Your Daily Devotional for March 13, 2006

March 13, 2006

 

Living for God’s Purpose

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

 

Romans 8:28

 

Over the past ten or twenty years, corporate America has put a great emphasis on the subject of purpose or mission statements. Perhaps you have noticed at a hospital or at a business a statement of purpose on the wall trying to clarify the vision of why that particular organization exists. I believe more important than an organization understanding the reason for its existence, believers should understand God’s purpose for their existence, and then live it to the fullest.

 

Several years ago, we took a number of church leaders to Ventura, California, and spent time in prayer and reading the Word of God. During this time, we wrote the purpose statement for Lancaster Baptist Church. That purpose statement is placed in our bulletins and in other printed materials. Not long after this, our family got together and began to talk about, “What is a family? What are the responsibilities of a family?” We wrote a purpose statement as a family affirming our desire to encourage one another, to support one another, and to glorify God as a family. We want to bring honor to Christ through our family, our church, and our everyday lives.

 

As I talk to Christians on a daily basis, I find that many Christians today are not principle guided. They’re not living their lives with biblical principles in mind. They have never really thought about where they want to be in ten years, or what they want their testimony to say about them? I believe if we really want our lives to bring honor to God then we need to make some decisions now in order to bring us to that desired position at the end of this life.

 

Someone defined character as the ability to keep a decision long after the emotion of that decision has left. A lot of times Christians will make a decision maybe at a time of emotion, but God wants us to stay with those decisions long after emotion has left us.

 

Ephesians 1:11 says that we are, “...predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.” It is the responsibility of a mature Christian to discover what God’s purpose is and then to live it out for an entire lifetime. The Apostle Paul said in Colossians 3:1–2, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” I challenge you to live for God’s purpose. Discover His plan for your life and then live with His purpose in mind.          

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