My Purpose / 1 Thess. 1:1-5

"We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake." 1 Thes. 1:2-5

• Work produced by faith
• Labor prompted by love
• Endurance inspired by hope in the Lord Jesus Christ

Our purpose on earth is to serve God and work the tasks He has prepared for us in advance to do. We don't have to find validity in being a wife, in being a mother to "x" number of children, or in being career-women. God has already validated us by saving us; by adopting us into His family, and recognizing us as His own children! He sees us as important tools with worthwhile things to do for Him. Even if they are never recognized by another human being, He calls us to be obedient to Him. This is a freeing revelation.

He has a custom-deisgned plan for every believer, with specific work for each one to accomplish. Once we're saved, the rest of our days are to be spent fulfilling God's purposes for our lives. [...] He'll provide the necessary abilities and resources. His Holy Spirit will teach us whatever we need to know [...] While we are living on earth, our lifestyle is to be one of enthusiastic, committed service in the cause of Christ. Let your work for God be a genuine labor of love. --- In Touch Mag. October 2007

Titus 2:7-8

"And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. Teach the truth so that your teaching can’t be criticized. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed and have nothing bad to say about us." Titus 2:7-8 NLT

Psalm 42 - In Times of Discouragement

God uses people in our lives to encourage us. It's those people who are being obedient to God and listening carefully to His voice to encourage His people. A dear friend sent me this Psalm this morning to encourage me. A solid reminder of God's provision, and a confirmation of His Word working in my life as I pondered this Psalm just a few day ago on my own.

Psalm 42 (NLT)
1 As the deer longs for streams of water,

so I long for you, O God.

2 I thirst for God, the living God.

When can I go and stand before him?

3 Day and night I have only tears for food,

while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?”

4 My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be:

I walked among the crowds of worshipers,

leading a great procession to the house of God,

singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration!

5 Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?

I will put my hope in God!

I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!

Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you—

even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan,

from the land of Mount Mizar.

7 I hear the tumult of the raging seas

as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.

8 But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,

and through each night I sing his songs,

praying to God who gives me life.
9 “O God my rock,” I cry, “Why have you forgotten me?

Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?”

10 Their taunts break my bones. They scoff, “Where is this God of yours?”
11 Why am I discouraged?

Why is my heart so sad?

I will put my hope in God!

I will praise him again—

my Savior and my God!

God uses hardships to teach me to lean on Him and trust Him for everything. This life is so short, its troubles so insignificant when compared to His glory and our future spent in eternity with Him. Even though His promises are true and wonderful and faithful, this process of learning to trust in Him through discouraging times never seems to be a learned thing. It's on-going, a lesson I'll still be learning when I'm 80, I'm sure.

Matthew 18:21-35 - Forgive, forgive, forgive

How silly to harbor bitterness or grudges against anyone if we have received Christ's forgiveness for our own sins! He paid a price for us that would have cost us our lives and all eternity to pay. He cancelled all our sins. Yet, we still fail to forgive each other sometimes. It doesn't make any difference what a person does to us; we never have the right to withhold forgiveness. I don't think we realize the damage we're doing to ourselves when we refuse to forgive somebody. We are enslaved to our bitterness and it starts seeping into other areas of our lives. Before we know it, it's consumed every area, and the bitterness has such a hold on us, we couldn't even begin to imagine letting go, or allowing it to let go of us!

This is such a powerful parable Jesus tells Peter when Peter asks how many times he should forgive somebody:

"Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talentswas brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
Matthew 18:22-35 NIV

October 10/5/2007 Friday

John 14:16-18 The gift of the Holy Spirit

Exodus 20-24; God gave the Israelites the law knowing that it would be impossible for them to follow it. He didn't do this to make them fail, but so they would recognize their sinfulness. Like Paul says in Romans, "Without the law there is no transgression." The Israelites desired to obey God and follow His commands, but they were sinners and would fail over and over again. They didn't have the Holy Spirit with them, or the Scripture to teach them. We have been blessed the gift of the Holy Spirit and the whole scripture and we still fail! I am a sinner, there's no doubt about that--but I am a new creation in Christ Jesus, no longer captive to sin's punishment.

Because of Christ's redemptive sacrifice, I have been washed clean. I won't ever reach perfection in this life on earth, but God sees me covered by Christ. He loves me and chose me. It is because of all that, that I desire to live a life pleasing to God. Holy and acceptable--a fragrant offering. He tells us to offer ourselves as 'living sacrifices.'

Romans 12:1 "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."