40 Days of Purpose Driven life – 2nd week (day 14)

40 Days of Purpose Driven life

Day 14 – When God seems distant

-          God is real, no matter how we feel.

-          The deepest level of worship is praising God in spite of pain, thanking God during a trial, trusting Him when tempted, surrendering while suffering, and loving Him when He seems distant.

-          Any relationship involves times of closeness and times of distance, and in relationship with God, no matter how intimate, the pendulum will swing from one side to the other, that’s when worship gets difficult.

-          He has promised, “I will NEVER LEAVE you nor forsake you.” (Psalm 37:28); but God hasn’t promised “you will always FEEL my presence.”In fact, God admits that sometimes He hides His face from us. There are times when He appears to be MIA- missing in action, in our lives.

-          When God seems distant, we may feel that He is angry with us, or is disciplining us for some sin. But often this feeling of abandontment or estrangement from God has nothing to do with sin. It is a test of faith – one we all must face.

-          The most common mistake Christians make in worship today is seeking an experience rather than seeking God. We look for a feeling, and if it happens, we conclude that we have worshiped. WRONG! In fact, God often removes our feelings so we won’t depend on them. Seeking the feeling of closeness to Christ, is not worship.

-          As we grow in faith, He will wean us of these dependencies.

-          He’s more concerned that we TRUST Him, than that we FEEL Him. Faith not feelings, pleases God.

-          Admitting our hopelessness to God can be a statement of faith. Trusting God but feeling despair at the same time, David wrote, “ I believed, so I said ‘I am completely ruined’” (Psalms 116:10). This sounds like a contradiction: I trust God, but I’m wiped out!Davied’s frankness actually reveals deep faith: First, he believed inGod. Second, he believed God would listen to his prayer. Third, he believed God would let him say what he felt and still love him.

-          Focus on who God is – His unchanging nature. Regardless of circumstances and how we feel, hang on to God’s unchanging character (He is good and loving, He is all-powerful, He notices every detail of my life, He is in control, He has a plan for my life, He will save me.)

-          Trust God to keeps His promises.  Don’t be troubled by trouble. Circumstances can’t change the character of God. God’s grace is still full force; He is still for us, even when we don’t feel it.

-          Remember what God has already done for us. If God never did something else for us, He would still deserve our continual praise for the rest of our lives because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. This is the greatest reason for a worship.

-          Jesus gave up everything so we could have everything. He died so we can live forever. That alone is worthy of our continual praise and thanks. Never again should we wonder what we have to be thankful for.

-          Point to ponder: God is real, no matter how I feel.

-          Verse to remember: “For God has said,’I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.’” (Hebrews 13:5)

-          Question to consider: How can I stay focused on God’s presence, especially when He feels distant? Keep doing my daily devotion, keep trying to know His purposes on my life, so even when He feels distant I can keep trusting Him and surrendering to Him, meanwhile I’ll keep doing His purposes in my life.

40 days of purpose driven life – 2nd week (day 13)

Wuaaaa..long time haven’t updated my purpose driven life summaries..Actually it because I’m too lazy to type t..Wkwkwk..will try to finish it soon..X)..Hope it can be a blessing for others..

40 Days of Purpose Driven life

Day 13 – Worship that pleases God

-          God doesn’t want a part of our life. He asks for ALL our heart, All our soul, ALL our mind, and ALL our strength. HE isn’t interested with halfhearted commitment, partial obedience, and the leftovers of our time and money. He desires your full devotion, not little bits of our life.

-          The kind of worship that pleases God has four characteristic:

1. God is pleased when our worship is accurate. We can’t just create our own comfortable or politically correct image of God and worship it. That is idolatry. Worship must be based on the truth of scripture, not our opinions about God.
2. God is pleased when our worship is authentic. God-pleasing worship is deeply emotional and deeply doctrinal. We use both our hearts and our heads. The best style of worship is the one that most authentically represents our love for God, based on the background and personality God gave us.
3. God is pleased when our worship is thoughtful. If worship is mindless, it is meaningless. We must engage our mind. God insists that our worship services be understandable to unbelievers when they are present in our worship gatherings.1Corinthians 14:16-17, “ Suppose some strangers are in your worship service, when you are praising God with your spirit. If they don’t understand you, how will they know how to say , ‘Amen’? You maybe worshiping God in a wonderful way, but no oe else will be helped.”. Now I’ve been wondering about the teachings in my senior high. They have a special time for angelic tounges in the middle of worship. They insists us to speak in angelic tounges. If we can’t speak those languages they told us that we haven’t receive the Holy spirit  and we can’t be redeemed; while in my church since I was a little kid, I’ve been told that once we trust Jesus as our redeemer, Holy spirit will come to our hearts and we will be redeemed. Back to my senior high teachings, we can’t even understand what those angelic tongue told us at that time, and there were still many students haven’t believe in Jesus..Is it kind of disobedience or is just an unique tradition?Confuse about those doctrines actually.
4. God is pleased when our worship is practical. Rome 12:1,” offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” God wants our body and not only our spirit, because without body, our spirit can’t do anything on the planet. He’s just being practical about worship. One thing worship costs us is our self-centeredness. We can’t exalt God and ourselves at the same time.

-          Point to ponder: God wants ALL of me.

-          Verse to remember: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30

-          Question to consider:Which is more pleasing to God right now – my public worship or my private worship?What will I do about this? Both are important. In those both ways we can worship God and being a light in this world so the unbelievers can trust our God. I need to focus with my daily devotion and focus in few services so my worship can be shaped an more optimal and authentic.

Developing confidence by losing confidence

Developing Confidence By Losing Confidence
by Jon Walker

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 (NASB)

*** *** *** ***

The secret to living with confidence is to be confident in God’s compassion and power. He is the Almighty and everlasting God, and his power and compassion are unlimited. We gain confidence by developing confidence in God and letting go of confidence in ourselves.

When we think we have to do it on our own, or when we think we are doing it on our own, we stand on an uncertain foundation, like the man who built his house upon the sand. No matter how confident we are in ourselves, eventually the rains will come, washing away our self-confidence.

But when we have God-confidence, we know – deep down – that we will always be able to approach God’s throne of grace boldly with confidence – knowing “we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.” (Hebrews 4:16, NLT)

With God-confidence, we know we are loved and accepted by God; we know we are created and shaped by God; we know we have talents and skills given to us by God, and by understanding our true position in Christ, we can be confident that God is with us always, even unto the ends of the earth, even when we open our mouths to speak.

In faith, we can be confident, knowing God’s power is there, trusting God makes it possible for us to do “all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13, NASB)

What does this mean?

· Transfer your confidence to God – Believe he is “working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.” (Philippians 2:13, NLT) Compare your track record to God’s and see which of you has proved to be more trustworthy. If you believe your confidence should still remain with you, ask God to help you dig deep to uncover why you believe that way. He is never upset or surprised by such honesty.

· Trust God’s Spirit is working within you – Ask God to develop within you a confidence that his Spirit will give you a supernatural power to preach good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and to release prisoners from the darkness. (Adapted from Isaiah 61:1-3)

· Why God-confidence is important to you – You may be thinking, “There’s something I’d really like to do, but I don’t think that I can do it.” This kind of thinking may keep you from even trying, but if you’re confident in God – and what he can do through your life – then there’s every reason to move forward, and no good reason to stand still.

· If you had God-confidence, how would the next few days of your life be different?

© 2008 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved.

40 days of purpose driven life – 2nd week (day 11-12)

40 Days of Purpose Driven life

Day 11 – Becoming best friends with God

-          God wants to be our best friend. It’s difficult to imagine how an intimate friendship is possible between an omnipotent, invisible, perfect God and a finite, sinful human being.  But the Lord wants to be our best friend. It’s really an honor.

-          Becoming a best friend of God.

1. Through constant conversation. We will never grow a close relationship with God by just attending church once a week or even having a daily quiet time. Friendship with God is built by sharing all our lives experiences with HIM. Everything we do can be “spending time with God” if HE is invited to be a part of it and you stay aware of HIS presence.
2. Through continual meditation. It is impossible to be God’s friend apart from knowing what HE says. We can’t love God unless we know HIM, and we can’t know HIM without knowing HIS WORD. While we can’t spend all day studying the Bible, we can think about it throughout the day, recalling verses we have read or memorized and mulling them over in our mind. When we think about our problem over and over in our mind, that’s called worry. When we think about God’s word over and over in our mind, that’s meditation. If we know how to worry, we already know how to meditate. We just need to switch our attention from our problems to Bible verses.

-          Point to Ponder: God wants to be my best friend.

-          Verse to Remember: “Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence Him.” (Psalm 25:14a)

-          Question to Consider: What can I do to remind myself to think about God and talk to Him more often throughout the day? Well..I usually talk to God during my activity because I prefer praying to God in that way, rather than sitting and taking a long time in solitary to pray. But I know I need both ways to keep communicate with God. I keep telling myself I can’t do anything without HIM, that’s why I keep praying to HIM during my activity.

40 Days of Purpose Driven life

Day 12 – Developing Your Friendship with God.

-          Like any friendship, we must work at developing our friendship with God. It won’t happen by accident. It takes desire, time and energy. If we want a deeper, more intimate connection with God we must learn to honestly share our feelings with HIM, trust Him when HE asks us to do something, learn to care about what He cares about, and desire His friendship more than anything.

-          Some ways developing our friendship with God besides 2 points in day 11.

1. I must be honest with God. The first building block of a deeper friendship with God is complete honesty – about our faults and our feelings. God doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but He does insist us on complete honesty. It’s likely that we need to confess some hidden anger and resentment at God for certain areas of our lives where we have felt cheated or disappointment. Because bitterness is the greatest barrier to friendship with God. Until we mature enough to understand that GOD uses everything for good in our lives.
2. I must choose to obey God in faith. Every time we trust God’s wisdom and do whatever He says, even when we don’t understand it, we deepen our friendship with God. We are friends with God, but we are not HIS equals. He is our loving leader, and we follow HIM.. Unbelievers often think Christian obeys out of obligation or guilt or fear of punishment, but the opposite is true. Because we have been forgiven and set free, we obey out of love – and our obedience brings great joy.
3. I must choose to value what God values. This is what friends do – they care about what is important to the other person. The more we become God’s friend, the more we will care about things He cares about, grieve over the things he grieves over, and rejoice over the things that bring pleasure ti HIM.
4. I must desire friendship with God more than anything else. The truth is – we are as close to God as we choose to be. Intimate friendship with God is a choice, not an accident. We must intentionally seek it. We may have been passionate about God in the past but we’ve lost that desire. If we’ve just been going through the motions spiritually, don’t be surprised when God allows pain in our lives. Pain is the fuel of passion – it energizes us with an intensity to change that we don’t normally possess. It’s God’s way of arousing us from spiritual lethargy. God doesn’t mad at us; He’s mad about us, and He will do whatever it takes to bring us back into fellowship with HIM.

-          Point to Ponder: I’m as close to God as I choose to be.

-          Verse to Remember: “Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.” (James 4:8a)

-          Question to Consider: What practical choices will I make today in order to grow closer to God? Reading His word continually, be honest to HIM through prayer about my feeling, and make a new commitment about our relationship.

40 days of purpose driven life – 2nd week (day 10)

40 Days of Purpose Driven life

Day 10 – The Heart of worship

-          The heart of worship is surrender.

-          Surrender implies losing, that’s why this word was disliked, because no one wants to be a loser. But surrendering to GOD is the heart of worship. It’s natural response to God’s amazing love and mercy. We give ourselves to HIM, not out of fear or duty, but in love, “because HE first loves us.” (1 John 4:9-10,19).

-          There are three barriers that block our total surrender to GOD: fear, pride, and confusion. We don’t realize how much God loves us, we want to control our own lives, and we misunderstand the meaning of surrender.

-          Trust is an essential ingredient to surrender. We won’t surrender to God unless we trust HIM, but we can’t trust HIM until we know HIM better. Fear keeps us from surrendering, but love cast out all fear. The more we realize how much God loves us, the easier surrender becomes. God gives us many evidences that HE loves us (Psalms 145:9, Psalms 139:3, Mattew 10:30, 1 Timothy 6:17b, Jeremiah 29:11, Psalms 86:5, Psalms 145:8).

-          Admitting our limitations. A second barrier to total surrender is our pride. We don’t want to admit that we’re just creatures and not in charge of everything. Life is a struggle, but what most people don’t realize is that our struggle is really a struggle with God.

-          What it means to surrender. Surrendering to God isn’t passive resignation, fatalism, or an excuse for laziness. It’s not accepting the status quo. It may mean the opposite: sacrificing your life or suffering in order to change what needs to be changed. God often calls surrendered people to do battle on HIS behalf. Surrender is not for cowards or doormats.

-          Surrender doesn’t mean giving up rational thinking. God wouldn’t waste the mind HE gave you! God doesn’t want robots to serve HIM. Surrendering is not repressing your personality. God wants us to use our unique personality. Rather than its being diminished, surrendering enhances it.

-          The blessing of surrender. The Bible is crystal clear about how we benefit when we finally surrender our life to God. First, we experience peace (Job 22:21), next is freedom (Romans 6:17), and God’s power in our life (Joshua 5:13-15).

-          The best way to live. Everybody eventually surrenders to something or someone. If not to God, we surrender to the opinions or expectations of others, to money, to resentment, to fear, or ego. But like E. Stanley Jones said, “If you don’t surrender to Christ, you surrender to chaos.”

-          Surrender is not the best way to live; it is the only way to live.

-          Sometimes it takes years, but eventually we discover that the greatest hindrance to God’s blessing in our lives is not others, it is ourselves – our self will, stubborn pride, and personal ambition. We can’t fulfill God’s purposes for our lives while focusing on our own plans.

-          Don’t be afraid to surrender to JESUS; nothing under HIS control can ever be out of control.

-          When we decide to live a totally surrendered life, that decision will be tested. Sometimes it will mean doing inconvenient, unpopular, costly, or seemingly impossible tasks. It will often mean doing the opposite of what you feel like doing.

-          Point to Ponder: The heart of worship is surrender.

-          Verse to Remember: “Surrender your whole being to HIM to be used for righteous purposes.” (Romans 6:13b).

-          Question to Consider: What area of my life am I holding back from God? My ambition, I have my own plan for future. I don’t know whether it’s HIS purpose upon me, but maybe I need to consider my ambition once more time and surrender it unto HIS hands.

40 days of purpose driven life – 2nd week (day 8&9)

40 Days of Purpose Driven life

Second Week – You were planned for God’s pleasure

Day 8 – Planned for God’s pleasure.

-          God didn’t need to create us, but He chose to create us for HIS own enjoyment.

-          Bringing pleasure to God is called “worship.” Anything we do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship. Worship can include singing, praying, listening to the Sermon, ceremonies, communion, miracles, etc, but worship is far more than those. Worship is a lifestyle.

-          Worship is far more than music. Worship predates music. Adam worshiped in the Garden of Eden, but music isn’t mention until Genesis 4:21 with the birth of Jubal. If worship just music, then all who are nonmusical could never worship. Worship is far more than music.

-          Worship is not for our benefit. Worship isn’t for us. It’s for God. Of course most “worship” services also include elements of fellowship, edification, and evangelism, and there are benefits to worship, but we don’t worship to please ourselves. Our motive is to bring glory and pleasure to our creator. I used to think that worship strengthens me, sermon is for preparing me to face the life’s challenges, I usually forgot that every time I go to church, praising HIM, listening to the sermon is not for me, but for HIS glory. This point reminds me to be focused again, to glorify HIM.

-          Worship is not a part of your life; it is your life. Worship is not just for church services. Every activity can be transformed into an act of worship when we do it for the praise, glory, and the pleasure of God. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31). How is it possible to do everything to the glory of God? By doing everything as if you were doing it for Jesus and by carrying on a continual conversation with HIM while you do it.  Work becomes worship when you dedicate it to God and perform it with an awareness of HIS presence.

-          Point to Ponder: I was planned for God’s pleasure.

-          Verse to Remember: “The Lord takes pleasure in His people.” (Psalm 149:4a)

-          Question to Consider: What common task could I start doing as if I were doing it directly for Jesus? Hmm..Accompanying my mom, I can start doing it as for accompanying Jesus, so I can accompanying my mom more patiently and wholeheartedly.^^

40 Days of Purpose Driven life

Day 9- What makes God smile?

-          Since pleasing God is the first purpose of our lives, our most important task is to discover how to do that.

-          Learn five acts of worship that make God smile from Noah’s life:

1. God smiles when we love HIM supremely. God deeply loves us and desires our love in return. He longs for us to know HIM and spend time with HIM. He wants a relationship with us. This is why learning to love God and be loved by HIM should be the greatest objective of our life. Jesus called it the greatest commandment. (Matthew 22:37-38).
2. God smiles when we trust him completely. Trusting god completely means having faith that HE knows what is best for our lives. We expect HIM to keep HIS promises, help us with problems, and do the impossible when necessary. Trusting is an act of worship. “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6)
3. God smiles when we obey HIM wholeheartedly. Noah obeyed completely (No instruction was overlooked while he built the boat), and he obeyed exactly (in the way and time God wanted it done). That’s wholeheartedness. Sometimes we couldn’t see what’s God purpose, and wondering why we should do HIS command. Understanding can wait, but obedience can’t.
4. God smiles when we praise and thank Him continually. Few things feel better than receiving heartfelt praise and appreciation from someone else. God loves it too. He smiles when we express our adoration and gratitude to HIM. An amazing thing happens when we offer praise and thanksgiving to God. When we give God enjoyment, our own hearts are filled with joy.
5. God smiles when we use our abilities. We usually think that the only time that God is pleased with us is when we’re doing “spiritual” activities – like reading the Bible, listening to the sermon, sharing our faith, etc. Actually God enjoys watching every detail of our lives. He doesn’t miss a single move we make. We don’t bring glory or pleasure to God by hiding our abilities or by trying to be someone else. We only bring HIM enjoyment by being ourselves. Anytime we reject any part of ourselves, we are rejecting God’s wisdom and sovereignty in creating us.

-          Point to Ponder: God smiles when I trust HIM.

-          Verse to Remember: “The Lord is pleased with those who worship HIM and trust HIS love.” (Psalms 147:11).

-          Question to Consider: Since God knows what is best, in what areas of my life do I need to trust HIM most? I’m still struggling with my future. That’s the main area I need to trust HIM the most..

40 days of purpose driven life – day 6&7

40 Days of Purpose Driven life

Day 6 – Life is a temporary assignment.

-          To make the best use of our lives, we must never forget two truths. First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only temporary residence. We won’t be here long, so don’t get too attached.

-          The fact that earth is not our ultimate home explains why, as followers of Jesus, we experience difficulty, sorrow, and rejection, in this world (John 16:33, 16:20, 15:18-19). It also explains why some of God’s promises seem unfulfilled, some prayers seem unanswered, and some circumstances seem unfair.

-          God allows us to feel a significant amount of discontent and dissatisfaction in life in order to keep us from being too attached to earth.

-          When life gets tough, when we overwhelmed with doubt, or when you wonder if living for Christ is worth the effort, remember that you aren’t home yet. At death you won’t leave home, you’ll go home.

-          Point to Ponder: This world is not my home.

-          Verse to Remember: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18.

-          Question to Consider: How should the fact that life on earth is just a temporary assignment change the way I am living right now? Of course it changes the way I am living. Our goal isn’t about something temporary like money, success, fame, etc, but it’s about preparing our next job in the eternity.^^.. Do every little thing with all my heart, my soul, do my best in everything I do, because now I’m working for an eternal goal..^^

40 Days of Purpose Driven life

Day 7 – The Reason for everything

-          It’s all for HIS glory. The Glory of God is who God is. It is the expression of HIS goodness and all his other intrinsic, eternal qualities.

-          How can we bring glory to God? – “I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything YOU told me to do” (John 17:4). The birds bring glory to God by flying, the ants bring glory to God by becoming an ant, and we bring glory to God by being ourselves. St. Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.”

1. We bring glory to God by worshiping HIM. Worship is our first responsibility to God. God wants our worship to be motivated by love, thanksgiving, and delight, not duty. Worship is far more than praising, singing, and praying to God. Worship is a lifestyle of enjoying GOD, loving HIM, and giving ourselves to be used for HIS purpose. When we use our lives for God’s glory, everything we do can become an act of worship.
2. We bring God glory by loving other believers. When we were born again, we become a part of God’s family. Following Christ is not just a matter of believing it, also includes, belonging and learning to love the family of God.
3. We bring God glory by becoming like Christ. Spiritual maturity is becoming like Jesus in the way we think, feel, and act. “As the Spirit of the LORD works within us, we become more and more like HIM and reflect HIS glory even more” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
4. We bring God glory by serving others with our gifts. The way we’re “wired” is not an accidents. God didn’t give us our ability for selfish purposes. They were given to benefit others, just as others were given abilities for our benefits.
5. We bring God glory by telling others about HIM. God doesn’t want HIS love and purposes kept a secret. Once we know the truth, he expects us to share it with others.

-          What or who are we going to live for? If we hesitate to live for CHRIST, wondering whether we will have strength to live for God, don’t worry. God will give us what we need if we will just make the choice to live for HIM.

-          Point to Ponder: It’s all about HIM.

-          Verse to Remember: “For everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by HIS power, and everything is for HIS glory.” (Romans 11:36)

-          Question to Consider: Where in my daily routine can I become more aware of God’s glory? Theoretically, I must aware in every activity, but honestly I used to forget about that, and sometimes I just did my daily routine for my own sake. After I read this chapter, I’ll try to be aware of HIS glory in every activity I do.

40 days of purpose driven life – Day 5

40 Days of Purpose Driven life

Day 5 – Seeing Life from God’s view

-          The way we see our lives shapes our lives.

-          How do I see my life? I see my life as a journey, I don’t know what will happen next, there will be many challenges, there will be many obstacles, but I’m sure I can handle it with HIM by my side, and I can use each challenges as my teacher and springboard, so I can get better and better each day. This way of thinking makes me more courageous to face new day, to cope all things that would come to my way, but still sometimes fear still comes and it’s my part to defeat my fear..^^

-          The Bible offers three metaphors that teach us God’s view of life: Life is a test, Life is a trust, and life is a temporary assignment. These are the foundation of purpose-driven living.

-          Life is a Test. Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test. We will be tested by major changes, delayed promises, impossible problems, unanswered prayers, undeserved criticism, and even senseless tragedy. Even the smallest incident has significance for our character developments. Every day is an important day; every second is a growth opportunity to deepen our character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God. Some tests seem overwhelming, while others we don’t even notice. But all of them have eternal implication.

-          Life is a Trust. We never really own anything during our brief stay on earth. God just loans the earth to us while we’re here. (1 Corinthians 4:7b) “What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if all you have is from God why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own?”. Yeah..We never do something alone; all we have in this life is only by grace, not because we are good, we are awesome, not because WE are but because HE’s been GOOD to us, so there’s no reason to be boasted. And in 1 Corinthians 4:2, “Those who are trusted with something valuable must show they are worthy of that trust.” It’s just like an illustration about talent that Jesus gave. The owner of the talent (JC) will come and evaluates each of us. If we succeed, He will gives us affirmation , “Good job, well done!”, next we will receive a promotion and be given greater responsibility in eternity, “I will put you in charge of many things.”, then we will be honored with a celebration, “Come and share your Master’s happiness”. Just like the servants in talents’ illustration ( Matthew 25:14-29)

-          Life is a test and a trust, and the more God gives us, the more responsible He expects us to be.

-          Point to Ponder: Life is a test and a trust.

-          Verse to remember: “Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones.” (Luke 16:10a)

-          Question to consider: What has happened to me recently that I now realize was a test from God? What are the greatest matters God has entrusted you? Hmm..I think recently being a jobless is a test from God, He wants to test my faith and hope in Him, because sometimes I still worry about my future, but recently I know that He wants to teach me to surrender all things into HIS hands, and teach me to believe HIM 100%, and He gave me time to think about HIS grace more deeply, and teach me how to be modest and care about others. The greatest matter HE has entrusted me was Youth of GKI Bungur, well before I read this, I feel that my duty has already finished, but God reprimand me through this book, that it hasn’t finished yet, coz until I die, the task still be at my shoulder..^^

40 days of purpose driven life – Day 4

40 Days of Purpose Driven life

Day 4 – Made to last forever

-          While life on earth offers many choices, eternity offers only two; heaven or hell. Our relationship to God on earth will determine our lives in eternity.

-          Death is not our determination, but our transition into eternity, so there are eternal consequences to everything we do on earth.

-          It would be wiser to live each day as if it were the last day of our lives.  When we think like this, we’d try to give our best, try to bring happiness wherever we are. But this verse is truly right, how if tomorrow I die without fulfilling my purpose? It would be my greatest regret..T.T

-          Point to Ponder: There is more to life than just here and now.

-          Verse to remember: “this world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever.” 1 John 2:17.

-          Question to consider: Since I was made to last forever, what is the one thing I should stop doing and the one thing I should start doing today? I should stop living in short-term thinking, start to reset my own goal, and start to prioritize HIM in my life.

40 Days of Purpose driven life – Day 3

40 Days of Purpose Driven life

Day 3 – What drives your life?

-          Everyone’s life is driven by something. These are the 5 of the most common ones:

1. Many people are driven by guilt. They spend their entire lives running from regrets and hiding their shame. We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it. God’s purpose is not limited by our past. He turned a murderer named Moses into a leader, and a coward named Gideon into a courageous hero, and He can do amazing things with the rest of our lives too. I have a friend whom I think her life was driven by guilt. The first one dropped out from school, and until now just wondering around. She doesn’t have any confidence and scared to face others. Many people have tried to encourage her until now, but hard to drag her out from her guilt.
2. Many people are driven by anger and resentment. They hold on to hurts and never get over them. Instead of releasing their pains through forgiveness, they rehearse it over and over in their minds. Well many people around me are driven by resentment, including myself..^^…Rick Warren in this book said: Those who have hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you now unless you hold on to the pain through resentment. Your past is past! Nothing will change it. You are only hurting yourself with your bitterness. For your own sake, learn from it, and then let it go. When I read this sentence, I felt like a big hammer knock my head..^^..Yeah, that’s right, when I’m holding grudge to someone who hurts me, she/he maybe not noticed, they still enjoying their day, but it makes me having a bad day, so it means I make myself hurt twice. Or when I “blow up” to anybody else, I made the others felt the same as I was. I need to learn to let go the past, take it as experience, and move on ..^^.. but one thing that I still wondering. Is it Ok to use the resentment as a trigger so I can do better things? I usually do that..Is it healthy? Maybe somebody can help me to answer this question. hahaha…this is the reason why Rick Warren suggest to read this book with a friend..^^
3. Many people are driven by fear. Their fears may be a result of a traumatic experience, unrealistic expectations, growing up in a high control home, or even genetic predisposition. Regardless of the cause, fear driven people often miss great opportunities because they’re afraid to venture out. Instead they play it safe, avoiding risks and trying to maintain the status quo. Fear is a self-imposed prison that will keep you from becoming what God intends for you to be. You must move against it with the weapons of faith and love. I often feel annoyed with my friend whom avoiding risks, but I don’t know what they’re thinking, maybe they have their own consideration, well I, myself have some fear too, but I have a motto life is about defeating my fears coz I have SOMEONE (JC) at my back..^^
4. Many people are driven by materialism. Their desire to acquire becomes the whole goal of their lives. Maybe it’s because there is a misconceptions that having more will make us happier, more important, more secure, but it’s untrue. Because our value is not determined by our valuables, and wealth can be lost instantly, it can buy us secure feelings, coz the real security can only be found in that which can never be taken from us – our relationship with God. I really hates when my mom said, “Why the actress depressed? She has money, she has everything.”..Well, money can’t buy you happiness. I really wanna say this to my mom, that our true problem is not money but the dread, too much cares of life and ungratefulness. Like Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:9 (KJV) “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” Yup, He loves us abundantly, HIS grace is sufficient for each of us, so be thankful..X)
5. Many people are driven by the need of approval. Rick Warren said that he doesn’t know all the keys to success, but one key to failure is try to please everyone. I think it will be tiring if you try to please everybody, because too many people to be pleased, and when you try to pleased someone, maybe somebody will be unpleased, so it’s really hard right, and in the end you will feel useless and got nothing. In fact, there’s only one person we need to please, He is our LORD..^^

-          The benefits of purpose driven living:

1. Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life. When life has meaning, we can bear almost anything, without it, nothing is bearable. The greatest tragedy is not death, but a life without purpose.
2. Knowing your purpose simplifies your life. Without a clear purpose we have no foundation on which base decisions, allocate our time, and use our resources. It’s impossible to do everything people want us to do; we have just enough time to do God’s will.
3. Knowing your purpose focuses your life. It concentrates our effort and energy on what’s important. We’ll become effective by being selective. The power of focusing can be seen in light. Diffused light has little power or impact, but focused light, even more as a laser beam can cut through steel. Never confuse activity with productivity. We can be busy without a purpose, but what’s the point? ( Wew..It struck me like a lightning)
4. Knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity. There is nothing in earth will last forever. Living to create an earthly legacy is a short sighted goal. A wiser use of time to build eternal legacy. One day we will stand before God, and He will do an audit of our lives, a final exam, before we enter eternity. And I’m really afraid if He said that He doesn’t know me..T.T.. Our lives in the earth just like a race, if we finish we become a winner, but how if we were disqualified by the judges? Terrible!!I hope it won’t happen to us.

-          Point to Ponder: Living on purpose is the path to peace.

-          Verse to remember: “You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in You.” (Isaiah 26:3)

-          Question to consider: What would my family and friends say is the driving force of my life? What do I want it to be? I don’t know what my family would think,they are busy right now, but I think recently my driving forces are anger and ambitions. After I read this chapter I think I need to renew my driving force..^^