PDL - Day 4

There is more to life than here and now. We were made for eternity, and how we live now prepares us for that. Pastor Rick Warren and Enoch Tang shared a homecoming story about a missionary and a president. Both individuals came off the same plane, however, the missionary was not greeted with a party of people like the President. In fact, he was not greeted by anyone! The missionary went home that night and told God His frustrations about how he was on missions, while the president was probably on vacation and yet he had no one welcoming him home. That same night, the missionary heard God whisper: "...This is not your home."

This story is a strong reminder to live kingdom-minded. Paul even talks about how our body is a tent. A tent is a temporary place to rest. It is also a mobile place. Our future is a house with many rooms. And Jesus is preparing it for us.

PDL - Day 4 reminds me of Pastor Bernard's sermon. So many of us Christians place so much emphasis/focus on money, title, career, and brands that in the end, it covers the power of the cross in our life (i.e. cross is covered in the picture). An example is buying a home. If your focus is on purchasing a home, the way you live NOW will change dramatically. The way you spend, eat, go out, have fun will all change. When we begin to live a life for eternity, our values will change. We will start placing higher premium on things that matter such as relationships, and character building as opposed to fame, wealth, achievements, or fun. I am not saying fame, wealth, achievements, or fun is 'bad'. But a continuous influx of these factors can lead to a higher risk of complacency. We essentially become plastic Christians (i.e. not alive). Instead, allow the enjoyment of these areas become a channel to honor and glorify God.

PDL - Day 3

A few things stood out from this chapter. First, Pastor Rick Warren writes: "We are all products of our past, but we do not have to be prisoners of it." My past has been my greatest fear. I find it difficult to serve sometimes when I remember the vast amount of people I had hurt, the damage I incurred in my family, and the selfishness I birthed in all my relationships. I 'know' that the old Gabe is dead. But my heart struggles living it out sometimes. It is incredible to see how my past is so involved with the process of my sanctification. "Resentment kills a fool, and envy slaves the simple" - Job 5:2 reminds me to let go of all resentment. Even the resentment I have about myself.

Making right choices has great return value. Sometimes, these values are not evident until years later. I am currently deciding on a lot of things - what to do after graduation, what is my role in the church, where is God working, where is He leading me? At the moment, I honestly do not know all the keys or decisions to success. But one way to failure is to try and please everyone. From day 3 of PDL, I am reminded that I am not placed on earth to be remembered, but to prepare for eternity. My hope comes from recognizing that I am made with a purpose, and that I will come to discover it as my relationship with Jesus grows.

PDL - Day 2

In day 2 of PDL, Rick Warren spoke about how God created us for Himself. Going further into this, in my opinion, we have a tendency to overemphasize that God is for us. Yes, I believe that God loves us, wants to bless us, and does not want to harm us. I also know that God wants us to experience an overflow of His joy, that all He has is for us too, and that we have complete access into his kingdom. At the end of the day, I honestly believe that the greater picture is that God is essentially for God. We need to get over the belief that God is for 'me.' Thinking things are for me disrupts the family, friends, children, etc. How? You begin telling yourself that these people are to meet you at your needs and wants. You start convincing yourself that God placed these people in your life to bless you. These people (i.e. family, friends, partners) have essentially become your servants.

Keeping the mindset that people are for 'me' will get you easily angered and frustrated. Example, when people cut you off on the road, you would probably flip out because 'they did not see YOU.' What if they just cut you off because they needed to change lanes? - lol. With this everything-is-for-ME mindset, anything that does not go your way will just get you wild up. On the contrary, if it is not about you (and is about God), you are free and you are more able to extend grace. Breathing and resting would probably be made more possible too. When it is not about you, you are able to be joyful in all circumstances regardless if someone hurts you or not. The more it is about you, the more you become miserable.

Day 2 also discussed that if there was no God, we would all be accidents. The 'scientific' explanation of the 'big bang' simply states that the world was 'accidentally' made and all life on it was 'accidentally' made too. Accidents do not have purposes. We were not accidents. God has a purpose for us.

Purpose Driven Life (PDL) - Day 1

So I am currently reading the book "Purpose Driven Life" with one of my small group members. It has definitely been a delightful read. Ricky Warren, the author of PDL, really lays out the foundation of this book by telling its readers that we were all made by God and for God. The title of the book could be deceiving in the sense where we may feel the drive to 'do things' to fulfill our life on earth such as more money, more friends, more fame, more more more... But the age old question of 'What is our purpose' can only be discovered if we, the created, discovers our Creator.

Until we understand that we were made BY God and FOR God, our life will never make sense. Imagine a hammer attempting to discover what it was made for. It is only possible for the hammer to discover its created purpose if it discovers its creator (or reads the user manual). Likewise, it is only in God that we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, and our destiny.

I have been thinking about Christ's second coming a lot more lately. With the rising price of fuel, people are not going to react well with the drastic rate increase. All I can imagine, here on, is chaos with certain markets beginning to crash. As gas prices rise, market prices will increase too. People simply will not respond well. Country's will go to war and people will be in a frantic search for personal purpose (or possession). What is the purpose of this craziness? The more people 'try' to discover their purpose, the more distant they become from the creator. Created things do not find their purpose in creating more things.

This surfaces a frightening question. If this is new news to us - that our purpose is to be in a relationship with God through Jesus - what are we in relationship with now?

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What comforts is not an explanation from god, but the presence of god.