I think of The Rescue by Cross Movement that goes like:

I'm glad I'm dead / nobody loved me but my mother / Look again my brother / the waiting room's full of brothers and sisters you've touched / they may not show it all the time / but they love you very much

I realize that at times of uncertainty and doubt, I sometimes doubt whether anybody really likes, loves, or cares about me at all. But, I realize that this is merely a false attack by the Evil One. I know that I need to ignore these lies, but also that I need to remember that, even so, my identity is rooted in Christ and not in the affection of others.

Go ahead and take a look at the result. It's even in the standard Deloitte format, the deck (aka presentation).

As I was driving back to the office, I remembered the story of Daniel refusing to eat the defiled food of the king of Babalyon.  Daniel 1:9 says, "Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel."  So, I began thinking.  Are my friends my friends because of how great I am?  I quickly come to the conclusion that it's not because I'm great, but because God is.  God is so great that he causes others to show favor to me for no good reason.  God places me in circumstances with people for a reason unknown other than to live out my faith with these people.

 Basically, God is soverign and in control.  He gave me everything - great parents, intellect, determination, friends, talents, circumstances to excel, salvation from my own terrible decisions, mentors, everything.   How can I ever say that anything great that happens in my life is somehow out of my own hard work?  How can I even think of stealing glory from God?

I have had well-meaning friends desire to "help" me. It's real sweet. It is really is. Very admirable, caring, loving, etc. It's awesome. But, honestly, who can help me. Somebody who is going where I am going can help me. Somebody who has been where I want to be. That is who can help me. Dreams, aspirations, visions, desires, and fantasies do not change the facts. Life is a journey with a destination.

So, what is it that I need now? I need to move into living life rather than doing life.

The other really annoying thing is that I feel totally worthless without attention from others. It's like the most pathetic thing in the world to say. I mean, doesn't that sound totally vain? What if I didn't get attention from those around me? What if I went to a party and knew nobody? What if I was around a bunch of people I thought were friends and they were all talking to each other and not me? What if somebody did talk to me and I felt like it was totally superficial? I mean, I get pretty fed up with the world and everybody. Without attention, I begin to assume, stereotype, and criticize each person around me for not being real, or authentic, or caring, or having any positive characteristics. I begin to identify flaws in others – oh, they are superficial, materialistic, or a phony/poser. Or maybe these others have deep-seeded issues, like identity issues, a need to be seen as perfect or nice or considerate or together or fashionable or cultured or smart or athletic or friendly or whatever else.

What is wrong with me!?!? Seriously, where do I get off having these thoughts? I am the one with the issue. I am somehow all screwed up. Why? How? Is there a resolution?

Pursuing: The contentedness in existence. The security in the uncertainty. The thrill of the unknown. The fun in monotony. The excitement of being alone. The fulfillment without accomplishment. The confidence without others' approval.

God knows. God cares. God changes me. I am the problem – not others.

God, change me. I am so selfish to desire you to change others to fit my desires. Kill this me that isn't me. I'm spent.

If this is confusing, doesn't make sense or whatever then disregard. Otherwise, hope it's interesting and provides insight into what's going on in my life in some weird way. I need to get some of these deep issues out of the way. Time away. Time alone. Time of fear.

I'm searching for restoration. Frustrations are great because change comes.

Stop. Reflect, Listen. Ponder. Question. Desire. Change. Move. Radical.

............

Resolutions'06

Focal Points

• Logins to computer
  • Consider a reminder startup box/script
• 10,1,4

Convictions – is it conviction if it's not evident in all?

• Fasting – food or other desires
  • People/Society by Sept for a weekend.
• Lusting – pray for future wife (her character, relationships, experiences, etc.)

Planning athletic events with people for fun (rather than eating)

• Running; Biking; Tennis; Racquetball

Service

• Make the house the most hospitable place possible by cleaning/organizing/planning
  • Plan an event once a month. Determine the difficulty then focus on addressing it
  • Come up with a plan for cleaning the house – doing trash, bathrooms, rooms
  • Take turns coming up with an event for the month – the person in charge chooses and others should be willing to do something new...

Encouragement

• Write monthly letters
  • Take a few hours the last weekend of each month to spend some time writing encouraging notes to others
• Look for ways to show appreciation to others
  • Thanking/acknowledging people for what they do
  • Words of Affirmation (thank you, I really appreciate ... / it made my feel ... / it made X impact)
  • Love languages...
    • QT – intentionally setting aside time to spend with others<

Humility

• Look for ways to exalt others (ie. Praise , compliment, support , etc.)
• Seek to help others struggling/confused/frustrated
• Service the homeless/downtrodden

Bible reading – read the Bible in a year

• Go through with Phil

Discipleship

• Learn from Pete at least once a month
• Begin discipling somebody

Tactfulness / Sensitiveness

• Lessons from people
• Listen with an open ear and heart
• Avoid belittling others feelings /thoughts/ideas
• Watch for a condescending attitude when I disagree / don't understand / huh? - ask with a caring heart and try to understand
• Keep a running list of lessons

ThePurpose

Asyou know, I haverecently purchased a home for the sole purpose of housing a group of“God-Chasers.” And that was the reason I purchasedthehome. You may be thinking it was a wise or stupid on my part to dothis, but nevertheless here I am with a house full of great guys. Iam not concerned about my financial standing or ability to financethe house for the sole reason because this is something God led me todo. So, I know He will provide one way or another. But, right now Ipropose something other than the norm. I desire to free myself fromfinancial strain and life restrictions imposed by recently purchasingthis house. The reason for this desire is because I know it limitsmy ability to serve my tenants, experience life, and ability tofollow God's lead.

TheVision:

So,that being said,request that you consider helping me fulfill a dream of mine. I wantto ensure that I contribute to the building of small Christ-centeredcommunity. This is what I'm doing now by owning the house, but Ifeel I am limited to use money freely.If Godchooses to grant me the financial freedom I desire though you (andpotentially others), then this house will always be dedicated tobuilding Christ-centered community for as long as He allows.

TheProposal:

I'd liketo pay off 20% (~$120,000) of the purchase price of the house asquickly as possible. I am requesting an interest-free loan for asmuch as you'd like to contribute which would be completely paid offin at most 6 years. Before you discount the idea or think it'simpossible, remember that 'nothing is impossible with God' (Luke1:37) as you may remember from the Christmas story being fresh on ourminds.

TheNumbers:

CurrentYearly Payment:11,779.68
Immediate Savings to Me:50,125.23
CurrentRate: 9%
MonthlyPaymentsRemaining: 175 (~14.5 yrs)
CurrentMonthlyPayment: 981.64

SuggestedYearlyPayments (Conservative):

Notonly would thissave me $50,000 over the course of the next 15 years (but realized in6), but it would give me flexibility to work with the assetsavailable to me much sooner. Currently, I do not have the option torefinance my main loan for a better rate or product simply because Ido not have enough equity in my house. Currently, my equity iseffectively zero (0) and I do not like the idea of that. I amexcited about the opportunity to build up 20% equity over the next 6years which will give me freedom to live life.

Oncethe 2^ndmortgage is paid off, the rental income will cover all other housecosts for the duration of the loan. Additionally, the 2^ndloan needs to be paid off completely. Anything less than the fullamount ($120,000) will not work because I will still have paymentsdue to the mortgage company. Those payments along with theaggressive reimbursement schedule is not feasible.

Finally,if you dodecide you'd be interested in supporting me and my dream, pleaseremember that any money you loan me is in fact yours. If at any timeyou need the money for an emergency, please give notice and I willtake out a loan to repay the remaining amount you loaned me. Also,the above suggested re-payment schedule is fairly conservativebecause paying ~$17,000/yr at my current income level will not bedifficult. I do expect a promotion this next year along with asalary increase which should allow me to repay quicker. An increaseof 2,000/yr should be able to be done without difficulty while stillallowing me to continue to save, purchase a new car, invest in my401k, etc. The first year is expected to be the most difficult forme and the burden should lessen as time progresses. Nevertheless,any extra money above my personal financial plan will be repaid toyou as quickly as possible. I willdraw up alegally binding contract with the above guidelines and any otherguidelines that we agree upon.

Thank youfor reading and considering. May God bless you each day with a joythat is so filling you cannot help but to bless others and a peace ofheart that cannot be explained in any language.

If I am able to use OCR to get text of my notes, I will put them in here.

Wild at Heart

What makes you come alive? What stirs your heart?

In the heart of every man is a desperate desire for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue.

Aggression is part of the masculine design.

The wounds he will take throughout his life will cause him to lose heart if all he has been trained to be is soft. This is especially true in the murky waters of relationships, where a man feels least prepared to advance.

Every man wants to play the hero. Every man needs to know that he is powerful.

The recipe for fun is pretty simple raising boys: Add to any activity an element of danger, stir in a little exploration, add a dash of destruction, and you've got yourself a winner.

Adventure requires something of us, puts us to the test. Though we may fear the test, at the same time we yearn to be tested, to discover that we have what it takes.

There is nothing so inspiring to man as a beautiful woman.

A man wants to be the hero to the beauty.

Every woman yearns to be fought for. She wants to be more than noticed – she wants to be wanted. She wants to be pursued.

Every woman also wants an adventure to share. A woman doesn't want to be the adventure; she wants to be caught up into something greater than herself.

And finally, every woman wants to have a beauty to unveil. Do you see me? asks the heart of every girl. And are you captivated by what you see?

What if those deep desires in our hearts are telling us the truth, revealing to us the life we were meant to live? A woman must know she is beautiful, she must know she is worth fighting for.

The Wild One Whose Image We Bear

The ultimate risk anyone ever takes is to love, for as C.S. Lewis says, “Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to the no one, not even an animal.”

There is also something wild in the heart of a woman, but it is feminine to the core, more seductive than fierce.

There is Eve. Creation comes to its high point , its climax with her.

The Question that Haunts Every Man

Why won't he engage?

“All men die; few men ever really live.” And so most women lead lives of quite resignation, having given up on their hope for a true man.

What are so many men addicted to sports? Why do so many others lose themselves in their careers? It's no coincidence that man men fall into an affair not for love, not even for sex, but, by their own admission, for adventure.

If a man does not find those things for which his heart is made, if he is never even invited to live for them from his deep heart, he will look for them in some other way.

This is every man's deepest fear: to be exposed, to be found out, to be discovered as an imposter, and not really a man.

We doubt very much that we have any real strength to offer, and we're pretty certain that if we did offer what we have it wouldn't be enough.

Desire reveals design, and design reveals destiny.

Every man repeats the sin of Adam, every day. We don't risk, we don't fight, and we won't rescue Eve.

Now every daughter of Eve wants to “control her surrounding, her relationships, her God.” No longer is she vulnerable; now she will be grasping. No longer does she want simply to share in the adventure; now, she wants to control it. And as for her beauty, she either hides it in fear and anger, or she uses it to secure her place in the world.

Most of what you encounter when you meet a man is a façade, an elaborate fig leaf, a brilliant disguise.

We pick only those battles we are sure to win, only those adventures we are sure to handle, only those beauties we are sure to rescue.

All that swaggering and supposed confidence and heard charging come out of fear – the fear that if I did not, I would be revealed to be less than a man.

But he's a coward. Men who can't commit to the woman they've been dragging along for years.

I am faced with the reality that I now have this woman as my constant companion and I have no idea what it really means to love her, nor if I have whatever it is she needs from me.

The Wound

Every man carries a wound.

I was a very driven man, a perfectionist, a hard-changer, and a fiercely independent man. But behind me was string of casualties – people I had hurt, or dismissed – including my own father. You can never admit need, never admit brokenness. This is the story of the creation of that false self.

Men either overcompensate for their wound and become driven (violent men), or they shrink back and go passive (retreating men).

The Battle for a Man's Heart

Women are often attracted to the wilder side of a man, but once having caught him they settle down to the task of domesticating him. Ironically, if he gives in he'll resent her for it , and she in turn will wonder where the passion has gone.

The Father's Voice

No man, for any considerable period of time, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to the which may be the truth. ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

Walking Away From the Woman

As we walk away from the false self, we will feel vulnerable and exposed. We will be sorely tempted to turn to our comforters for some relief, those places that we've found solace and rest. Because so many of us turned to the woman for our sense of masculinity, we must walk away from her as well. I do not mean you leave your wife. I mean you stop looking to her to validate you, stop trying to make her come through for you, stop trying to get you answer from her. For some men, this may mean disappointing her. If you've been a passive man, tiptoeing around your wife for years, never doing anything to rock the boat, then it's time to rock it. Stand up to her; get her mad at you. For those of you violent men (including achievers), it means you stop abusing her. You release her as the object of your anger because you release her as the one who was supposed to make you a man. Repentance for a driven man means you become kind. Both types are still going to the woman. Repentance depends on which way you've approached her.

But I have counseled many young men to break up with the woman they were dating because they had made her their life. She was the sun of his universe, around which he orbited. A man needs a much bigger orbit than a woman. He needs a mission, a life purpose, and he needs to know his name. Only then is he fit for a woman, for only then does he have something to invite her into. A friend tells me that in the Masai tribe in Africa , a young men cannot court a woman until he has killed a lion. That's their way of saying, until he has been initiated. I have seen far too many young men commit a kind of emotional promiscuity with a young woman. He will pursue her, not to offer his strength but to drink from her beauty, to be affirmed by her and feel like a man. They will share deep, intimate conversations. But he will not commit; he is unable to commit. This is very unfair to the young lady. After a year of the sort of relationship a dear friend said, “I never felt secure in what I meant to him.”

When we feel the pull toward the golden-haired woman, we must recognize that something deeper is at play. As Bly says,

What does it mean when a man falls in love with a radiant face across the room? It may mean that he has some soul work to do. His soul is the issue. Instead of pursing the woman and trying to get her alone… he needs to go along himself, perhaps to a mountain cabin, for three months, write poetry, canoe down a river, and dream. That would save some women a lot of trouble. (Iron John)

Again, this is not permission to divorce. A man who has married a woman has made her a solemn pledge; he can never heal his wound by delivering another to the one he promised to love. Sometimes she will leave him; that is another story. Too many men run after her, begging her not to go. If she has to go, it is probably because you have some soul work to do. What I am saying is that the masculine journey always takes a man away from the woman, in order he may come back to her with his question answered. A man does not go to a woman to get his strength; he goes to her to offer it. You do not need the woman for you to become a great man, and as a great man you do not need the woman. As Augustine said, “Let my soul praise you for all these beauties, but let it not attach itself to them by the trap of love,” the trap of addiction because we've taken our soul to her for validation.

But there is an even deeper issue than our question. What else is it we are seeking from the Woman with the Golden Hair? What is that ache we are trying to assuage with her? Mercy, comfort, beauty, ecstasy – in a word, God. I'm serous. What we are looking for is God.

There was a time when Adam drink deeply from the source of all Love. He – our first father and archetype – lived in an unbroken communion with the most captivating, beautiful, and intoxicating Source of life in the universe. Adam had God. True, it was not good fro man to be alone, and God in his humility gave us Eve, allowed us to need her as well. But something happened at the Fall; something shifted. Eve took the place of God in man's life. Let me explain.

Adam was not deceived by the serpent. Did you know that? Paul makes that clear in 1 Timothy 2:14 – Adam did not fall because he was deceived. His sin was different; in some ways, it was more serious in that he did it with open eyes. We do not know how long it lasted, but there was a moment in Eden when Eve was fallen and Adam was not; she had eaten, but he yet had a choice. I believe something took place in he heart that went like this: I have lost my ezer kenegdo, my soul mate, the most vital companion I've known. I do not know what life will be like, but I know I cannot live without her.

Adam chose Eve over God.

If you think I exaggerate, simply look around. Look at all the art, poetry, music, drama devoted to the beautiful woman. Listen to the language man use to describe her. Watch he powerful obsession at work. What else can this be but worship? Men come into the world without the God who was our deepest joy, our ecstasy. Aching for we know not what, we meet Eve's daughters and we are history. She is the closest thing we've ever encountered, the pinnacle of creation, the very embodiment of God's beauty and mystery and tenderness and allure. And what goes out to her is not just our longing for Eve, but our longing for God as well. A man without his true love, his life, his God, will find another. What better substitute than Eve's daughters? Nothing else in creation even comes close.

To a young man who had never been without a girlfriend since the eighth grade, I gave the advice that he should break up, call of all dating for one year. From the look on his face you'd have thought I told him to cut off his arm… or something worse. Do you see what is at work here? Notice that the struggle with pornography or masturbation is most difficult when you are lonely, or beat up, or longing for comfort to your wound. The longing for the ache to go away, and the pull toward other comforters can seem overwhelming. I've watched it in many men. I know it in myself. But if this is the water you are truly thirsty for, then why do you remain thirsty after you've had a drink? It's the wrong well.

We must reserve Adam's choice; we must choose God over Eve. We must take our ache to him. For only in God will we find the healing of our wound.

Healing the Wound

Tears are healing

Abiding in the love of God is our only hope, the only true home for our hearts. It's not that we mentally acknowledge that God loves us. It's that we let our hearts come home to him, and stay in his love.

Forgiveness is setting a prisoner free and then discovering the prisoner was you.

Forgiveness is a choice. It is not a feeling, but an act of the will. As Neil Anderson has written, “Don't' wait to forgive until you feel like forgiving; you will never get there. Feelings take time to heal after the choice of forgiveness is made.””

A Battle to Fight: The Enemy

Your flesh is a weasel, a poser, and a selfish pig. And you flesh is not your. Your flesh is not the real you.

I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within my and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of my covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge . ( The Message )

“I am not really the one doing it, the sin within me is doing it.” My sin is not me – this is not my true heart.

The Bid Lie in the church today is that you are nothing more than “a sinner saved by grace.” You are a lot more than that.

The real you is on the side of God against the false self. We are told to shoot the traitor. How? Choose against him every time you see him raise his ugly head. Walk right into those situations you normally run from. Speak right to the issues you normally remain silent over. If you want to grow in true masculine strength, then you must stop sabotaging yours.

Where does your own sense of power come from? Is it how pretty your wife is? Is it knowledge – that you have an expertise and that makes others bow to you, bow to you? Is it your position, degree, or title? What happens inside you when I suggest that you give it up? Where am I deriving my sense of strength and power from? Is a good question to ask yourself…often.

The world of posers is shaken by a real man. They'll do whatever it takes to get you back in line – threaten you, bribe you, seduce you, undermine you. Let people feel the weight of who you are and let them deal with it.

A Battle to Fight: The Strategy

Follow this: So long as a man remains no real threat to the Enemy, Satan's line to him is You're fine. But after you do take sides, it becomes Your heart is bad and you know it.

All the while we believe that it's us, we are blowing it, we're to blame, and the Enemy is laughing because we've swallowed the lie “I'm not here, it's just you.”

Satan doesn't throw a thought at us; he throws feelings too.

Stand on what is true and do not let go. Period.

“Be strong and very courageous.. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Josh. 1:6-7, 9

All men die, few men ever really live.

The point is simply to do whatever brings me back to my heart and the heart of God.

Ecstasy and delight are essential to the believer's soul and they promote sanctification. We are not meant to live without spiritual exhilaration… The believer is in spiritual danger if he allows himself to go for any length of time without tasting the love of Christ… When Christ ceases to fill the heart with satisfaction, our souls will go in silent search of other lovers. (The Thought of God)

A Beauty to Rescue

You'll be glad every night That you treated her right. ~George Thorogood

Every woman needs to know that she is exquisite and exotic and chosen. This is core to her identity, the way she bears the image of god. Will you pursue me? Do you delight in me? Will you fight for me? And like every little boy, she has taken a wound as well. The wound strikes right at the core of her heart of beauty and leaves a devastating message with it: No. You're not beautiful and no one will really fight for you. Like your wound, hers almost always comes at the hand of her father.

Like so many unloved young women, Stasi turned to boys to try to hear what she never heard from her father. But when a woman never hears she's worth fighting for, she comes to believe that's the sort of treatment she deserves. And let me tell you, a hesitant man is the last thing in the world a woman needs. She needs a lover and a warrior, not a Really Nice Guy. Her worst fear was realized – I will never really be loved, never really be fought for. And so she hid some more.

The number one problem between men and their women is the we men, when asked to truly fight for her…hesitate. We are still seeking to save ourselves; we have forgotten the deep pleasure of spilling our life for another.

If the man refuses to offer himself, then his wife will remain empty and barren. A violent man destroys with his words; a silent man staves his wife.

Most men, you see, marry for safety; they choose a woman who will make them feel like a man but never really challenge them to be one.

Why don't men offer what they have to their women? Because we know down in our guts that it won't be enough.

No matter how good a man you are you can never be enough. If she's the report card on your strength then you'll ultimately get an F. But that's not why you love her – to get a good grade. You love her because that's what you are made to do; that's what a real man does.

“The universe is so vast and so ageless that the life of one man can only be justified by the measure of his sacrifice.”

An Adventure to Live

I want to live my whole life like that. I want to love with much more abandon and stop waiting for others to love me first.

Life is not a problem to be solved; it is an adventure to be lived. A man just won't be happy until he's got adventure in his work, in his love and in his spiritual life.

Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

You literally sacrifice your soul and your true power when you insist on controlling things.

What it comes to living and loving, what's required is a willingness to jump in with both feet and be creative as you go.

A woman doesn't want to be related to with formulas, and she certainly doesn't want to be like a project that has answers to it. She doesn't want to be solved; she wants to be known.

A man is never more a man than when he embraces adventure beyond his control, or when he walks into a battle he isn't sure of winning.
The control we so desperately crave is an illusion.

“What are you teaching me here, God? What are you asking me to do… or to let go of? What in my heart are you speaking to?”

Writing the Next Chapter

Obey God in the thing he shows you, and instantly the next thing is opened up. God will never reveal more truth about himself until you have obeyed what you know already. ~ Oswald Chambers

Now, reader, it is your turn to write – venture forth with God. Remember, don't ask yourself what the world needs…

WHAT ON EARTH AM I HERE FOR?

Day 1 It All Starts with God

Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless. ~Bertrand Russell, atheist

The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness.

In spite of all the advertising around me, how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God, not myself?

Day 2 You Are Not an Accident

I know that God uniquely created me. What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?

Day 3 What Drives Your Life?

Those who have hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you now unless you hold on to the pain through resentment.

Self-worth and net work are not the same.

One key to failure is to try to please everyone.

What would my family and friends say is the driving force of my life? What do I want it to be?

Day 4 Made to Last Forever

Only a fool would go through life unprepared for what we all know will eventually happen.

Since I was made to last forever, what is the one thing I should stop doing and the one thing I should start doing today?

Day 5 Seeing Life from God's View

What has happened to me recently that I now realize was a test from God? What are the greatest matters God has entrusted to me?

Day 6 Life Is a Temporary Assignment

God is very blunt about the danger of living for the ‘here and now' and adopting the values, priorities, and lifestyles of the world around us.

It's easy to forget that the pursuit of happiness is not what life is about.

All that is not eternal is eternally useless. ~ C.S. Lewis

You will not be in heaven two seconds before you cry out, “Why did I place so much important on things that were so temporary? What was I thinking? Why did I waste so much time, energy, and concern on what wasn't going to last?”

How should the fact that life on earth is just a temporary assignment change the way I am living right now?

Day 7 The Reason for Everything

We bring God glory by worshiping him.

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. ~ John Piper

We bring God glory by loving other believers.

We bring God glory by becoming like Christ.

We bring God glory by serving others with our gifts.

We bring God glory by telling others about him.

Where in my daily routine can I become more aware of God's glory?

PURPOSE #1: You Were Planned for God's Pleasure

Day 8 Planned for God's Pleasure

Worship is not for your benefit.

What common task could I start doing as if I were doing it directly for Jesus?

Day 9 What Makes God Smile?

“I don't want your sacrifices – I want your love; I don't want your offerings – I want you to know me.”

God smiles when we trust him completely.

Every parent knows that delayed obedience is really disobedience.

Anytime you reject any part of yourself, you are rejecting God's wisdom and sovereignty in creating you.

Since God knows what is best, in what areas of my life do I need to trust him most?

Day 10 The Heart of Worship

There are three barriers that block our totally surrender to God: fear, pride, and confusion.

That desire – to have complete control – is the cause of so much stress in our lives.

When faced with out own limitations, we react with irritation, anger, and resentment.

Surrendered people obey God's word, even if it doesn't make sense.

You know you're surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let God work. You don't have to always be “in charge.” The Bible says, “Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him.” Instead of trying harder, you trust more. You also know you're surrendered when you don't react to criticism and rush to defend yourself.

If not to God, you will surrender to the opinions or expectations of others, to money, to resentment, to fear, or to your own pride, lusts, or ego.

What are of my life am I holding back from God?

Day 11 Becoming Best Friends with God

They key to friendship with god, he said, is not changing what you do, but changing your attitude toward what you do.

What can I do to remind myself to think about God and talk to him more often throughout the day?

Day 12 Developing Your Friendship with God

God doesn't expect you to be perfect, but he does insist on complete honestly.

Friends of God tell their friends about God.

What practical choices will I make today in order to grow closer to God?

Day 13 Worship That Pleases God

Which is more please to God right now – my public worship or my private worship? What will I do about this?

Day 14 When God Seems Distant

Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light. ~ V. Raymond Edman

A friendship based on emotion is shallow indeed.

Remember what God has already done for you. If God never did anything else for you, he would still deserve your continual praise for the rest of your life because of what Jesus did for you on the cross. God's Son dies for you! This is the greatest reason for worship.

Unfortunately, we forget the cruel details of the agonizing sacrifice God made on our behalf. Familiarity breeds complacency. Even before his crucifixion, the Son of God was stripped naked, beaten until almost unrecognizable, whipped, scorned and mocked, crowned with thorns, and spit on contemptuously. Abused and ridiculed by heartless men, he was treated worse than an animal.

Then, nearly unconscious from blood loss, he was forced to draw a cumbersome cross up a hill, was nailed to it, and was left to die the slow, excruciating torture of death by crucifixion. While his lifeblood drained out, hecklers stood by and shouted insults, making fun of his pain and challenging his claim to be God.

Next, as Jesus took all of mankind's sin and guilt on himself, God looked away from that ugly sight, and Jesus cried out in total desperation, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus could have saved himself – but then he could not have saved you.

Words cannot describe the darkness of the moment. Why did God allow and endure such ghastly, evil mistreatment? Why? So you could be spared from eternity in hell, and so you could share in his glory forever! The Bible says, “Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him a share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God.”

Jesus gave up everything so that you could have everything. He died so that you could live forever. That alone is worthy of your continual thanks and praise. Never again should you wonder what you have to be thankful for.

How can I stay focused on God's presence, especially when he feels distant?

PURPOSE #2: You Were Formed for God's Family

Day 15 Formed for God's Family

How can I start treating other believes like members of my own family?

Day 16 What Matters Most

The Best Use of Life Is Love

Relationships must have priority in your life above everything else.

Life without love is really worthless.

Often we act as if relationships are something to be squeezed into our schedule. We talk about finding time for people in our lives. That gives the impression that relationships are just a part of our lives along with many other tasks. But God says relationships are what life is all about.

Relations, not achievements or the acquisition of things, are what matters most in life.

Busyness is a great enemy of relationships.

Love leaves a legacy. How you treated other people, not your wealth or accomplishments, is the most enduring impact you can leave on earth.

In our final moments we all realize that relationships are what life is all about. Wisdom is learning that truth sooner rather than later.

One of the ways God measures spiritual maturity is by the quality of your relationships.

“God, whether I get anything else done today, I want to make sure that I spend time loving you and loving other people – because that's what life is all about. I don't want to waste this day.”

The Best Expression of Love Is Time

The importance of things can be measured by how much time we are willing to invest in them. The more time you give to something, the more you reveal its importance and value to you. If you want to know a person's priorities, just look at how they use their time.

Relationships take time and effort, and the best way to spell love it “T-I-M-E.”

The essence of love is not what we think or do or provide for others, but how much we give of ourselves. Men, in particular, often don't understand this.

You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving. Love means giving up – yielding my preferences, comfort, goals, security, money, energy, or time for the benefit of someone else.

The Best Time to Love Is Now

“Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good toe everyone.” “Use every chance you have for doing good.” “Whenever you possibly can, do good to those who need it. Never tell your neighbor to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now.”

How will you explain those times when projects or things were more important to you than people? What do you need to cut out of your schedule to make that possible? What sacrifices do you need to make?

The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now.

Honestly, are relationships my first priority? How can I ensure that they are?

Day 17 A Place to Belong

“I love you, but I dislike your wife.” Or “I accept you, but I reject your body.”

Satan loves detached believers, unplugged from the life of the Body, isolated from God's family, and unaccountable to spiritual leaders, because he knows they are defenseless and powerless against his tactics.

Does my level of involvement in my local church demonstrate that I love and am committed to God's family?

Day 18 Experiencing Life Together

They share their hurts, reveal their feelings, confess their failures, disclose their doubts, admit their fears, acknowledge their weaknesses, and ask for help and prayer.

The world think intimacy occurs in the dark, but God says it happens in the light. Darkness is used to hide our hurts, faults, fears, failures, and flaws. But in the light, we bring them all out into the open and admit who we really are.

It is the only way to grow spiritually and be emotionally healthy. We only grow by taking risks, and the most difficult risk of all is to be honest with ourselves and with others.

Sympathy is not giving advice or offering quick, cosmetic help; sympathy is entering in and sharing the pain of others. Sympathy says, “I understand what you're going though, and what you feel is neither strange nor crazy.” Today some call this “empathy.”

Sympathy meets two fundamental human needs: the need to be understood and the need to have your feelings validated. Every time you understand and affirm someone's feelings, you build fellowship. The problem is that we are often in so much of a hurry to fix things that we don't have time to sympathize with people. Or we're preoccupied with our own hurts. Self-pity dries up sympathy for others.

You can't have fellowship without forgiveness. “Never hold grudges.” “You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”

Forgiveness is letting go of the past. Trust has to do with future behavior.

Forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. Trust must be rebuilt over time. Trust requires a track record.

What one step can I take today to connect with another believer at a more genuine, heart-to-heart level?

Day 19 Cultivating Community

Real fellowship, whether in a marriage, a friendship, or your church, depends on frankness.

You can develop humility in very practical ways: by admitting your weaknesses, be being patient with others' weaknesses, by being open to correction, and by pointing the spotlight on others.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.

Another part of courtesy is not downplaying other people's doubts.

We will share our true feelings (authenticity), encourage each other (mutuality), support each other (sympathy), admit our weaknesses (humility), respect our differences (courtesy), not gossip (confidentiality), and make group a priority (frequency).

How can I help cultivate today the characteristics of real community in my small group and my church?

Day 20 Restoring Broken Fellowship

Relationships are always worth restoring.

It doesn't matter whether you are the offender or the offended: God expects you to make the first move.

Use your ears more than your mouth. Before attempting to solve any disagreement you must first listen to people's feelings. Focus on their feelings, not the facts. Begin with sympathy, not solutions.

Don't try to talk people out of how they feel at first. Just listen and let them unload emotionally without being defensive. Nod that you understand even when you don't agree. Feelings are not always true or logical. In fact, resentment makes us act and think in foolish ways.

If you are serious about restoring a relationship, you should begin with admitting your own mistakes or sin.

Who do I need to restore a broken relationship with today?

Day 21 Protecting Your Church

What am I personally doing to protect unity in my church family right now?

PURPOSE #3: You Were Created to Become Like Christ

Day 22 Created to Become Like Christ

Christlikeness is all about transforming your character, not your personality.

God if far more interested in what you are then in what you do.

In what area of my life do I need to ask for the Spirit's power to be like Christ today?

Day 23 How We Grow

Spiritual growth is not automatic. TI takes an intentional commitment. You must want to grow, decide to grow, make an effort to grow, and persist in growing.

Nothing shapes your life more than the commitments you choose to make.

Many are afraid to commit to anything and just drift through life. Others make half-hearted commitments to competing values, which leads to frustration and mediocrity.

You will need to let go of some old routines, develop some new habits, and intentionally change the way you think.

To change your life, you must change the way you think. Behind everything you do is a thought. Every behavior is motivated be a belief, and every action is prompted by an attitude.

Change always starts first in your mind. The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel influences the way you act.

What is one area where I need to stop thinking my way and start thinking God's way?

Day 24 Transformed by Truth

Many of our troubles occur because we base our choices on unreliable authorities: culture (“everyone is doing it”), tradition (“we've always done it”), reason (“it seemed logical”), or emotion (“it just felt right”).

Determine to first ask, “What does the Bible say?” when making decisions.

The Bible says, “Truly happy people are those who carefully study God's perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it. They do not forget what the heard, but they obey what God's teaching says. Those who do this will be made happy.”

If you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate. Worry is focused thinking on something negative. Meditation is doing the same thing, only focusing on God's Word instead of you problem.

The truth will set you free, but first it may make you miserable!

What has God already told me in his Word that I haven't started doing yet?

Day 25 Transformed by Trouble

God has a purpose behind every problem.

You most profound and intimate experiences of worship will likely be in your darkest days and you turn to God alone.

Problems force us to look to God and depend on him instead of ourselves.

“If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you'll be at rest!”

You know you are maturing when you begin to see the hand of God in random, baffling, and seemingly pointless circumstances of life.

If you are facing trouble right now, don't ask, “Why me?” instead ask, “What do you want me to learn?”

What problem in my life has caused the greatest growth in me?

Day 26 Growing through Temptation

Happy is the man who doesn't give in and do wrong when he is tempted… ~ James 1:12

Every temptation is an opportunity to do good.

Happiness depends on external circumstances, but joy is based on your relationship to God.

God develops real peace within us, not by making things got the way we planned, but by allowing times of chaos and confusion. We learn real peace by choosing to trust God in circumstances in which we are tempted to worry or be afraid. Patience is developed in circumstances in which we're forced to wait and are tempted to be angry or have a short fuse.

Always beware of shortcuts. They are often temptations! Satan whispers, “You deserve it! You should have it now! It will be exciting…comforting…or make you feel better.”

Step two is doubt. Satan tries to get you to doubt what God has said about the sin: Is it really wrong? Did God really say not to do it? Didn't God mean this prohibition for someone else or some other time? Doesn't God want me to be happy?

Step three is deception. But a little sin is like being a little pregnant: It will eventually show itself.

You give in to whatever got your attention.

It is not a sin to be tempted. You can't keep the Devil from suggesting thoughts, but you can choose not to dwell or act on them.

For example, many people don't know the difference between physical attraction or sexual arousal, and lust. They are not the same. God made every one of us a sexual being, and that is good. Attraction and arousal are the natural, spontaneous, God-given response to physical beauty, while lust is a deliberate act of the will. Lust is a choice to commit in your mind what you'd like to do with your body. You can be attracted or even aroused without choosing to sin by lusting. Many people, especially Christ men, feel guilty that their God-given hormones are working. When they automatically notice an attractive woman, they assume it is lust and feel ashamed and condemned. But attraction is not lust until you being to dwell on it.

Recognize your pattern of temptation and be prepared for it. There are certain situations that make you more vulnerable to temptation than others.

“When am I tempted?”

“Who is with me when I am tempted?” “How do I usually feel when I am most tempted?”

You should identify your typical pattern of temptation and then prepare to avoid those situations as much as possible.

Request God's help. “Call on me in times of trouble. I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”

If God is waiting to help us defeat temptation, why don't we turn to him more often? Honestly, sometimes we don't want to be helped! We want to give in to temptation even though we know it's wrong. At that moment we think we know what's best for us more than God does.

At other times we're embarrassed to ask God for help because we keep giving in to the same temptation over and over. But God never gets irritated, bored, or impatient when we keep coming back to him.

Ask him for the power to do the right thing and then expect him to provide it.

Every temptation is an opportunity to do good.

What Christlike character quality can I develop be defeating the most common temptation I face?

Day 27 Defeating Temptation

There is always a way out.

Refocus your attention on something else.

Every time you try to bock a thought out of your mind, you drive it deeper into your memory. Be resisting it, you actually reinforce it.

Since temptation always begins with a thought, the quickest way to neutralize its allure is to turn your attention to something else.

The battle for sin is won or list in your mind. Whatever gets your attention will get you.

Ignoring a temptation is far more effective than fighting it. Once your mind is on something else, the temptation loses its power. So when temptation calls you on the phone, don't argue with it, just hang up!

Sometimes this means physically leaving a tempting situation.

“Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.”

Reveal your struggle to a godly friend or support group. You don't have to broadcast it to the whole world, but you need at least one person you can honestly share your struggles with.

Do you really want to be healed of that persistent temptation that keeps defeating you over and over? God's solution is plain: Don't repress it; confess it! Don't' conceal it; reveal it. Revealing your feeling is the beginning of healing.

Satan wants you to think that your sin and temptation are unique so you must keep them a secret. The truth is, we're all in the same boat. We all fight the same temptations.

The reason we hide our faults is pride. We want others to think we have everything “under control.” The truth is, whatever you can't talk about is already out of control in your life: problems with your finances, marriage, kids, thoughts, sexuality, secret habits, or anything else. If you could handle it on your own, you would have already done so. But you can't. Willpower and personal resolutions aren't enough.

What are you pretending isn't a problem in your life? What are you afraid to talk about? You're not going to solve it on your own. Yes, it is humbling to admit our weaknesses to others, but lack of humility is the very think that is keeping you from getting better.

Resist the Devil.

Don't ever try to argue with the Devil. He's better at arguing than you are, having had thousands of years to practice. You can't bluff Satan with logic or your opinion, but you can use the weapon that makes him tremble – the truth of God.

Realize your vulnerability. God warns us never to get cocky and overconfident that is the recipe for disaster. Given the right circumstances, any of us are capable of any sin.

Don't carelessly place yourself in tempting situations. Avoid them. Remember that it is easier to stay out of temptation than to get out of it.

Who could I ask to be a spiritual partner to help me defeat a persistent temptation by praying for me?

Day 28 It Takes Time

There are no shortcuts to maturity.

We are afraid to humbly face the truth about ourselves. I have already pointed out that the truth will set us free but it often makes us miserable first. The fear of what we might discover if we honestly faced our character keeps us living in the prison of denial.

Growth is often painful and scary. There is no growth without change; there is no change without fear or loss; and there is no loss without pain. We fear these losses, even if our old ways were self-defeating, because, like a worn out pain of shoes, they were at least comfortable and familiar.

People often build their identity around their defects. What say, “It's just like me to be…” and “It's just the way I am.” The unconscious worry is that if I let go of my habit, my hurt, or my hang-up, who will I be?

Keep a notebook or journal of lessons learned. This is not a diary of events, but a record of what you are learning. Write down the insights and life lessons God teaches you about him, about yourself, about life, relationship, and everything else. The reason we must relearn lessons is that we forget them. Reviewing your spiritual journal regularly can spare you a lot of unnecessary pain and heartache.

Remember how far you've come, not just how far you have to go.. You are not where you want to be, but neither are you where you used to be. “Please Be Patient, God Is Not Finished With Me Yet.”

In what area of my spiritual growth do I need to be more patient and persistent?

PURPOSE #4: You Were Shaped for Serving God

Day 29 Accepting Your Assignment

If I have no love for others, no desire to serve others, and I'm on concerned about my needs, I should question whether Christ is really in my life. A saved heart is one that wants to serve.

Anytime you use your God-given abilities to help others, you are fulfilling your calling.

What is holding me back from accepting God's call to serve him?

Day 30 Shaped for Serving God

In what way can I see myself passionately serving others and loving it?

Day 31 Understanding Your Shape

To discover god' will for your life, you should seriously examine what you are good at doing and what you're not good at.

It feels good to do what God made you to do. When you minister in a manner consistent with the personality God gave you, you experience fulfillment, satisfaction, and fruitfulness.

God never wastes a hurt! In fact, your greatest ministry will most likely come out of your greatest hurt.

God intentionally allows you to go through painful experiences to equip you for ministry to others.

The very experiences that you have resented or regretted most in life – the ones you've wanted to hide and forget – are the experiences God wants to use to help others. They are your ministry!

For God to use your painful experiences, you must be willing to share them. You have to stop covering them up, and you must honestly admit your faults, failures, and fears.

What God-given ability or personal experience can I offer to my church?

Day 32 Using What God Gave You

You have dozens of hidden abilities and gifts you don't know you've got because you've never tried them out. So I encourage you to try doing some things you've never done before.

You will never know what you're good at until you try. When it doesn't work out, call it an “experiment,” not a failure.

Part of accepting your shape is recognizing your limitations.

“…You won't need to compare yourself to anyone else.” Satan will try to steal the joy of service from you in a couple of ways: by tempting you to compare your ministry with others, and be tempting you to conform your ministry to the expectations of others.

“Do your own work well, and then you will have something to be proud of. But don't compare yourself with others.” There are two reasons why you should never compare your shape, ministry, or the results of your ministry with anyone else. First, you will always be able to find someone who seems to be doing a better job than you and you will become discouraged. Or you will always be able to find someone who doesn't seem as effective as you and you will get full of pride.

If my life is fruitless, it doesn't matter who praises me, and if my life is fruitful, it doesn't matter who criticizes me. ~ John Bunyan

If you don't' utilize the abilities and skills God has given you, you will lose them.

How can I make the best use of what God has given me?

Day 33 How Real Servants Act

We miss many occasions for serving because we lack sensitivity and spontaneity.

Servants don't make excuses, procrastinate, or wait for better circumstances. “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.”

Small tasks often show a big heart. Your servant's heart is revealed in the little acts that others don't think of doing.

Great opportunities often disguise themselves in small tasks.

Servants finish their tasks, fulfill their responsibilities, keep their promises, and complete their commitments.

“Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!”

Real servants maintain a low profile. Servants don't promote or call attention to themselves. If recognized for their service, they humbly accept it but don't allow notoriety to distract them from their work.

Which of the six characteristics of real servants offers the greatest challenge to me?

Day 34 Thinking Like a Servant

God is always more interested in why we do something than in what we do. Attitudes count more than achievements.

Servants think more about others than about themselves. This is true humility: not thinking loss of ourselves but thinking of ourselves less.

“If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life.”

Servants think like stewards, not owners.

Servants think about their work, not what others are doing. They don't compare, criticize, or compare with other servants or ministries. They're too busy doing the work God has given them.

Real servants don't complain of unfairness, don't have pity-parties, and don't resent those not serving. They just trust God and keep serving.

Servants base their identity in Christ. Because they remember they are loved and accepted by grace, servants don't have to prove their worth.

If you're going to be a servant, you must settle your identity in Christ. Only secure people can serve. Insecure people are always worrying about how they appear to others. They fear exposure of their weaknesses and hid beneath layers of protective pride and pretensions. The more insecure you are, the more you will want people to server you, and the more you will need their approval.

Servants think of ministry as an opportunity, not an obligation.

Am I usually more concerned about being served or finding ways to serve others?

Day 35 God's Power in Your Weakness

Admit your weaknesses. Own up to your imperfections. Stop pretending to have it all together, and be honest about yourself. Instead of living in denial or making excuses, take the time to identify your personal weaknesses.

We're only human! If it takes a crisis to get you to admit this, God won't hesitate to allow it, because he loves you.

Be content with your weaknesses. But contentment is an expression of faith in the goodness of God.

Our weaknesses also prevent arrogance. They keep us humble.

Our weaknesses also encourage fellowship between believers. While strength breeds an independent spirit (“I don't' need anyone else”), our limitations show how much we need each other.

Our weaknesses increase our capacity for sympathy and ministry. Your greatest life messages and your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurts. The things you're most embarrassed about, most ashamed of, and more reluctant to share are the very tools God can use most powerfully to heal others.

Honestly share your weaknesses. Ministry begins with vulnerability. The more you let down your guard, take off your mask, and share your struggles, the more God will be able to use you in serving others.

Of course, vulnerability is risky. It can be scary to lower you defenses and open up your life to others. When you reveal your failures, feelings, frustrations, and fears, you risk rejection. But the benefits are worth the risk. Vulnerability is emotionally liberating. Opening up relieves stress, defuses your fears, and is the first step to freedom.

Humility is not putting yourself down or denying your strengths; rather, it is being honest about your weaknesses. The more honest you are, the more of God's grace you get. Vulnerability is an endearing quality; we are naturally drawn to humble people. Pretentiousness repels but authenticity attracts, and vulnerability is the pathway to intimacy.

God works best when I admit my weaknesses.

Am I limiting God's power in my life by trying to hide my weaknesses? What do I need to be honest about in order to help others?

PURPOSE #5: You Were Made for a Mission

Day 36 Made for a Mission

“Anyone who lets himself be distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the Kingdom of God .”

One More for Jesus (story: p.287)

What fears have kept me from fulfilling the mission God made me to accomplish? What keeps me from telling others the Good News?

Day 37 Sharing Your Life Message

God has given you a Life Message to share.

Your Life Message has four parts to it:

• Your testimony: the story of how you began a relationship with Jesus
• Your life lessons: the most important lessons God has taught you
• Your godly passions: the issues God shaped you to care about most
• The Good News: the message of salvation

The best way to “be read” is to write out your testimony and then memorize the main points. Divide it into four parts:

• What my life was like before I met Jesus
• How I realized I needed Jesus
• How I committed my life to Jesus
• The difference Jesus has made in my life

While it is wise to learn from experience, it is wiser to learn from the experiences of others. There isn't enough time to learn everything in life by trial and error. We must learn from the life lesions of one another.

Mature people develop the habit of extracting lessons from everyday experiences.

• What has God taught me from failure?
• What has God taught me from a lack of money
• What has God taught me from pain or sorrow or depression
• What has God taught me through waiting?
• What has God taught me through illness?
• What has God taught me from disappointment?
• What have I learned from my family, my church, my relationships, my small groups, and my critics?

“Make the most of your chances to tell others the Good News. Be wise in all your contacts with them.”

In this book you have learned God's five purposes for you life on earth: He made you to be a member of his family, a model of his character, a magnifier of his glory, a minister of his grace, and a messenger of his Good News to others. Of these five purposes, the fifth can only be done on earth. The other four you will keep doing in eternity in some way. That's why spreading the Good News is so important; you only have a short time to share your life message and fulfill your mission.

As I reflect on my personal story, who does God want me to share it with?

Day 38 Becoming a World-Class Christian

Shift from self-centered thinking to other-centered thinking. “Don't think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too.”

Your goal is to figure out where others are in their spiritual journey and then do whatever will bring them to a step closer to knowing Christ.

Prayer is the most important tool for your mission in the world. People may refuse our love or reject our message, but they are defenseless against our prayers.

The Bible tells us to pray for opportunities to witness, for courage to speak up, for those who will believe, for the rapid spread of the message, and for more workers.

I urge you to save and do whatever it takes to participate in a short-term mission trip overseas as soon as possible. Nearly every mission agency can help you do this. It will enlarge your heart, expand your vision, stretch your faith, deepen your compassion, and fill you with a kind of joy you have never experienced. It could be the turning point in your life.

Shirt from “here and now” thinking to eternal thinking.

So much of what we waste our energy on will not matter even a year from now, much less for eternity.

Shift from thinking of excuses to thinking of creative ways to fulfill your commission.

Maybe you have believed that you needed a special “call” from God, and you've been waiting for some supernatural feeling of experience. But God has already stated his call repeatedly. We are all called to fulfill God's five purposes for our lives; to worship, to fellowship, to grow like Christ, to serve, and to be on mission with God in the world.

What steps can I take to prepare to go on a short-term missions experience in the next year?

Day 39 Balancing Your Life

Talk it through with a spiritual partner or small group.

What down your progress in a journal. The best way to reinforce your progress in fulfilling God's purposes for your life is to keep a spiritual journal. This is not a diary of events, but a record of the life lessons you don't want to forget.

Problems force you to focus on God, draw you closer to others in fellowship, build Christlike character, provide you with a ministry, and give you a testimony. Every problem is purpose-driven.

Which of the four activities will I begin in order to stay on track and balance God's five purposes for my life?

Day 40 Living with Purpose

Most people struggle with three basic issues in life. The first is identity: “Who am I?” The second is importance: “Do I really matter?” The third is impact: “What is my place in life?” The answers to all three questions are found in God's five purposes for you.

How do you know when God is at the center for your life? When God's at the center, you worship. When he's not you worry. The moment you put him back at the center, you will have peace.

Don't get discouraged and give up when you stumble.

You may wonder, “What about God's will for my job or marriage or where I'm supposed to live or go to school?” Honestly, these are secondary issues in your life, and there may be multiple possibilities that would all be in God's will for you.

When will I take the time to write down my answers to life's five great questions? When will I put my purpose on paper?

Personal Goals:

• Constantly remind myself I’m not in control of my life
  • Know that I don’t want that responsibility
  • I don’t want to feel guilty for mistakes
  • I don’t want to fill myself with pride thinking I brought about a positive outcome
• Read at least one devotional a day five days a week
  • Don’t assume that I already have mastered the daily topic
  • Stop looking how the devotional I’m reading could apply to others
    • I’m responsible for myself, not others
• Remind myself that no problem is out of God’s control
  • Trust God to take care of problems
  • Don’t question God’s method
  • Know that sacrifice, pain, and confusion now is only a teaching experience that I will look back on and understand there was no better way for me to learn and grow
• Spend time talking to God
  • Be real with God
  • Tell Him what I’m struggling with
  • Tell Him what I’m confused about
  • Tell Him why I don’t know the way things are and what I want changed
  • Tell Him I am hurting and need comfort
  • Tell Him that I am angry with Him when I am
  • Ask for wisdom to know how to handle situations and the strength to follow through with the wise decisions
• Build a reputation of integrity
  • Know my moral boundaries and do not compromise them
    • It only takes once to ruin a reputation, but a lifetime to build
  • Have the strength to overcome fears about what others will think of me when I don’t go along with mainstream ideas
  • Ask God daily for help to know what path to take to build this reputation
  • Don’t hide my past or current failures
    • Don’t allow others to question if I’m putting on a front, be open and honest from the start
• Understand where I am in life
  • Understand natural desires are alright (for girls, sex, relationships, etc)
  • Trust God that the right relationship will develop when I am mature enough to handle it
    • But I must put for effort to meet people and build relationships
  • Enjoy the unknown as it is where I will grow the most
    • Be scared of the job responsibilities, but work hard and overcome
    • When I am scared to talk to somebody, do it anyway because that isn’t a reason worth entertaining
• Trust God with my future
  • Be a good steward of my money, but recognize the money isn’t mine rather God is letting me borrow it and I responsible for using it wisely
  • Listen closely for God to direct my path, then I need to embrace His will even when it puts me out of my comfort zone or at financial or emotional risk.
• Make relationships a priority
  • Understand the importance of building strong relationships
    • Relationships grow through hardship, vulnerabilities, and risks
  • Build relationships to show God’s love
    • Don’t build relationships with selfish motivations or intentions
  • Foster strong relationships by understand God’s relationship with me
    • Follow His perfect example
    • Remember that God loves each person equally and imeasureably

Significant Other Criteria:

• Transparent
  • She must be willing to open up and express herself
  • Truthful and transparent are different
• Open to God direction
  • She must understand that God’s direction is the only direction that will lead to happiness
  • She will only bring strife into my life, our relationship, and of course her if she does not trust God’s direction
• Complement Me
  • She must have strength where I am weak
  • She must build me back up when I fail
  • She needs to have be somewhat emotional driven
    • Very open about expressing emotions
    • She needs to remind me of the side of life I sometimes overlook
• She must enjoy me
  • I will not be a “nice” guy to her
  • I will be somebody she feels very close to
  • I will be somebody she can confide in, somebody who has her best interest in mind
  • She will enjoy hearing about me
    • The things I do at work
    • The things I like to do in my spare time
  • She will love and accept me as I am
    • But she will know I have flaws and am not perfect and will work me to recognize those flaws to prevent them from impacting myself or others negatively
• I must enjoy her
  • I will think of her as somebody who knows me completely and I am not scared of that
  • I will love her many differences (quirks)
  • I will recognize her physical beauty and be attracted to her physically
    • I will not be scared to let her know that I think she is beautiful
  • I will enjoy doing things for her
    • I will want to surprise her to make her feel special
    • I will willingly do things to make her daily life easier
  • I will have great respect for her because she has a strong will and is committed to high moral standard according to the Bible
• I will want to show her that I love her
  • I will want to be kind to her
  • I will want to show her a very tender love and treat her as delicately as possible
  • I will be excited to share the fact that I am dating such a wonderful girl to whomever I come in contact

Objections:

Since Evil and Suffering Exist, a Loving God Cannot
Since Miracles Contradict Science, They Cannot Be True
Evolution Explains Life, So God Isn't Needed
God Isn't Worthy of Worship If He Kills Innocent Children
It's Offensive to Claim Jesus Is the Only Way to God
A Loving God Would Never Torture People in Hell
Church History Is Littered with Oppression and Violence
I Still Have Doubts, So I Can't Be a Christian

The last chapter of the book does an excellent job at summing up the main points while also putting all of these aspects of debate into perspective.

I feel there is one major point that must be taken away after reading the book. Even tough each aspect cannot be fully explained or understand to complete satisfaction, the overwhelming evidence in so many different aspect of Christianity point to its validity. Getting hung up on a particular aspect diverts attention from the main point of Christianity which is a relationship with Jesus, God Himself. We are only finite beings attempting to grasp an infinite world; physical, limited creatures trying to understand the spiritual realm through physical analogies; powerless entities trying to comprehend a omnipotent and omniscient God. It is impossible for us to understand all or even most of the “whys” things are they way they are, but through faith and trust in God, we are at peace knowing we don't have to. That is God's area of responsibility, and mine is to “love the Lord with all my heart, mind, soul, and might and my neighbor as myself.”

I would like to quote one excerpt and let it speak for itself.

He reached over and dug through a stack of papers on his desk, withdrawing a single sheet. “This is a handout I gave to the students in my class,” he said. I took the paper and read the words:

Next Tuesday morning, just after breakfast, all of us in this one world will be knocked to our knees by a percussive and ear-shattering thunderclap. Snow swirls, leaves drop from the trees, the earth heaves and buckles, buildings topple and towers tumble. The sky is ablaze with an eerie silvery light, and just then, as all the people of this world look up, the heavens open, and the clouds pull apart, revealing an unbelievingly radiant and immense Zeus-like figure towering over us like a hundred Everests. He frowns darkly as lightening plays over the features of his Michelangeloid face, and then he points down, at me, and explains for every man, woman, and child to hear, “I've had quite enough of your too-clever logic chipping and word-watching in matters of theology. Be assured, Norwood Russell Hanson, that I most certainly do exist!”

“So,” said Willard, “I asked the class, ‘If this really happened, how would Hanson respond?'”

I said, “You think he'd explain it away.”

“Absolutely!” Willard replied. “It's unfortunate, but I think he'd explain it away. We need to be alert to the fact that, in nearly every case imaginable, answered prayer can be explained away if you want to. And that's what people normally do. They say, ‘Well, I'm very smart; I can't be fooled by all these things.'”