Tag Archives: Purpose

Hidden

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What is worth having? What is worth holding on to? What is worth building your life around? Is it the stuff that you can see? Or is it the stuff that is hidden?

What do I mean by the stuff that is hidden?

Listen to these parables that Jesus told this morning. Jesus would tell stories about great truth in ways that people would understand. Here is what he says in Matthew 13:44-46:

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Pearl-of-Great-PriceHe compares the kingdom of God to a hidden treasure that man sells all that he owns to buy. He compares it to a pearl that an expert saw, sold everything to go and buy.

What do we learn from this? The stuff that we seek may not be what we are chasing after. The things that we desperate want, that will fulfill us, they may not be what we think that they are.

They may not be big. They may not be visible. They may seem to be small and unimportant. They may be missed. They may be ordinary and common in our life.

But they are worth great riches. They are faith. They are family. They are true friends. They are things that can be easy to miss. Their worth can be hidden. But they are worth more to us than we can ever imagine.

The things that matter may not seem like great worldly riches. But they are priceless.

And we see that they sold all that they had to gain them.

Today, are you building your life around what matters and what is priceless? Or are you building your life around things that aren’t as important. They sold all they had to gain this great treasure.

The treasure of faith. . . family. . . friends. . . are these things shaping our lives?

Or are we focusing on that which isn’t as important?

Today, may we live our lives around that beautiful hidden treasure.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

What We are Here For

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One of the questions that we are prone to ask a lot in life is this – why are we here? What is our purpose? What are we to do? Why does God have us where He has us?

What is our reason and our purpose in life?

Today, in Psalm 106: 6-8, David writes a little about what we are here for. Listen to what it says:

Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness. Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power.

imagesThis Psalm is the story of Israel and God. It tells of their unfaithfulness and God’s faithfulness. And so, the question is raised, why is God so faithful to His people when they are so unfaithful?

Why does He save them when they wander away so far?

What does He restore and give grace when they fall so often?

Why does He save?

This is why. He saved them for His name’s sake. He saved them, that through them, His power and His might and His glory would be made known.

He saved them, in spite of their sin, because through them, He would be glorified, He would be lifted up, He would be worshiped.

Why are you here? What are we here for? Why are we saved? For God. For His purpose. For His glory. For His plan.

You purpose in life is not to have a job or get a house or a car or fame or status or anything like that. Your purpose is to know God. To worship and glorify Him. And to, through you, let His light shine out into the world.

That’s what you were created for. That’s what I was created for. That’s what all of us were created for. That’s what we are here for.

To glorify God. To live in His grace.

You have been saved, you have been forgiven, you have been loved so that you can give glory to God. So that you can worship Him. So that you can point others to Him.
Live in that, and find life. Live in Him and find life. Live in Him and find your purpose.

We were made for Him. May we live in His life today and always.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

The Goal

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Yesterday at Asbury, we spent some time teaching what it is that Christians believe? What is that we hold to? What is the foundation of our beliefs? We didn’t dig into specific “doctrine” but looked at the basics of what Christians believe and hold to.

And we talked about how we are not “saved” by doctrine, but saved by grace through faith, lest no man can boast. So, if you have to believe just the right thing to be a Christian, guess what just happened. You had to “do” something to be a Christian and thus you earned your salvation. You salvation is dependent on you doing something right, not through faith. So, as important as doctrine is, it doesn’t save us.

So then, what is the point? Listen to what Paul writes to Timothy today in 1 Timothy 1:3-5:

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

GOAL-BLOCKPaul tells him to make sure that people aren’t teaching false doctrine of things that don’t matter. Why is this? The goal or aim of the command is this – that love arises from a pure heart and good conscience and sincere faith.

The goal of belief, the goal of theology, the goal of doctrine is to make you a better disciple. Is to make you love God and love your neighbor better. Is to help you to be faithful in knowing His grace and sharing His grace.

That’s the point of it all. That’s why we do it. That’s what we are here for. To know grace and show grace. To share God’s love. To point folks to the freedom and power in Jesus Christ.

Today, don’t let differences in small things separate us a Christians. Let’s hold to Jesus. Let’s hold to things that truly matter. And let’s point others to Him.

Today, the goal of our beliefs is to love God. And love neighbor. That’s why we hold them. That’s why we believe them. That’s what they are about and for.

Today, may we be faithful. May we show that love to all that we meet.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

No Accident

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Each night before we go to bed, our family reads the bible together and prays together. Sarah has a children’s picture bible that she really enjoys reading from, so she will read it and then we take turns praying. We started in the beginning with Genesis and have just finished Esther.

And, I’ll be honest with you, I’ve forgotten how good a story Esther is, and how appropriate it is for us as Christians today. It’s the story of a Jewish queen that is made aware of a plot to see her people destroyed. She is told that she has a chance to stop it, but she must make a decision to do so.

She is afraid, thinks she can’t, and understands that doing so could result in her loosing her own life. And we see one of the more powerful challenges in scripture as a result of this. Listen to Esther 4:11-14:

“All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.” And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

2006-lecture-coverI love that challenge. For such a time as this, she was placed where she was.

It was no accident she was the queen at that moment. It was for that reason and for that purpose that God had her there. It was for such a time as that.

That’s such a powerful concept it was no accident she was there.

And it’s no accident that you are were you are. You are where you are, going through what you’ve went through, going what you are going through, who you are.

It’s no accident. God has you here for a purpose and a reason.

You are valuable and have a purpose for God and for His kingdom. Never forget. Never think otherwise. You are here for a reason. It’s no accident.

Today, be faithful. No matter what the task is ahead of you. Be faithful. God is with you, He will not leave you, and you have the chance today for greatness.

It’s no accident you are here. Be faithful.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

You Matter

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you-matter1You matter to God. You do. Your life. Your fears. Your worries. All of it.

Even the things that you may think don’t matter. If they matter to you than they matter to God. You are important to Him. He loves you and cares for you.

You matter.

Sometimes it’s tempting to think that we don’t matter. Or our concerns aren’t big enough. Or important enough. Surely there are things that are more important to God than our fears, our worries, our lives.

Why should we pray about these things? Surely God has more important things to worry about.

Listen to what Jesus says today in Luke 12:6-7:

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Sparrows in the economy of Jesus’ day were literally of no value. They had no worth. They were the most unimportant thing you could think of.

And Jesus says that none of them would be forgotten.

You matter. You matter to God. You are important. Your worries. Your fears. Your concerns. All of it. You matter.

Never forget that. Take your concerns to Him. You matter. You are important. Never forget.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Home

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urlWhere is home for you? That question may evoke a lot of different emotions for us. I’m not talking about where do you live. I’m talking about, where is home for you?

Home is the place where we belong. It is the place where we are at rest, at peace, where we find ourselves, find our purpose, find our calling, find “us.” A place where we are complete, kick off our shoes, a place where we are safe.

For some of us, home may be the place that we grew up.

For some of us, home may be where we live right now.

For some of us, we may feel like we are still looking for home.

We each, we need a home. Not just a place to live. But a place where we are home and at peace.

Listen to what Psalm 84: 2-4 says today:

My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!

The verse that jumped out to me today when I was reading was verse 3, even a sparrow finds a home at God’s altars.

Even a small, insignificant sparrow (by the way, the reason scripture talks about sparrows and “worthy” so often is that sparrows where not considered important birds) has a home at God’s altar. Even the sparrow can make its nest there. Even the sparrow has a home there.

That’s home. That’s where we are complete. That’s where we are safe and at rest. That’s were we find our safety and our purpose.

In God.

Not in the world. Not in fame. Not in power. Not in stuff. In God.

Today, you have a home. A place of rest. Safety. Purpose.

You have a home. In God. May we make our home in God today. May we find our rest in Him today. And in that, may we find our lives today.

Today, may we be home in God and His life. Today, let’s come home.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Chosen

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Today, you’ve been chosen.

That word may conjure up some emotion for us today. Some of us, when we think of being chosen, we think of being first, chosen first in sports or competitions.

Or maybe being chosen for winning an award, or some great honor!

Others may not think as fondly, as we may remember being the last one chosen or perhaps not chosen at all.

Or perhaps, being chosen for getting in trouble for something.

The word chosen can bring a lot of weight behind it.

Today, in 1 Peter 2:9-10, Peter says that we are chosen:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

urlPeter says today that you are chosen. We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation. You are a person of God’s on possession!

How about that! That’s better than being picked first in basketball!

You are of amazing great worth today! You are chosen. You are of infinite worth! you are priceless. You are beyond measure.

Yes! You! You have more worth today than you can even fathom.

This worth, this being “chosen” doesn’t come from ourselves or from anything that we have earned, but it comes from fact that God has chosen us for this purpose. To proclaim HIS worth. To tell of the one that has called us from darkness to light. To tell of His glory and His salvation. To show mercy, because we have been shown mercy.

We have been chosen today to tell others of the grace of God. We have been chose today to live our that grace of God for others.

We don’t live for ourselves. As tempting as it can be, we don’t live for ourselves. We live to live in our lives in God. To live for Him. That’s where life is found.

Today, He chose you. Today, may we choose Him. My we live in His mercy, grace, and love, and may we live our lives in a way that others desire to know this God.

Today, you’ve been chosen. You have great worth. You are here for a purpose. Today, live in that grace that God has given you.

Go out and live our loud for Him today.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

How to be Miserable

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Mr._MiserableIf you’ve been part of Asbury, or podcasted my sermons, or heard me preach any consistently at all, you’ve probably heard me a say a phrase before.

I can promise you how to be miserable. I can give you the prescription for a path that will lead you to isolation, to being all by yourself, to pushing others away, to being totally miserable.

The path is pretty easy to walk down. And truthfully, it’s a path each of us walks down a little each day.

What is this path? How do you we become miserable?

Live only for yourself. Think only of your needs, your wants, your desires, your dreams, your goals.

Think only of yourself. Live only for yourself. Focus only on yourself.

Never on others. Never on God. Only on you.

Do that, and I promise that you will be totally miserable.

Look at what Jesus says today in Luke 9:24-25:

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

What does it do for us to gain everything, everything we can ever want or dream or desire, if we lose ourself?

What good is all the “stuff” we can seek after, compared to what really matters? Relationships? God. Eternity?

Faith, family, friends. This is what matters. This is what lasts. This is what is important. Not the “stuff” of this world. The “stuff” of eternity.

So, it’s laid out before us this morning. We can gain everything we want, but lose what really matters.

Or we can focus on what really matters, and have more life than we could ever even imagine.

Today, what path will we choose to walk down?

When we live only for ourselves, we wind up miserable. When we focus on what really matters, we find life.

Today, which will we choose?

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Aim at Heaven

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We can’t take it with us. The stuff that we are tempted to chase after and spend all of our time chasing the stuff of this world, we will leave it here with us.

When we pass from this life into true life, the stuff of this world will stay here.

We, in our lives, should not live for, or place our hope and identity in the stuff of earth, but the stuff of heaven.

But, here, here is the key point. When our heart and our lives are on the stuff of heaven, we find life here. When Jesus Christ is our life and our purpose and our heart and mind is fixed on eternity, we find that life here on earth is even better.

In other words, if you want to truly live a life worth living here on the earth, don’t focus on upon the stuff of the earth.

Focus on God.

And you’ll find life here.

CS Lewis said, “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.”

Listen to how Paul puts it today in 1 Timothy 6:6-10:

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Notice what he doesn’t say. He doesn’t say that money is evil. He said that the love of money is the root of all evil.

Money is neutral. Stuff is neutral. It’s not good, or bad. It’s how we use it. we can use it for good. We can use it for evil.

It’s how we use it. It’s where our heart is.

Where is your heart today? What are you aiming for?

If we aim at heaven, we find life. If we aim at earth, we miss everything else.

May we aim at heaven and focus on what matters! And may we find life!

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Victory

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Sometimes in our lives, we spend a lot of time focusing on our defeats, the things we do wrong, the mistakes we have made.

We understand our shortcomings, our failures, our defeats.

Sometimes we can feel like we are defeated and we need encouragement and strength, we need hope and forgiveness.

But, sometimes we have done amazing things. I mean, just awesome things. Sometimes, sometimes, sometimes, we have amazing, earth shattering, awesome victories.

I mean sometimes we accomplish something that we just have to stand back and say – wow! Can you believe that happened? Can you believe that we did that? You can you believe that we accomplished this task?

Wow. That’s awesome.

And in those times, at these moments of awesome and amazing victory, we need to remember the words of Psalm 44: 1-3:

O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old: you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free; for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them.

The people of God had done amazing things. They had conquered a new land. They had been victorious. They had won amazing astounding victories.

They wanted to just stand back and say wow! Look what we’ve done.

And so they wrote Psalm 44. And they were reminded. It wasn’t them. It was God, through them. The victory was because of the Lord. He was the force. He was the strength. He was the power.

It was Him. It was because of Him and through Him.

And so is it for each of us today. Our victories are His. Through Him and for Him and His glory.

Today, let’s thank Him for the victories in our lives. Let’s be thankful. Let’s live boldly. Let’s try big things. Let’s do big things. Let’s live out loud.

Let’s, as a I like to say – charge hell with a water pistol.

And when we put out the fire, let’s give God the glory.

Today, He is the author, the perfector, and the giver of all our victories. Let’s do our part, put let’s know that the battle is His!

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones