We’re in week six of a seven week series covering seven different aspects of discovering God’s purpose for your life. Last week we talked about communication; keeping today’s focus on today. If you missed last week’s letter, just go to www.gotpotential.org and look for (Purpose Vol. 1, Issue 17).

This is a week for the good stuff! And the scary stuff! This, as my father used to say, is where the rubber meets the road. We’re talking about Obedience, with a big “O”. Obedience with a big “O” is personal.

Purpose
Vol. 1 Issue 18
November 29, 2007
The weekly newsletter of True Potential Publishing

Week 6: Obedience; Big “O”

Obedience, with a big “O” isn’t how we behave. We talked about behavior a few weeks ago (Purpose Issue 16). Behavior is like obedience with a little “o”. It’s acting how we know we’re supposed to act everyday. It’s what most of us think the two greatest commandments, “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself.” are all about.

We believe those two commandments mean, “go to church,” “don’t lie,” “don’t cheat,” “don’t think bad thoughts,” “pay your taxes,” “don’t kick your neighbor’s cat,” etc. etc. Kind of an American Ten Commandments. Too many of us believe that’s what the Christian life consists of. Follow the rules (obedience, little “o”) and you’ll go to Heaven when you die.

That list of stuff, whatever your list is, is great and it’s right and it should be part of your behavior. And it is part of what the two greatest commandments mean. But only part. You’re responsible for little “o”; and it’s not little “o” because it isn’t important. It’s important enough that Jesus taught it to the crowds every day. When He preached to the masses He preached little “o”. He preached it to the masses because it was required of the masses. Little “o” is required of you and me … it’s required of everyone. In the words of Paul, it’s our “reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).

What we’re talking about this week is Obedience with a big “O”. It’s not big “O” because it supersedes how we are to behave toward our God and others, it’s big “O” because it’s personal and specific.

Jesus required big “O” when he spoke one-on-one with those individuals who followed Him … or wanted to. Remember the rich young man who asked Jesus what was required of him to get eternal life? Jesus gave him little “o” first; “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 19:18b-19).

Little “o” requires something. It requires that we change our behavior, our actions and our thoughts to conform to righteousness and turn away from sin. Little “o” is required of everyone; it’s a starting place.

This young man was a pro at little “o”. He had the rules down; he knew how to behave. He answered Jesus, “All these I have kept … What do I still lack?”

Jesus had his attention now. The conversation was turning personal. Jesus was no longer speaking for the benefit of those in the crowd. This was now an intimate, one-on-one interaction with the Master. “If you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.”
Big “O” requires everything. Big “O” is personal. Big “O” is complete surrender of everything you consider “yours.” It’s obedience in spite of tradition, safety, common sense, security, even family. It’s obedience when it doesn’t make any sense, in the natural, to obey. It’s obedience in spite of your personality, your talents and your plans for the future. It’s obedience in the face of danger.

*****

Peter was a guy who wasn’t that great at little “o”. In his short time as a disciple of Jesus he screwed up a lot. He was the only disciple Jesus referred to as “Satan” for trying to push his own agenda. He couldn’t keep his mouth shut during Christ’s transfiguration and started babbling about erecting shrines to Jesus, Elijah and Moses. God the Father Himself had to interrupt him saying essentially, “This is my son, would you please shut up and listen to what he has to say?” Peter was the one Jesus scolded for falling asleep in the garden of Gethsemane as the eternal fate of all mankind hung in the balance. Of course, only a few minutes later, Peter was also the one who jumped up and cut off the ear of the High Priest’s servant. That same night he denied three times that he even knew Jesus. Peter screwed up little “o” a lot.

But one thing Peter got right was the big “O”. When confronted with an offer from God, no matter how dangerous or seemingly senseless, Peter jumped … literally.
Out in a boat on the Sea of Galilee late one night a storm was blowing; the wind and waves were beginning to cause some real consternation among those inside. Jesus came to them in the midst of the storm, walking on the water. And Jesus beckoned Peter to jump out of the boat and meet him on the water. With the wind and waves the disciples had a pretty good chance of dying that night just by staying inside the boat. Now Jesus was asking Peter to jump out of the boat, defy nature and the laws of physics by coming to meet Him on, not in, the water. It was an insane request; nothing about it made any sense. Peter jumped out of the boat that night. And we’re still talking about it today.

In spite of all the behavioral (little “o”) screw ups, and some of them were pretty big, Jesus knew Peter could be trusted with the big “O”. After He was crucified and resurrected, Jesus met some of His disciples on the shores of Galilee. They had returned, they thought, to their old fishing job. Jesus had other plans for them, particularly for Peter. He and Peter shared an intimate conversation on the beach that morning.

Using the name his mother had given him, Jesus asked; “Simon Son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” Peter answered that he did. “Feed my lambs,” was Jesus instruction. This transaction had to come three times before Jesus was satisfied with Peter’s answer. Then Jesus predicted that Peter would be martyred, hung upside-down on a cross; an earthly reward for obeying his Master.

This was big “O”. Peter was receiving the commission that had been planned for him since the foundation of the world. The mission he was to spend the rest of his life completing; regardless of the pay, the humility, the danger, the retirement plan, his family’s opinion. Peter was obeying with a big “O”. He had finally come to a place of understanding the full meaning of “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul and love your neighbor as yourself.”

Those two commandments encompass all the commandments from God to man. They cover "thou shall not steal,” thou shall not covet,” “thou shall not bear false witness,” and all the other “thou shalls” and “thou shall nots.” They cover them generally. They’re for the entire group. They’re important and they’re required. They’re how we practice our reverence to God and our love for our fellow man every day; but they’re obedience with a little “o”.

I’ve said before that God doesn’t save the group; He saves the individual. God’s purpose is the same. His purpose involves the group – all of mankind; because it involves each individual. God speaks to the group in the “thou shalls” and “thou shall nots.” He provided a way of redemption and salvation and reconciliation to the group when His Son was hung on a cross and paid the penalty of sin for the group (by the way, that was Jesus’ big “O”; the personal thing only He could do). But the group can’t claim that redemption and salvation and reconciliation; only you and me as individuals can do that.

Little “o” is for all of us. You’re responsible for little “o” like everybody else. It’s your reasonable service. But the day will come, or it already has, when God will come to you for an intimate conversation; just the two of you. And He’ll tell you what He wants you to do. It may not agree with your tradition or experience or career, or retirement plan. It may not make any common sense on the surface and your friends and family may think you’ve lost your marbles, but when God talks to you personally about what He personally wants you to do with your life, what He’s planned for you, there’s no mistaking the meeting.

Your future lies in your response. Just because God had your part of His purpose planned when He created the universe, doesn’t mean you have to follow it. Peter didn’t have to jump out of the boat that night. He didn’t have to quit fishing to become the founder of the church, that first group of believers who trusted that Jesus was the Christ the risen Lord. He didn’t have to Obey with a big “O”. He probably would have had an easier life if he didn’t.

But the little “o” is never enough once you’ve had that intimate conversation with God. The big “O” demands that you make a decision. The decision to make “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul and love your neighbor as yourself” personal. The decision to bet your life on it. When that time comes, and it comes for each of us, make the bet. There’s a lot more at stake than your retirement plan.

*****

I know a lady who’s had a few of those intimate conversations with God. She’s jumped out of the boat obeying her Master with a big “O” a few times. If you ask her, she’ll tell you that it’s been worth it. I agree. Happy birthday Mom.
Next week we’ll talk about just when big “O” will show up at your door. If He hasn’t already, when God will show up for His intimate conversation with you.
Until then, God bless you and those you love.

In Him,

Steve Spillman

Purpose
Vol. 1 Issue 17
November 23 2007
The weekly newsletter of True Potential Publishing

Week 5: Communication

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

I used to work at a place where we had daily meetings. Every morning at 8:00 we would sit down for fifteen minutes and go over the day’s schedule, discuss yesterday’s production, correct mistakes and add on to this day’s schedule anything we may have missed yesterday.

We all knew our jobs and responsibilities. It wasn’t like we had to re-learn how to make widgets; that wasn’t the purpose for the meeting. When you came to the meeting each morning it was assumed you already knew your job description. The purpose for the daily production meeting was to focus on the work due that particular day. We also took time to correct anything that might have gone off-target or been left undone the previous day.

The daily meeting wasn’t a cheerleading session or a re-statement of corporate goals. We already knew our responsibilities and we knew the company’s mission statement and long term objectives. The meeting wasn’t about that. Sometimes our boss would have to use time in the daily meeting to correct the general direction of our performance and to effectively communicate the company’s mission in relation to our continued employment; but that wasn’t the purpose of the daily meeting.

Our part of the daily meeting was to let the boss know what we needed to keep our production on schedule and to bring up any problems in the work flow. If we didn’t understand a task or a process, this was the time to bring it up. If there was a problem on the floor with machinery or co-workers, now was the time to take care of it.

It wasn’t like our boss needed to be informed about what we needed or what yesterday’s production problems were. He had grown up in the business and he was usually better at anticipating our needs than we were at identifying them. He also kept his eye on the production floor. He knew when a machine or process was starting to go south and he had a pretty good idea of who the slackers were.

The boss liked to get our input out of the way first. It was like he wanted us to get our problems and points of view out on the table before he laid out the day’s work for us. We liked that too. It made us feel like we had been heard and that he cared about what we needed and our concerns with how things were going.

We felt pretty good speaking up about what we wanted and needed on the floor or about our worries that machines or other employees wouldn’t live up to our expectations. We felt like our voices were being heard and our needs were being met. We didn’t realize that we weren’t really there to have our voices heard and our needs met. Our voices were heard and our needs were met as a result, but it wasn’t the main purpose of the daily meeting. It wasn’t why we kept our jobs. It was the last half of the meeting that kept us employed.

After we presented our needs and concerns, the boss wanted to share with us the needs of the company that day and what our particular roles would be in fulfilling those needs. It was, after all, what we were here for.

The purpose of the meeting was to focus on daily production needs and our roles in fulfilling them in light of the overall goals and objectives of the company. The overall goals and objectives of the company were too big picture and too long term to hold our attention each day. Our boss knew that. He also knew that if he could keep us focused on just the day’s goals and objectives and if he could do that consistently day after day, we’d accomplish the long term goals and objectives of the company – even if we weren’t aware of it.

So that’s what the daily meeting did for us. It gave us a voice in our own jobs and it focused us for our tasks of the day in relation to the company’s long term goals and objectives. On occasion, there was a little cheerleading; every so often there may have even been a butt-chewing. But the purpose for that meeting was to prepare ourselves for the day ahead.

A daily meeting is a pretty good idea. It keeps the channels of communication open and keeps everyone focused on the task at hand. I’ve worked at companies that held meetings weekly instead of daily. Weekly meetings beat no meetings at all, but they were never as effective for keeping our focus as the daily meetings. It was just too easy to lose track without that short get-together each morning.

*****

Let’s rethink for a second what’s really real; what’s really important. Assuming you believe that God exists and that He’s interested enough in you that He had a purpose for you, not just when you came into the world but long before that – He had you in mind when He first spun the world itself into existence. If your purpose - your reason for being – is that important in the grand scheme of things, don’t you think a regular morning meeting is a pretty good idea? You know, just to keep the plan on track.

The structure of your daily meeting with God doesn’t have to be a lot different than those we had back in my company days. Use the first part of the meeting for requests and concerns. God already knows what you need and He already knows your concerns. But He also wants you to ask. He wants you to ask so that you know He responds. How would you know you had needs and that He supplied them unless you were somehow involved in the process? He involves you for your benefit, not for His.

It’s a little crazy to spend the whole meeting telling God what you want and never listening for any feedback from Him. That’s a to-do list; not a meeting. It’s too bad, but a lot of folks think communicating with God only involves them asking Him for stuff, going over their worries and fears, and then hanging up. They assume it’s a one sided discussion because they really don’t expect God to answer. As a matter of fact, they’d fall out of their chair if He did. If you don’t like the idea of God talking back to you when talk to Him, skip the meeting. It’s pointless to talk to God if you never expect a response. There are more productive things in life to do than talking to gods who never answer.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks we have regarding our purpose here is thinking that it’s all about us. Our needs and concerns are so important to us because they’re ours. It’s like the old joke; “What’s the difference between minor surgery and major surgery?” Minor surgery is when it’s being performed on someone else. Major surgery is when it’s being performed on us! Our needs affect us. Our problems happen to us. Because God loves us He provides for our needs and solves our problems – but that’s not the reason for our existence or His. His provision is a result, not a reason for being.

We’re here because we’re a part of His plan and purpose. Too often, the only time we want to involve God in our dialog is when we want something from Him. So the daily meetings end up being one sided; “I need this.” “I’m worried about that.” “Could you please do this?” “Thanks.” And then we leave the room.

That’s not what the meeting is about and that’s not what your existence here is about. The last part of the daily meeting, the most important part, is about listening. You’ve got a job to do; a role to play in God’s eternal purpose. And in that role there’s a task at hand today. You miss that and you’ve missed the reason for the meeting.

God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. That’s the big picture; we’ve been over that part already. God has a role for specifically for you in His eternal purpose. He’s built you and prepared you for that role. It’s what you were created for. That’s the big picture too. He’s given you instructions for how you’re to regard Him and how you’re to treat your neighbor. We covered that last week - still the big picture. When you come to the daily meeting it’s assumed that you understand the idea of the big picture. The purpose for daily meeting isn’t forever discussing, worrying about or continually re-hashing the big picture. The purpose for the daily meeting is to bring up your needs and concerns for the day and to receive your work assignment for the day.

And don’t think your purpose changes from day to day just because He’s willing to lay out your assignment every day. The big picture remains intact. Today’s schedule involves your role in carrying out your purpose - today. If you handle today’s tasks today, then you’ll be ready for tomorrow’s tasks tomorrow. Don’t worry about tomorrow’s tasks today; you’ll just mess things up by taking attention away from today – then you won’t be ready for tomorrow.

And don’t spend too much time on what got screwed up yesterday. If you’ve got any issues left over from yesterday, get them out of the way at the beginning of today’s meeting. Obsessing over yesterday’s issues is unproductive; it takes your eye off the ball today. Today has its own issues and its own schedule. You need to focus on that.
Don’t get bored or disappointed if the daily schedule starts to seem a little, well … daily. Trust Him for the big picture and settle into the task at hand.

And don’t worry that you can’t see every detail of the big picture. When you’re not sure of God’s will and purpose for your life, just focus on the task at hand. He made the big picture and He made the task at hand. It all works together. If you don’t see the relationship now, trust Him for it; you’ll see it one day. Way too many times, people have told me that they just can’t find God’s will and purpose for their lives. At the same time they’re completely ignoring God’s will and purpose for their day. You miss God’s purpose for your day enough times and you will miss God’s will and purpose for your life. That’s what your life’s made up of – days.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).

*****

Next week we’ll talk about stepping out of the boat. What to do when you know what you should do but don’t know if you’ve got the courage to do it. Now we’re getting to the good stuff! A little scary sometimes, but good. Don’t miss next week!

Purpose
Vol. 1 Issue 16
November 15 2007
The weekly newsletter of True Potential Publishing

Week 4: Blocking and Tackling

It was something I should have learned in High School football. After all, I played tackle; it would have made my experience more meaningful if I knew it then. But I didn’t. It was a lot of years after high school; when I was in business and a mentor shared it with me.

“The secret of success is in the blocking and tackling. Focus on the blocking and tackling and everything else will come along.” I didn’t miss the football analogy. What my mentor meant was that in business, like in football, you can’t win the game if you fail at the basics.

Everybody enjoys watching football when there’s a hundred yard kick-off return or a wide receiver jumps up over the heads of his defenders to catch, one-handed, a sixty yard Hail Mary pass. That’s where the glory is. That’s what gets replayed over and over in the television highlights.

Plays like that are exciting to watch; but ask any coach, seasons aren’t made in the spectacular one handed receptions or the hundred yard kick-off returns. You can’t get to the play-offs unless you’ve perfected the basics - blocking and tackling.
Life is the same. When we think about our purpose in life we picture the glorious stuff - the big kick-off returns and magnificent receptions. Blocking and tackling just isn’t interesting enough to hold our attention.

Too many times, someone has asked me, “How do I find God’s will, His purpose for my life?” They tell me that they’ve spent their whole life searching for God’s will but they’re still coming up blank; still not knowing what the big thing is that God wants them to accomplish.

What they’re looking for is the hundred yard kick-off return or the immaculate reception. They’re not looking for the blocking and tackling; it’s just not glorious enough. Problem is, if they haven’t got the blocking and tackling right, they may never have the opportunity to make the spectacular play they’ve been searching for all their lives.

There’s an old joke about a boy stopping classical pianist Artur Rubinstein on the streets of New York asking for directions. “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” the boy inquired. “Practice young man, practice,” was Rubinstein’s answer. Rubinstein knew how to get to Carnegie Hall; by practice – by perfecting the blocking and tackling.

So what’s the blocking and tackling in the Christian life? It’s the stuff we already know. The easy stuff - easy stuff to know, not necessarily easy stuff to do. There are some things you need to do that are absolutely necessary to understanding and accomplishing your purpose in life. The list is pretty easy and it’s pretty short. I’ll bet you can recite it for me from memory.

In case you’re having trouble remembering, I’ll give you a hint; the secret to blocking and tackling is found in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter twenty-two, verses thirty-seven through thirty-nine. If you get this list right, every other detail of your purpose in life, every spectacular play that you’ve been looking for, will come your way; and more importantly, you’ll be ready for them when they come.

Let’s look at the secret to blocking and tackling:

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Pretty simple list isn’t it?
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind
2. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Like I said, I’ll bet you already knew that list, didn’t you?

Jesus said that “all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” What He meant was that everything in scripture (and everything in life) hangs on these two points. By the way, do you know who He was talking to when He pointed this out? The Pharisees and the Sadducees; the religious leaders of Israel who came to trip Him up with their legalese. Imagine that, the guys who were supposed to be the spiritual leaders were the ones who needed a lesson in blocking and tackling.

“Okay,” you might be saying. “I know about the two greatest commandments and I understand that you keep trying to make this football analogy; but what does this have to do with understanding my purpose in life. How does it help me find out what it is I’m supposed to be doing with my life?”

Well … it is what you’re supposed to being doing with your life. Throughout all these letters I’ve been talking about your unique purpose in life; the thing that God has planned for you, and no one but you. But there’s something about your purpose I haven’t been talking about; something I’m going to cover now. The blocking and tackling.

Your purpose, what God’s plan is for your life, is unique and individual and meant just for you … and … it’s universal, meant for every person that ever existed. It’s both. The unique and individual part of your purpose has to do with your mission in life, the specific action or actions you were created for in this time and place. The universal part of your purpose has to do with your behavior, how you’re to act, how you’re to treat your God and your neighbor every day. It’s the part of your purpose that you share with every other person on the planet. It’s the blocking and tackling.
So, if everything hangs on these two points. What do they mean? How do I Love the Lord my God with all of my heart, soul and mind? How do I love my neighbor as myself?

You’ve got a pretty good idea what that means already, don’t you? Everybody does. In his letter to the Romans, Paul says that even people that have never heard about the Law and the Prophets have the requirements of the Law, “written on their hearts.” It’s intrinsic, it’s written on your heart. You already know how to behave. That’s the easy part about blocking and tackling. Everybody knows how to do it. The hard part is in the actually doing it.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind.” That’s an easy one. We all know that one. Let’s go on to something new, something more spectacular; like my own unique, special purpose in life; the thing that’s going to go down in cosmic history as my big contribution.

Whoa, there cowboy! Let’s hold up just a minute and look at this one. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind.” The concept is pretty easy to grasp … what about the practice? Do you “love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind”? How much time do you spend with Him? No, not listening to Christian radio in the car, or sticking an “In Case of Rapture” sticker to your bumper, or even going to church. How much time do you spend with Him? Just the two of you, nobody else, no interruptions, no multi-tasking.

Jesus said that this was the big number one. Without obeying this rule, nothing else mattered. If you can’t get this one right you can forget about finding your purpose in life. Without the Purpose Giver, you have no purpose. So back to the question: How much private one-on-one time do you spend with Him every day? This is blocking and tackling lesson one. Get this one solved first; then we’ll move on to lesson two.
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” This one trips up a lot of folks. When Jesus answered those religious leaders, their very next question was, “just who is my neighbor?”

Always wanting to qualify things aren’t we? “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Does that mean my family, my spouse and kids, Mom and Dad, aunts and uncles? Yeah I can do that. Except for the holidays, they drive me nuts on the holidays. And the kids! Sometimes they just won’t shut up! And my spouse! I swear he acts like an idiot sometimes! Where’s his head at!? Okay, I may need some work on love my family.

But who else is my neighbor? Did Jesus mean my real neighbor; the guy next door? Jesus obviously never met my neighbor. The guy lets his dog do his business in my front yard … just lets him go wandering, looking for the perfect place. And what about the parties? Last Christmas his guests tried to use my lawn as a parking lot! If I’ve got to love my neighbor as myself, the least the guy could do is love me back by not being such a rotten neighbor!

And what about my neighbors on the other side? They’re okay; no dogs, no parties – but they’re Jehovah’s Witnesses. When Jesus said to love my neighbor as myself surely He didn’t mean the JW’s! That’s just too creepy.

And what about the guy that stands at the off ramp every morning with the cardboard sign that says “Stranded Need Help” “God Bless You”? Sure, he’s wearing ratty clothes but he’s there every day. That guy ain’t stranded; he’s just working it - like everybody else. Surely Jesus didn’t mean that guy.

Jesus made it pretty clear who He meant by our neighbor; both in His illustrations and in His ministry. Our neighbors are everyone we come into contact with; the lovelies and the un-lovelies. They’re our neighbors when they’re a pain and they’re our neighbors when they’re in pain.

Jesus’ entire time on earth was spent teaching us by His example just who our neighbors were and how to treat them. The less important they were, the more unlovely they were, the greater grace and love Jesus showed them. The only neighbors Jesus really had any issues with were the religious elite, the same guys who spent so much time and effort qualifying just who their neighbors were.

*****

Several years ago I accepted a lunch meeting with an executive who wanted something I had. I met him earlier that day at his company. As he toured me around his business he commented on how many factories and trucks and airplanes he had and he told me his plans for the future. It was very impressive. He was pretty impressive personally too. He was tall, good looking, powerful and dignified. He was even a former professional football player; overall a pretty impressive guy. He invited me over for the day because he believed I held the key to success in one of his new business divisions. He put on a real dog and pony show. He wanted to impress me, and I’ve got to admit, I was pretty impressed.

After the plant tour we went to lunch. The waitress came over to our table to take our order. She seemed like a sweet young lady; probably about nineteen – just trying to do her job and get through the day. When she delivered our salads I saw a funny look come over the face of my host; kind of a sneer of disgust mixed with revulsion. For a minute I thought maybe a bug was crawling around on his plate. I didn’t know what the problem was.

Then I found out. His salad dressing was on the salad; not on the side. “Miss!” he shouted over the general din of the restaurant. “Miss! Come here!” The poor girl came back to our table where he proceeded to read her the riot act for being so stupid and careless over such a simple thing as putting dressing on the side and not on the salad. The waitress took the defective salad from the table and brought a replacement with dressing on the side. How she kept from crying or quitting I don’t know. She continued to serve us throughout the meal and she never said a word about the incident.

My host was oblivious to what he had just done. The important thing was that he got his salad right. The waitress was there to serve and, by God, she’d better do it properly. I was silent for the rest of the meal. I had seen something ugly come out and had made the connection. He was all peaches and cream to me because wanted something from me. Would he treat me like had just treated this waitress the minute he felt he no longer had a use for me? I got the message. We didn’t do the deal and I have no idea how that new division of his ever worked out.

*****

For a long time I thought the lesson was about him; about how he treated the waitress, about what his action revealed about loving your neighbor as yourself. Then it occurred to me what my reaction revealed about loving my neighbor as myself. When he yelled at the waitress I wanted to punch the guy. I was embarrassed for the waitress, for the restaurant and for myself. But mostly for myself. I never said a word in her defense.

Did I really love my neighbor as myself if I didn’t stand up for this poor girl as she was being lambasted? Did I love my neighbor as myself when I refrained from jerking Mr. Important up short and explaining why people weren’t to be treated like this? If there was ever a time this guy would listen to what I had to say it would have been then. But nope, I held my peace. No need getting into and embarrassing and uncomfortable situation over it. After all, It wasn’t I who acted so ass-like and it’s not like he insulted my sister; she was just a waitress.

Sounds pretty simple now doesn’t it? Pretty simple but it took me a long time to see it. How I love my neighbor as myself is a lot more important than what I think about how you love your neighbor as yourself. The lesson is pretty clear now. In that situation I was just as guilty in my silence as Mr. Important was in his display.
Knowing “love your neighbor as yourself” is a lot easier than doing “love your neighbor as yourself.”

What’s your purpose in life? What is that thing God created you for? Well, we know the first part - Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind. And we know the second part – love your neighbor as yourself. That’s the basics; that’s blocking and tackling. Get those two things right and the spectacular plays will follow along behind just fine.

*****
Next week we’ll cover how to recognize and act on your unique purpose.

Purpose
Vol. 1 Issue 15
November 8 2007
The weekly newsletter of True Potential Publishing

Week 3: Whose Purpose is it Anyway?

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21).

I discovered something interesting today. I looked up all the times “purpose” and “plan” were used in the Bible. In the overwhelming majority of cases, “purpose” referred to God’s purpose regarding man and/or creation. There were mentions of this man or that man purposing something, but the majority of references dealt with God’s purpose.

On the other hand, mentions of “plan,” almost always referred to the plans of men. Again, there were passages that referred to God’s plan, but in most cases, where “plan” was used, it was in the context of a plan of men. By the way, my search software used the English Standard Version as its default translation. The word “plan” doesn’t even occur in the King James Translation of the Bible.

So what does all this mean? Why split hairs? Aren’t purpose and plan just different ways to say the same thing? After all, isn’t the plan to fulfill our purpose in life? We want to be happy, and fulfilled; we want to be free from need and we want to be loved. Isn’t that what God wants for our lives too? Isn’t God’s purpose, or plan, for us to live long and happy lives? So what’s the difference between a “purpose” and a “plan” and why does the Bible focus on God when it speaks of purpose and on man when it speaks of plan?

The Bible indicates that plan tends to look at things from man’s side of the equation and purpose tends to look at things from God’s side. The biggest problem I see in our concept of purpose today is in just whose purpose we’re really talking about. We’re all too eager for God’s purpose to fit into our plans. We’re really big on believing that God’s purpose is to prosper us or to give us good health or to keep us safe from harm. But we’re not so big on God’s purpose being personal sacrifice or personal holiness, or personal obedience.

The tone of our prayers is too often, “God help me get that promotion”; “Help me pass this test”; “Keep us safe on vacation and help us all have a good time without killing each other.” How often do we pray, “Thy will be done,” and really mean it?

What if God’s will, His purpose for your life didn’t include health, wealth and happiness? What if his purpose for you was death? Sounds kind of harsh doesn’t it? Surely God’s purpose for me isn’t an untimely and hideous death? What if it were? Would you still be able to pray, “Thy will be done”?

*****

Five bodies floated in Ecuador’s Curaray River. All the bodies of young men, the oldest not yet thirty-two, the youngest twenty-seven. They were family men; all had wives, four had young children. One of the wives was eight months pregnant. All of the men were college graduates, all were missionaries.

Their adult lives were just beginning and they were full of promise. They had undergone intense training and were dedicated to spending their lives bringing the good news of God’s love to a people who had never heard of Jesus Christ. Each of these men and their families had given up family, friends and a future at home to follow the purpose they believed God had put in their lives.

Jim, Nate, Pete, Ed and Roger and their families had spent months “in country” learning the language and customs of the people they were trying to reach with the Gospel. The five men had spent weeks flying Nate’s Piper airplane over a tiny settlement, dropping gifts and calling out in the native language, “We like you.” “We are your friends.” Finally they landed as close as they could; on a sand spit next to the river, still several hours by foot trail from the tiny village.

“Auca” means “savage” and that was the name the outside world had given to this remote group of people. The “savages” had a history of murder in every encounter with the outside since the conquistadors came to South America. They lived in the jungles of Ecuador; remote enough that after every bloody ambush, they would simply dissolve into the jungle and the outsiders would move on to safer territory.
But by 1956 the world was getting smaller. Oil exploration, the need to develop agricultural land, and the authority of the Ecuadorian government and its army, were all making their creeping encroach on the jungle. A final encounter with the Auca was inevitable.

These five friends knew that if their encounter with the outside world was one of force the Auca would not survive. They would be exterminated as pests; enemies of the greater good of progress. The mission of the five was to reach this tribe, win their trust, and tell them about the love of a God they did not know.

Three days after their initial landing two Auca women and a man appeared at their camp. The first meeting went well; the man even took a ride in Nate’s airplane. Afterward the three disappeared into the jungle like they had come. There was no more friendly contact. Three days later the missionaries were dead; murdered by the Auca.

Five young men full of promise, murdered. All with wives and four with young children; all dedicated to serving God with their lives. Five young widows, abandoned in a foreign land, would have to live through the grief and some how put their lives back together. Nine orphaned children; one unborn and the others so young that most would not even remember their father’s face.

And they didn’t even accomplish the mission, the purpose, they believed God had given them; to share the good news of God’s love with the Auca people.

When those five young men prayed, “Thy will be done.” Do you think they had any idea just how that prayer would be answered? Was it really God’s will, God’s purpose that these five men would die on that sand spit in the middle of the jungle? Was it God’s purpose that five young women would lose their husbands and nine little children would grow up without their fathers? How could anyone say that something so senseless and tragic could ever be God’s will? Is it one of those stories we just chalk up to fate or, as we Christians like to say, “the unsearchable mind of God”? What good could ever become of something so bad?

The story continues ….

How the five men behaved in the midst of the massacre remained a puzzle for the Auca warriors who had slain them. There were only six Aucas and there were five white men with guns. Why hadn’t the white men defended themselves? One had fired his gun into the air as a warning shot and had inadvertently wounded an Auca when they grabbed his arm to stop him, but the white men didn’t use their guns in defense of their lives. Why, wondered the Auca, would they behave in such a way, not even to defend their own lives?

Rachel Saint, Nate’s sister and Elizabeth Elliot, Jim’s widow returned to the jungle to tell the Aucas why the five young men had tried to make contact with them. That they had wanted to share the story of “Wangongi’s” (creator God’s) love for them and the gift of His son. The women explained that these five men had made a commitment not to harm the Aucas, even if it meant giving up their lives.

The Aucas listened and they responded. The believed that Wangongi, creator God, loved them; that His own Son refused to defend Himself when men came to kill Him. They learned that the Son of Wangongi had come with a message of love as well; it was the same message these five men had wanted to share with the Auca.

Because of Jim, Nate, Pete, Ed and Roger the Auca’s inevitable encounter with the outside resulted in life for the tribe instead of death. They haven’t disappeared into the jungle or been exterminated by those who protect the progress of nations. They live in peace and worship the God these men had come to share with them. By the way, they’re not called Auca, “Savages,” anymore. That was a name given to them by the outside world. They’re called by their own name, the “Huaorani,” the “People.”

Gikita, the man who led the attack on the missionaries and personally ended the life of Nate Saint and Ed McCully with his spear, became a Christian and an elder in the Huaorani church. He had the privilege of seeing his grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow up; a privilege the five missionary men never enjoyed. Gikita died in 1997 at the age of eighty-one. His final wish was to go to Heaven and live peacefully with the five missionary men.

Steve Saint, Nate’s son, five years old at the time of his father’s murder, has lived and worked with the Huaorani throughout his life. He summed up what he believed to be God’s purpose in the lives of the five men who died that day in the jungle.

God took five common young men of uncommon commitment and used them for his own glory. They never had the privilege they so enthusiastically pursued to tell the Huaorani of the God they loved and served. But for every Huaorani who today follows God's trail through the efforts of others, there are a thousand cowodi (outsiders) who follow God's trail more resolutely because of their example. This success withheld from them in life God multiplied and continues to multiply as a memorial to their obedience and his faithfulness.

Nate Saint, Jim Elliott, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming and Roger Youderian all prayed, “Thy will be done.” There was One will; it led them to the same place, they shared the same purpose for their lives. Their final purpose was their first purpose. It was planned for them at the beginning of creation. I’m sure it didn’t fit into whatever plans they had for their lives, but they were willing to submit their plans to His purpose. The death of these five men wasn’t a just tragic accident and it’s not that they hadn’t considered the danger they were stepping into. His purpose already at work, Jim Elliott made this journal entry on October 28, 1949, the year he graduated from Wheaton College; “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot loose.”

*****

I wish you all good things in life; that you would be happy, healthy and free from want. That you would live a long and prosperous life and watch your grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow up. But more than that, I pray that God’s purpose would be fulfilled in your life.

Sometimes His purpose overrides our plans; that’s as it should be. There are some things more important than health, wealth and happiness. There are some things more important than life itself.

“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12: 24-25).

*****

Nate Saint’s, Jim Elliott’s, Ed McCully’s, Pete Fleming’s and Roger Youderian’s story is told in the books, “Through the Gates of Splendor” and “End of the Spear,” and in the films “Through Gates of Splendor” (1967); “Beyond the Gates of Splendor” (2004) and “End of the Spear” (2006).Steve Saint’s Christianity Today article “Did They Have to Die?” can be found at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/6ta/6ta020.html and http://www.atanycost.org/images/DidTheyHaveToDie.pdf

Purpose
Vol. 1 Issue 14
November 4 2007
The weekly newsletter of True Potential Publishing

Week 2: Your History - Past, Present and Future

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Most of us know that verse. It usually pops up when something bad has just happened. It’s kind of a Christian, “keep your chin up!” But there’s another time the verse pops up. It’s when you look back at something in your life that seemed not-so-good at the time, which you realize now was for the best.

Have you ever regretted something that’s happened to you or something you’ve done? We all have. How about a certain part of your life when you wish you could take a do-over? Think you’ve lost a couple of months or years on the road to your real purpose in life? Days of your life you’ll never get back? Like I said, we all have.

How about right now? Wondering if your life is kind of stuck in rut mode? You’re hung in the hum-drum. Your day is a repeat of yesterday. Wake up, climb on the hamster wheel, run like the dickens until it’s time to fall back in bed again. Tomorrow? Same stuff – different day.

How do you think God feels about your present existence? Do you ever wonder if He still sees you, loves you, and has a wonderful plan for your life? And if He does have a wonderful plan for your life, is this it? Is this the plan? From down here the plan doesn’t look so hot most days.

Do you feel like what you’re doing doesn’t really count for much in light of eternity? Kind of hoping for something more? A little higher purpose than the hamster wheel? Wish you could do something important with your life?

Most of us have been there. A lot of us are still there. We had high hopes early on that there was something really special waiting for us in life. The idealism of youth kind of fades away as the realities of adulthood take over.

There are certain guys in the Bible I really like. Whose lives I can look at and see a parallel and hope for my own situation when I’m feeling a little adrift. That’s where Joseph comes in.

*****

You already know the story of Joseph. If you don’t, pick up a Bible and read Genesis chapters thirty-seven and thirty-nine through forty-seven. Here’s Joseph’s life in bullets.

• Second from the youngest of twelve boys. Dad’s favorite
• Good looking, well built and smart; but clueless on sibling politics.
• Has dreams about his brothers and parents bowing down before him. Family not thrilled.
• Dodges assassination attempt by the brothers and is sold as a slave to Midianite traders.
• Traders sell him to Egyptian bureaucrat and he gets promoted to head of household staff.
• Bureaucrat’s wife gets the hots, gets rebuffed and gets even. Joseph goes to jail.
• Gets another promotion and becomes the de-facto jail administrator.
• Interprets dreams and seals the fate of Pharaoh’s baker and cup bearer. Cup bearer immediately forgets his emancipator and Joseph’s stuck in jail another two years.
• Pharaoh has a dream, cupbearer remembers an overdue debt, Joseph meets Pharaoh.
• Joseph interprets dream, becomes prime-minister, rescues family from the famine, and becomes the catalyst by which the family of Jacob becomes the nation of Israel.

*****

Looking at the big picture, it’s obvious to us that Joseph lived a life of eternal destiny. If God hadn’t brought him to Egypt and then brought him to power, if there hadn’t been a severe famine in the land, his family would have never moved to Goshen; a piece of prime real estate where they would survive and thrive and eventually grow from a family into a nation. You can see God’s hand in Joseph’s life with every twist of fate.

But I wonder if Joseph felt that way at the time? At seventeen, he was ripped from his home and family and sold as a slave. He spent thirteen years in a foreign country, either as a slave or in prison. God was watching over him and he enjoyed a certain level of success, but he was still a slave and a prisoner in a foreign land.

I’ll bet there were times in those thirteen years that Joseph wondered what had gone wrong with his life. What great divine plan had separated him from his home and family and had put him in servitude and in prison? He remembered the promise God had made to his father Jacob. He remembered his dreams that one day his family would bow before him. Where were the promise and the dreams now? The way his life was shaping up, he was sure that he would never see his family or homeland again.

At thirty years old Joseph’s life had a dramatic turn-around. Through a whirlwind series of events he found himself as prime-minister of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. He experienced about as much success and fortune as a man could imagine in this foreign country; still his heart ached for his home and family.

Another eight or nine years transpired. Joseph was pushing forty and it looked like God’s promise and his dreams were part of another life; long ago and far away from his present situation.

Joseph made the best of his circumstance, whatever the circumstance happened to be at the moment. He had no idea how God would keep His promise to Jacob or how his own dreams would be fulfilled. From where he was all he could see was the situation at hand. He had to trust God for the big picture.

Almost four thousand years later we can see the big picture pretty clearly. If Joseph hadn’t been sold by his brothers into slavery he would have never traveled to Egypt. If he hadn’t resisted the amorous advances of Potipher’s wife he would have never landed in prison. If he hadn’t gone out on a limb to interpret the dreams of the cupbearer and baker he wouldn’t have found his way to Pharaoh’s court. And if he hadn’t stepped up and interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams he wouldn’t have been put in a position of power. If there hadn’t been a great famine, Joseph’s brothers would never have seen him again. And if Joseph’s family hadn’t moved to Egypt there would have been no nation of Israel four hundred years later … or today.

All the seemingly bad stuff that happened to Joseph in those twenty odd years wasn’t outside of God’s plan and it wasn’t in spite of God’s plan. It was God’s plan. Looking at the big picture, over the span of Joseph’s life and beyond, it’s easy to see God working His plan and Joseph’s eternal purpose unfolding.But Joseph didn’t have the advantage of perspective. When you’re working as a slave in a foreigner’s house, dodging his wife’s little love traps or when you’re sitting in a prison, falsely accused, it’s a little difficult to see God’s plan unfolding in your life.

But the plan is there anyway. Seeing it at work is only a matter of perspective. The great thing about Joseph is that he just kept on trucking, whether he could see the plan working or not. He found himself in a lot of different situations; some of them pretty good, some of them pretty bad. A lot of different situations, but only one Plan. There were probably times when Joseph felt God’s plan for his life had gone terribly awry. But whatever the circumstance, he honored God in his actions. And God worked His plan.

*****

In my own eyes, a lot of the years behind me have been wasted or at least, off target. How could those years be counted as part of God’s plan for my life? In my own eyes, in my own strength, in my own plan, they couldn’t. It would be a miracle if my mixed bag of past and present ever added up to something worthwhile in God’s eternal plan for my life.
A miracle, that’s what it would be. Looking at the big picture that’s just what it is. Just ask Joseph and his brothers, the children of Israel.

“But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives’” (Genesis 50: 19, 20).

Purpose
Vol. 1 Issue 13
October 26, 2007
The weekly newsletter of True Potential Publishing

How You’re Built

I wrote in an earlier letter (Purpose Vol. 1, Issue 10) that I wasn’t big on recipes or seven step strategies for spiritual success. Well, I’m not. But until now I may have been a little philosophical or “big picture” in my approach to understanding our real purpose and fulfilling the true potential God has given each of us.

In order to put the subject in a practical form that you can relate to your life. I’ve identified some aspects of God’s specific purpose for your life and how He works to fulfill that purpose. And, wouldn’t you know, there were seven of them. So, in the tradition of eating my words, we’ll discuss, over the next seven weeks, seven aspects of identifying and living in the specific purpose God has planned for each of our lives.

Thankfully, we’re clear of formulating a recipe and these seven aspects of purpose certainly aren’t strategies for spiritual success that I or anyone else have created. They’re just facets of our lives and His character in which we can begin to see how He weaves the tapestry of His eternal purpose in each of us.

Each week we’ll discuss one of these seven aspects. We won’t deal with them in order of importance or chronology; although there is one that is by far, first and most important … but that won’t come until week three. Today and next week we’ll explore two components of your own make-up and circumstance that reveals God’s specific and eternal intentions toward you.

Week three will be the biggee; without it, nothing else matters, with it everything else makes perfect sense. Weeks four, five and six cover the interaction necessary between you and God to make His purpose in your life a reality. Week seven refers back to God’s character and the perspective you must have regarding your own existence that makes flowing in His purpose possible.

We touched on some of these aspects already, a few we covered in some depth. In the next seven weeks we’ll present each aspect so that at the end of our discussion, on week eight we can put them all together to see how your purpose, more accurately - His purpose for you, is worked out in every fiber of your existence and every facet of His character.

Week 1: How You’re Built

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

If God has a purpose for you specifically in the time and space of creation and if He considered you personally enough to give you your own unique personality and abilities, wouldn’t it also make sense that His purpose in your existence and His consideration of your unique personality and abilities may be a matched set? In short, you’ve been made to order.

God didn’t create you in such a way as to be incapable or disinterested in what He wants you to accomplish in your life. At times it may seem that what He wants you to do is beyond your capabilities or outside of your interests, but that’s just a part of growing and shaping process each of us must undergo to become useful to His purpose.

Who you are; your personality, your strengths and weaknesses, your likes and dislikes - those traits the make you distinctly you - are yours and only yours for a purpose. God knew who you would be long before you were ever born and He knew what He had in store for you as well. Who you are as a person is matched to what it is He has for you to accomplish.

I’m not talking about the bad habits you’ve picked up or the inherited rebellion of the old sin nature left to you by great-grandpa Adam. I’m talking about the character traits, natural talents, abilities and limitations you were born with; what you inherited from mom and dad. Yup, God knew who mom and dad would be too. He knew that you’d be a mix of their chromosomes and He knew how the mix would turn out.

Psychologists pretty much agree that who we are is a result of nature - who mom, dad, grandpa and grandma were - and nurture, how we were raised; our life experience. We’ll talk about the nurture aspect of all this next week.

Mom and dad each contributed twenty-three chromosomes to your genetic make-up. Chromosomes are rod-like structures made up of thousands of genes. Genes are made up of complex DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) molecules. DNA, we learned in high school biology, is the recipe that makes you, you. How you came out is kind of like shaking dice from a Yahtzee cup. Dominant genes push ahead, recessive genes shrink back and a lot of genes just kind of average out.

Little Suzie may have mom’s eyes, dad’s temperament and Grandpa Jim’s knack for math. It all depends on whether there’s a win, loose or draw between each of the twenty-three chromosome pairings. That’s why you are the way you are … as far as your first birth is concerned.

God also has in store for you a second set of chromosomes, a spiritual set, as a result of your second birth. When you accepted Christ you underwent a second birth, a birth of the spirit (see Purpose Volume 1, Issue 3). You don’t inherit spiritual chromosome pairs from mom and dad in your spiritual birth; but like your physical birth, who you are spiritually is the result of your spiritual nature and nurture. Your spiritual nurture, we’ll cover next week.

What makes up your spiritual nature are the gifts and the measure of faith you were endowed with as a result of your spiritual birth. “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith” (Romans 12:6).

The physical traits - strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes - you inherited from your parents aren’t any more of an accident in God’s plan than the spiritual traits you received as a result of your spiritual birth. He made you physically to fulfill His purpose just like He made you spiritually to fulfill His purpose.

I’m not talking about just the good stuff either. Your weaknesses and dislikes have been given to you to serve His purpose as well. Too often we think of our strengths as a blessing and our weaknesses as a curse. We want to surround ourselves with people and things we like and eliminate from our lives everything and everyone we dislike. That’s man’s economy and man’s plan; not God’s.

God has a purpose for each of your strengths and has instilled in you natural preferences, those types of people and things you’re naturally attracted to. But He’s also allowed your weaknesses and your natural dislikes to be an integral part of His purpose. The apostle Paul knew too well that God chose to use his weakness as well as his strength. Paul carried with him what he called, “… a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” Three times Paul pled with God to remove this weakness from his life. God’s answer to Paul showed His purpose. “… My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Even those people and things to which you have a natural aversion or find unlovely have their purpose in God’s plan for your life. Jesus taught, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that” (Luke 6:32-33).

There is nothing in your natural make-up, those traits you inherited as a result of your natural birth, or in your spiritual make-up, the gifts and proportion of faith you received as a result of your second birth that isn’t a part of God’s perfect will and plan for your life.

Your strengths, the things you’re really good at, glorify God because He gave them to you. Your natural talents and abilities were given to you with a purpose for their use in mind. Do you really think God would have given you an eye for beauty and a hand with the natural dexterity to translate the pictures in your mind onto a palette painted for the eyes of others if He didn’t mean for you to share it as part of His purpose? Do you think he gave you a knack for business and leadership if He didn’t want you to use it in His eternal purpose?

How about your love of animals? You’re nuts about anything with fur. Did you ever ask yourself, or ask Him, why? It’s the same if you have a deep natural love for music, nature, or architecture. What about your love for children or the empathy for those who are hurting? Did God give you those natural loves without a purpose in mind?

It’s easy for us to see our talents, abilities and interests as gifts from God, to be used for His purpose. But what about our shortcomings and handicaps? What about those natural aversions, the things and people we just can’t seem to gather up any sort of natural affection for? Are our weaknesses and dislikes a part of God’s purpose as well?

When you’re focused on your purpose the most important thing to remember is that your purpose is really His purpose for your existence. God’s purpose for man is to glorify Himself. His purpose for your existence is that you may glorify Him. You were designed to do that with every aspect of your being, even those you sometimes wish you didn’t have.

*****

Moses was a man full of insecurities. When God assigned him the task of delivering the Israelites from Egypt, Moses made every excuse possible to get out of the job and begged God to send someone else.

Peter couldn’t help running his mouth before engaging his brain. He was known as the disciple with the foot shaped mouth. He was weak and wishy-washy. One moment he was ready to kill anyone who meant harm to Jesus, in the next he denied even knowing Him.

Paul had a weakness so cruel he called it a “messenger from Satan.”

*****

God put your weaknesses there for a purpose, for His purpose. When your weaknesses become tools for God’s glory it’s obvious to others that some greater hand is at work than your own.

Just like your weaknesses, when God turns your natural aversions around to His glory the world takes notice. Saul was a Pharisee. He was a Jew’s Jew. Anything gentile including the Gentiles themselves were unclean and objects of disdain. That is, until he met Jesus on the Damascus road; the resurrected Messiah to the Jews and the Gentiles. God turned Saul’s natural aversion into Paul’s mission of being the apostle to the Gentiles.

How you’re built, the gifts and handicaps you’ve been given, your likes and dislikes - all things that bundled together make you, you - are there for a purpose. The spiritual gifts God has given to you and the measure of faith allotted to you are sufficient to accomplish the purpose God put you here for.

Don’t think too highly of your talents and abilities; they were given as a gift, to use in His purpose. Don’t cling too tightly to the people, traditions and things you love; they are blessings on loan for His purpose. Don’t mourn your shortcomings or be disappointed in your handicaps; they may be your greatest gift in His economy. And be careful about what and who you disdain; they may be the very palette on which God paints His purpose in your life.

*****

Don’t miss next week. We’ll talk about nurture – how what happens to you prepares you for His purpose.

Until then, may God bless you and keep you.

In Him,
Steve Spillman

Purpose
Vol. 1 Issue 12
October 18, 2007
The weekly newsletter of True Potential Publishing

Individual Purpose vs. Corporate Purpose

Up to this point, Purpose Weekly has focused on individual purpose. But what about corporate purpose? Doesn’t God have a purpose for mankind in general or for the church as a whole? Isn’t focusing on individual purpose a little self-serving? Aren’t we pushing individualism at the expense of the Body of Christ?

There’s a big difference between individual purpose and individualism. Individualism stresses independence and individual rights over that of society as a whole. What’s good for me is more important than what’s good for the group. My rights as an individual are never to be subsumed into the rights of the group.

Individualism flies in the face of the idea that, in Christ, we are one Body, one Bride. The Bible says that, “… in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Romans 12: 5).

If we are all one in Christ, shouldn’t we be thinking a little more corporately when it comes to God’s purpose? If we’re all in this together why focus so much on individual purpose? Isn’t the Body as a whole, more important than each of us individually?

We all fall under the same grace; we are all subject to the same commandments. Doesn’t God’s purpose extend to all as well? Isn’t His purpose for all of us summed up in the words of the Westminster Catechism? “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”

So what makes the idea of a unique individual purpose so special? All that’s required of any of us is to accept Christ as Savior, avoid sin and ask forgiveness when we’ve stumbled; right? Isn’t living the normal Christian life, going to church, putting money in the plate, raising the kids in a good home, getting along with my spouse, enough? If I try to be a good Christian aren’t I really fulfilling the purpose God has given me, has given all men, in this life?

*****

Jesus met a rich young man in his travels; the story is recorded in Matthew chapter 19, Mark chapter 10 and Luke chapter 18. From the conversation you could infer that the young man was not just wealthy but a pretty good guy as well. From all appearances he was doing everything right.

If we put him in a time machine and zapped him into the 21st century, he would fit quite nicely into any upscale community right here in the States. He would have a successful business or manage an impressive investment portfolio. He would have a wife, two kids and be an upstanding, not to mention financially important, member of his church. What’s more, he’d be a great guy. He would always be helping with projects at the church and in the community. His record of public integrity would be spotless. He would be admired by everyone in the community. If there was a Successful Christian club, this guy would be the poster child.

When this young man approached Jesus he was already living a good, upright, synagogue-going life, but he wanted more. Being good wasn’t good enough; he wanted to be perfect. With the right attitude and an open heart he asked, “What good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus saw through the man’s question to his need: “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only One who is good.” Then Jesus gave the man an answer he could understand: “If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”

Now the young man had something he could hold onto. “Which ones?” he wanted to know.

“‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'"

“All these I have kept,” the young man replied. “What do I still lack?”

Jesus cut to the bone. “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

This guy had life nailed in every way but one. The man who had everything couldn’t give it up for the one thing. Jesus was asking too much. He followed all the rules but he couldn’t follow the ruler. The story ends with one of the saddest statements I know of in the Bible. It breaks my heart because it happens around us every day. “When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

*****

The Bible is full of commands regarding how we should behave. They are universal in scope and authority. They apply to everybody. Jesus boiled them down into two: “… Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind …” and “… Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22: 37, 39).

We are all under the same instructions regarding how to behave, but each of us has unique instructions regarding how to serve; what, specifically, we should be doing with our lives. This individual purpose speaks to our mission, not to our behavior. It is our unique contribution toward God’s purpose. Don’t ever mix up how He wants you to behave with what He wants you to do.

Paul explained the difference between the two:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
(Romans 12: 1-8)

Paul starts off addressing the group as a whole. His instructions are behavioral and meant for everyone to follow: “offer your bodies as living sacrifices,” “do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Why does Paul want the group, all of them, to behave this way?

So they can, “test and approve what God’s will is.” Concerning their behavior as a group, they don’t need to “test and approve what God’s will is.” They already know. Paul just told them how to behave; “offer your bodies as living sacrifices.” The Law and the Prophets told them how to behave. Jesus, when He walked among them told them how to behave. The apostles wrote them letters filled with instructions about how to behave. They knew how they should behave.

So why was Paul telling them to, “test and approve what God’s will is”? Paul was making a transition from corporate behavior to individual purpose. You can see the transition in the next sentence. “I say to every one of you.” He’s speaking to them as individuals regarding their individual roles and purpose in the group. He’s saying that each member has been given a specific measure of faith and grace and each member has a different gift. Each individual in the group has his or her unique purpose. Each acts individually, but like the members of an orchestra; each plays his or her instrument in concert with the whole.

If we look closely, individual purpose is obvious in group actions. First Baptist Church of Centerville decides, as a group, to build a homeless shelter. This is a group mission, a group purpose. No individual in the group possesses the money and the skills to accomplish this purpose individually. Individual purpose here has been subjugated to the group purpose, right?

Not right. Individual purpose is all over this project. George is a lousy carpenter and he doesn’t know enough about electricity to change a light bulb; but he knows finances. George is the wealthiest guy in the church; everybody knows it but they don’t say much about it. George especially doesn’t make a deal of it; he figures God put him in this position to serve Him. As far as George is concerned it’s God’s money, he just writes the checks. George is tickled to use what he has to be a part of this project.

Bob’s not a rich man; he struggles to make his house payment and keep the lights on each month. His truck odometer is getting ready to roll over 200,000 miles, but it stays running, with a little help. Bob’s got a gift though; he can see a building before it’s built; every beam, every pipe every wire. It just comes natural to him. He’s excited about putting his talent to work on something that will mean more than a paycheck. He can’t afford to take time off work; it’ll have to be on nights and weekends, but that’s okay, he doesn’t mind.

Jan’s not rich and she doesn’t have any construction skills. Her schedule doesn’t allow for a lot of time working on projects away from home. Jan has six kids. Her husband Phil is a long haul trucker. He’s gone a lot, but his paycheck keeps a roof over their heads and the family fed. And if there’s one thing Jan can do it’s feed a family. You can’t survive six kids if you can’t cook and Jan, thank God, can cook. When Jan cooks it’s like she’s cooking for an army. With three of the boys in high school now, the family eats like an army, so it works out. Jan was surprised when she was asked to consider planning the kitchen and menus for the shelter. Her kids were so excited over the project that they volunteered as part time kitchen staff … at home and at the shelter.

The church took on this project; it was a group mission, a group purpose. But any group action is really just a concert of individual players. George, Bob and Jan each have their own gifts and their unique God given purposes. Neither has the gifting or the calling of the other. Each plays his or her own instrument, and the orchestra works.

*****

Jesus didn’t hang on the cross for the group. I know that sounds provocative, maybe even heretical, but think about it. Jesus paid the price for your sin and my sin, not our sin. If I go to hell it won’t be for your sins or Nero’s sins or Hitler’s sins; it’ll be for my sins. When Billy Graham gave his heart to Jesus I wasn’t assured of eternal life, he was.

We all suffer from the same fatal disease. The cure, through faith in Christ, is offered to all of us equally; but not as a group. When I stand before God, it’ll be for my life, not yours. When I trusted Jesus and allowed God’s Holy Spirit into my spirit, I opened up a personal relationship with Him that will last for eternity.

I love my wife and children; so much so that I would die for any of them without a thought. I don’t consider giving up my life for theirs a bad trade. But my relationship with God, the thing that makes my eternal life worthwhile and preserving my life on earth not so important, is mine. It doesn’t belong to them. I couldn’t give it to them if I wanted to. It’s not an option.

God considers us individually. My salvation is personal; it’s only good for one and it’s non-transferable. When God created the universe, He had me individually in mind. He had a purpose for me and me alone, to be fulfilled at this moment in time. God is very personal in His relationships.

The incomprehensible thing about God though, is that your salvation and your purpose are personal too. He had you specifically in mind when he created the universe. His will is that all mankind be saved, but we’re saved one at a time. He has a purpose for all mankind because he has a purpose for every individual. God loves the orchestra because God loves the oboe player, and the violinist and the cellist and the drummer ….

Purpose
Vol. 1 Issue 11
October 11, 2007
The weekly newsletter of True Potential Publishing

Success

This newsletter is really about success. I know it says “Purpose” on the top and I keep talking about “true potential,” but the degree of success you will experience in life comes from understanding your purpose and fulfilling your true potential. So, yup, this is really just a success newsletter.

What separates it from most of the other success literature is its point of view. As far as I can tell, there are only two points of view regarding success. The first we’ll call “man-centric,” the second we’ll call “God-centric.” In the first, the universe revolves around man – me in particular. In the second, the universe revolves around its Creator, and I’m just a part of that revolving universe.

For the past few weeks we’ve discussed purpose, potential and success from the God-centric point of view. This week we’ll try to get a handle on success from the man-centric point of view; definitely the more popular as far as success literature is concerned.

The man-centric point of view puts man – me in particular – at the center of all things. Success in these terms means satisfying my needs and desires and fulfilling my own goals and plans; living according to a purpose I have set for myself. The world and everything in it - the universe itself - is defined in terms of how it relates to me. I am the center and all of creation transverses its orbit around me.

Kind of defines the term self-centered doesn’t it? I am the center of my own universe and everything revolves around me. To be fair, this point of view didn’t really start with man; it had its beginnings much earlier. The inventor and chief promoter of this point of view wasn’t a man at all. But it would suit him just fine if all men, you and me included, followed his example.

Lucifer, the father of man’s most popular success program, was put into a position unparalleled in Creation. In effect, Lucifer was a Prime Minister for God. The earth at the least and possibly the entire universe was under his supervision. Ezekiel prophesied of his glorious position:

You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created.
(Ezekiel 28: 12-15)

Lucifer was about as high and lifted up any created being had ever been. He had been put in a position of nearly absolute power; second only to God. His relationship to all of creation was that of superior to subordinate.

There was a problem though. Lucifer in all of his glory and majesty and power and authority mistook his position of Prime Minister with that of Crown Prince. What directly follows the description of Lucifer’s magnificence as the most glorious of all creatures vividly describes the speed and finality of his fall from grace:

… till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.
(Ezekiel 28:15b-19)

Isaiah related Lucifer’s fall from grace as well:

How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.
(Isaiah 14:12-15)

Heaven’s true Crown Prince, Jesus related to his disciples the event to which he was eye-witness: “‘… I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven’” (Luke 10:18).

What happened? How could God’s most glorious creature become the most reviled and twisted being in the universe? Lucifer mistook God’s glory for his own. He mistook Gods majesty and power for his own. He mistook God’s purpose and property for his own. Lucifer mistook the role of servant for the role of master.

Lucifer attributed his position and power to himself. He came to believe that he was self-made. He came to believe that he could accomplish anything his will desired. “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” He came to believe that he was the master of his own destiny, the cause of his own success, and the author of his purpose and plan.

Sound familiar? “Anything you can imagine, you can accomplish.” “You are the master of your own destiny.” “You deserve the very best life has to offer.” “Man is the measure of all things.” “You determine your own reality.”

A little success tends to go to our heads. We see our position and the wealth we’ve acquired and think somehow that we are the cause of it; that we have created our own situation. And that because of our hard work and talent and beauty and skill we somehow deserve what we have and anything else we could imagine or desire. It’s an old feeling; now at least you know where it comes from.

******

Satan tried his program on Jesus. He caught him at a low point; alone and in the wilderness, after forty days with nothing to eat. Physically and psychologically Jesus had pushed it to the limit. He was being prepared for the next three years of his life on earth and boot camp was hell. Now at the end of it, Satan appeared on the scene to offer Jesus a little worldly relief.

“You’re hungry.” Satan said to Jesus. “You’ve not had a bite to eat for forty days.” “I’ll bet you’re wondering too - are you really the Christ, the anointed one?” “Turn these stones into bread. If, at your command, the stones become bread you will erase all doubt that you are the Son of God and you will be fed.” “Why not see for yourself if this is true?”

Satan tempted Jesus with the most basic of human needs. He was hungry. Satan wanted Jesus to look to himself for the provision of his needs. Surely Jesus was capable of something as simple as providing food for himself. If he was truly the son of God, he could change stones into bread with a word. He knew he had the power. Surely Jesus could demonstrate his self-sufficiency in an act as simple as providing his own meal.

Jesus saw through Satan’s trap. Man’s sustenance doesn’t come from himself, not even the Son of Man, and bread doesn’t equal life. Man finds his sustenance in the Word of God and his supply at the hand of God; even in something as simple as a loaf of bread. Jesus answered Satan’s tactic with scripture. “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Having failed at twisting this most basic human need to his own purpose, Satan moved up the pyramid a notch (remember Maslow’s pyramid and the hierarchy of human needs?). He brought Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple, its highest point. Adjusting his strategy to include scripture he said, “Throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Satan was appealing to his need for safety and security. It was promised in scripture that God would not allow His chosen one to come to harm. He was also appealing to his need for acceptance. The Temple was a very public place. If the Jews were to see Jesus plummet from the highest point of the temple, only to be caught up by the angels of God before his foot was allowed to strike a single stone of the pavement below, then surely the Jews would recognized his position of majesty and authority as the Son of God, the Anointed One.

Jesus, however, already knew the source of his safety and security. He knew that even if the entire world failed to recognize him as the Son of God, acceptance and approval from his Father in heaven was sufficient. He didn’t need to prove himself at the request of his adversary. He answered Satan’s twisting of scripture with scripture. “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Finally Satan played his trump card. The strategy that had worked for him since man began to populate the earth. A universal weakness in man, something Satan had recognized from the beginning because it was also the weakness that precipitated his personal fall from grace.

Satan took Jesus to a place where he could view the kingdoms of the earth in all of their splendor, wealth and glory. “I will give you all of their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours.”

All the kingdoms of the earth. All of their wealth. All of the power, the glory, the honor that comes along with ruling the kingdoms of the earth. Quite a success story. “Anything you can imagine, you can accomplish.” “You are the master of your own destiny.” “You deserve the very best life has to offer.” “Man is the measure of all things.” “You determine your own reality.” “All you need to do is fall down on your knees and worship me.”

Jesus was hungry and ragged. He had been in the wilderness for forty days. By all appearances he was no King of Kings. His current circumstance certainly didn’t reflect his role of the Chosen One. But Jesus did know his true position and authority. He knew his destiny and was confident in his ultimate reward. He knew also, Whom he served and his place in the Kingdom. Anything Satan could offer in his kingdom was insufficient in light of the Kingdom to come. “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” Jesus’ reply silenced his adversary. Satan left him to wait “for a more opportune moment.”

*****

We’ve discussed before how our drive for success has its roots in the necessity of fulfilling our basic needs. We’ve also discussed how God’s instruction of how to go about fulfilling our needs is very different from man’s philosophy. Now that we’ve seen who invented man’s philosophy of success, we can get a glimpse of its ultimate end.

Man can make up some pretty impressive positive affirmations: “You are the master of your own destiny.” “Recognition for your accomplishments and position rightfully falls on your own shoulders.” “Your position, accomplishments and wealth are the result of your own efforts and talent.” “You deserve the credit.” “If you put your mind and resolve to it, there’s nothing you can’t accomplish.” “Your reality is determined by your thinking.” “If you think on a thing long enough and hard enough, you can make it come to pass.” “The power of attraction will draw all things unto you.” “Imagine yourself at the center of your own universe; all things orbit around you and were created for your benefit.”

Keep working on the slogans. You can create a modicum of success and self-satisfaction in this world through your own efforts. People do it all the time. You can create your own reality, your own universe; and all of the objects in your own self-made universe can find their orbit around your center. A lot of very successful people have done just that. They are, in their understanding, self-made. Like the inventor of the program, these folks believe they are the master of all they survey, the source of their own glory.

But be warned. The inventor of this success plan has a miserable future waiting for him. Ultimately, those that follow the program are headed for the same destination. Unfortunately that’s where the plan leads.

But there is a better plan. One in which you’re not the center of your own little universe, but a unique part of a much larger one. One in which you give glory and honor instead of receive it. One in which you accept the position and destiny created for you before the foundations of the world, rather than trying to carve out your own. The only one that ultimately leads to the kind of success we’ve been taking about.

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:3-6 ESV)

*****

Looks like I’ve done it again! Remember a few weeks ago when I gave Paul credit for something Peter wrote? Well, last week I attributed a passage in Hebrews to the Apostle Paul. A long time ago people called Hebrews, “The Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews,” but Bible scholars pretty much agree that Paul didn’t write it. They don’t know who did, but they don’t think it was Paul. So, sorry again for giving Paul more credit than he’s due (I must really like the guy). As far as I know, I’ve never attributed an Old Testament book to Paul, but keep an eye on me.

Until next week, may God bless you and keep you and may all your paths be made straight.

Steve Spillman