Tag: purpose

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Chosen

We make choices every day.  I made a decision to get out of bed, make breakfast, run errands, and go to the gym.  I had the choice not to do any of those things and just stay in bed.  At first, I am sure it would feel good, but after a while, it would get really old.  Life is full of good and bad choices.

God created us to be able to make our own decisions and face their consequences.  All the way in the front of the Bible, we see this played out with Adam, Eve, and the serpent (see Genesis 3).  As a result, we have the ability to believe or reject just about everything.  As I am typing on this computer, I can believe that I am a billionaire.  I am not (yet), but I can still believe it.  That is my choice that I get to make.  If I spent money like I as a billionaire without being a billionaire, then I would be in very big trouble.

Due to the consequences of our personal choices, God will bring things to us and take things away.  If we decide to live by our wills and not His, then we will not be able to do what we are called to do.  God had a plan for each of us.  He created us with purpose.  This purpose is meant to glorify Him and be a blessing to those around us in some form or fashion.  This could be at our jobs, at our church, or in our families.  Our purpose is unique to us – therefore we are exceedingly important to this world.  Some of us, though, will make a choice not to do what God has called us to do.

Some are waiting to be chosen, some are wanting to do their own thing, some are just too busy with other things to do what they need to do.  I used to be someone who believed that the opportunities would just fall into my lap.  If I go to church and do good, I will get all that God promised me.  Then, I realized that if I am not doing my end of the bargain – if I did not put myself in the right place and learn the things I need to learn, then I will not achieve what I was meant to achieve in the time I was supposed to achieve it.  Will there be other chances?  Yes, I think there will be – because God is good like that.  His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Let’s look at this Parable:

Again Jesus spoke to them in picture-stories. He said,  “The holy nation of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding supper for his son.  He sent his servants to tell the people, who had been asked, to come to the supper. But the people did not want to come.

“He sent other servants, saying to them, ‘Tell those who have been asked to come, “See! My supper is ready. My cows and fat calves are killed. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding supper!”’  But they did not listen and went on working. One went to his farm. Another went to his store.  The others took hold of his servants, and hurt them and killed them.

 “When the king heard this, he was very angry. He sent his soldiers to put those to death who had killed his servants. He burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding supper is ready. Those who were asked to come to the supper were not good enough. Go out into the roads and as many people as you can find, ask them to come to the wedding supper.’

 “The servants went out into the roads and brought all they could find, both bad and good. The wedding supper room was full of people.  The king came in to see those who had come. He saw one man who did not have on wedding supper clothes.  He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding supper clothes?’ The man could not speak!  Then the king said to his servants, ‘Tie his hands and feet, and throw him out into the darkness. In that place there will be loud crying and grinding of teeth.’ For many are called but few are chosen.”

Matthew 22:1-14

I want to be among those who are chosen!  I want to make sure that whatever I do, I do unto God.  Because just going about doing my own thing, even if it is good, isn’t going to cut it.  I need to do exactly what God wants me to do.  I don’t want to disappoint Him.

What about you?  Do you want to live a life on purpose – that life that God meant you to live?  Are you willing to be bold about it?

Let’s do it together, y’all!  Let’s walk out this life just as God intended us to live it.

Pray this with me:  Father, thank you for making me who I am.  You put me on this earth for a reason and there is something that I can do that no one else will ever be able to do.  Help me learn exactly what you want from me and give me the boldness to walk it out.  Show me who I am in you and where you need me right at this moment and how I can get there, if I am not already there. And, finally, as I walk this life out, let me listen to your voice – only your voice – so that I remain on the road you meant for me.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Be blessed everyone!

Choose

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Purpose

2015 has been quite a year already. One aspect of this year is the overwhelming sense of expediency. As I shared with a friend this past week, it feels like I need to start doing something significant….something greater than what I have been.

In my 29 years on earth – I wonder if I have done anything of significance in this world. I don’t want to wonder anymore. I want to leave a lasting legacy. My life needs to make an impact for the kingdom…because I am not living for me, but for Him.

Why am I feeling this way this year? Is it a pre-midlife crisis? Maybe. Or it is a better understanding that I am made for more than how I was living? The greater I understand that, the greater the sense of “get it done!” becomes. What about you? Do you feel that way?

Take a deep breathe and then let it out. Were you able to do that? Do you know what that means? You have purpose. You were not created just for you, but for Him…and, essentially, for those around you. You can be the person that reach the unreachable.

Are you asking yourself if you are worthy? Well, ponder the significance of this scripture:

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. (‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬ NLT)

He has a plan and purpose for you. Have faith that, even though you may not see the full scope of it yet, you are made to do the those things He has laid out ahead of you. Do not get discouraged. Do not let the enemy tell you that you can’t do it.

You will blossom when it is time. Keep on going down the right road and don’t give up hope. God will continue to do His work in you.

Be blessed everyone!

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. (‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬ NLT)

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Happy New Year!

I greatly encourage you to write down what you are expecting for this new year.  Put something on paper.  It is more final. Take some time today to do this.  Here are what I am declaring for myself in 2015:

  1. Stop all self-centered thinking and behavior. It is exhausting and hurts everyone around me…including me.
  2. I am going to start seeing the prophesies that have been spoken over me to come to pass. It is a necessary thing for my Heavenly Destiny. I must live out my PURPOSE.
  3. The things of my past – thinking, acting, living – will be put to rest and a new me will become the norm. My latter needs to be better than my former.
  4. Absolutely no more laziness. There are times of rest that is needed, yes, but no more procrastinating or putting things off. It hinders my progression.
  5. Take more ”me” time – I need to learn more and more how it is to truly rest rather than working to the point where I crash. There must be a balance.
  6. Take care of my body – health wise. I do not need to be skinny to be happy, but I do want to be healthy. Watching what I eat and exercising more is necessary for a better me.
  7. Read the Bible in some form EVERYDAY! My relationship with God is the most important thing…I need to start really walking that fact out.
  8. I am expecting a greater peace than I have ever known. Not worrying about the small, insignificant things and allowing God to take care of the rest of it.
  9. Focus on what the plan of God is for my life and do things that will get me to where I need to be – I can’t just sit and wait for Him to do it all. I must go out and plant those seeds myself. I cannot wait to see what He is going to do…
  10. Owning what I do and apologize when necessary. Forgive others when necessary, as well….as quickly as possible.
  11. Work on me…staying self-aware and know when I need to do work on me. Not allowing life to get in the way of remaining a vessel the Lord finds pleasing.
  12. NO MORE DOUBTING!
  13. Pray for bold things. A lot.
  14. Love people the way they are…no matter what they do.
  15. Understand what is truly important in life and put my emphasis in that. No more giving a lot of my time to things/situations/people that are not worthy of it. Realize that I am valuable…just as much as everyone else is. Make sure that, when things go wrong, you lose everything, when life gets really hard, that what you have built will remain. If you build things on sandy ground, when the storm comes, things may not remain. Build your house on solid ground.

Be blessed everyone!!

!Fireworks

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Be Bold

 

Mr. Webster defines boldness as “not afraid of danger or difficult situations; very confident in a way that may seem rude or foolish.” Being bold in a world that is ever changing seems to be politically correct right now. We are told that You Only Live Once, so why not eat the 1,000 calorie cookie, date the bad boy, or party all night long? Well, what if, instead of being bold for the approval of others, we were bold for the approval of God. Is that as easy or as politically correct as living a life per the YOLO philosophy?

 

Can I share with you what I think the boldest thing we can do in our world today as a Christian? Is it the Christian that constantly promotes themselves on social media as “Apostle” or “Prophet” or posting pictures of themselves on the same social media describing how amazing they are when they are ministering? I personally believe that there is a place and a need for self-promotion in our world today, but most certainly do not believe that this is truly the boldest thing a Christian can do.  No, the boldest thing a Christian can do is wait…wait for the Lord to do what He wants done in our lives. It is also one of the hardest things to do.

 

I am not speaking of waiting as a form of being passive or to “decide without trying to change anything” according to Mr. Webster. Waiting in the sense that you know there is a destiny for your life, you know that God has plans for you, but you are allowing Him to form those things in your life within the element of time. Praying, reading the Bible, serving in a ministry – knowing that this is not what you are destined to always do, but allowing God to get you ready. The people around you may call you foolish or in danger of not doing anything with your life, but you KNOW that there is more. There might even be a time when you feel like it will never happen, like if you wait another moment that your chance will slip through your hands, but you hear the Holy Spirit telling you to keep on waiting, that He has it all under control. This is the boldest thing I think we as Christians can do. It is also a sign of humility, showing God that we know He is greater than us or our will.

 

Let’s look at the life of Jesus Christ. Luke 3:23 states that Jesus began His ministry at the age of 30 – speaking from someone who is yet to turn 30 (I have 1.5 years left), that is a long time to wait to achieve your destiny. We all know that Jesus is the Son of God, who can do all things and, right this very moment, is sitting at the right hand of God. That is a far greater achievement that we can ever boast about. Why did He have to wait so long?

 

Let’s look at Luke 2:39-52. Jesus, the Messiah, at age 12, was found by his worried parents after 3 days of looking for him in the temple among the teachers – listening and asking questions. He in fact amazed those teachers by His answers and understanding. When He told His parents that He was going about His father’s business, they in fact, didn’t understand what He meant. Why? Because He was just 12 years old.  Was the Christ capable of starting His 3 year teaching journey at that time? Yes, I do believe He was ready, but no one else was ready to hear Him – Jesus did not have credibility as such a young man. At that time and in that culture, manhood began at age 30. I also know that there is a vast difference between a 15 year old giving his life up and a 33 year old giving his life up. Jesus needed to wait that time, not for Him, but for those whom He was reaching. Maybe God is not asking us to wait for us, but asking us to wait for those who need us.

Trusting God is why we wait. Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.” Don’t get caught up in this world and how fast things are going, thinking that you should be doing the same. Just remember that God has a perfect plan and He knows what He is doing. Follow Him and your life will be prosperous!

Blessings.

 

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