Purpose Driven Life Day 29

Day 29, May 29th, "Accepting Your Assignment"

    - The fourth purpose in our life is serving God. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Each of us was placed on earth to make a contribution. God designed each of us to make a difference with our lives. "You were created to add to life on earth, not just take from it." (Rick Warren).

YOU WERE CREATED TO SERVE GOD
    - Whenever we serve others in any way we are serving God. Each one of us was placed on earth for a special reason/assignment. Jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations - that's what I had in mind for you." God shaped us before we were even conceived. He planned who our parents were going to be and what our assignment was going to be.

YOU WERE SAVED TO SERVE GOD

    - 2 Timothy 1:9 says, "For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time - to show us his grace through Christ Jesus." We were saved to serve God. "In God's kingdom, you have a place, a purpose, a role, and a function to fulfill." (Rick Warren). Jesus gave his life to purchase our salvation. We need to serve God out of joy and gratitude and not out of guilt or shame. We own him our lives. "Through salvation our past has been forgiven, our present is given meaning, and our future is secured." (Rick Warren). If you only have love for yourself, no desire to serve others, and are only concerned about your needs, you should question whether Christ is really in your life. "A saved heart is one that wants to serve. Every member of God's family is a minister" (Rick Warren). When we serve, we are ministering. We are saved to help others. We are saved to serve, not sit around and wait for heaven.

YOU ARE CALLED TO SERVE GOD
    - Every Christian is called to serve, not just preachers. "Anytime you use your God-given abilities to help other, you are fulfilling your calling." (Rick Warren). Each one of us have a role in our local church. There is no small service, any kind of service matters. There is no correlation between the size of service and the significance. Every role matters because we rely on each other to function. Just like the body if one part fails to function, you get sick. When my thyroid stopped functioning correctly I became sick. Cancer invaded my body and I had to have my thyroid taken out and radiation. My immune system was down and I got sick a lot. It's important that each of us play our role and serve in our local church, so that the church stays healthy and continues to grow.

YOU ARE COMMANDED TO SERVE GOD
    - Serving is the heart of Christian living. "Holy living consists in doing God's work with a smile." (Mother Teresa). If you are not doing God's work with a smile and a grateful, giving heart you might as well not do it. As christians we need to act on what we know and practice it. "Impression without expression causes depression." (Rick Warren). When we serve we are exercising our spiritual muscles. We need not to ask what someone can do for us but we need to ask whose needs can I meet.

PREPARING FOR ETERNITY
    - When we go to heaven God is going to evaluate us on how well we served others in our life. He will compare how much time and energy we spent on ourselves compared with what we invested in serving others. Romans 2:8 says, "But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness." If we live for ourselves and do not serve others, God will show anger towards us and we will lose eternal awards God has planned for us. "We are only fully alive when we're helping others." (Rick Warren). This is so true! When I am serving others in my work, I absolutely feel so alive. I feel so fulfilled, thats how I know serving others is my spiritual gift.

SERVICE AND SIGNIFICANCE

    - Service is the only pathway to real significance. We all will give our life to something. It's what we choose to give it to that matters. You could choose your job, a hobby, fame, wealth, etc. None of those will have lasting significance. Through ministry we discover the meaning of our lives. God wants to work through us. "What matters is not the duration of your life, but the donation of it." (Rick Warren). God uses even us misfits for his service. We need to stop making excuses and start serving.

Point to Ponder: Service is not optional.
Verse to Remember: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10
Question to Remember: What is holding me back from accepting God's call to serve him?