Living Life on Purpose

Living Life on Purpose
Do I believe that I, along with every person on earth, have a specific purpose?  Do I believe that as a Believer I have a divine assignment and purpose?  Does every day count?  What is the meaning of life?

Read Psalm 139 with me....
"O Lord, you have examined my heart and know EVERYTHING about me.  You know when I SIT down or STAND up.  You know my thoughts even when I'm far away.  You SEE me when I TRAVEL and when I REST at HOME.  You know EVERYTHING I do.  You know what I am going to SAY even before I say it, LORD.  You go BEFORE me and FOLLOW me.  You place your hand of BLESSING on my head.  Such knowledge is too WONDERFUL for me, too great for me to understand! 
I can never escape from your Spirit!  I can never get away from your Presence!  If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.  If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will GUIDE me, and your strength will SUPPORT me.  I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night-- but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.  To you the night SHINES as bright as day.  Darkness and light are the same to you.  You made ALL the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my Mother's womb.  THANK YOU for making me so WONDERFULLY COMPLEX!  Your workmanship is marvelous-- how well I know it!  You WATCHED me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.  You SAW me before I was born.  EVERY DAY of my life was recorded in your book.  EVERY MOMENT was laid out before a single day had passed. 
How PRECIOUS are your thoughts about me, O God.  They cannot be numbered!  I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!  And when I wake up, you are still with me."

I see "PURPOSE" all the way through those verses!!  I was born for a purpose; YOU were born for a purpose! 

What is Purpose?
Purpose is what God has purposed for me.  It is what I do purposely for the Lord.  It is not knowing every detail of my future but it is having hope, value, and intention in my every day life.

Why is it important to know that we have a purpose?
It makes me more intentional with my day, with the 'interruptions' that come my way.  It gives me courage to move forward, to keep walking, when life is hard.

Lately I have been reminded to stop and think...
It was by divine design that I was born in the 20th century, there was a divine design when I was placed in my parent's home, the fourth child of eight.  I wasn't accidentally born in the United States of America, there is a reason I was drawn to live in the state of Florida, in Sarasota, and even in this very neighborhood.  My job is to see that purpose, to intentionally look for that design. 

What keeps me from having purpose?
When I am too busy I find myself 'rushing' from one assignment to the next.  It's hard to find joy in the assignment when the only focus is to 'get it done'.  When I'm feeling tired and burned out it's easy to lose my real focus.  When I compare myself with others I seriously lose my focus and purpose.  If God would have wanted two of someone else He would have made two.... but He didn't.  He only made one of each of us and that was intentional!  When I become too distracted via media, news, internet, etc., life loses it's value and intent.

If you don't have a sense of purpose....STOP!!!
Seek God in prayer until you receive that sense of purpose.  Empty your mind of the earthly distractions and ask Him to let you see your life and purpose through His eyes.    Life will take on a whole new meaning.   Don't expect to know all the details of your purpose and calling. You are called to serve God and glorify Him by being His hands extended to others. 
You will never find your purpose away from the God who created you for a purpose in the first place.  Don't let your mind "be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." (II Cor. 11:3).  If life becomes overwhelming to you, it's possibly because you are trying to live it in your own effort--to make things happen yourself.  Look to the Lord in worship and prayer, and He will get you where you need to go. 

He will enable you to do

what He has called you to do.

Change Me, Lord

It's so easy to pray "Change him, Lord." or "Change her, Lord.". But what God really wants me to pray is:  "Change me, Lord.... make me more like Christ.".  Who of us doesn't want to exhibit more of the character of Jesus?  Who doesn't want to be more like Him? 
In our ladies' Discipleship Class we have been studying and discussing seven different areas that we would desire to be more like Christ.
1.  Jesus was loving.  I can pray and ask Jesus to make me more loving.  In order for me to be loving I must first experience His love for me.  When I experience His love, I can't help but love others. 
2.  Jesus was humble.  He is Lord of the universe, yet, "He humbled Himself  and became obedient to the point of death, even the death on the cross.". Phil. 2:8.  Even a fraction of His humility will get us a long way in this world, because it is such a rare commodity.  I was challenged by being reminded of the steep price to pay for pride (and pride can be so slickly disguised, can't it?). "Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; though they join forces, they will not go unpunished." Pro. 16:5.  "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.". Pro. 16:18.  Nothing will speak louder to the world around me than my own humility, because it will be a refreshing departure from the norm. 
3.  Jesus was faithful.  He never wavered from His conviction and knowledge of who He was and why He was here on earth.  Even when He was tempted by Satan, He did not falter.  I need to know with that same certainty who He really is, so I can know who I really am, then I won't waver.  God, strengthen my inner being and make me faithful as You.
4.  Jesus was giving.  He gave of Himself to disciple a few men so that many lives would be touched.  His ultimate gift was His life.  When I feel I have nothing to give, God supplies it all.  "God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.". II Cor. 9:8.
5.  Jesus was separate.  He was in the world, but He was not part of the world.  He came to touch the world, but He never became like the world.  He was separate from the world, yet He changed the world around Him.  I need that balance, too.  I can't stay so separate that I have no touch with the outside world, nor can I be looking, living, talking, and acting so much like the world that people don't see anything different about me.  Jesus never lost sight of where He was going.  He always kept eternity in His perspective.  I must do the same.
6.  Jesus was obedient.  He did not do anything on His own, even though He was Lord.  He prayed and did not act until He had instructions from God.  I must live that way, too.  "He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.". I John 2:6.   Too often we can pray a "quick prayer" because it's the 'right thing to do' but we have our mind made up ahead of time and we aren't really asking God what His will is.  We are self-sufficient.
Lord, help me to recognize my dependency upon You.
7.  Jesus was light.  I love this one!  People are drawn to light.  We want them to be drawn to the light of the Lord in us.  "I am the light of the world, He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.". John 8:12.  I want to be full of Light so that people will see that I have been with Jesus and I give them a reason for the light within me.

"Lord, transform me into Your likeness! 

 Make me so much like Christ that when people see me

they will want to know You better."

 

*notes taken from Stormie Omartian