1 It All Starts with God

 

 

 

What on Earth Am I Here For?

 

 

A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump;

a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.

Proverbs 11:28

 

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord....

They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with

roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees

are not bothered by the heat or worried by long

months of drought. Their leaves stay green,

and they go right on producing delicious fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7-8

 

 

1 It All Starts with God

 

 

For everything, absolutely everything,

above and below, visible and invisible,...

everything got started in him and

finds its purpose in him.

Colossians 1:16

 

Unless you assume a God, the question

of life's purpose is meaningliss.

Bertrand Russell, artheist

 

 

It's not about you.

The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment,

your peace of mind, or even your happiness.

It's far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. 

If you want to know why you were placed on this planet,

you must begin with God.

You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.

 

The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years.

That's because we typically begin at the wrong starting point—ourselves.

We ask self-centered questions like

What do I want to be?

What should I do with my life?

What are my goals, my ambitions,

my dreams for my future?

Focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life's purpose.

 

"It is God who directs the lives of his creatures;

everyone's life is in his power."

Job 12:10

 

You were made by God and for God—

and until you understand that,

life will never make sense.

 

It is only in God that we discover our origin,

our identity, our meaning, our purpose,

our significance, and our destiny.

 

You were made for God, not vice versa,

and life is about letting God use you for his purposes,

not your using him for your own purpose.

 

"Obsession with self in these matters is

a dead end;

attention to God leads us out into the open,

into a spacious, free life."

Romans 8:6

 

You could reach all your personal goals,

becoming a raving success by the world's standard,

and still miss the purposes for which God created you.

 

"Self-help is no help at all.

Self-sacrifice is the way, my way,

to finding yourself, your true self."

Matthew 16:25

 

What is the meaning of life?

 

God has not left us in the dark to wonder and guess.

He has clearly revealed his five purposes for our lives through the Bible.

 

"God's wisdom...

goes deep into the interior of his purposes...

It's not the latest message, but more like the oldest—

what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us."

1 Corinthians 2:7

 

God is not just the starting point of your life;

he is the source of it.

To discover your purpose in life you must turn to God's World,

not the world's wisdom.

You must build your life on eternal truths,

not pop psychology, success-motivation, or inspirational stories.

 

"It's in Christ that we find out

who we are and what we are living for.

Long before we first heard of Christ

and got our hopes up,

he had his eye on us,

had designs on us for glorious living,

part of the overall purpose

he is working out in everything and everyone."

Ephesians 1:11

 

This verse gives us three insights into your purpose.

 

1. You discover your identity and purpose through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

2. God was thinking of you long before you ever thought about him.

His purpose for your life predates your conception.

He planned it before you existed, without your input!

3. The purpose of your life fits into a much larger,

cosmic purpose that God has designed for eternity.

 

Without God life makes no sense.

 

You may have felt in the dark about your purpose in life.

Congratulations, you're about to walk into the light.

 

 

 

DAY onE

Thinking About My Purpose

 

Point to Ponder: It's not about me.

 

Verse to Remember: "Everything got started in him

and finds its purpose in him."

Colossians 1:16b

 

Question to Consider; In spite of all the advertising around me,

how can I remind myself that life is

really about living for God, not myself?

 

 

 

p 17~21

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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