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Discovering Life's Purpose 1/21/07 |
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| When we follow God's direction, we
will experience spiritual peace, joy, and contentment. To discover our
purpose, the first step is receiving Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. In
other words, we must be saved. Our part in salvation is to acknowledge we are sinners, admitting to God that we've lived in rebellion against Him (Romans 3:23). We must profess our belief that Jesus' death on the cross fully paid our sin-debt, and then, ask God to forgive us. We also have to recognize Jesus as personal Savior and Lord and commit our life to Him (1 John 1:9; Romans 10:9; Galatians 2:20). Since God is now in charge, our orders and direction will come from Him. Once we become part of His family, we have His Holy Spirit to help us discover and carry out our Father's plan. God's purpose for His children always includes sanctification, stewardship, and service. "Sanctification" describes the process of progressively growing in holiness. The Holy Spirit, with our cooperation, transforms our character to be Christlike. Stewardship means managing and prioritizing the time, talents, and treasures He has given us. Service for the kingdom is to mark our lives, just as it did Jesus' life (Matthew 20:28). We serve our Father by obediently ministering to others. As we seek the Lord's specific plan for our lives, there are three things we can know with confidence. It will include a change in character, an investment of our resources for His kingdom, and ministry to others. |