Gods Purpose for Me is Right Under My Nose

I get hyped up (often it seems) to seek out God's purpose for me. I think of grandiose things like serving in the Sudan or working with Samaritan's Purse Disaster Relief full-time. I've considered ministry and have longed to leadership in whatever church I'm attending.

I can't tell you if it is wisdom that comes with age(ing) or if God is finally just able to connect with e through my thick skull after all these years, but I'm starting to understand my purpose better.

It doesn't come with some great plan of things to come but instead comes in the everyday. God wants to use me right here, right now. It may be only speaking to one person today and portraying the love of Christ but it is today.

I'm a planner in general so this is hard for me. Yet I hear God telling me not to forget His purpose for me today while I'm busily planning out tomorrow.

Pray for God to use you TODAY and be open to His leading. If tomorrow comes... repeat!

Matthew 6:34 tells us "Don't worry about tomorrow...". I'm going to set that in my heart today.

Prayer Warrior - My Purpose for Today

Like many Christ followers, I am asking God for direction and purpose. Are the things that are in my mind and on my schedule for today... are those the things that God wants me to be accomplishing?

Many works in the mission field are on my mind today. Kay (my bride of 27 years) is at a Samaritan's Purse - Operation Christmas Child missions conference in Georgia. Our daughter and son-in-law are in Albania serving several villages in the missions field this week. I also spoke with a dear friend yesterday in Mexico (YWAM/Mazatlan - see websites I view often). They have been under some spiritual attack and are boldly hanging on to the promises of God.

Where is all of this telling me that God wants on my schedule today? I believe to be a prayer warrior. That term is bounced around a lot in Christian circles and it is basically someone who devotes themselves to prayer. To spend solid time in study and prayer each day an then to be mindful to God throughout the day. In other words, to be in continual prayer... a continual conversation with God.

In some of my study this morning, I was reading from Proverbs 2:1-5.
'My son if you accept my words,
and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.' (emphasis my own)

Then on down in verse 11 it says,
'Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.'

What do I see from these verses? Accepting 'my' (God's) word and storing up His commands is study. Turning and applying are an actual turning away from unwise thoughts and actions. Then calling out for insight and crying aloud for understanding are prayer. Doing these things will provide for me what is in verse 11 where I will have discretion and I will know the right decision every time.

I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I do know who will guide me towards tomorrow and when tomorrow comes, He will be there. Jesus Christ, my Savior, my King, my Lord is guiding me through His Word to be a prayer warrior today. To pray for mission work in Mexico, Albania, Georgia and even here in Indian River County, Florida.

My purpose today is to pray. It is not the first thing that I will do and it will not be the last thing that I do today. All of my day today will be a day of prayer.

Consistency

The word 'consistency' is on my mind this morning. You see, I've been reading from the book of Job in the Bible. Job is a great example of consistency. His walk with God was blameless yet he had trials and tribulations like few others in history. Through it all, he shows some confusion and bewilderment as to why these trials have come upon him but he continues to trust in God and look to Him for strength and answers. I look back at the minuscule trials that I have had in comparison and the number of times that I turned away from God during those times. Job does not turn away but instead worships God! Incredible.

As I move in to 2008, I want the word 'consistency' to be on my mind continually. My walk with my Savior, Jesus must be consistent. My conversation with God (prayer) must be consistent. My spiritual leadership to my wife and family must be consistent. In all that I think, say and do... I want to be a steadfast rock... consistently depending on the Word of God for my knowledge, wisdom and understanding.

If you are reading this, let us make a promise together to walk consistently with God today.

Knowledge or Wisdom?

I used to think that knowledge and wisdom were basically one and the same. If I ran into a really smart person, I would think that 'wow, they seem so wise. They have all of the answers'. As I study though I am seeing these two terms growing further apart.

Paul in Romans (and elsewhere) speaks constantly about the condition of the heart. He says that a person can be performing all kinds of rituals, be a member in the right organizations, or can come from a line of spiritual ancestry but if the heart is not devoted, it is all meaningless. How often do I see this today as people call themselves 'Christian' and are members of a church but their heart is worldly in nature. They may have all kinds of worldly knowledge but are they wise?

Solomon speaks about wisdom all the time in his Proverbs. In particular in Proverbs 4, verses 4 and 5, Solomon says "Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live. Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them." Wisdom here is not earthly knowledge but learning God's Word and imprinting it in my mind and upon my heart.

Our conscience is a moral compass that has been placed in every human being. It is a moral sense of right and wrong that affects ones thoughts and behaviors. Knowledge does little to program the conscience. It is just worldly facts that have no eternal value. On the other hand, wisdom programs the conscience to obtain a true understanding of right and wrong. It has eternal value to the person obtaining the wisdom as well as those around him (or her) as their actions will be an example of moral balance and right living.

Are you striving to obtain Knowledge or Wisdom?