http://youtu.be/J4xm2mtDj2c - This Life - Mercy Me
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| We teach our kids how to be the best at whatever they do. Do we teach them what's most important? |
I want to make much of You, Jesus. Please help me not live a wasted life.
http://youtu.be/EFl2qi8N4gk - Much of You - Steven Curtis Chapman
Don't Waste Your Life!
I just started reading John Piper's book, "Don't Waste Your Life". He shares a story of when his dad was a preacher and would visit different churches to share the gospel. One night, there was an old man who responded to the alter call. The old man's friends had been praying for him for years and years,and he never responded. But for whatever reason, this night, the old man finally heard.
He finally understood that he was a sinner in need of a Savior. Mr. Piper says he still remembers
the words the old man said to his dad as he sat on that bench with tears in his eyes, "I wasted it. I wasted it!" He knew that he had lived his whole life without understanding the real meaning and purpose of life. He had so much regret.
John Piper said that one moment impacted him more than any other experience. He determined right then that he didn't want to get to the end of his life, look back and say "I've wasted it!". Neither do I.
Unfortunately, I did waste several years chasing my own happiness. I was pursuing the American Dream. It took much too long for me to finally see that the happiness I was seeking was meaningless because it was self-centered. It was all about me.
God's purpose for me is not to gather as many toys as I can. His purpose for me is not to be successful in my job or famous for my talents/skills. His purpose is not that I be "happy". His purpose is for me to glorify Him, to reflect His light, to those He puts on my path. His purpose for me is that I would be so in love with Him that others would be able to see His awesome goodness and love and compassion in my life ... His plan is for me to be full of joy because of my complete devotion to Him. When I'm completely wrapped up in His love, it consumes every part of my existence. That brings pure joy.
Honestly, I used to think God was a little, dare I say it? - full of Himself? Really, He created us to worship Him? He created us for His glory? Lord, please forgive me!
Isaiah 29:16 NLT
How foolish can you be?
He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay!
Should the created thing say of the one who made it,
“He didn’t make me”?
Does a jar ever say,
“The potter who made me is stupid”?
Never mind the fact that we're His creation to do with as He pleases. Never mind that He is Creator and Sustainer of the Universe and has every right to do whatever He choses. How dare I, the lump of clay, question the potter!
Almighty God is Supreme over everything and everyone. He created the Universe and sustains it with His Word. He deserves all our adoration and praise and devotion. The fact that He created us to be in a relationship of love with Him is too wonderful to take in. He want us to know how awesome and great He really is and that has nothing to do with pride or selfishness. It has everything to do with Him wanting us to experience His glory so that we can share in His amazing love and have overwhelming joy at the very idea that this Awesome God would want us to be His children. To realize that The Creator of the Universe seeks a relationship with us so that we can experience His great love... well, the only response to that is total adoration and gratitude.
My heart yearns to bring Him praise. When I begin to understand how much He loves me, He becomes my true Treasure and my heart's desire is to help others to accept His gracious gift of eternal life. Like my Father, I want everyone to share this unbelievably wonderful relationship with a loving, caring God.
Do people who know me know that Jesus is my Treasure?
Most of us have treasures here on earth.
Matthew 6:21 NIV
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Too many times our real treasures are sports, education, careers, keeping up with the Jones'. We take time out for God on Sunday mornings, maybe, if it doesn't conflict with our pursuit of our other "treasures". We put Him last on the list, when He should really be the only thing on our List that matters. In my pursuit of the American Dream, the more things I had, the more things I wanted. Bigger car, nicer house, more clothes... I wanted to be noticed for how I looked. I wanted people to see me as successful. I wanted people to like me. I wanted things for me! But no matter how much I accomplished and accumulated, the excitement of the moment, that flitter of happiness didn't last very long before I needed something else to make me happier.
Chasing the American Dream can be like a drug. We become addicted to having more stuff, accomplishing more things, becoming more famous, successful, popular... But the wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon, made a very wise statement: "It's all meaningless".
"Don't waste Your Life" is about making every moment really count for Eternity. When I die, I'm not going to be able to take anything I own to heaven with me. When I stand before my Holy God, it won't matter how many earthly accomplishments I had. It won't matter if I was the best athlete the world had ever seen. It won't matter to Jesus how "smart" I was in school or how much success I had in my career. My large bank account won't count for anything. All those "treasures" I valued so much will be left behind.
What will matter as I stand before God?
Two things.
Did I love the Lord my God with all my heart, mind and soul.
Did I love my neighbor as I love myself?
Matthew 22:36-45 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?”
37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
What I am finally discovering is that when I seek happiness my way, it never really lasts. But when I seek to bring honor and glory to my Savior and God, I find not only happiness, but Joy. True Joy comes from making God my heart's desire, not because He commands it, but because I am so amazed and grateful for what He has done for me. When I seek Him first, I find joy. God is so good. He wants me to have a fulfilling life on earth, but He wants even more for me to be with Him for all Eternity, to share His glory. His purpose is for us to bring Him glory, not because He's selfish, but because He wants us to grasp how awesome His love is so that our lives will reflect that to others so that they, too, might find the joy that He offers.
"It was not always plain to me that pursuing God’s glory would be virtually the same as pursuing my joy. Now I see that millions of people waste their lives because they think these paths are two and not one." - John Piper
When we make Christ our true Treasure, we do all things for His glory. When we love Christ as He loves us, His amazing love overflows in our hearts so that our natural response is to love others. We seek to do good, to encourage, to build up, to bless... When our eyes are set on Eternity, earthly things take a distant second place in our priorities. When I'm in traffic and someone cuts me off, I don't care. It doesn't matter. If my team doesn't win the big championship, I'm disappointed but not broken. It really doesn't matter, not Eternally. What does matter is how I treat others. Do I reflect the Glory of God? Can others see Jesus in me?
Luke 6:38 New International Version (NIV)
38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
How many of us read this verse and immediately think, "okay, if I want God to bless me, I need to give to others. So, I'll give to others so that I can be blessed." ??? I've thought that. If I give - I'll get, right? That's not what this verse means at all. Jesus is saying that He wants us to give to others - our time, our resources, our money... but not to get something in return. He wants us to give out of love. If I give $1000 to help my friend in Kenya with his orphanage because I love him and want to help those kids, that doesn't necessarily mean God is going to give me $2000 back because I gave $1000. The "good measure" I receive back is worth so much more than money. I get back pure joy in knowing that my little offering made a difference in the lives of 12 children. My joy from being part of that ministry is pressed down, shaken together and running over! I don't give to get back. I give from love and my God blesses me with incredible joy!
When I stand before God, all my earthly accomplishments, all the material possessions I have accumulated will seem like nothing. The only thing that will go with me into Eternity is the love I showed to others. All the "good deeds" I've done with the intention of being recognized or praised won't count at all. Only the things I've done out of love for God and others will stand with me on that day.
1 Corinthians 13:3
3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
A wasted life is a life spent pursuing my own happiness. I don't want to look back at the end of my life and realize that I wasted it. We're here on earth for such a short time, even if we live to be 120 years old, that isn't even a blink in the face of Eternity. What will matter to us when we stand before God? How many awards we received on earth? I don't think so.
The worse thing about a wasted life is that if I don't use my life to reflect Jesus to those around me, I miss opportunities to draw others to Christ. When I make my child's athletic accomplishments the center of my life, when I focus on my child getting the best academic education, when I emphasis my child's physical beauty, intelligence, skills or talents, but fail to teach him the most important thing, I will have failed at being the mom God intended me to be. All those other things are wonderful and cause for celebration. And they can be opportunities to reach those people around us. If I'm a great baseball player, I can be the godly influence on my team. If I'm a wealthy business man, I can use my wealthy to help others financially. God wants us to use our talents and skills for His glory - not our own. If He gives us the gift of influence because of our successes, we owe it to Him to use that influence to draw others to Christ, to lift Him up - not ourselves.
I want my children's true treasure to be Christ. I want them to consider everything else as garbage compared to knowing Christ. When my children stand before God, I don't want them to look at me and ask "Mom, why didn't you tell me what was most important?"
Philippians 3:8 NLT
Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.
I have prayed for God to show me His purpose for my life. I want to accomplish all He has for me to do on this earth. There have been many times when I couldn't see what He had for me. I couldn't understand why God wouldn't take away the difficult circumstances that I faced. Couldn't I serve Him better if I didn't have those worries? Surely, I could accomplish more for the Kingdom if I weren't weighted down with my own problems and concerns. But a walk through the Bible reminds me that God uses difficult circumstances in powerful ways, if we are willing to allow Him to work through us during those times. I have finally come to realize that He has told me my purpose. Not once or twice but many times throughout His Word. My purpose is to bring Him glory. I accomplish that by loving HIM will all my heart, soul and mind and by loving those around me.
1 Corinthians 13:4
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
http://youtu.be/6dRoVMUMUEQ - This is my temporary home - Carrie Underwood
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