“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.”
Mark 8:35 (NLT) How do you know if you are living for your dream or God’s dream? You may think you were created to get up, go to work, come home, watch TV, and go to bed, to make a little money, retire, and die. Really? You think that’s all God put you here for? If your dream is truly from God, it will somehow be connected to his church and his plan for the world. Why would God give you a self-centered dream, unconnected to what he wants to do in the world? He wants to use you for his dream. He wants to use you for his plan. God is building a family, and he’s collecting family members from every nation, tribe, language, and people group. When everybody’s in the family that he knows will be in the family, it’s over. We’re going into phase two, which is eternity. That’s God’s big plan. Right before Jesus went back to heaven after the resurrection, he gave the disciples a great dream. It’s called the Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20 NLT). The Great Commission is your commission. We’ve had 2,000 years of God building his family. It’s the whole purpose of history. And when God gives you a dream for your life, it is somehow going to be connected to his overarching plan. It’s connected to the growth of his kingdom and his family until the day it’s completed and we all go to heaven. Mark 8:35 says, “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it” (NLT). You weren’t put here on earth to live for yourself. Ask God to give you his dream for your life so that you can be part of the biggest, best, and most important story.
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“I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never perish.”
John 11:25-26 (TLB) There are a lot of benefits to believing in Jesus and having a relationship with him. But even if God removed all the other benefits, there would still be this, and it’s a pretty big deal: When you believe in Jesus Christ, you are guaranteed eternal life. Your eternity is sealed because of Jesus’ resurrection. You see, Jesus bringing himself back to life changed everything. It literally split history into A.D. and B.C. It’s the most important event ever. And, it proves three things. First, it proves that Jesus is exactly who he claimed to be. He repeatedly said he was the Son of God who came to die for our sins. And he did just that. Jesus’ resurrection is one of the most well documented events in history. It would stand up in any court of law. In fact it has many, many times throughout centuries. The resurrection also proves that Jesus keeps his promises. Jesus told his disciples that he was going to let the people kill him and that he would come back to life. If he kept that promise, then you know you can trust the thousands of other promises God makes in his Word. The third thing the resurrection proves is that there is life after death. If Jesus Christ hadn’t resurrected, you would have no hope for the future. This life on earth would be all there is—and that’s not worth placing your hope in! Jesus said in John 11:25-26, “I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never perish” (TLB). Where else are you going to get a promise like that? Nowhere! Who else can give that to you? No one! If you don’t get the promise of eternal life from Jesus, then you won’t have it. That is an amazing benefit, and it’s available to you today. What’s the qualification? You only have to believe. “[God] gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”
Isaiah 40:29 (NIV) When you believe in Jesus, you get God’s strength for daily living. I used to think this wasn’t a big deal. But I’ve realized that for most people, the number one problem in life isn’t worry or fear or guilt or bitterness. Their number one problem is weariness. People tell me all the time, “I’m just so tired all the time. I can’t get it all done. I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.” The reason why you’re tired all the time is you have a power shortage. And the reason you have a power shortage is because you’re not plugged in to God’s power. You’re trying to live your life on your power alone. There’s no way you can fulfill your purpose in life without being plugged in to God’s power. An unplugged toaster is worthless. An unplugged blender is worthless. A vacuum cleaner has no purpose if it’s not plugged in to the power source. Isaiah 40:29 says, “[God] gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (NIV). You need God’s power in more ways than you realize. Paul says it like this: “I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me” (Philippians 4:13 GNT). This is not a positive mental attitude. This is not self-help psychology. This is not pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps thinking. No—this is supernatural power! What are the “all conditions”? With God’s help, you have the power to handle loneliness when you’re lonely. The power to handle stress when you’re under pressure. The power to handle guilt and fear and boredom and bitterness and rejection. The power to handle financial disaster. The power to handle health crises. The power to handle a relational predicament. Where does that power come from? It comes from God in you—the Holy Spirit. You receive that power when you believe in Jesus Christ to save you. And it’s available to you every moment of every day, no matter what you’re facing. “‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.”
John 6:5-6 (NIV) Do you remember the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish? I think it’s amazing that, out of 5,000 people, it seems only one person brought a lunch. I’m thinking a lot of people were hiding picnic baskets under their robes because they didn’t want to share with anybody else. But one little boy offered the bread and fish he packed for his lunch. He gave Jesus what little he had, and God used it to not just feed a lot of people but also to show them how much he cares and how powerful he is. God always starts with what you have. You may not have much time. Your assets may not be worth much. You may not think you have much talent. But you can give God everything in your life. Give him your heart. Give him your attention. Give him your past, present, and future. Give him your offering. It may not be much, but you can give him your five loaves and two fish. In John 6:5-6 Jesus asks, “‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do” (NIV). Jesus wasn’t worried about how to feed 5,000 people. He already had in mind what he was going to do. He saw the need long before the disciples did—and he had a plan. You need to understand this truth today: God always has the answer before you even know the problem. God is not worried about your unsolvable problem. It’s not too late in the day for Jesus. He saw your problem long before you did. He knew it was coming, and he already had a plan for it. God knows the solution to your problem before you even recognize it’s a problem! So why are you worrying? Just admit you have a problem you can’t solve on your own, and then give God everything you have. Watch him take your loaves and fish and turn them into a feast. “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.”
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NLT) Faith is a powerful force. It unlocks the promises of God. It shows us the power of God. It turns dreams into reality. And it gives us the power to hold on in tough times. God doesn’t always take you out of the problem. He stretches your faith by taking you through the problem. He doesn’t always take away the pain. He gives you faith-filled ability to handle the pain. And God doesn’t always take you out of the storm, because he wants you to trust him in the middle of the storm. I remember reading the stories of Corrie ten Boom, a young Dutch Christian who helped many Jews escape the Holocaust before being sent to Nazi concentration camps. After World War II ended, she said that the people who lived through those camps were those who had the deepest faith. Why? Because faith gives you the power to hold on in tough times. It produces persistence. Study after study has shown that probably the most important characteristic you could teach a child (and that you need in your own life) is resilience. It’s the ability to bounce back and keep going. Nobody goes through life with an unbroken chain of successes. Everybody has failures and mistakes. We all embarrass ourselves. We all have pain. We all have problems. We all have pressures. The people who make it in life have resilience. Where do you get the resilience to keep going? Faith. It’s believing God could do something at any moment that could change the direction of your life—and you don’t want to miss it, so you keep moving forward. It’s believing that God will give you exactly what you need when you need it as you learn to rely on him to accomplish his purpose in you. This is the testimony of Paul, a great man of faith: “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NLT). Paul learned resilience through troubles that could have crushed him. His faith helped him to get up when he got knocked down—and your faith can do that for you too. “Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message with all boldness.”
Acts 4:29 (GNT) We all have fears. Too often, though, we let them rule over our lives; we let them stop us from taking a stand for what we know God wants us to do. Like Daniel standing in the lion’s den, we face people and situations that threaten to destroy us and our witness for Christ. But we have a choice: Will we succumb to our fears, or will we stand up for God in spite of those fears? If you want to overcome the fears that are dragging you down, you need to clearly understand the benefits of choosing to stand up for what God wants. Most importantly, you need to see that doing what God wants you to do is a clear victory over the fear in your life. Because fear grows. Every time you give in to a fear, it becomes more intense. Fear grows every time you refuse to do what God wants you to do. Eventually, you’ll feel cornered. So what do you do? Follow the lead of early Christians. We’re certainly not the first generation of Christians to face fear. Early believers faced all kinds of persecution. The book of Acts shows us a bit about how they stood up to fear. As Peter and John proclaimed Jesus boldly in Acts 4, they came up against fierce opposition. So they prayed, “Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message with all boldness” (Acts 4:29 GNT). The answer to your fear isn’t to give in to it. It’s to move forward boldly in spite of it. You stand up to the fear. Fear doesn’t respond to logic, so your only chance to get rid of a fear is to trust God and face the fear. Never, ever forget this: God won’t part the water in front of you until you take your first step (see how God did this for Elijah and Elisha in 2 Kings 2:8). You take a step of faith, and then God shows you the path. That won’t happen if you stand wrapped up in your fear. Take a step in faith today, and watch fear crumble in the process as God guides your steps. “If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.”
Matthew 6:15 (GNT) If you are unwilling to forgive someone and you don’t want God to forgive them either, that reveals bitterness and resentment in your life. If you want someone else to be punished but you expect forgiveness for the bad things you’ve done, you’ll just make yourself miserable. You’re not hurting them; you’re only hurting yourself. Jesus said, “If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done” (Matthew 6:15 GNT). Forgiveness involves your past, present, and future:
Consider Jonah. After he warned the people of Nineveh about God’s judgment, they repented, so God forgave them and didn’t punish them. This disappointed Jonah and made him bitter. But remember how Jonah originally turned away from God? He wanted God’s forgiveness for his own sin of disobeying. Yet he didn’t want God to forgive the Ninevites. So Jonah prayed, “I knew that you are a loving and merciful God, always patient, always kind, and always ready to change your mind and not punish. Now then, LORD, let me die. I am better off dead than alive” (Jonah 4:2-3 GNT). Jonah’s resentment was only hurting himself. The Ninevites were enjoying the grace of God while Jonah was wallowing in self-pity. It’s critical that you forgive anyone from your past who has hurt you—and that you forgive anyone who wrongs you today. Why? Because God has forgiven you for your past sins, and he has promised to forgive you in the future. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NIV). “Since we are God’s coworkers, we urge you not to let God’s kindness be wasted on you.”
2 Corinthians 6:1 (GW) When God gives you another chance to fulfill your mission in life, seize it. Don’t waste it. It’s the time to focus on God’s unique calling for your life. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 6:1, “Since we are God’s coworkers, we urge you not to let God’s kindness be wasted on you” (GW). God’s done so much for you. He’s forgiven your sins. He’s given you more than one second chance. He will give you another opportunity to serve him. Take a look at Paul. He was killing Christians because he thought they were heretics who were following a dead and disgraced leader. But then Jesus confronted Paul on the road to Damascus—and offered him a second chance to fulfill his real mission on earth. Paul accepted his assignment and did a 180-degree turn—and he never forgot the second chance God gave him. Later in his ministry, Paul said: “I don’t care about my own life. The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me—to tell people the Good News about God’s grace” (Acts 20:24 NCV). Because Paul was so grateful God was using him, nothing else mattered to him. No matter how badly you’ve messed up, God hasn’t changed your mission. Maybe you’ve started to drift just a little bit. God still hasn’t changed your mission. So get back to it. Get started today. When God gives you another chance, don’t delay—obey. God’s second chances reflect his grace and his love for you. “It is wonderful to be grateful and to sing your praises, LORD Most High! It is wonderful each morning to tell about your love and at night to announce how faithful you are.”
Psalm 92:1-2 (CEV) God loves to give second chances. Consider Jonah. God gave him a mission to tell the people of Nineveh to repent. But Jonah didn’t like Nineveh and wanted the people to experience God’s judgment. So Jonah ran away from God and ended up in the belly of a fish. Still, God gave him a second chance! He’ll give you one too. What do you do when he does? Live gratefully. That’s how Jonah responded, at least at first. In fact, he thanked God before he had even been rescued: “As for me, I will sacrifice to you with a voice of thanksgiving” (Jonah 2:9 CSB). When God gives you a second chance, do what Jonah did. Wake up every day with profound gratitude for the opportunity God has given you. The Bible says, “It is wonderful to be grateful and to sing your praises, LORD Most High! It is wonderful each morning to tell about your love and at night to announce how faithful you are” (Psalm 92:1-2 CEV). It’s not just a one-time prayer. It’s a lifestyle of gratitude. The psalmist sang God’s praises every morning and every night. If you’re alive and have blood flowing through your veins, your mission is still in front of you. No matter what has happened in the past, you can thank God for a second chance to fulfill his plan for your life. It’s worth singing about! “When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord.”
Jonah 2:7 (TLB) When you feel hopeless, choose to think about the one thing you know will lift your spirit: the goodness of God. How did Jonah do it? Here’s what he said: “When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord” (Jonah 2:7 TLB). That’s the answer to hopelessness! You turn your thoughts to God. You think about his goodness, his greatness, his love, his fairness, and his kindness. In the New Testament, the Greek word for this is metanoia or “repentance.” Repentance doesn’t just mean you stop doing bad stuff. It means you change your mind and look at life from God’s viewpoint instead of your own. Corrie ten Boom, a survivor of the Nazi death camps, once said, “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God, you’ll be at rest.” Everything depends on where you’re looking. As you focus your attention on God’s goodness, look to his Word. One of the verses one can lean on during some of the darkest times of one's life is Psalm 27:13, which says, “I know that I will live to see the LORD’s goodness in this present life” (GNT). It’s a great reminder that God’s purpose in your life is greater than whatever problem you’re facing. Even though it may be difficult, instead of focusing on your worries, choose to look up and turn your “thoughts once more to the Lord.” |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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