by Hannah Hanzel | Mar 21, 2017
“How do I waste my life?” said no one ever to cast a shadow on the earth. Every moment of life, in both the Christian and secular world, is meant for something. Every life, priceless. Every breath, precious.
Many ask, “How might I make every day count?” or ask, “What does a purposeful life look like?” How do we measure a purposeful life? Wealth? Influence? Friends? Family? Followers? Likes? Promotions? Education? Talent? All these are fleeting.
How, then, can I know that, long past my death, my life was worth something to someone? How can I know it wasn’t wasted?
In order to answer these questions, the last being the most critical, I’ve come up with a new question. This one question could change anything from your mood today to even your life going forward. In preparation to revealing this question we must understand what a wasted life looks like, the anatomy of it, if you will.
First, a wasted life consists of a lack of purpose. I’m not talking about those things you thank God for every day; it has to be something deeper. It has to be something you wake up longing for, something you would gladly die for. Psalm 73:26 reveals God as our source of life-giving purpose: “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” This is purpose.
Webster’s dictionary defines purpose as “The reason for which something exists”. Why do you exist? What is your purpose? If observing a wasted life, you would find zero purpose, zero passion.
Second, the anatomy of a wasted life would be nothing without secret sin; those hidden hooks in your life. Is it gossip? Addiction? Lying? What is your secret, relentless disobedience to God Almighty? Should you let them become a foothold, your life will surely contain not only wasted time but wasted potential as well.
Ephesians 4 instructs us not to give the Devil such a foothold. Secret sin is the breeding ground for a Christian pitfall in the sense that you yourself will be a pitfall to other believers. Absent confession time equals a wasted life.
Next, the wasted life lacks entirely in servitude and sacrifice. One who bears the weight of living a wasted life lives only for themselves.
Oh what joy, what purpose we feel as we serve others! To lay down your pride, pick up the cross and die for those around you – it’s not always death in the physical sense. On the contrary, it’s often a death to your social status, your bank account, your personal time or even your health. When we find value in life outside of us, we find a purpose worth living for.
Lastly, the wasted life must retain bitterness. True forgiveness is a far off idea to the wasted-lifer. Total absorption of maltreatment is expected. Nothing ever releases from the pain, and nothing ever enters the heart again. Once wrong has been done, the one who lives a wasted life must hold on forever. But to seek forgiveness… this is where we meet at the foot of the cross. There, and only there, do we find wasted lives turned into whole, purposeful life!
What is the illustrious question? Put simply, plainly, and reflectively… Are you wasting your life?
by Caleb Gordon | Mar 15, 2017
“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls” (Heb. 10:35-39).
Have you ever had the chance to stand up for Christ in a public way, or have you had the opportunity to share your faith with a person, but you felt like you could not do it, so you just kept quiet? I know that I have. What’s really interesting is that we don’t have to live that way. Christ has given you and me confidence.
I remember when I was in Branson, Mo. several years back. I had been asked to speak to roughly 1,000 men about not being ashamed of their faith and Christian walk.
While we were there, we stopped at a shopping mall, and I got the chance to talk to a guy. I asked him about everything in his life – wife, kids, job, hobbies. Guess who I did not mention whatsoever? JESUS CHRIST! I did not even ask where he went to church.
This truly has haunted me as I have continued my journey in life. Why did I not ask him the most important questions? Why was I more interested in his favorite sports teams, rather than if he knew Jesus! I wish I had a time machine to go get my confidence back.
Sadly so many of us throw that confidence away because we are worried about what others will think about us! How sad, right?
When we are bold in our faith, we have a reward that is promised to us. God looks upon us and is pleased with us. The GOD of everything is PLEASED with us when we are faithful to HIM and His cause! Not only that, but when we are bold for Christ in our daily lives we make an impact on other people! We are helping gather. We are the hands and feet of Christ in this world.
You don’t have to be afraid.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Josh. 1:9).
Today, rest in KNOWING who Jesus is and that He has your day. You don’t have to be worried. Be bold. Be courageous in your walk. Walk in confidence. Jesus has the answer! Rest in HIM today!
by Ryan Smith | Mar 14, 2017
“Are you sure you’re not called to ministry?”
Yes. I had answered the question a dozen times. However, I appreciated his well-meaning support and investment in me as a young man. To a degree, I felt like I was letting him down. But I simply wasn’t called to vocational ministry.
I was a church rat from the womb. I loved the local church and had found more than a home there. It was a place and people I could serve, grow with, invest in and learn from.
The local church was my base. No matter what else I was doing, investing in the church was what I did.
Still, on my proverbial Pauline road to Damascus, no light had shown around me. No voice had called out to me in a thunderous tone. I never saw a burning bush. My name was never changed. I’d seen many walk an aisle in tearful revelation surrendering to ministry.
But I hadn’t. I simply was not called.
“Let me ask you one more question. I promise this will be the last time.”
Okay. I was prepared again to softly reject him.
“What in your life would show you otherwise?”
It was an interesting question and honestly, one I had never considered. That question, however, led me on a journey of self-evaluation that to this day shapes my call as a pastor and gives me faith in the dimly-lit path ahead.
How can we tell what God’s call is on our life?
Like some of you, I have sat across from young men and women seeking to know God’s call on their lives. And this question is not limited to vocational ministry.
How do I know if I am called to…Adopt a child? Change jobs? Lead out where there is little direction? Speak up and into what area?
Let us consider four areas of your life. What are your passions, experiences, affirmations and opportunities?
Passion
What lights you up? When you see a blog, a buzzword, or hear about an opportunity in an area, what is it that pings your radar? We all inherently have things we would gladly do for the rest of our lives if X, Y, and Z were not an issue. What do you love to do? What are you passionate about?
Experience
Moses doubted his call from God, but it is apparent God had been equipping him from birth. He was a Hebrew, yet trained under the skillful hand of Pharaoh’s house. What unique experiences do you have? Whether positive or negative, our past experiences can often be the tools most readily sharpened for our future. What do you know a lot about? What have you done or experienced that some have not? What do you have experience in?
Affirmation
This one is important. If we learned anything from American Idol (and we all did), it’s that people can have passion and even a degree of experience in something, yet it is obviously not going to bring a fruitful future for them. What do your most intimate friends and family members say they could see you doing? Have you ever asked? What about someone who has only watched you from a distance, but cares about you? What about your local church? Your pastor? What would they affirm as your gifting? Outside affirmation can be one of the greatest resources in helping us see the God-given road ahead. Sometimes we can’t see what others see. Sometimes we need someone to lovingly open or close a door for us.
Opportunity
I’ve heard it said that when God closes a door, He opens a window. Sometimes, however, I think we need to quit looking for ways to get out of our own house. Where has God placed you? Who has He placed around you? What opportunities could you grasp today that could lead you to a future you are excited about? Where has God given you opportunities to take a first step?
It seems the place where our passion, experience, affirmation and opportunity overlap is fertile soil to determine (at least in part) God’s call and direction in our lives.
Granted, there may be times God calls us completely out of our comfort zone. We can all cite biblical examples of this. But they are usually not the norm.
We may be firmly convicted by the Spirit to glorify God in a difficult place. Some of our roads are uphill and rocky. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t the right roads.
So what about you? Is there something about your God-given passion, experience, affirmation, and opportunity you might be ignoring or not seeing while looking for more drastic signs of God’s leading?
Let us all give thanks to God that He uses sinners like us for His glory – wherever we are called. And let us ask together where He might be calling us next.
by Brian Hobbs | Mar 9, 2017
I’ve often been asked by other Christian believers, “What’s your life verse?” For the longest time, I didn’t have an answer. It’s not because I didn’t have favorite Bible verses and passages. It’s because I had too many from which to choose.
During my childhood, and when coming to faith in Christ, John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world…”) was probably the most prominent verse to me, my life verse.
Later while attending a secular university where temptations and challenges to my faith abounded, 1 Pet. 3:15 (“Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…”) became my life verse.
After getting married and having our first child, the verses within Psalm 1 (“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked…”) became a personal and family favorite.
Still later, having experienced some grief through the years, John 10:10 (“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly…”) ranks atop my list of verse favorites.
I guess you can say that I have had multiple life verses. Yet I have come to believe it’s okay not to have one singular, permanent life verse, and that God will use His Word to bless us and comfort us through every season of life. And for this, I am so thankful to the Lord.
So what is your life verse? Or if I may ask it another way, what verses of Scripture has God uniquely used to bless you?
by Caleb Gordon | Mar 1, 2017
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1).
Because of what Jesus has done on the cross everything has changed. I mean everything.
Think about it. “We were dead in our trespasses and sin” (Eph. 2:1). But because of Jesus, we have new life. Life that is never going to end. Life that is abundant and free. Life that transforms everything about our existence. So as a result of this amazing new life that has been gifted to us, our outlook should be different. Our focus should be brighter; our gaze should be upward focused.
Why should that be? Because we’ve been raised with Christ. You see, when you enter into newness of life with Jesus, your sins are left buried and you, yes YOU, are raised WITH Christ. You are one WITH Christ. God no longer sees you; He sees His Son, Jesus!! You have been granted access to something, rather SOMEONE you’ve never been able to get to before. So our hearts should be delighting in Jesus!
Our focus should be Christ! When Christ is our focus what happens?
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33).
When our gaze is set on the right person and the right thing, life has a supernatural shift. The trials and temptations of this life really start to lose their luster. They stop controlling and ruling our lives, because we have put our hope and our thoughts on Jesus, our KING! When you’re a child of a King you don’t have to worry. Everything is going to be OK. He will take care of you.
I want you to see something. According to the above verse (Col. 3:1), Christ is seated at the right hand of God. What is He doing there? Well the Bible tells us what He is doing.
“Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Rom. 8:34).
Did you catch that? He’s PRAYING for you and me! Praying that we overcome this world. Praying that we overcome sin, and most importantly He’s our advocate. He is proclaiming that WE belong to HIM! That should really give you and me a boldness that we’ve never had before. Fear not! Christ is with us!
So as you walk through your day today, know that Jesus is FOR YOU! He is rooting for you. He wants you to be with HIM! Don’t let the world drag you down. Rest and trust in HIM today!
by Amy Spear | Feb 15, 2017
Stuck in a tiny PT Cruiser for 15 hours while coming home from West Virginia, I shared about God and His Word. My friend was truly seeking answers for the first time in her life. It was a moment that God orchestrated, and I was soaking it all in as I answered question after question. My friend never grew up in church, never heard the Gospel and never understood who Jesus was or what He had done for her.
She needed to know answers to some very basic questions of the Christian faith, yet the complexity of those “simple” questions challenged me to think about my answers in a new light.
How can she accept what she doesn’t know or understand? Jesus shows us that we are sinners and we all need a Savior, but if she doesn’t understand who Jesus is, how can she turn to Him as Lord and Savior of her life? No one ever, in all her 50-some years, took the time to talk to her about Jesus!
“…Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to” (Romans 10:17 MSG).
Before my friend could trust, she needed to listen, and how could she listen if no one was willing to speak? There are times when I want to remain silent, when speaking God’s truth seems risky. But if I would have remained silent that day in the car, my friend might never have given her heart to Jesus. (Yes, she eventually did, after truly understanding!)
God gives each of us moments to “preach” the Good News about His son Jesus. We need to be aware of those arounds us and look for opportunities to speak. How can anyone accept what they haven’t heard?
What if someone had taken the time to “preach” to my friend earlier? She could have lived many of those years with the help of a Savior instead of stumbling through life on her own. What choices would she have made, what impact could she have had, how many other people would have come to know Christ because of her, how would her life be different if she simple heard sooner?
I don’t mean to dwell on “what ifs,” but we all have to admit, we have missed opportunities to speak God’s truth. And that decision, my friend, does have consequences that we might not ever know until we get to heaven.
Yet, God can use our missed opportunities to motivate us to speak up the next time we have the chance. When we acknowledge our mistakes, we can learn from them and move forward. I want to be bold; I want to please my Lord; I want to be used by Him.
Forgive me Lord when I miss those opportunities You place before me. Help me to speak up next time. Give me the strength and boldness! I need you Lord, and I need your courage!
That long trip in the car was just what we needed! Talking about Jesus and learning more about Him in both of our lives was a moment I will always remember!
Don’t back down! Speak up! People all around us need us to preach, so they can hear, so they can trust. When God’s word is spoken it never returns void!
“It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it” (Isaiah 55:11).
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Rom. 10:15).