Finding your Direction in Life

 Where is your life going?

Are you choosing your direction, or are you reacting to life as it comes? Are you navigating towards your promised land, or are you serving as a crew member on a ship going somewhere else? 

Do you know what your destination is, or who is directing your course? Is your life being pushed and pulled by your employer, your family or your church?

God designed you to be a unique agent of change, to impact this world for Him. God made you in His own image, not to be a second rate copy of your parents, your teachers or a preacher or leader. If you live to please other people, you have missed your reason for living.

Does that mean you should forget other people and just please yourself? Of course not. When you live only to please yourself and fulfil your own dreams, you make yourself the God of your own life. Any sensible person should realise that this is crazy, yet it is a popular idea today. And look what a mess people have made by playing God!

God gives us families, friends, jobs, churches and leaders. They are all important but they must not be God to you.

God created you in His love, and He loves you. He has a wonderful plan for your life. He wants you to find Him and to work with Him to live out his plan. He won’t do it for you, and He won’t do it to you. He wants to live with you and for you to live with him.

For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (TLB)

God Created you for a Purpose

 God is our creator. We are all different because God did not make any two people the same. God made one person to be a musician and another person to be a mechanic. 

Frederick Handel wrote the Messiah, perhaps the most wonderful Christian music of all time, but if he had tried to be a preacher, he would probably have been a terrible failure.

I know a man who was a devoted Muslim fundamentalist until he became a Christian. He became an amazing personal evangelist for Jesus. Then people in his Church told him he should become a pastor, but he answered emphatically: “That is not my calling.”

He was a biologist. God called him to go back to university and study for a doctorate in biology. Every Muslim at that university heard the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Sadly, there are people who were created by God for one purpose but they go a different way. They may be Christians and they may go to heaven when they die, but they never fulfilled their potential.

A Christian pastor was discussing a difficult problem with the elders of his church. He was frustrated because he could not find a solution. Then he seemed to blow a fuse and resigned on the spot.
“I never wanted to be a pastor but it was what my mother wanted me to do!”

Did you choose your path in life or did others choose it for you? Most importantly of all, did God create you for what you do?

God told the prophet Jeremiah to visit a potter’s workshop. God showed the potter struggling to make a piece of pottery for a specific purpose, but the clay had a flaw, so the potter started again, trying to form the clay into the shape he wanted.

But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Jer 18:4 NIV

If you have spoiled your life, God is not finished with you. You may have committed serious sins or you may have simply chosen a path in life that God did not create you for.

If you are too old to do what God wanted you to so when you were young, God can still create a new you with a new calling to follow, a calling that fits your unique God given nature.

Some Christians misunderstand the parable of the potter. They think everything is determined by God, and we are simply clay in the hands of the Creator.

But in the story of the potter, God speaks to Israel, pleading with the Jews to submit to His will for them. God appeals to them to use the free will He has given them.

Then the word of the LORD came to me.
He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. Jer 18:5–6 NIV

“Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ Jer 18:11 NIV

God is also speaking to you and me through this story. He has given you and me a free will to choose His purpose or to go the wrong way.

Finding Meaning and Purpose in Your Life

Is the story of your life interesting?

A church member once stood up and testified.
“Before I was saved, I was wicked, sinful and boring. I want to thank God I am not sinful any more.”

When you respond to the call of Jesus, God forgives all your sins and changes your character. God’s purpose is to make you like Jesus.

Most of us will never walk on water or die on a cross. But if you are like Jesus, the story of your life will never be boring. If your life is routine, ordinary and predictable, ask Jesus to show you what is missing, and he will answer.

Please don’t misunderstand me. Many people today demand constant entertainment. I am not suggesting every moment must be exciting. We also need to cultivate patience. But spiritual patience is not the passive acceptance of a mediocre life.

Are you actively pursuing a big dream for your life? Are you living an adventure story?

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

The peace God gives is not a domestic tranquillity where nothing exciting happens. It is the peace of Jesus who slept through a terrible storm at sea because He trusted in His heavenly Father’s care.

The prophet Jeremiah was in prison when God spoke to him.

'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.' Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV)

Prison can be a place of dark suffering because you stand for God in spite of persecution. Prison can also be a life dominated by a grey routine.

God can deliver His children out of both kinds of prison.

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;  Luke 4:18 (NKJV)

Even if you are trapped in domestic slavery with no means of escape, God can give you adventures in the Spirit.

'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;

Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. Acts 2:17-18 (NKJV)

God created you with a purpose. When you repent and believe, you are forgiven. But the plans of God do not stop there.

Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Romans 8:30 (NKJV)

God has a plan and a destiny for your life. He wants you to experience His glory and to reveal His glory through you.

Why not read the story of Jesus of Nazareth? Fast-forward to the book of Revelation and see Jesus in Heaven. Then you will understand that glory can never be boring.

If your life has no adventure, ask God to put you on track to glory.

I hope you will allow me to conclude with some essential practical wisdom. One thing which imprisons so many good people is the tyranny of the urgent.

Of course, you must not neglect essential practical duties. But are you setting aside time every day to work on your life dream?

For example, if you are called to minister the Good News of Jesus, start a house church or do something special for God, you need to make time to prepare, to read and pray.

What are you doing today to advance towards your destiny?

God Uses Broken People

Is there a God?

No matter what theories you have heard or read, there is one question that no scientist can answer.

Why does anything exist at all? Why is there something instead of nothing?

If you can read these thoughts, you are alive.

How did you come into the world?

Were your parents a loving couple? Maybe not.

Whether you were wanted by your mother or came from an unwanted pregnancy, there is a God who made that pregnancy possible.

If no one on this earth wanted you, there is a loving God who created you because he wanted you.

There are so many people who have only experienced rejection. Then they may hear from preachers that they are also rejected by God because of their sins.

A young Christian approached a young prostitute and threatened her with the flames of hell.

Jesus threatened the proud religious people with the flames of hell, but he was always kind and compassionate with the prostitutes and other broken people.

The self-righteous religious professionals scolded Jesus for keeping company with supposedly wicked sinners.

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ Lk 7:34 NIV

Jesus was the Son of God who was in eternal fellowship with Father God before the foundation of the world. God saw broken people, ruined by their own sins, or by the sins of others.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Jn 3:16–17 NIV

When Jesus visited his hometown, he explained his mission of salvation by quoting the Bible.

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; Lk 4:18 NKJV

Jesus did not only want to forgive and heal broken people. He chose rejected people to proclaim God's new world.

Jesus chose despised women, and sent them out.

The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” Jn 4:18 NIV

This woman then believed in Jesus as the Messiah.

Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,
“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” Jn 4:28–29 NIV

Jesus sent this woman to her village, and everyone came to believe.

If you are broken, Jesus doesn't just want to forgive and heal you. He wants to give you a new life. In this new life you can also help others.

Your Calling and Mission

 Jesus came to purge you and me of our sins. What should our lives look like afterwards?

Jesus didn't just come to cleanse your life of offences so that you could continue your everyday life without dirty sins. God wants to use you to set other people free.

When the first people believed the devil's lies and rebelled against God's commandment, they gave their God-given dominion over this world into the hands of the enemy.

Jesus defeated the devil with his sinless life, his death on the cross and his resurrection from the realm of the dead.

Shortly before his return to the Father in heaven, he instructed his disciples to take back the lost world for God.

We find the final instructions to his disciples in four biblical passages.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Mt 28:19 NRSV

And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mk 16:17–18 NRSV


But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NIV

When we read these passages carefully, we see a heavenly calling to a dramatic mission, but the enemy has been misguiding us for centuries.

We have thought this mission was only for a few especially holy ordained preachers and missionaries.
We have thought that the dramatic spiritual gifts in Mark chapter 16 were only for a short time 2000 years ago.

But when we read all these passages together, we see that Jesus has called us to a supernatural mission ‘to the ends of the earth’. (Acts 1:8)

This mission is still a work in progress. You and I are called to play an important role. God is at work in your life.

Don't stay where you are. Let the Holy Spirit give you a new revelation of your heavenly destiny.  

Start seeking God's path for your life today. Do something new. How can you act differently today? Start small. Move forward step by step.

Partnership With God

It is very important that we recognise our human limitations.

As a human being, I am only a very flawed part of a world that has been badly corrupted and mismanaged by my fellow human beings.

As a human being, I can only partially resist the corruption of this world with great effort and willpower.

In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Rom 8:26–27 NASB95

Despite all my endeavours, I remain a human being who is not fit to live in the presence of the holy God.

As a human being, I cannot save the humanity around me because I myself need salvation.
Jesus told his chosen apostles:

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. Jn 15:5 NIV

The apostle Paul reminds us:

… it is not that we are so competent that we can claim any credit for ourselves; all our competence comes from God. 2 Co 3:5 NJB

God created you to enjoy a close relationship with Himself.
He loves you completely. His love is so warm and tender.

He wants you to stay safe and secure in His beautiful love every hour of your life.

This is such a sweet experience but God not only wants to give you joy but also the fulfilment of a meaningful life with Him.

He wants to give you a share in His great mission to save the world.
God is calling you into partnership with Jesus, the Saviour of the world.

You cannot even begin to work with God without a close connection with Him through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus told His disciples:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Ac 1:8 NIV

This power enables us to heal the sick, bring people to faith in Jesus, and minister to drug addicts.

But we must always be aware that this power is not ours, and we cannot minister without the help of Jesus himself.

‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Mt 11:28 NJB

Our goal is to bring people into intimate fellowship with Jesus through God's love so that they come to know God as their Heavenly Father.

This makes no sense if you yourself do not live in close fellowship with God.

When God called Mary, she Alone Decided.

You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, Lk 1:31–32 NIV
 

God did not ask Mary’s parents or fiancé for permission.

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. Lk 1:38 NIV

Young Mary made one of the most important spiritual decisions in the history of the world without consulting any man or older person.

What about Mary’s father? The Holy Spirit did not mention him.
What about Mary’s fiancé, Joseph? God told him after Mary was already pregnant.

Mary’s response was magnificent. She made perhaps the most important spiritual decision in history all by herself, even though it meant losing her reputation for chastity, risking the loss of her fiancé and her prospects of marriage and making her a social outcast.

Perhaps you have been trained to submit important spiritual decisions to elders, pastors, fathers or your husband. Mary did none of these things, and the Bible story commends her for her bold faith and her sacrificial obedience, obedience to God alone.

Suppose God is challenging you to make a decision which could lead to rejection by your church or even your family, is it possible the Holy Spirit wants you to follow the example of Mary?

If God is really calling you, and you know your parents or church leaders would not agree, asking these same people to discern or confirm your call is not obedience, as you may have been taught but actually disobedience to God.

Sometimes it helps to discuss a decision with friends or wise elders, but there are times when you have to step out in raw faith and suffer the consequences as well as reaping the blessings.

NO MORE LIMITS. EVERYONE A CHAMPION.

Over a hundred years ago, in a grammar school in Europe a wonderful old teacher would walk into his class and bow to his students. 

• He told them he was showing respect because he expected the young gentlemen would one day be very successful and important members of society.

Many Christians have been deceived. We have been taught to believe there are two classes of Christians. 

• The lower class are to be humble, gentle and loving church members.

Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

• The upper class are the leaders and preachers, who are super Christians with supernatural powers.

Ephesians 4:11 (NIV)   It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.

Fortunately, the Bible does not teach this at all.

ALL believers are called to be completely humble and gentle and to treat all other believers with love, understanding and deep respect. Senior pastors and apostles are not a separate class.       

• We are supposed to submit to spiritual authority but ALL believers have been given spiritual authority. If you respect authority, you must submit to all believers.

Ephesians 5:21 (NIV)  Submit TO ONE ANOTHER out of reverence for Christ.

• Remember the schoolmaster who bowed to his students.

Matthew 23:8-9 (NIV)   "But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers.

• And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.

Of course this does not mean a parent, teacher or pastor should let anybody do anything. 

• However, even when a leader corrects or disciplines, the aim must be to raise people up to realise their high potential, never to keep them in permanent submission to the leader.

The New Testament books which chiefly deal with church discipline and correction are  First and Second Corinthians.
A man in the church has been sleeping with his step-mother and refuses to repent. Paul writes to instruct the church to discipline the man. 

• Does Paul address his letter to “The Senior Pastor” or “The Board of Elders” or “The Leadership Group?” No.

1 Corinthians 1:2 (NIV)  To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy...

Few Churches today would even begin to think like this. We have strayed very far from the ways of Jesus Christ.

• And what does Paul say about submission to authoritarian leaders?

2 Corinthians 11:19-20 (NIV)   You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise!

• In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face.

Paul describes authoritarian preachers as “fools” and rebukes the Corinthians for submitting to them.

Clearly Jesus does not call preachers to establish a hierarchy to which Christians are supposed to submit.

So why does Jesus give power and authority to leaders?

• It is not to rob other believers of their freedom, respect and authority.

• A leader is called to raise up and equip believers to exercise authority as ministers of Jesus Christ.

• Jesus has gifted apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers...

“...to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ”  Ephesians 4:12 (ESV)

Jesus did not heal the sick to be admired. He healed the sick and worked wonders and then sent out his disciples to do the same thing.

Luke 9:1-2 (ESV)   And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.

• First Jesus sent the Apostles but then He sent out 72 disciples (believers like you and me) to do the same thing.

Luke 10:1-2 (ESV)  After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.                        

• And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.

Find why God put you here and then DO IT!

"Too many Christians allow what they cannot do to get in the way of what they can do. Life in the Spirit is all about taking the next step, no matter how small it may seem at the time. God does not stipulate what size the step is going to be; He just encourages us to keep on walking towards Him."

THIS IS A GREAT THOUGHT FROM GRAHAM COOKE. 

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well....Romans 12:6 (NLT)

If you are not a platform preacher, don't let that stop you teaching neighbours about Jesus in your home or their homes. 

Much of the preaching of Jesus Himself was not from a platform or a pulpit. The great sermons of Jesus in the Gospel of John are actually not formal sermons at all but extended spontaneous teaching arising out of interaction with His disciples, with His hearers and even with His persecutors and enemies. 

If you do not have the ability to administer, lead, manage and shepherd a congregation, you can still preach in many ways, including blogging and emailing, which is what I do. 

If you do not have the ability to sing on a stage in church, you can still sing to God in the shower or the car or in a park.

If you don’t have the confidence to minister to adults but you love children, you can be fruitful in a vitally important ministry to children. This is not second best as some people suppose but it is front line ministry of the most important kind. 

PLEASE never speak or even think of children as “the church of tomorrow.” The church of Jesus Christ is the community of all believers NOW, including believers of ALL ages. Children can often exercise active miracle working faith better than many adults who have been Christians for years.

I have a dear friend who does not seek a high position in a church but she takes humble jobs like looking after babies and young children. She once cast a demon out of a baby which was behaving violently. After that, the baby was quiet and normal and continued to be normally peaceful.

Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.  

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:9-10 (NLT)

Find what you can do very well and then DO IT!

God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, then prophesy whenever you can—as often as your faith is strong enough to receive a message from God. Romans 12:6 (TLB) 

If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Romans 12:8 (NLT)