Purpose Driven Life Day 13

Day 13, May 13th, "Worship What Pleases God" 

   - Mark 12:30 says, "Love the Lord your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." God wants us to love him with every part of our being. He doesn't just want parts of you, he wants all of you. He wants full devotion to Him. The kind of worship that pleases God has four characteristics:
   1. God is pleased when our worship is ACCURATE
      - "Worship must be based on the truth of scripture, not our opinions about God." Rick Warren. We cannot let our opinions interfere with the truth of the scripture and how we worship God. We must worship God in an accurate way to be pleasing to Him.
   2. God is pleased when our worship is AUTHENTIC

     - God designed out spirit to worship with him. Rick Warren says, "Worship is your spirit responding to God's spirit." We must worship genuinely and heartfelt. We must mean what we say when we say it or sing it. If we worship heartlessly we are insulting God. Sometimes you see people in church or you see in yourself worshipping God but it is not genuine. They are doing it for show or to please someone else. Growing up my father was like this, he pretty much just went to check the box saying he went to church. God sees the attitude in our hearts. He knows how we are feeling and what emotions we are expressing. Worshipping brings out emotions that God gave you. We were all created unique so the way you worship may not be the same as someone else. My dad now goes to a more contemporary church and for him its not about checking the box anymore, he enjoys and craves it. Rick Warren says, "Your biggest distraction in worship is yourself - your interests and your worries over what others think about you." We have to do what is authentic to us and shows authenticity to God. There is no "one size fits all" for worship. We were all created unique, you have to find what
works for you. Thats why we have so many denominations in christianity. If you want to worship God on your hands and knees or you want to worship God singing and dancing you can. Find what fits you and be yourself. Be authentic!
    3. God is pleased when our worship is THOUGHTFUL
     - We have to love God with all our mind too. If we worship mindlessly it is meaningless. We have to be thoughtful in our worshipping. For me that means me taking notes in my prayer journal. I get more out of a sermon by taking notes. I am a very studious person and by taking notes I understand the material more and it keeps me focused. When we go to church the message should be understandable for unbelievers. Cascade Hills Church in Columbus, GA is "The Church for the Unchurched." They pride themselves on finding the unbelievers and bringing them to Christ. All of there messages are very practical to life today and are very understandable. This is how messages should be so we can reach those unbelievers.
   4. God is pleased when our worship is PRACTICAL
 

  - So many times people say, "I'm sorry I can't make it but, I'll be there in spirit." This is not true. Your spirit can only be where your body is. We need to live for God, not just on Sunday's but everyday. This is not always convenient for us or comfortable. Sometimes Sunday's is our only day off and we don't want to go and get ready and go to church. Again, its not always comfortable or convenient. When I was living in Arizona I didn't have a day off. I worked 7 days week so I went to church on Saturday nights because I worked in the morning on Sunday's. There were days when I did not want to go but I did every time and I am so glad I did. We need to make worship a priority in our lives. Somedays will be easier then others.

Point to Ponder: God wants all of me.
Verse to Remember: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." Mark 12:30
Question to Ponder: Which is more pleasing to God right now - my public worship or my private worship? What will I do about this?

Purpose Driven Life Day 11-12

Day 11, May 11th, "Becoming Best Friends with God"

   - When you feel like you have no one, God is there. God is our creator and maker, Lord and master, judge, redeemer, Father, Savior, etc., but what God wants most from us is for us to be his friend. Rick Warren says, "Friendship with God is possible only because of the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus." We need to have friendship with all three forms; God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Jeremiah 9:24 says, "If people want to boast, they should boast about this: They should boast that they understand and know me. They should boast that they know and understand that I, the Lord, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the earth and that I desire to do these things." Knowing God is the greatest thing we have. We need to become best friends with God. We should crave spending time with him. When I was a senior in college, bachelors degree, I made God my best friend. I would get excited to have the night off to spend time in God's word and learn more about him. This blog and this book are really helping me get back to that. I crave reading God's word again and I crave to blog and learn more about my purpose. There are 6 secrets to friendship with God, today the book goes over two of them and on day 12 the other four will be talked about.
    1. Through constant conversation

        - Rick Warren says, "You will never grow a close relationship with God by just attending church once a week or even having daily quiet time." We need to share all our life experiences with God. We should carry on a conversation with Him all day long every day. We should pray without ceasing, ALL THE TIME. This helps us to stay aware of his presence. By changing our attitude toward what we are doing we can become closer to God. What we do for ourselves we should be doing for God. God is with us all the time, every second of the day. Brother Lawrence recommends praying shorter conversational prayers continually through the day rather than have long complex prayer sessions. I do this often times I'll just send up a "prayer flare" to God. I'll ask him for guidance or ask him to help me trust him. Like anything else this skill is something you need to work on daily and make it a habit.  We have to train our minds to do this. Putting little reminders throughout your home or work place can help.
    2. Through continual meditation
 

    - Rick Warren says, "Meditation is simple thinking about God's word through the day." This could mean recalling verses, recalling lessons learned in a sermon, or bible study, etc. Meditation is simple focused thinking. "When you think about a problem over and over in your mind, thats called worry. When you think about God's word over and over in your mind, that's called meditation." Rick Warren. If I turned all my worry into meditation, I would have the closest relationship with God. I am a constant worrier and its not healthy or righteous. I need to switch my worry/fear into Bible verses! "God will share his secrets with you if you develop the habit of thinking about his word throughout the day." Rick Warren. The more time we spend with God and reviewing his word the more "secrets" of this life God will reveal. Psalm 25:14, "The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant." Rick Warren sums it up by saying, "Prayer lets you speak to God, mediation lets God speak to you! Both are essential to becoming a best friend of God." I have just recently unlocked the power of mediation. I turn on some quiet nature music and I lay down/sit in the presence of God and I just listen to him, I ask him questions and listen for his voice to answer me. Sometime I get answers sometimes I don't. I listened to a sermon by Pastor Bill Purvis and he said God answers prayers in 5 ways;
    1. God says "No" I want whats best for you
    2. Yes, but wait! (The best things are worth waiting for)
    3. Yes, but the answer is different then what you thought
    4. Yes, and more
    5. Yes, I thought you'd never ask, I've been waiting on you to just ask.
He also said, "If you see activity, that prayer is working." The activity could be what you want or what you don't want but any activity shows that God is working. What answers is God giving you in your life right now?

Prayer and meditation are powerful tools, I can't wait to read tomorrow to see how I can become an even closer friend with God!

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 of the Day: What can I do to remind myself to think about God an talk to him more often throughout the day?

Day 12, May 12th, "Developing Your Friendship With God"
   - "You are as close to God as you choose to be." Rick Warren. God desires to have a close intimate relationship with each and every one of us. Just like any earthly relationship, our relationship with God requires the desire, time, and energy. We have to be honest with God and share our feelings with Him, trust him when he asks you to do something, and care about what he desires. Yesterday we talked about the first two secrets to a relationship with God and today we are going to talk about he last four.
   3. Be Honest with God

      -  We have to be 100% completely honest with God. God doesn't expect us to be perfect. God wants us to say what we want to say to him. He doesn't mind us complaining, accusing, or second-guessing him. Rick Warren says, "Genuine friendship is built on disclosure." We must be completely honest with God and tell him what is on our mind. We should be in constant conversation with him daily. "What may appear as audacity, God views as authenticity." Rick Warren. By being 100% honest, God sees us opening up to him and showing what we really feel. "Until we mature enough to understand that God uses everything for good in our lives, we harbor resentment toward God over our appearance, background, unanswered prayers, and past hurts, and other things we would change if we were God." Rick Warren. Bitterness is a barrier for friendship with God. We have to learn to talk to God and tell him about the hurts we are having. I know this is hard, trust me! When I am hurt and don't understand things that are going on in my life, trust me I do have some resentment towards God but, I need to bring that to God and tell him! I have gotten a lot better throughout the last couple of years though. Often times we blame God for hurts that others have caused us. God always acts in our best interests, even when we don't think so. The book of Psalms expresses so much emotion. We should not hold back anything from God. Bring it all to him.
   4. Choose to Obey God in Faith
 

   - We need to be obedient to God and what he wants us to do. This may be scary at times but we need to be obedient. "Every time you trust God's wisdom and do whatever he says, even when you don't understand it, you deepen your friendship with God." Rick Warren. This is hard at times, but we need to trust in Him. There are times in my life where I disobeyed God and paid the price. God is our friend but not our equal he is our leader and we need to obey Him. We need to obey Him because we love Him and trust Him because he knows whats best for us. The closer we become the deeper the friendship we have with God. John 15: 9-11 says, "Just as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you. Abide in My love! If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and your joy may be full." We have to do what Jesus says, even when its not what we want. Trust me this is just as hard for me as the next person. It hurts at times but God does not cause pain without allowing something new to be born. Rick Warrens says, "Great opportunities may come once in a lifetime but, small opportunities surround us every day." Obey God every day even with the small things.
   5. Choose to Value what God Values
    - We need to care about what God cares about. God cares most about the redemption of His people and he cares second about us sharing His word with others. We need to spread God's word all the time, no matter who you are with. God placed you where you are at for a reason. Use where you are at and who you are around to spread His word.
   6. Desire Friendship With God More Than Anything Else
    - We have to want a relationship with God and desire it more than anything else. "God isn't offended when we wrestle with him because it brings us closer to Him." Rick Warren. Wrestling is an activity that you are up closer and personal with another person. God doesn't mind us wrestling with him because it brings us closer to Him. Again, we are as close to God as we choose to be. We have to intentionally seek a relationship with him. What is it worth to you? Rick Warren says, "If you've been going through the motions spiritually, don't be surprised when God allows pain in your life." WOW! This one hit me hard. I felt like I was just going through the motions before and have recently seen pain been brought to my life and then I become closer to God. C.S. Lewis says, "Pain is God's megaphone." This is so true for me in my life. Whenever I'm in pain or have fear I run to God and I'm so close but when things are going well in my life, I am more passive with my faith. Pain is God's way of waking us up. It is not a punishment, it is just a wake up call from God. "God is not mad at you, he's mad about you and your actions, and he will do whatever it takes to bring you back into fellowship with him." Rick Warren. We need to pray to know God intimately.

Having a relationship with God is the most important relationship you can have! 

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?

Purpose Driven Life Day 7

Day 7, May 7th, "The Reason for Everything"

  - Do you ever ponder what the reason is for everything and anything you are doing? The answer to that question is to give GLORY TO GOD! We need to live for giving God glory. Revelations 21:23 says, "The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp." In heaven there is no sun or moon because all the light is provided by the glory of God. There are only two of god's creations that fail to bring him glory. The first one is fallen angels (demons), and the second one is us (people). Of all of the things God created only two things can fail to bring glory to God and we as people are one of those two. Rick Warren says, "All sin at its root is failing to give God glory." None of us, no matter if you are the pastor or the homeless guy on the street give God the full glory he deserves. There are 5 ways that we can bring glory to God.
    1. Worship Him
           - This is our number one responsibility as believers. "God wants us to be motivated by love, thanksgiving, and delight, not duty." Rick Warren. As a kid I was not motivated by love, thanksgiving, or delight to go to church. I went because my mom made me. Yes I accepted God as my Lord and Savior at a young age but I didn't worship God the way I should. I grew up in a very traditional small Lutheran church. When I went to college I wanted to get more involved in a more contemporary church. I tried one my freshman year but did not really get into going back to church and fully diving in until my senior year. Then, when I moved down to Newberry, SC I got baptized and have not looked back sense. At times though my faith is stronger than at other times. We need to learn to enjoy God, love him, and put ourself to use for HIS purpose. Everything we do can become and act of worship. I know for me I listen to worship music while I workout and while I am driving. It puts me in a good mood and sets my mind right plus I am worshipping God. Maybe one day once I get settled I will sing and help others worship...maybe.
    2. Love Other Believers
          - When you accept God as your Lord and Savior you become a part of God's family. We need to learn to love like God does. Dr. A.T Stewart was a guest speaker at Cascade Hills Church one Sunday and he talked about how we need to love our wife/husband/significant other how God loves the church. This sermon was very good to hear at the time and reading today about loving other believers reminded me of this. You can listen to it by downloading the Cascade Hills app on your phone and it is under messages titled, "Your wife's greatest need." We need to love others like God loves the church. So often we get caught up in ourselves that we forget to love on others and show them God's love. We need to love how God does, unconditionally. This could be a message to you for your spouse/significant other, your friend, or an other believers.
    3. Becoming Like Christ
          - We need to grow our spiritual maturity. We need to become more like Jesus, in the way we think, feel, and act. Lately, I find myself asking would God approve of this show I am watching? Would he approve of the way I am feeling or acting? You have to ask yourself these questions and have quiet time with God to become more like him.
    4. Serving Others with Our Gifts
          - We are all uniquely designed by God. God "wired" us in a certain way on purpose. We all have attributes given to us to benefit others. We need to use those to help other people and serve other people. We need to use the talents God has given us to serve others. I am very good with taking care of people and just serving God's people. I work well in the healthcare setting because I get fulfillment in helping other people. Here is a picture of a guy I was taking care of in AZ on the weekends.
My heart feels full when I serve others. I think thats why I enjoy having a significant other so much. I like to help people and be with someone that appreciates it. I like cooking dinner and doing laundry to help someone else out. I like making someone feel good by sending them decorated care packages, letters, text, etc. I like having that void in my life filled. But, I need to learn to love myself more and love and serve God more because once I get into a relationship that loving and serving of God should not change.
     5. Tell Others About Him
         - Once we know God, it is our responsibility as Christians to share the word with others. Bill Purvis always talks about when he goes on a plane that he likes to keep to himself, read, listen to music, etc ., but he always ends up sitting by someone that wants to talk. He mentioned that now when he gets on a plane he prays to God to place him by someone that needs to here about God. Last Friday I was flying into Ohio and I prayed that prayer. I ended up sitting next to two ladies and we didn't really talk until the last hour of the flight but they talked to me and they shared things with me that I needed to hear. We got to talking about the books I was reading and I told them about my recent break up. The one lady was a newly wed that was traveling to Ohio on business, she shared with me that she had a similar situation happen to her, she moved out to AZ because thats where his family was and she got a job out there and her boyfriend at the time was to follow shortly after. She ended up being with him for 5 years and he basically told her I don't want to be with you anymore. Now she is a newly wed that married her best friend from college and is loving her life. I needed to hear that story. The other lady was a retired marine wife and she told me how she prayed and prayed for a baby and at the age of 40 she got one, she adopted. She told me never stop praying. It's amazing the plans God has for us every day. He placed me in that seat for a reason.

What Will You Live For?
      - Living to glorify God will cause us to change our priorities, schedule, relationship, etc. It may be a difficult path versus the easy path but God will give us the strength to live for him if we just choose to do it. For me it starts with my prayer journal and quiet time with God. We need to believe that God loves us, God has a plan, and everything happens for a reason.

Point to Ponder: It's all for him.
Verse to Remember: "For everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by his power, and everything if for his glory." Romans 11:36
Question to Consider: Where in my daily routine can I become more aware of God's glory?