Category Archives: Finding your purpose

May16

Creation Points Us To the Creator

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As you do not know the path of the wind,
    or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
    the Maker of all things.

Ecclesiastes 11:5 (NIV)

Each tiny piece of God’s beautiful creation exemplifies the work of a master artisan. Take a few moments today to get outside and observe some of the intricate details in nature, and you’ll be amazed at the magnificent workmanship of God ~ The Maker of all Things.  There are so many awe-inspiring mysteries in nature that we will never fully comprehend ~ like how a baby’s body is formed in a mother’s womb or how a caterpillar metamorphosizes within a cocoon into a beautiful butterfly. Nature plays a very important role in God’s grand plan.  In fact the very first verse of the Bible tells us that “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”  Genesis 1:1 (NIV)  And since the very beginning, He has used the creation to point us to the Creator.

“For ever since the creation of the world, His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks).”  Romans 1:20 (AMP)

The marvelous creation not only teaches us about God’s divine nature and infinite wisdom, but it also glorifies God on its own.  That fact should inspire us to do the same through worship and praise of our Heavenly Father.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky displays his handiwork. Day after day it speaks out; night after night it reveals his greatness.  There is no actual speech or word, nor is its voice literally heard.  Yet its voice echoes throughout the earth; its words carry to the distant horizon. In the sky he has pitched a tent for the sun. Like a bridegroom it emerges from its chamber; like a strong man it enjoys running its course. It emerges from the distant horizon, and goes from one end of the sky to the other; nothing can escape its heat.” (Psalm 19:1 – 6)

The Creator takes great care in watching over His creation, yet nothing in all of creation is more valuable to Him than you.  He designed you as a one-of-a-kind original, and He knows each detail of your life…including your name and number of hairs on your head!  Never doubt that God loves you dearly and  is watching over each moment of your life.

Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows.  (Matthew 10:29 – 31) 

Jan5

Get Going!

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“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

What sort of things drive you, motivate you and and inspire you?  Is there something that you keep thinking about that one day or some day, when all the conditions are right, you will begin to do.  How many times have you used the phrase, “If only….”  or “I would like to do this, BUT….”  Perhaps God has placed a calling upon your heart, but you allow a continual stream of excuses to flood your thoughts and drown out His voice.  You can easily enumerate a list of personal limitations and excuses that would keep you from fulfilling His calling or achieving a certain goal.

When God met with Moses at the burning bush, Moses had several objections to God’s calling.  Why are you asking ME to lead the people out of Egypt?  What if they don’t believe me?  God patiently responded to each of his questions, yet Moses raised another objection to God: “Master, please, I don’t talk well. I’ve never been good with words, neither before nor after you spoke to me. I stutter and stammer.”  God said, “And who do you think made the human mouth? And who makes some mute, some deaf, some sighted, some blind? Isn’t it I, God? SO, GET GOING. I’ll be right there with you—with your mouth! I’ll be right there to teach you what to say.”  Exodus 4:10 – 12 (MSG)

So what is it that God is motivating you to do?  Perhaps He hasn’t met with you at a burning bush, but in your heart you know there is a still small voice wooing you in a certain direction.  And even though He’s not asking you to lead His people out of bondage in Egypt, He might be leading you into some sort of ministry, or it could be that He is directing you to start a business, leave your current job for something better, go back to school, foster a child, become a stay-at-home mom, go on a mission trip, help out at a food pantry, teach a class, play a sport, coach a team, lead a Bible study, minister to unwed mothers, or volunteer at a local school.  Who knows how God might use you to fulfill His purpose for your life?  An activity that might seem “secular” could turn out to be the very way God wants to use your life to minister to others in your community.

So what’s holding you back?  What’s your excuse?  As a child of God, He promises that you will lack nothing:

  “The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack NOTHING.” Psalm 23:1  

“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

2 Corinthians 9:8

If you are in God’s will for your life, doing the very thing He has created you to do, you can rest assured that He will provide the resources you need to accomplish your task.  God will be right beside you every step of the way, teaching you, guiding you, supporting you, providing for you, and strengthening you!  Don’t allow self-doubt or excuses to hold you back.  You can do anything with God’s help! Get Going!

Jan1

A Fresh Start

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New Year

Teach us to number our days,

that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12 NIV

As the New Year dawns, many of us make a noble list of New Year’s Resolutions.  A brand new year seems like a gift, a fresh start, a clean slate, a chance to turn the page to a new chapter in our lives.  We usually start out the month of January with grand intentions and high ambitions, but we find that we often lose that enthusiasm as the days and weeks click past.  Our list of resolutions gets buried under the stack of papers that we intended to organize, and we forget about all the things we resolved to do over the next 365 days.

The truth is that we should live each new day with resolve and intent.  God has given us a certain number of days to fulfill our life’s purposes, and we should ask Him to give us the grace to understand the important significance of each day (and each  moment) that we spend here on earth.  Some of us have more time than others, but none of us know the exact amount of time that we have left to complete our life’s mission. We should diligently pray for divine instruction concerning how to use our time throughout the days of our lives.  Thoughtful time management is an excellent art whether you’re a business professional, student, homemaker or retiree.  God models time management for us when we consider the account in Genesis 1 of His orderly creation of the universe; each day was filled with important tasks and accomplishments, and He even set aside time for rest. When you number your days to good purposes, according to God’s guidance, you will live wisely and your heart and mind will be inclined to achieving God’s mission for your life.

So instead of making a list on the first day of the new year of things you want to accomplish in the next 12 months, you should make a list as you begin each New Day.  It might be helpful to write your daily list on a calendar or in a notebook, so that you can look back over the year and see all the things that you and God have accomplished together. Live each New Day as though it were a gift of time, a new beginning, a fresh start, and a chance to fulfill God’s grand purpose.  If you order your days according to God’s plan, rather than your own desires, you will feel a divine sense of fulfillment each day of your life, and no moment will be wasted.

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.  Psalm 139:16

Dec31

Hour by Hour

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Naval Academy Clock Tower

You are my God!
Hour by hour I place my days in Your hand…

Psalm 31:14b-15a (MSG)

How would our lives be different if we truly placed each hour of every day in the hand of our Heavenly Father?

By placing your life, hour by hour…moment by moment… in God’s hand, you allow Him to direct the path of your divine destiny.  Most of us wouldn’t think of heading out on an excursion to a place we’ve never been before without consulting a map or plugging the address into our GPS.  Similarly, our future is unknown territory; it’s a place we’ve never journeyed before.  There’s no better Navigator to consult concerning your future than the One who knew you before you were born and has all the days of your life written in His book…before one of them came to be!  “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”  (Psalm 139:16)

Why is it so difficult for us to consult our Heavenly Father when mapping out the course of our days?  Perhaps our lives are so jam packed with activities that we don’t take the time to sit down and talk with Him about His plans for our schedule.  Or perhaps we don’t want to feel that we are handing over control to anyone else ~ what if His plans don’t line up with our plans?  Maybe it’s a fear of the unknown ~ what if God wants us to do something we are uncomfortable with?

Jesus tells us in John 10:10 that , “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” (AMP)  So Jesus’ purpose is to give us a rich and satisfying life, a life filled with purpose, a great and full life, a life of joy, life in its fullest measure. If Jesus’ purpose is for us to enjoy life and have it in abundance, why wouldn’t we want to turn over control to Him?

Do you feel that God has been leading you somewhere, and you are fearful to take a step in that direction?  Perhaps it’s out of your comfort zone, and you feel that you would never have the skills, resources, intelligence, confidence or abilities to accomplish what He is nudging you to do. I encourage you to take this challenge:  For the next 24 hours, consciously place EACH hour of your day in God’s hand.  Say this prayer at the top of every hour:  “You are my God!  Hour by hour I place my day in Your hand.” Trust that God has your best interest in mind and faithfully follow His lead in whatever you feel He is directing you to do.  Maybe He wants you to spend time reading His word and listening to His voice..or maybe He wants you to speak to a stranger… or take a meal to a family in need…or sign up for a class…or call a friend…or clean out a closet and take donations to a local charity…or perform a random act of kindness.   Perhaps this one day challenge will inspire you to do the same thing another day, or for an entire week, or month!  By then it will have become part of your life.  Who knows how this conscious act of  handing over each hour to Him might change the course of your life and lead you into your divine destiny.

Are you willing to take the “Hour by Hour” challenge with me?  I would love to hear about your experience!

‘For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’  Jeremiah 29:11

Nov17

God Leads The Way

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“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you;

He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)

With God as your life’s Heavenly Navigator, you never have to worry or be fearful when forging ahead into uncharted territory.  You can confidently trust that the Lord is going before you, guiding you in the path that is best for you.  He promises to be with you each step of the way…even in the deepest, darkest valleys and through the most treacherous terrain. When the going gets tough, He will never abandon you or forget about you.

Perhaps you are struggling with decisions about your career, finances, relationships, child-rearing, education, or even treatment options for a health crisis.  You would never travel to a new place without consulting a map or GPS system. Why do you think that you could blindly traverse though life’s journey without consulting God’s divine wisdom?  He is your holy Field Guide for your earthly trek. Instead of feeling overwhelmed or afraid, focus on the fact that God is already ahead of you, leading the way.  He knows the plans He has in store for you ~ seek His excellent guidance and ask Him for wisdom.   With Him by your side, you can have confidence that the choices you make are best

He’s already in your future…follow His lead.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11
“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Genesis 28:15
“For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.”
Deuteronomy 4:31
Oct28

The Only Thing That Counts

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only thing that counts

Out of 66 books, 1188 chapters, and 31,175 verses in the Holy Bible, it all boils down to this:  “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”  Galatians 5:6b

Take a moment and allow these words to sink deep into your mind and your heart.  Meditate on their meaning and grasp the magnitude of their importance.  Essentially, this statement tells us that if we are NOT expressing our faith in God through our love for others, nothing else we are doing really matters. 

Wherever you find yourself in life, God has specifically placed you there for a unique purpose that only you can fulfill. In essence you are on a mission from God each and every day of your life to express your faith through acts of love. This expression of love can take many forms:  kindness, respect, appreciation, involvement, time commitment, sharing, patience, giving, caring, or friendship.  Whether you’re a business executive, clerk, teacher, nurse, care taker, house keeper, bus driver, waitress, stay-at-home-mom, retiree, grandparent, student, etc.., you are an integral part of the body of Christ.  Imagine the difference we could make in an untold number of lives if each of us went about our days expressing our faith through love.

You can be totally filled with spiritual lessons, perhaps you can even quote verse after verse from the Bible, but if you are not expressing your faith in Jesus Christ through your outpouring of love for others, nothing else matters.

Tape this verse to your bathroom mirror, next to your bed, or on the dashboard of your car so that you can start each day with one main focus concerning the only thing that counts.  In fact, this is such a short statement that you could easily memorize those eleven words and use them as a filter for  your thoughts and a framework for  your actions throughout each day.

Essentially the only thing that counts is a summation of Jesus’ response to the question, “Which is the most important of all the commandments?”  Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’  The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”  (Mark 12:28 – 31)  Love God, and express that love to your neighbor…it’s that simple.

 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  James 1:22

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, Galatians 3:23

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Oct25

The God Who Sees Me

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2011 Football banquet and Field Trip 254The Lord talked to Hagar.

She began to use a new name for God. She said to him,

“You are ‘God Who Sees Me.’”

She said this because she thought,

“I see that even in this place God sees me and cares for me!” 

Genesis 16:13 (ERV)

Mistreated, abused and rejected, Hagar was running away from her circumstances.  She found herself alone in the desert feeling frightened, forgotten and weary from her journey.   Yet, at her lowest point, the angel of the Lord appeared to her, calling her by name, and encouraged her…right in the middle of her wilderness.

Maybe you are in the midst of a “wilderness” in life.  The path you are traveling seems rocky and desolate, littered with extreme difficulties.  You feel that no one knows or cares about your dire circumstances.  You are lonely and afraid, and perhaps you feel the only possible solution is to “run away” from your problems.  The God Who Sees also cares about you.  He sees you right where you are, and He knows about every tumultuous detail of your life.  He knows your name…and your needs.  Turn to Him for guidance and direction.

As for Hagar, the Lord instructed her to return to her owner, Sarai, and to submit to her authority.  Notice that He didn’t remove Hagar from her circumstances, but He gave her guidance and encouragement on how to live the life she was destined for.  He also promised to bless her for her obedience and encouraged her concerning the child she was carrying, Abram’s son.  If Hagar had continued running, she and her unborn child would have met with certain disaster.  God knew His plans for her life…and the life of her unborn son…, and He gave her specific instructions about how she should live.

This story is a great example of how God causes all things…even bad things…to work together for good.  (And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  Romans 8:28) Hagar’s obedience brought God’s blessings upon her life.  God also sees you in your wilderness, and He has a marvelous plan for your life.  Listen to His instructions.  Remember that “running away” is not the solution, and it often leads to sure disaster.  Instead of running away…run into His arms and listen to His instructions.  Your obedience to His plan will bring divine blessings upon your life. Remind yourself that “even in this place, God sees me and cares for me!”

“…I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.”  Hosea 2:14b

Jan1

Happy New Year!

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See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.

Isaiah 43:19

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As the first new day dawns in the New Year, it is a great time to look forward and think about the possibilities a new year can bring.  Most of us start the year with ideas about what we would like to accomplish in the year to come.  (Exercise more, eat healthier, lose weight, organize our finances, clean out the closet, save more money, learn to do something new, mend fences with an old friend or relative, start a business…)  Regardless of what goals you have in mind, it’s a good idea to write these thoughts down and keep them as a reference throughout the year to remind us of our vision.

I encourage you to take 10 minutes today (or more) to reflect on the past year while looking forward to the year ahead.  But instead of just thinking about the things YOU want for yourself, ask God what HIS vision is for your new year.  Is there something on your heart that keeps surfacing in your thoughts?  God’s New Year’s Resolutions might be very different from our own New Year’s Resolutions.  His vision for you might sound something like this…feed the hungry, clothe the poor, house the homeless, volunteer at a food bank, donate money, clothing, food, or time to a worthy ministry, find a church to start attending, support a missionary, start a ministry, love your neighbors, forgive someone, go on a mission trip, help a widow, foster a child, use your talents to help a ministry, renew (or begin!) your relationship with Christ, etc…  This list is endless, and only you know what God has laid upon your heart.

God doesn’t ask us to do EVERYTHING.  We are all part of the body of Christ, each member doing its own valuable part, right where you are “planted.”  He may be asking you to do ONE THING that seems insignificant to you, but in His Kingdom that one thing can change eternity.  It’s no accident that you are reading this post today.  God has a plan for you, and He wants to use your life in great ways.  He has gifted you with unique abilities and talents, and He wants to show you exactly how your life fits into His big picture.  Take the first step today toward following through with whatever God has placed upon your heart.  Don’t let another year go by without accomplishing something divinely magnificent for His Kingdom.

Happy New Year!! May God bless you in the coming year…

Nov17

The Big Picture

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God made my life complete

when I placed all the pieces before Him.

2 Samuel 22:21 (MSG)

My sons and I recently worked on a 1000 piece puzzle together.  We spent many hours over a period of several weeks slowly piecing the puzzle together.  First we began with the border of the huge puzzle, then worked our way inward.  The closer we got to completing our project, the more excited we were about seeing the end result.   We each wanted to be the one who fitted the very last piece in its place.  It was amazing to watch how the picture took shape from fitting together hundreds of tiny pieces.  In the end, we were all disappointed to realize that we were missing a few of our pieces.  We had worked so diligently, for so many hours,  only to find out that we couldn’t complete the picture without those pieces.

The verse above tells us that God wants to make our lives complete, but He can only accomplish this if we give Him ALL the pieces.  Our Heavenly Father sees the grand picture of our lives, and He knows exactly which pieces fit together perfectly.  If we withhold any part of our lives from Him, we will never know the beauty of the complete picture  as designed by our Creator.   Trust Him to know what is best for you.  Place all your “pieces” before Him today, and allow Him to make your life complete.

Jan29

True Wisdom

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wis·dom (noun) [wizdem]

“the ability to see into the future the consequences of your choices in the present”

The Noticer; Andy Andrews

While we can’t “see into the future,” we do know the One who holds our future in His hands.  How many times have we made decisions on our own, without seeking God’s counsel, and suffered terrible consequences as a result?  His wisdom provides insight into all areas of our lives, including finances, relationships, marriage, health, time management, friendships, career, school, and child rearing.  He scripted your entire life’s story, from before your birth to your last breath. He knows the unique purpose for which He created you, and He definitely knows what is best for your life.

Seek God’s wisdom for your choices today, and the future consequences of your choices in the present will be divine and not disastrous.

For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 2:6 (NIV1984)