Day 39 Purpose Driven Life.

https://youtu.be/Twj_VPzAi4M

DAY 39 Thinking about My Purpose

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 (PH) 

QUESTION TO CONSIDER: Which of the four activities will I begin in order to stay on track and balance God’s five purposes for my life?

Your life is a pentathlon of five purposes, which you must keep in balance. These purposes were practiced by the first Christians in Acts 2, explained by Paul in Ephesians 4, and modeled by Jesus in John 17, but they are summarized in the Great Commandment and the Great Commission of Jesus. These two statements sum up what this book is all about — God’s five purposes for your life:

1. “Love God with all your heart”:You were planned for God’s pleasure, so your purpose is to love God through worship.

 2. “Love your neighbor as yourself”: You were shaped for serving, so your purpose is to show love for others through ministry. 

3. “Go and make disciples”: You were made for a mission, so your purpose is to share God’s message through evangelism. 

4. “baptize them into …”: You were formed for God’s family, so your purpose is to identify with his church through fellowship. 

5. “teach them to do all things …”: You were created to become like Christ, so your purpose is to grow to maturity through discipleship.

*A great commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission will make you a great Christian.

*Keeping these five purposes in balance is not easy. We all tend to overemphasize the purposes we feel most passionate about and neglect the others.

*But you can keep your life balanced and on track by joining a small group for accountability, by regularly evaluating your spiritual health, by recording your progress in a personal journal, and by passing on what you learn to others. These are four important activities for purpose-driven living. If you are serious about staying on track, you will need to develop these habits.

*Talk it through with a spiritual partner or small group.

*Give yourself a regular spiritual checkup.

Write down your progress in a journal.(Dawson Trotman used to say, “Thoughts disentangle themselves when they pass through your fingertips.”)

*I hope you will write about the stages of your spiritual journey in living a purpose-driven life.

*record your doubts, fears, and struggles with God. Our greatest lessons come out of pain, and the Bible says God keeps a record of our tears.

*In the middle of a painful experience, the psalmist wrote, “Write down for the coming generation what the LORD has done, so that people not yet born will praise him.” You owe it to future generations to preserve the testimony of how God helped you fulfill his purposes on earth. It is a witness that will continue to speak long after you’re in heaven.

Pass on what you know to others.

It’s All for God’s Glory.

Jesus told his Father what he had been doing for the last three years: preparing his disciples to live for God’s purposes. He helped them to know and love God (worship), taught them to love each other (fellowship), gave them the Word so they could grow to maturity (discipleship), showed them how to serve (ministry), and sent them out to tell others (mission). Jesus modeled a purpose-driven life, and he taught others how to live it, too. That was the “work” that brought glory to God.

*Today God calls each of us to the same work. Not only does he want us to live out his purposes, he also wants us to help others do the same.

*This is what purpose-driven living is all about. Regardless of your age, the rest of your life can be the best of your life, and you can start living on purpose today.