It's not about me.

http://youtu.be/J4xm2mtDj2c - This Life - Mercy Me


We teach our kids how to be the best at whatever they do. 
Do we teach them what's most important?

 My life is not my own.  Not only did You create me, You sought me and bought me.  You paid the price for my admission into Heaven with Your precious blood.  You are my true Treasure and I adore You. 

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

  

http://youtu.be/dY0hUQFUSWw - Praise You in the Storm -     Casting Crowns

Psalm 121


1 I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from?


2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.


3 He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber.


4 Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.


5 The LORD protects you; the LORD is a shelter right by your side.


6 The sun will not strike you by day or the moon by night.


7 The LORD will protect you from all harm; He will protect your life.


8 The LORD will protect your coming and going both now and forever.




Mark 4:35-40
As evening came, Jesus said to His disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 37 But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.
38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with His head on a cushion. The disciples woke Him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care      that we’re going to drown?”


39 When Jesus woke up, He rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 Then He asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

I love my New Living Translation Bible.  That last sentence in the 1996 edition of the NLT says
"Do you still not have faith in me?"    That hits home.

In the middle of suffering or struggles, I sometimes cry out just like the disciples did.

"Jesus, don't you care that I'm drowning here?"  

Have there been times when you just felt like Jesus was too busy with everyone elses problems to help you with yours?  Maybe you wondered if He really cared? I think most of us have felt that way at one time or another. 

I'm so thankful that God chose to include this story in His inspired Word.  Can you imagine being in that boat with the disciples; the waves were threatening, water was rising in the boat, the situation was looking hopeless.   Some of the disciples were seasoned fishermen and had most certainly dealt with the the tumultuous Sea of Galilee before.  Violent, unexpected storms were not uncommon on the lake.   Maybe because they had experienced other life threatening situations on this Lake, they knew how serious the situation was, and they couldn't understand why Jesus was not worried.  They were scared and He just didn't even seem to care.

I have the honor and blessing  of interceding in prayer for several amazing Christians.  Through personal friendships and by following new friends on The Care Page and The Caring Bridge websites, I have had a front row seat witnessing  as these friends were tossed to and fro on their own Sea of Galilee.  The waves and winds threatened and the waters rose to the point where their boat was destined to sink.  Yet these steadfast believers trusted in Jesus to calm the storms - in His perfect timing.   I'm sure they have days when they just don't understand why He's taking so long to "wake up" to their crisis, but they keep trusting.  The reason they have faith even when it seems God is "sleeping", is because they know Him and they trust His great love.

Romans 8 paints a beautiful picture of Christ's love for us.  Our lives on earth may not be smooth sailing every day.  We may face high winds, our boat may even fill up with water, but Paul reminds us that Christ is still with us.  We should never confuse His silence for indifference.  When the storm rips and destroys everything we hold dear, HE is still in control.  He is still Creator and Sustainer of the Universe.  And He loves us more than we can imagine.

We forget that His focus is on our Eternity - not just on our short, little boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. 

The letter to the Romans was written in anticipation of what the believers would soon be facing.  Unbelievable hardship and persecution was coming.  Some of the believers would lose their very lives because of their faith in Christ.  Paul wanted them to know that it was not going to be easy but heaven would be more than worth any pain or suffering they endured.  He wanted them to be ready to face the storm with the full knowledge that no matter what happened, nothing would ever shake the love Christ had for them.  Nothing could separate them from the love of Christ.

Romans 8
15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.


The Future Glory


18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.) 26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.


38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 
Bad things happen to good people.  The psalmist in Psalm 44 pleads with God for help.  This psalm may have been sung at the occasion when faithful Jehoshaphat was surrounded by his enemies and the Levites sang to the Lord before the battle.  

Can't you just hear them pleading with God?

Are You asleep God?  

Have You forgotten about us? 

Why won't You do something?

Psalm 44
For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.


1 O God, we have heard it with our own ears—
our ancestors have told us of all you did in their day,
in days long ago:


2 You drove out the pagan nations by your power
and gave all the land to our ancestors.


You crushed their enemies and set our ancestors free.


3 They did not conquer the land with their swords;
it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory.
It was your right hand and strong arm
and the blinding light from your face that helped them,
for you loved them.

4 You are my King and my God.
You command victories for Israel.

5 Only by your power can we push back our enemies;
only in your name can we trample our foes.


6 I do not trust in my bow;
I do not count on my sword to save me.


7 You are the one who gives us victory over our enemies;
you disgrace those who hate us.


8 O God, we give glory to you all day long
and constantly praise your name. Interlude


9 But now you have tossed us aside in dishonor.
You no longer lead our armies to battle.


10 You make us retreat from our enemies
and allow those who hate us to plunder our land.


11 You have butchered us like sheep
and scattered us among the nations.


12 You sold your precious people for a pittance,
making nothing on the sale.


13 You let our neighbors mock us.
We are an object of scorn and derision to those around us.


14 You have made us the butt of their jokes;
they shake their heads at us in scorn.


15 We can’t escape the constant humiliation;
shame is written across our faces.


16 All we hear are the taunts of our mockers.
All we see are our vengeful enemies.


17 All this has happened though we have not forgotten you.
We have not violated your covenant.


18 Our hearts have not deserted you. We have not strayed from your path.


19 Yet you have crushed us in the jackal’s desert home.
You have covered us with darkness and death.


20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread our hands in prayer to foreign gods,


21 God would surely have known it, for he knows the secrets of every heart.


22 But for your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.


23 Wake up, O Lord! Why do you sleep?
Get up! Do not reject us forever.


24 Why do you look the other way?
Why do you ignore our suffering and oppression?


25 We collapse in the dust, lying face down in the dirt.


26 Rise up! Help us!


Ransom us because of your unfailing love.


He most certainly has ransomed us because of His unfailing love. Yet sometimes we go through struggles that seem so unfair.  What did we do?  How can change it?  How can we make things right so the suffering will stop?  But sometimes, our suffering is not a punishment but a battle scar that He can use to demonstrate our loyalty through the suffering. - Life Application Bible

We are here for His glory.  Our purpose is to shine for Him and point others to His Son who has graciously offered Eternal Life through His suffering.  When I think about that, my suffering doesn't seem very significant.  Heaven will be so worth anything I have to face here on earth.