God's purpose

"At present you may be temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials. This is no accident. It happens to prove your faith which is infinitely more valuable than gold." 1 Peter 1:6-7 (Phillips)


Life is not a series of random, freak accidents. Life is not totally unplanned. Life is not without meaning. God knows what's going on. He's weaving the fabric in your life, and a tapestry has light and dark threads -- happy and sad times -- to give richness and texture and color to your life. Nothing can come into the life of a child of God without God's permission. Everything is Father-filtered.

Don't misunderstand. I am not saying that everything that happens to you in life is God's perfect will. That's just not true. There are a lot of things that are not God's will. If you go out and sin, that's not God's will. If somebody sins against you, that's not God's perfect will.

But God does have a permissive will. If I go out and I overeat, I pay the consequences. If I go out and wreck my body, I pay the consequences. God does not cause evil and God does not cause suffering. But He does allow them because they have a purpose. God permits them and then He uses them.

God is an expert at bringing good out of bad. He could have kept Paul out of prison in Philippi but instead He let Paul go to prison and the jailer became a believer as a result. God could have kept Jesus from the cross but He let Him go -- His own Son -- He let Him suffer and die. Did He bring any good out of that? I'd say He did!

God loves to turn crucifixions into resurrections. The things you wish were most removed from your life are often the very things that God is using to shape you and make you into the believer He wants you to be. He wants to use that problem for good in your life. There's something more important than your pain. It's what you're learning from that pain. God is in control.

So what's the key? What's our response? Our response is to look past the pain. "This is the reason we never lose heart. These troubles which are temporary are winning for us a permanent, glorious and solid reward out of proportion to our pain. So we don't look at the temporary situation. We look beyond to see the eternal benefits." (2 Corinthians 4:16-17 Phillips)

Have a wonderful week.
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You are accepted!

“Therefore, accept each other in the same way that Christ accepted you. He did this to bring glory to God” (Romans 15:7).

Most of us spend our entire lives trying to earn acceptance. We want to earn it from our parents, peers, partners in life, from people we respect, maybe even from people we envy. The drive to be accepted is a deep drive that can influence the kind of clothes you wear, the kind of car you drive, the kind of house you buy, even the career you choose.

Remember as a kid you wanted so badly to be in the in-crowd that someone would say to you, “I dare you to do this,” and they’d suggest something that was either stupid, or that put your personal safety at risk? But, you did it anyway because your desire to be accepted overruled the desire for safety.

We do it because we love the feeling of “I’m OK, I’m accepted; somebody accepts me.” When you’re accepted, it does tremendous things for your self esteem. The truth is Jesus accepts you and that acceptance is not based on your performance. In fact, you may have received Christ and accepted Jesus into your life, but do you realize that you’re able to do that because Jesus accepted you? You don’t have to earn his acceptance; you don’t have to prove yourself to him.

We need to stop thinking, “I’ve got an unpleaseable God up there and I’ve got to be a good boy, or good girl, to be accepted.” God, through Jesus Christ, has already accepted you. That’s good news!

Let the power of being loved and accepted by God remove your guilt and empower you to rest in what God says about you and how He sees you. God says youʼre accepted right now. So start living in that freedom and let the revelation of His love transform your life.

inspired by Rick Warren

The bigger purpose

What if work wasn’t just work? What if work was a vehicle to live and share a bigger purpose? I believe there’s flawed perception in our society that in order to live a life of purpose we have to leave our jobs and go solve world hunger, feed the homeless, move to Africa or start a charity.

 While these are all noble causes and many are called to do these very things, for many of us our bigger purpose can be found in the here and now, in the jobs we have, right under our noses. And when we find and live this purpose it will provide the ultimate fuel for a  meaningful life.

You may not build libraries around the world but you can find the bigger purpose in reading to your children. You may not feed the homeless every day but you can nourish your employees and customers with a smile, kind word and care. And while you may not start your own non-profit organization, you can begin a charity initiative at work. After all, "charity" means "love in action." You can make a difference every day and touch the lives of everyone you meet. 

While these people may not be starving because of a lack of food, you can provide them with a different kind of nourishment that will feed their souls and feed your own in the process. 

I heard of a janitor who worked at NASA and even though he was sweeping floors, he felt his bigger purpose was contributing to put a man on the moon. 

I met a school bus driver who knows his purpose is to help kids stay off drugs. 

There is a kind man in the mortgage business who sees his job as a way to help couples save their marriages by keeping their homes. 

I know a Popeye's Chicken employee named Edith, working at a large airport location, who makes thousands of people smile each day. The list goes on... 

Ordinary people with an extra-ordinary purpose. 

In any job our purpose waits for us to find it and live it. I can't tell you what your purpose should be but I can tell you that every one of us can find a bigger purpose in the job we have. I can tell you that every job, no matter how glorious or boring it may seem, will get mundane if we let it. Purpose keeps it fresh and when we are filled with purpose, we tap into an endless supply of energy. 

Don't wait until you go to Africa to start living with a mission. Don't wait until the weekend to feed people who are hungry. Bring your mission to work and your personal life, start working for a bigger purpose and nourish others in the process. 

... inspired by Brandon Cox

God's promise to meet your needs

Philippians 4: 14-20 In Philippians, we learn probably the greatest promise of all:  that God promises to meet our needs. But God’s promise has one condition attached to it.  God says that we MUST be generous with others.  Paul is saying that unless we obey the matter of giving, God makes no guarantee to meet our needs.

Proverbs 11:25 “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

Luke 6:38 “Give to others and God will give to you.”

Why should we be generous? One reason is that our generous giving encourages others. The Philippians’ church was not a wealthy church.  It was a poverty stricken church; yet the Philippians were big hearted and generous in their giving. Paul said their gifts encouraged him. Both the giver and the givee received a blessing.

Giving is an investment in your future. Jesus said 100 fold will be returned to him who gives up for the gospel. One hundred fold is 10,000%. God is recording anything and everything that you do.  A cup of cold water given in Jesus’ name is written down in your account. Every time you’re generous with your family, church, friends – anytime you give it is recorded and rewarded.

I Timothy 6:18-19 "...Give happily to those in need, and always be ready to share whatever God has given you.”  By doing this, you will be storing up real treasure for yourselves in heaven – it is the only safe investment for eternity.

The Bible says God wants us to work.  He will not reward the lazy or those who are unwilling to work.  He does not promise to meet your needs if you sit around all day and do nothing.

God promises to meet your needs, not your greeds.  He knows what you need and He promises to provide it, as long as you meet His requirements.  God says "I assume responsibility for My children's needs to be met." If you're a child of God and you're meeting the premise, you can count on God’s promise.

What has God promised?  All legitimate needs. That covers a lot of material. Do you have a financial need? If you're a faithful giver, you have every right to ask God to meet your financial needs. If you're not a faithful giver you have no right, because you're not meeting the premise. How about physical needs, health needs, relational needs, emotional needs, any kind of needs? God promises to meet all your needs.

Thought for the day:  "… whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”

 Have a wonderful week.