we just drift through life or we are driven, sometimes to destruction?  We can’t have purpose in our lives without the realization that there is a God, and God has something to say to us.  We’ve said if you are going to discover purpose and meaning in your life, it comes from seeing God, learning somehow to love God and experience God’s love for you intentionally.  We highlighted worship as one of the ways that we deliberately come into the presence of God and discover purpose for our lives, with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.
 
But now we get to where the rubber meets the road - how you develop a meaningful life.  What are the most important things?  What are the most important things that give a sense of purpose, meaning or hope to life?  One is the hope of change.  Do you really think that you can change who you are or are you stuck?  Are you stuck in the circumstances you are in? Are you stuck as the kind of person you are becoming, or in the relationships that surround you?  We shouldn’t kid ourselves.  Purpose-filled lives will happen only when we have the belief that we can change to a meaning-filled life and have a life of passion.  We shouldn’t kid ourselves that change isn’t hard.  Change is the hardest thing that we ever do, which is why so many of us give up.  We don’t try to change any more.  Most people enjoy the certainty of misery rather than the misery of uncertainty.  We are afraid to change. 
 
Three questions about change.  First, what are we supposed to be changing into?  Second, how do we get the strength to change?  Why would we change?  And third, how could it happen for you?  How can you change so that a year from now you might be a different person on the inside or on the outside?  That’s called spiritual growth.  How do you need to grow spiritually?  There are images of spiritual growth that I think are terribly destructive in the Christian life.  People look at “church folks” and think that spiritual growth means that you gotta go to church.  Or they think that spiritual people are the ones who know all the bible verses, or the spiritual people are the ones sure of their salvation and sure of your damnation.  In other words, they get their fulfillment by making sure other people are locked out.  In the same way, some people have a false idea of spiritual growth in the sense that they put their church face “on”.  They are one person on Sunday and a different person on Tuesday. 
 
Spiritual growth is false when it is defined by what we will not do.  Some of us think that because I am a Christian, because I am being spiritual; I won’t do this and I won’t do that and if I don’t do those things, then I must be a spiritual person.  I believe they are wrong.  What do you want to change into?  If I were honest and knew each of you (the vast majority on my devotion list I have never met), I would say that the biggest part of change for me is that I would admit that I am a broken person.  I would like just to be a whole person.  Week after week, person after person comes to me and says, “I’m broken.”  Or, “I’m stuck.”  Or, “I am disappointed with myself.”  What do I want to change into?  How can I change?  How do I get off the dime?”  
 
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.  Remember at the beginning, in Genesis it said, “And God created them male and the female, in his own image he created them.”  Then, God sends Jesus to show what God looks like.  There are four stories about Jesus. They are in the back half of the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I think we would agree that as Christians we are supposed to start to look like Jesus.  But what does Jesus look like?  Not in the physical description sense but what are those things about Jesus that we would like to have in us?
 
I will give you some examples.  Jesus was not judgmental and frequently I am judgmental.  But Jesus says to a woman caught in adultery, “I don’t condemn you either.  Go and leave your life of sin.”  Jesus was not judgmental. 
 
Jesus was compassionate.  It says in looking at the crowds he was filled with compassion.  I look at the crowds and I look at my watch. 
 
Humble.  He was humble.  He took the form of a servant and humbled himself. 
 
Sympathetic.  In the gospel of Mark there is man with a withered hand and it says, “And Jesus looked at the crowd around him and saw that they didn’t care.”  But Jesus cared. 
 
Jesus was patient.  He had to be with the disciples, right?  Tough group!
 
Jesus was forgiving. 
 
Jesus had a special relationship with God through prayer. He didn’t go around saying, “Almighty and Holy God, O Ancient of Days,” he would say, “Dad, they don’t get it.” 
 
He loved people without condition. 
 
Unselfish.  He was unselfish.  He served other people.  He reached out to other people. 
 
What does Jesus look like?  He had compassion. 
 
Jesus was a teacher.   He modeled for other people. 
 
Jesus was a servant.  He did feet, he looked good on wood.
 
Jesus stopped for the helpless.  Jesus stopped for people that others just walked right by. 
 
Angry at evil.  When Jesus saw people who were hypocritical he was furious with them.  “You snakes, you viper’s brood.” 
 
Jesus was like us in that Jesus was tempted, but he never gave in. 
 
Jesus was companionable.  He wasn’t some monk locked away in a mountain.  He made good friends. 
 
Jesus had a balance between time alone and time with other people, and that time alone made him who he was.
 
Jesus had a special relationship with his Father but not just because he was the Son of God, but also because it was his priority.  It was more important to him than anything else. 
 
Jesus always spoke the truth.  Jesus spoke the truth with grace and love.  This is the Gospel of John, “And the Word dwelt among us filled with grace and truth.”
 
We are to be like Jesus – means we have to know him (through studying His Word), and model him.  If I could be compassionate and content and at ease with other people, if I could always speak the truth, if I could forgive people who hurt me, and model what it is to follow God, then I know I would be changing.  Jesus was the image of God.  You and I are made in the image of God but we are broken.  With that picture of what change looks like let’s look at Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi as he says,
 
“So if you have any encouragement in being united with Christ, if you have any comfort from the love of Jesus, if you have any fellowship with the Holy Spirit, if you have any tenderness or compassion then make my joy complete… Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus.”
 
In other words, your character should be becoming like Jesus Christ, who though he was in the very nature of God did not consider equality with God; somebody to be hung on to, grasped.  But he made himself nothing, taking the nature of a servant in human likeness and humbled himself to obedience, even death on a cross. That’s why God lifted him up to the highest place and gave him a name above every name that every tongue should confess that Jesus IS Lord, to the glory of the Father.  This is the key phrase - to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act out his good purpose. 
 
What should we look like?  We are designed to look like God.  Not to be God, but to be godly.  What does God look like?  God looks like Jesus.  How do we get there?  We work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for God works in you to will and to act.  You think that sounds pretty good, but I’ve got no idea how to get from here to there.  I try.  I take two pills in the morning.  I read two scriptures in the afternoon, I try to give a little money to the church, and I seem to be the same person that I was six months ago.  How do you change?  How do you get the heart to change? 
 
I have no desire to change on my own.  I admit it.  However, when I realize that God loves me in spite of my brokenness, I want to respond to that love.  And I know that I can’t do it by remaining the way that I am. 
 
Some of us change for the wrong reasons.  We change to impress people.  We try to change to get rid of the guilt from our past.  We change because that’s what good people do.  None of it works, folks.  None of it works. 
 
Let me suggest that if you really want to get this idea that you are made in the image of God, you will only start to look like Jesus Christ if you believe that he loves you.  And you say, “I want to be a better man.”  “I want to be a better woman.”  Not so that you will love me but rather I want to be a better person because you love me.  That’s where it starts. 
 
Why do we change?  We change not because we want to impress God but because God loves us and we want to respond. 
 
What I want to suggest to you is that changing has two parts.  One is working out and the other part is God working in.  Working out is what WE do to become like Jesus.  God working in, God who works in you to will and to act, that is the part that we cannot do.  Those two together help you to change.  The working out is where we try to be compassionate or forgiving or serving, or good in a relationship or to be prayerful or to speak the truth.  That’s how we work to be like Jesus.  But if you are like me, it cannot be just about my efforts.  I need God’s help to do that and have to do training.  I have to practice certain spiritual disciplines of being like Jesus out in the world.  It’s prayer or time alone.  It’s slowing down the pace of my life.  It’s deliberately, in a serve-us world, serving other people.  It’s reading and meditating on the Bible. Or doing something you know pleases God.  That is how God gets in you.  When you go off alone, God gets in you.  When you stop and pray God gets in you.  When you read the Bible, God gets in you.  When you come to worship what happens?  God gets in you.  When you partake of the Eucharist, God gets in you. When you serve someone in need in the name of Christ, God gets in you.  And when God is at work in you, it is not only to will but to act and then you are more ready to look like Jesus. 
 
I have seen God rescue broken people.  I have seen God miraculously put back together broken marriages.  I have seen God give courage to people who couldn’t put two sentences together.  I have seen God have people turn themselves in for crimes they have been ducking for years.  Most miraculously of all, I have seen God start to change a broken, pride filled sinful person I know quite well… me.
 
Remember...GOD has a purpose and plan for your life and He wants to use you to make a difference in our world...one life at a time.  We are created to live with Purpose, to love with Passion!
 
Dear Lord, 40 Days are now over – the real work now begins.  Please empower me to live out your PURPOSE and YOUR PASSION for me in Jesus.  May I be someone you work through that Makes A Difference in People’s Lives and God’s Kingdom.  Amen
 
Point to Ponder:  Living with Purpose is the only way to Really Live.
 
Verse to Remember:  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  Philippians 1:21 
 
Questions to reflect and respond to:
Respond (and share) to the statements below:
  • Will I make myself accountable to someone else to allow God to change me?
  • What will I sacrifice in my life to allow God to work?
  • Will I begin?


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