God Made Me to Make a Difference

In summary of Ephesians 2:10 it 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.”

Bottom Line:

We are renewed because of the redemptive power of Christ and what he did.  We can now fulfill what God our created us to do long ago.  To do good things in his name.

What this means to me:

God has made me who I am. I’m his masterpiece, his workmanship.  Through the redemption of my savior, Jesus Christ, I’m now able to do the good things he created me to do in the first place.  God calls me to a service far beyond anything I could ever imagine. He put me here on earth to make a contribution, not just consume resources.  God designed you to make a difference with your life. The Bible says, "God . . . has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10 TEV) The "good deeds" are my service to the world. Whenever I serve others in any way, I'm serving God.  Every member of his family is to minister, not just pastors. Now that I am saved, God intends to use me to fulfill his purposes. God has a ministry for me in his church and a mission for me in the world.  Given this, I need to listen for his specific direction.  If I’m not hearing anything, I am to proceed with what I already know he wants me to do (serve others with the abilities he’s given me, take interest in their lives, live as an example/model, and bring God honor in anything I do.)  If I do this, then I will fulfill his His intention.  This will mean giving up my own agenda each day and seeking to do that which God would have me do.

To Find Yourself, Focus on God

In summary of Matthew 10:39 it says, “If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.”

Bottom Line:

If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it

What this means to me:

Each day I need to turn my focus from myself to turn it instead to Jesus.  Turning to Jesus and following him helps my overall purpose in life change.  I go after the things he is interested in (people.)  I do the work that he has already planned for me to do.  If I cling to my own life and own way, I will miss out.  I can look to Jesus as my example.  Jesus life was purpose driven, and he lived with priorities.  At the end of my life, I would like to say, “I did it. I used my life the way God wanted me. I may have had a rocky start. But I used the rest of my life the way God wanted me to use it. And I put him first.”  As a Christian, God should come first in my life. Everything else is second place. Scripture tells me, if I put him first, everything else will come into focus. God will help me with it.  The most counter-culture statement in today’s world is the first sentence of “The Purpose Driven Life”: “It’s not about you.” Everything in society says it’s all about you. All of the advertisements say it’s all about you.  God says the only way I’ll ever find yourself is by forgetting myself and focusing on God. Then I’ll not only figure out God; but I’ll also figure out me. That’s what it means to live like Jesus.  In summary, I need to give up myself and my own desires.  Turn my focus to Jesus.  In doing so I’ll find my true life, the one he intended for me.

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

In summary of Matthew 5:9 it says, “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.”

Bottom line:

You are blessed when you work for peace, this is how God want’s his people to be involved.

What this means to me:

God asks that I foster a spirit of cooperation instead of competing or fighting. My actions should be a model for others.  He asks that I help others in this way as well.  This is what God wants for me, as a member of his family.  So this means that when people disagree with me, God wants me to respond with integrity, humility, and civility.  Unfortunately, civility has become a counter culture value in our society. Some people are just not that polite to each other. They’re not civil with each other.  As Rick Warren says, “I’d like to see three things: the restoration of credibility in the Church, the restoration of responsibility in individual lives, and the restoration of civility in our culture so you can disagree without being disagreeable.”  These are crucial because Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” Not the people who create conflict and division but the peacemakers, the bridge builders.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:9, “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight” (MSG). To obtain God’s blessing on my life, so I need to learn how to be civil toward people. This is God’s intent for me. One of the most famous quotes of Jesus is found in Matthew 7:12: “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (NIV). It’s called the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Rick Warren defines that word as “civility.” Civility is just treating other people the way you’d like to be treated, even if you disagree with them — even if they’re flat-out, dead wrong. Even if they’re fighting against you, you treat them the way you would like to be treated. That’s civility.  In summary this means that I need to treat others the way I would want to be treated.  I need to be careful about my attitude and demeanor.  When possible I should encourage and foster cooperation.  When I do this God says he’ll provide me with blessings.  This also means that I need to get over any hurt feelings, wantings to retaliate that comes so naturally.

The Problem with Stuff

In summary of Matthew 16:26 it says, “What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?”

Bottom line:

Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? There is nothing you can give to regain your life.

What this means to me:

It is no benefit for me to gain things in this world, yet in the process lose my soul.  There is no amount of money, nor any effort I can possibly do, to regain it.  Life is complicated enough without adding additional things to it.  The tendency is to keep adding more and more stuff into our lives. One of the big problem with stuff is, the more you have, the more it takes to take care of it all (you have to clean it, protect it, insure it, and repair it.)  It isn’t too long before the stuff I accumulate will dominate my life.  Our worldly culture values collecting and obtaining stuff.  But the Bible reminds us that life is not about things or stuff. Getting more stuff won’t make me happy.  God didn’t design me that way. I was never meant to keep collecting and collecting stuff.  Jesus modeled a very simple life. I didn’t see him collecting things. Instead He spent his time and energy on relationships — because he knew they were more important than all the stuff in the world.  Today I will consider that I don’t need to collect stuff to obtain happiness.  Collecting stuff will only side track me from what’s important.  I need to catch myself when I start dreaming about stuff and remember this.

God Created Me To Serve

In summary of 2 Timothy 1:9 it 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.”

Bottom Line:

God saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

What this means to me:

God is the one who saved me from the ultimate punishment of my sin.  He calls me to be one of his own people, with a life set apart for his purpose.  He did this, not because of something I did, or anything I would even deserve.  From the beginning this was all part of his plan and purpose.  He shows me grace through Christ.  In this grace I was saved, and as such, I have been gifted for ministry; to serve others. My ministry will use all of my talents, gifts, and abilities. God wants me to use those to help others. Every time I do, I’ll be doing ministry.  Ministry is really nothing fancy, scary, or supernatural. It's just helping others. Furthermore, my ministry is necessary in the church. I’m a part of this family. If I don't use my talents, I end up cheat others.  Likewise, when others don’t use their talents they cheat the congregation and myself.  Anytime I use my talents and gifts in the name of Jesus to help others, I’m ministering.  In summary, I need to use what God has equipped me with to help and serve others (this is what he created me for.)  When I do, I’m fulfilling his will for me.  If I refuse to use my talents or serve, I’m in essence cheating others and not living out God’s will.

God Says I’m Valuable

In summary of 1 Corinthians 7:23 it says, "God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world."

Bottom line:

God paid a high price for you; so do not become slaves of others or the world.

What this means to me:

God paid a very high price to bring me back into a right relationship with him.  It would be a shame to let myself be subject/slave to the world or others.  There are are two things that determine value in life: One is what someone is willing to pay for it and the second is who owned it in the past.  As I reflect on these things, I can see that God has placed a high value on me, especially as it relates to what he paid to get me back.  I am something that he had, and due to my actions, I was lost.  The Bible reminds me that "You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him - be free now from all these earthly prides and fears" (1 Corinthians 7:23 LB).  Today, since I belong to Him, I focus on not letting myself be enticed or entangled by the worlds values or by others.  I will remind myself that my creator places a high value on me.

God Tells Me I’m Accepted

In summary of Romans 15:7 it says, "Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory."

Bottom line:

Accept one another, as Christ has accepted you.  Do this for the glory of God.

What this means to me:

I am to welcome and accept others, regardless of how I want to feel about them.  I do this because Christ has welcomed and accepted me.  When I do this, I bring glory and honor to God. I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to earn acceptance. I’ve wanted to earn it from my parents, peers, partners in life, from people I respect, maybe even from people I envy. This drive to be accepted is a deep drive that can influence the way I dress, what I drive, where I live and even my career.  I would pursue acceptance because I wanted to know that, I'm OK, and I'm accepted.  Acceptance does a tremendous thing for your self-esteem. The truth I need to remind myself about is that Jesus accepts me and that his acceptance is not based on your performance. I do not need to earn his acceptance; I do not  have to prove myself to him. The good news is that Jesus Christ, has already accepted me.