“Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others. Be good servants of God’s various gifts of grace.”
1 Peter 4:10 (NCV) Whenever we pursue something in life, we do it hoping that it will give us significance. But the only way to really experience significance is to serve with others in ministry. Ministry just means doing good to other people. Significance does not come from status or a hood ornament on your car or a logo on your shirt. Significance does not come from a bigger salary. Significance does not come from sex. Significance comes from service. Significance comes when you start thinking about other people more than you think about yourself and you give your life away. You cannot be selfish and significant at the same time. The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:10, “Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others” (NCV). What are your talents? What are the unique skills and abilities God has given you? They were not given for your benefit. God gave them to you for the benefit of the people around you. You are shaped for significance, and you find that significance by using your gifts and talents and abilities to serve other people. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says, “Two people are better than one, because they get more done by working together. If one falls down, the other can help him up. But it is bad for the person who is alone and falls, because no one is there to help. If two lie down together, they will be warm, but a person alone will not be warm. An enemy might defeat one person, but two people together can defend themselves; a rope that is woven of three strings is hard to break” (NCV). You may think it’s easier to do things on your own. You may prefer solitude. You may need your alone time. But you will always get more done when you serve with other people. You’re not meant to serve God by yourself. You’re meant to serve God on a team. You’re meant to serve God in a family, in a small group, in a church. You’re meant to serve God in relationship. Do you want to find significance and give your best to God? Then serve him with your community.
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“He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow.”
Ephesians 4:16 (NLT) There are some things you will never learn on your own. You only learn them in community. To grow and develop your potential, you must learn from other people. For example, you can only learn forgiveness in relationships. You can’t learn that on your own. You can only learn loyalty in relationships. You can only learn love in relationships. You can’t learn kindness or faithfulness or graciousness or unselfishness without others. In fact, the most important things you need to learn in life require that you be in relationship to other people. You can’t do it on your own. If you want to build your potential, you must learn from others. Where is the best place to do that? In God’s family. You learn it by being connected to the body of Christ. Ephesians 4:16 says, “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow” (NLT). This is why I’ve talked so much about small groups over the years—because I’ve seen it work: I’ve seen people join a small group who felt unconnected, who were unsure of their purpose, who needed direction in serving others, who just needed to be known. And being in community with others in God’s family made all the difference. Sharing their lives and being open about their struggles and cheering each other on in life made all the difference. Why does sharing your life with others make a difference? Because you weren’t made for success. You were made for significance. And the best way to live a life of significance is in relationship with others, serving and sharing and growing and worshiping with them. You need the people God has placed in your life. And they need you! God wired us to depend on each other and to learn from each other. When you’re connected to other people, it’s not just you who grows and benefits. You also use your gifts and experiences to help others fulfill their purpose. We need each other! “Do your best to improve your faith.”
2 Peter 1:5 (CEV) Admiral Hyman Rickover was the father of the U.S. nuclear Navy. He once interviewed a Naval Academy graduate and asked him a very direct question: “When you were in school and in all your life, did you always do your best?” The young man started to say “yes” but then realized it wasn’t truthful. “No,” he said, “I didn’t do my best all the time.” Admiral Rickover looked at him with piercing eyes and said, “Why not?” Why not? The question burned in the young man’s heart, and it was a turning point in his life. That young cadet, Jimmy Carter, became the 39th president of the U.S. and wrote a book called Why Not the Best? If you want to give your best to God, there are three things you must do that every soldier understands. 1. You must define what you would die for. Soldiers know there are some things more valuable than their own lives. Even Jesus talked about it: “The greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life for his friends” (John 15:13 TLB). You measure love not by what people tell you but by their willingness to sacrifice everything they have for something. 2. You must sacrifice your own comfort. Soldiers do this all the time. They serve in extreme circumstances and don’t make much money. They give up a lot of things. You don’t become a great man or woman of God by doing what’s easy or comfortable. You do it by committing to something greater than yourself and then being willing to sacrifice for it. The greater your sacrifice in life, the greater your character will be. “Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3 NLT). 3. You must eliminate distractions. “No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer” (2 Timothy 2:4 NIV). Soldiers know they can’t be distracted if they want to be ready to respond to a leader’s command. If you want to be great, if you want to be the best you can be, you must start spending more of your time, money, and energy on things that are going to last forever and less time, money, and energy on things that don’t really matter. If you want to give your best to God, why not start with these three steps? “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) Faith is visualizing the future. It’s believing before you see it. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (NIV). How will you see what’s happening in your life through eyes of faith? A lot of people say, “I’ll believe it when I see it!” God says the exact opposite is true: “You will see it when you first believe it.” There are many things in life that have to be believed before they can be seen. In 1961, the Soviet Union sent the first cosmonaut into space. When the cosmonaut returned to earth, the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev declared they’d been to space and didn’t see any god there. About 10 months later, the U.S. sent John Glenn into space. He circled the earth three times on his Mercury mission, came back down, and told the world, “I saw God everywhere! I saw his glory in the galaxy. I saw his splendor in the universe. I saw his majesty in the stars.” Which one was right? They both were. Jesus said, “Unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3 NLT). Before there is spiritual transformation in your life, you’re too narrow-minded to see the possibility of what God wants to do in your life. Wernher von Braun, the leading scientist in the early stages of the U.S. space program, said, “There has never been any great accomplishment in history without faith.” It is faith that causes the scientist to believe that we can put a man on the moon. It is faith that causes an architect to design a building because, first, they believe it can be done. It is faith that causes an Olympic athlete to practice and go to the Olympic trials because they believe they can achieve it. It is faith that causes a sculptor or an artist to believe that they can paint a picture or attempt the sculpture. Someone has to believe it before we see it. You can trust God’s promises and his work in your life. Believe in God’s love and care and guidance as you face whatever he has given you today. Believe it, and you will see it. “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. “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. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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