Tag: purpose

Lent 2022 | Day 34: Life

Often times comes when life is lost. It is only when contrasted against death that the precious nature of life becomes easier to see.

Any discussion about life requires a greater appreciation for what it is. The insight required to make this assessment often times comes when life is lost. It is only when contrasted against death that the precious nature of life becomes easier to see.

According to Christian teaching, putting our faith in the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ on the cross produces an effect in our experience of life. We come to realize how sin has fractured our relationship with God and distorted our understanding of self. In the sacrifice of the son of God on the cross of Calvary we see how seriously God saw our sin. And in this clarifying understanding we can make sense of why the life we now have in Jesus is to be cherished and valued.

It can be difficult to understand the method God use to provide for our salvation. Everything involved in saving those who are separated from God and lost in their sin would require countless lifetimes to fully grasp. And yet it is possible to see, from an experiential point of view, that death is the end of something that cannot be undone. This is why those of us who trust in Christ lean so intentionally into the promise that our salvation has neutralized the damning effects of sin.

We may still have to endure the process of transitioning from this life to a new life but we have reason to hope that what awaits us is truly there. The totality of the Christian experience hinges on Jesus’s fulfillment of his word to prepare a place for us (John 14:1-3). And so we wait until the time when we transition or Jesus returns.

Life is a precious gift. And it is one we should never take for granted. Even when the journey gets hard and the obstacles seem to be unending we can choose to look forward and hope. And it is a choice we have to make. It can be hard. And sometimes it may feel impossible. But in moments like that I am reminded of God’s gracious gift both in the life I now have an in the new life Christ has given to me.

As we enter the final week of Lent, let us look with both anticipation and joy that God has provided a way for us. I think it’s important to remember that this way is shared by all who put their hope and trust in Jesus. And so as we travel this road we do not have to travel alone. I encourage you to take heart in that.

Lent 2022 | Day 27: Write

“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.”

Habakkuk 2:2 ESV

In the verse above found in the book of the prophet Habakkuk, there is a moment when God instructs the prophet to write the vision he has given to him.

The purpose of the instruction has two parts. The first is to make the meaning of the vision plain. God did not desire for those who read what the prophet wrote to be confused about what he intended for them to do. Even though the mind of God is beyond our ability to apprehend God has chosen to speak and reveal himself to us. And he has chosen to do so in ways we can understand. This gracious act by God is one we oftentimes take for granted.

The Scriptures serve as a clear example of God’s desire for us to know what God wants us to know. When we do not avail ourselves to this revelation from God we do so to our own detriment. This does not mean the Scriptures are easy to understand. There are challenges to reading it and understanding it properly. But these challenges are the same that can be found in any book in the rest of the world. Not because the Bible was written BY men. But because the Bible was written FOR men. Therefore God used the same means of producing the Scriptures as any other book would need in order to be interacted with by other men.

The second part of asking the prophet to write the vision was to ensure the correct response was elicited by those who read it. When God speaks it is not merely the transfer of information from his mind to ours. God has taken the time to codify his word in such a way that we can return to it again and again. And as we return we see with new eyes what has been there from the beginning. This is one of the most remarkable attributes of the Scriptures. It is one of the characteristics that sets it apart from any other written book in the history of humanity.

This very practical admonition by God to the prophet can serve as instruction for us today. We too often think we can remember everything God has shown to us through his word. But that is not the case. The human mind is not designed to hold all that information at one time. But God has given us a way of recording our thoughts so that we may return back to them and consider them over and over again. If you do not have a habit of making notes as you read Scripture I would encourage you to do so whether it is with pen and paper or in a digital app on an electronic device. I would encourage you to begin to do so.

We would do well to remember God’s love toward us in giving us his word in written form. But God went one step further. That step was to send the living word to the world in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. When Jesus walked upon the earth it was the very word of God walking and talking among men and women. This fact is so mind-blowing in its implications that it is difficult to even begin to describe it adequately.

In a little over a week, we will celebrate again the glorious resurrection of Jesus from the grave. One of the reasons we can celebrate is because we have a written record that we can return to. I thank God for his wisdom in providing us a written record to consult and engage with. It is one of God’s greatest gifts to us as his people.

Lent 2022 | Day 10: Rise

Several years ago I decided that I would be sure to get one thing done every day. That task was to make my bed. It seems like a simple thing, and it is. But it has had far-reaching importance as I enter each day.

It can be difficult at times to determine the value of making a simple decision over and over again. What I have discovered is that as I have continued to rise each morning and make my bed I can continue with the rest of my day knowing I have accomplished at least one thing. It is small I will grant that, but it is something that has been accomplished.

Are there days when I forget? Yes. Not as many as there used to be. The idea of rising every day with the goal of achieving at least one thing has a positive effect on how you view the rest of the day. The idea is not to pat yourself on the back for having done it. But rather to acknowledge that regardless of what else may come in the day you have done something productive.

It can be difficult at times to determine the value of making a simple decision over and over again.

Some might argue that making your bed every morning does not qualify as productivity. But I would counter by pointing that that when we fail to set a positive outlook on the day, on any day for that matter, anything else we did not complete or had direct input over can set the agenda. And usually in a negative direction.

The idea of intentionality is key to living a life of peace. The kind of peace I have in mind is a sense of internal, resident peace. The sense of knowing we have done what we could. And that’s good enough.

It may seem odd to consider what we do in the first few moments of rising every morning as having a lasting effect on the rest of the day. But I think it is worth noting how the Scriptures encourage us to remember that God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). I take this to mean God desires for us to begin each day contemplating and considering what he has done in our lives. To take it a step further we are encouraged to consider what God will continue to do in our lives.

The idea here is not to over-spiritualize the simple acts of everyday life. More to the point, we should normalize the ins and outs of everyday living as a part of the natural ebb and flow of a life lived with God. When we make everything spiritual nothing is spiritual. But when we embrace the reality that there is no need to spiritualize anything, we can begin to accept how everything we do “as unto the Lord” can become an act of worship. This may seem like a contradictory set of statements, but they are not.

When we recognize that everything we do before the Lord can be done to glorify him, we don’t have to “try” to make it glorify him. God being glorified becomes just the natural result of living. But when we try to make things “spiritual” what we have done is we have separated what God is doing in our lives into categories that may not necessarily reflect who God is.

This is not always easy to understand. But it is worth the effort to try.

In this season of Lent, as we continue our journey towards Easter morning, I think it would be worth our time to look at what we do as we rise every day to face the challenges that they might bring. In turn, I encourage you to pause, maybe before your feet hit the ground, and consider what will become of this new day God has prepared for and gifted to you.

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Lent 2020 | Day 37: “Looking”

The focus for today is “looking.”

When we look, we are usually doing it on purpose. This is implied in the word but is often taken for granted. And that is part of the problem.

The life of faith is a life of searching. We are introduced to God through the preaching of the Gospel. It is a notice that God has done something for us. God has made it possible for us to enter into his presence. But, we have something we must do. We must seek him even though we have been found.

I think what trips people up is not understanding that our seeking of God has nothing to do with God. When we seek God, we are embracing the journey that prepares us to meet him. We need to look for him. Not because he is not there, but because we don’t always notice his presence.

The apostle Paul said that the glory of God is seen in what has been made. That means that evidence of God’s reality is all around us… if we would just look. We have to be intentional in our looking. It is not enough of light and images to hit our eyeballs. We have to be purposeful in our observation.

This is the power of the liturgical calendar. The church year is a simple pattern of remembering the work of God year in and year out. The cycle of the Christian journey is expressed through a steady movement through important commemorations of God’s works in the world.

As we approach Easter, it is so important to not allow it just pass by as usual. I hope that we are looking forward to this Easter, in spite of all the challenges. I pray that you are looking forward to celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, and all the promise it holds for us who believe.

I know I am this year!

Lent 2018 | Day #6: Purpose

Our purpose is not about what will satisfy our desire for recognition. I think that we have to let go of the world’s definition of purpose.

One of the most common questions people ask me is, “What’s is God’s will for my life?” I am not sure why people think I can answer this question. I am also looking for the answer to this question! And, I don’t feel particularly qualified to answer it even if I wanted to try.

There may be as many reasons to ask this question as there are people in the world. But, if we dig a little deeper, I think that everyone who asks this question wants to know if there is a greater purpose to life here on earth. When we talk about purpose we are wanting life to make sense. That there is something meaningful to our existence. That we are not just floating around, bouncing off each other (or the walls) aimlessly.

I don’t know how many people make this connection, but they should. The search for purpose is good and important. However, what tends to happen during the search is it is colored by the desires or wishes we are offered by the world. If this purpose we are searching for does not make us wealthy or famous, if it does not give us greater influence or, at the very least, more talented, then is it really a purpose worth having? And there is the danger.

Our purpose is not about what will satisfy our desire for recognition. I think that we have to let go of the world’s definition of purpose. The world is mosaic being composed by God. And it is God who sees the greater picture he is working together. Our place in the work of art is unique and ordinary at the same time. We are valuable for what we contribute, but we are also not better than every other piece God chooses. For many, this is not satisfying. It feels like a letdown, but why do we feel this way? Could it be because we have our own ideas of what will make us happy?

The farther we move away from what God is leading and prompting us to do, the greater our discontent. But, the closer we draw to God, the clearer we see what God is trying to do in us and through us. So, don’t jump to the second part without accepting the first. God wants to do something in us first. Then, and only then, can what he wants to do through us become possible. Until our hearts are right, we will fight God for credit for stuff that God is doing. Just look at what Paul said to the Ephesian church.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

The works that we are going to do were prepared by God beforehand. That means that our living into and accomplishing our purpose begins with listening. Listening to God and asking him what work he has prepared for us to do. When I think about this I have to ask myself, “Why do I find myself wondering if the work God has prepared will be a drudgery?” Do I honestly believe that God will give me something to do that will be a drain on my life and soul?

We should trust God’s judgment. He has a purpose and a part of that purpose is helping us find our place inside of it.

Count it all Joy

Count it all Joy

James 1:3-4

3 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Some day’s life just sucks. Everyone has those days where everything seems to be going opposite as to what we have planned. There are seasons in life that are joyful and peaceful, but there are also seasons in life that are hard. It’s pretty easy to be thankful and full of joy when everything is going our way. But how do we respond when it seems like everything is out of control?

Including myself, I would say that for the most part when life gets hard we begin to question and ask ourselves “What can I do to fix this?” I believe all humans are wired with the desire to feel in control. But as soon as that feeling of being in control goes away there is a sense of panic. As followers of Christ, we sometimes believe that we should get to live an easier life than those who are not believers. But scripture tells us time and time again that there will be times of pain. There will be pain and there will be hardship throughout any person’s life. This is where Christians have an opportunity to stand apart from everyone else. We can stand apart by how we respond to the pain.

James writes in his New Testament letter instructing fellow believers to count it all joy when these times of hardship arise. It’s a crazy idea to think that we should be joyful when life becomes hard. This joy comes from the realization that our pain has a purpose. This purpose is the production of faith and trust.

God will allow times in our lives to go against our current plan. The key in finding joy in all times of life is by understanding that all things are according to His plan, not ours. We so often try to map out every little detail of our lives, but when it doesn’t seem to go as we planned we think God has made a mistake. The question I ask is how can we find joy in the struggle and in the midst of pain?

My answer is: Embrace it.

When the struggle comes don’t fight it. God is there for you. Let Him do the fighting. You are not alone. We are able to see that He has such a greater plan when we can begin to see our hardships as purposeful. True joy is found when we are able to see Christ as our provision and the satisfaction of our need during our time of struggle.

These times in our lives are what make us who we are truly meant to be. Every season of life, the good and the bad, molds and forms us into the people that we are meant to be. It could be so easy for us to become angry with the circumstances of life but the word of God instructs a better response: “Count it all joy.” When we do this we are promised that the testing of faith will produce steadfastness and in this, we are made complete.

It will be a completeness in Christ that can’t compare to anything else this world has to offer. So I pray that as we all endure different seasons of life that we would learn to see the purpose and always find our way back to His word counting it as joy through it all.

The Parchment of Life

It is upon the parchment of life that we write the epoch story of our lives. It is through the daily exercise of writing, of getting up each morning and filling each page with at least one meaningful statement that we are able to leave a legacy for those who may wonder, “Who was this one that passed by?” It is not enough to stand at the door of life. It is not enough to risk exposure under the sun of affliction. To stand at the door and merely look out is to void the trust that has been giving to each of us. Each life is not just of value to the one who formed it in the womb. Life, by its very existence, must be spent upon some activity that will do more than satisfy the one living it.

Word to the Wise | “The Need for Single Mindedness”

In the movie The Last Samurai we find a scene in which Tom Cruise is fighting an expert samurai with a wood sword.  He is getting beaten by the expert even though he had demonstrated progress.  The son of the hero in the movies tells Tom Cruise: “You have too many minds.”  He meant to say that Cruise was not focused.  He was thinking about the opponent, the crowd, himself, etc., but that he was not focusing on the task at hand—to win.

The Bible says that a “double minded man is inconsistent in ALL his way” (James 1:8).  In this passage James is specifically making reference to the person who prays with doubt.  That is, they are not sure that their prayers will be answered.  He is double minded.

We can have double-mindedness in many areas of our lives.  A person, for example, may believe that he should attend church on Sunday, but they also enjoy sleeping until noon on Sundays, or they prefer to watch a movie, or just relax looking at the lake.  Regardless of their purpose, as long as we prefer more than one thing at a time, we will have the tendency to choose the least beneficial.

The solution to double mindedness is singleness of purpose.  To finish the previous example: In our house there is no debate whatsoever regarding Sunday morning.  On Sunday morning we will go to church because that is what the Scott family does.  It is the most beneficial and connects us with God.

Pastor Luis Scott
 Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship
(03/02/09)

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