God Made You and You Belong to Him

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

God Made You and You Belong to Him by Rick Warren

And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." Luke 1:46-47 "If you're going to trust somebody with your life, who better to trust than your Maker?" When it comes to planning, many Christians act like atheists. They realized Jesus saved them, but they don't really trust him. They think they can plan their life any way they want to. But the reality is everyone is created by God, and he made each person for a unique purpose. He has a specific destiny for everyone.  God had a plan for Mary. He chose her and he created her to become the mother of the Son of God. And what was Mary's response? She didn't say, "I've got my own plans for my life. I'm too busy. I have to do what's best for me." No, she realized God had a purpose for her life and she was willing to do whatever he wanted. Her response was a song of praise, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:46-47). Mary recognized that God was her Lord and Savior and she was eager to do his will. She trusted him with her life even though she knew no one would believe her when she told them what the angel said. Do you trust that God has made you for a specific destiny? The Bible says, "Know that the Lord is God. He made us, and we belong to him; we are his people" (Psalm 100:3). You didn't make yourself. God made you. He created you and designed you and you belong to him. God's destiny for your life is better than any plan you'll ever come up with. So if you're going to trust somebody with your life, who better to trust than your Maker, the one who created you for a purpose?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

God is mindful of you

"For he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant." Luke 1:48a "When God is mindful of you, he notices everything in your life." No one cares more about your life than God. No man, no woman, not even you. That's why God's destiny is always the best. God loves you perfectly and he is always thinking about you and thinking about what is best for you. "Give God all your worries and all your cares for he is always thinking about you watching everything that concerns you" (1 Peter 5:7). Whatever concerns you, concerns God. Whatever you're worried about, whatever you're afraid of, whatever keeps you up at night, whatever gets your attention, gets God's attention. No one will care more about your life, so why not give him your life to care about? Mary could say yes to God's plan for her life because she knew God was looking out for her and was always thinking about her. That's why she could sing praises to him and say, "for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant" (Luke 1:48a). What does it mean that God is mindful of you? It means he's alert, he's focused, he's paying attention. When God is mindful of you, he notices everything in your life. Matthew 10:19-30 says not even a sparrow can fall to the ground without God noticing. He even numbers every hair on your head. That's how close God pays attention to you. That's why it's worth going God's way rather than your way. Accepting God's destiny for your life is the best plan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Great Reversal

"He has displayed his power with many mighty deeds but has scattered the people who are proud and think they are the great ones. He has brought down mighty rulers from their thrones but has raised up the humble! He has filled the hungry with good things but sent the rich away with nothing!" Luke 1:50-53 "God says the people who think they have it all together are going to fail, and the people who think they don't have it together are going to succeed." What is humility? Humility is when you say, "I'm going with God's plan for my life, because my plan isn't as good." And the Bible says, "Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will lift you up" (James 4:10). In Luke 1:50-53, Mary says, "He has displayed his power with many mighty deeds but has scattered the people who are proud and think they are the great ones. He has brought down mighty rulers from their throne but has raised up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but sent the rich away with nothing." Do you see the great reversal here? God says the people who think they have it all together are going to fail, and the people who think they don't have it together are going to succeed. Those who trust God are the ones who are going to make it in the long term. Who or what are you trusting? Do you put more emphasis on what God's Word says or what the celebrities on TMZ say? How about the athletes in your fantasy league? Or the financial wizards of Wall Street and the stock prices? None of the things our culture says is important will matter five years from now. But those who trust God humbly and know his Word are going to make it in the long-term, because that's what lasts. Mary knew the Word of God enough that she could quote ten verses from the Old Testament and make a song out of it. Do you know enough Scripture like that? If you want God's blessing on your life, you need to get into the Word and read it, study it, and start memorizing it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

God Planned Your Destiny Long Before Your Birth

"He has kept the promise he made to our ancestors, and has come to the help of his servant Israel. He has remembered to show mercy to Abraham and to all his descendants forever!" Luke 1:54-55 "You can't count on anybody else to always be there for you, but you can count on God." Other people are going to break their promises to you. You know that. You've experienced it many times. But God keeps his promises always. You can't count on anybody else to always be there for you, but you can count on God. Mary's song in Luke 1 ends with the theme of God's faithfulness. In verses 54-55, Mary says, "He has kept the promise he made to our ancestors, and has come to the help of his servant Israel. He has remembered to show mercy to Abraham and to all his descendants forever." What was the promise? What was Mary singing about? God made a promise to Abraham that the whole world would be blessed through him because God would send the Messiah through his family line. God kept his promise; 2000 years after he revealed his plan to Abraham, he now revealed to Mary the role she would have in God's plan. Mary knew that her story and her destiny had started long before she was even born. In fact, hundreds of years before Mary, the prophet Isaiah said this, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). God planned your destiny long before you were even born. He planned it from the foundation of the earth. Psalm 139 says, "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (verse 16). God created you for your destiny, and your destiny is part of a long plan that extends before and after you. You can trust God on that. Why? Because the Messiah did come, he came through Mary, and he died for our sins just as it was promised. And that is why we can fulfill our destiny.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Destiny is to Develop Christ's Character

"God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son .... We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him." Romans 8:29 "God's ultimate goal for your life on earth is not comfort, but character development." From the very beginning, God's plan has been to make you like his Son, Jesus. This is your destiny. God announced this intention at Creation: "Then God said, 'Let us make human beings in our image and likeness." (Gen 1:26) In all of creation, only human beings, are made "in God's image." This is a great privilege and gives us dignity. We don't know all this phrase covers, but we do know some of the aspects it includes: Like God, we are spiritual beings—our spirits are immortal and will outlast our earthly bodies; we are intellectual—we can think, reason, and solve problems; like God, we are relational—we can give and receive real love; and we have a moral consciousness—we can discern right from wrong, which makes us accountable to God. But we have been damaged and distorted by sin. So God sent Jesus on a mission to restore the full image that we have lost.  What does the full "image and likeness" of God look like? It looks like Jesus Christ! The Bible says Jesus is "the exact likeness of God," "the visible image of the invisible God," and "the exact representation of his being." (2 Corinthians 4:4; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3) As creatures, we will never be the Creator. God doesn't want you to become a god; he wants you to become godly—taking on his values, attitudes, and character. We are meant to "take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you." (Ephesians 4:22) God's ultimate goal for your life on earth is not comfort, but character development. He wants you to grow up spiritually and become like Christ. Becoming like Christ does not mean losing your personality or becoming a mindless clone. God created your uniqueness, so he certainly doesn't want to destroy it. Christlikeness is all about transforming your character, not your personality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Destiny has Eternal Significance

"All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, because there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end." John 9:4 "You must be urgent about understanding your destiny because it will impact the eternal destiny of others." Your destiny has eternal significance. And it will impact the eternal destiny of other people, so it's more important than any job, achievement, or goal you will reach during your life on earth. The consequences of your mission will last forever; the consequences of your job will not. Nothing else you do will ever matter as much as helping people establish an eternal relationship with God. This is why you must be urgent about knowing your destiny and completing your mission. Jesus said, "All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, because there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end." (John 9:4) The clock is ticking down on your life mission, so don't delay another day. Get started on your mission of reaching out to others now! We will have all of eternity to celebrate with those we have brought to Jesus, but we only have our lifetime in which to reach them. This does not mean you should quit your job to become a full-time evangelist. God wants you to share the Good News where you are. As a student, mother, preschool teacher, salesman, or manager or whatever you do, you should continually look for people God places in your path with whom you can share the gospel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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