The Purpose of Man

I'm starting to read a book by A.W. Tozer called "The Purpose of Man: Designed to Worship". This is my first Tozer book. He begins it in the Garden of Eden and says that the reason why we were created was to worship God and display His glory. As Tozer says, "Worship is man's full reason for existence. Worship is why we are born and why we are born again."

I like that.

We tend to be very self-centered and that life is about us. It's not. It's all about God, and bringing glory and honor to Him. We do that through worship. There are many ways to worship besides the common way of singing hymns that we usually think of. Observing a sunset on your way home from work and thanking God for the beauty of it. Noticing the stars in a clear night sky, realizing how small you are, and thanking God for His amazing love. Giving of your time and money to service and thanking God for His Holy Spirit that gives you the desire to do so. Endless ways to allow God through Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit to use you for His glory!

I'm looking forward to this book. Hoping that it will draw me closer to Jesus in worship.

God's Amazing Love

Scripture Reading: Psalm 139:1-18

Key Verse: Psalm 139:13 - For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.

In The Gift for All People, Max Lucado describes the event of the Cross in this way:

Christ came to earth for one reason: to give Hid life as a ransom for you, me, for all of us. He sacrificed Himself to give us a second chance. He would have gone to any lengths to do so. And He did. He went to the cross, where man’s utter despair collided with God’s unbending grace. And in that moment when God’s great gift was complete, the compassionate Christ showed the world the cost of His gift.

As you strengthen your relationship with Jesus, you will begin to understand the amazing truth that He died specifically for you. Though His sacrifice freed the world from the penalty of sin, Jesus was intimately familiar with you as an individual as He accepted and fulfilled His sentence of death upon the cross.
The Bible tells us that God knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). That means that when He sent His Son to die on the cross over two thousand years ago, God knew you and included the sins you would commit in the future among those to be forgiven.
What an awesome gift! What a reason to celebrate! Yet so many people take Christ’s sacrificial death for granted. In this holy season, take time to thank Him for His amazing love that is demonstrated to us all each day.

Father, I am speechless at the thought that You knew who I was when You sent Your Son to die for me. Thank You for loving me that much.

This is the scripture reading. I had to add it because it is such a great Psalm. Read the Scripture below slowly and carefully. Know that God is speaking directly to you today.

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! (Psalm 139:1-18)

Thoughts

My mind is kind of racing right now. I needed to get some stuff of my chest.

Just got through reading "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. Awesome read. Pick it up and read it with an open mind. Scripture is running all through that book, and I believe that the points he makes are biblically based. He encourages readers to not only be hearers of the Word but doers as well. To take Christ at His word and actually obey Him by living out His truths in our lives with the help of the Holy Spirit. A quote from the book struck me tonight: "We never grow closer to God when we just live life; it takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness." We can't just waste our life away by just living our life day by day and not concerning ourself with the things of God. If you are a Christian that's not living your life to the fullest as Jesus promised He would help us do if we follow Him (John 10:10). We so often get sidetracked by the physical world and rarely think of heaven. If we set our hearts and minds on heaven, and store up treasures in heaven instead of this earth then it will be a far more satisfying journey through this life (Matthew 6:20). When I say we I mean me as well! I can get so consumed with this present world and it's troubles and pleasures that heaven seems so far away. We must constantly pursue Jesus for if we stray but for a second we will plunge into the dark waters from whence we came (Matthew 14:22-33). Cling to Jesus my brothers and sisters for He is our only hope. If we place our hope in anything or anyone else we will quickly lose our way. He is the only source of true love. If the Holy Spirit runs in and through us we wll be able to love God and love others as Jesus commanded us to (Matthew 22:34-40).

What does it mean to love God? I don't want to go into details but ask yourself. Does my life and what I'm doing with it show that I love God? Stop what you're doing for a minute. Think about that question, and answer it truthfully in your mind.

Now what does it mean to love others? To love your neighbor as yourself. To bless those that persecute you. To do good to those that hurt you. That's crazy talk! That's not fair! That's the love of God. For what did Christ do for you and me? Even though we were enemies He still loved us and even died for us. So if we call ourselve disciples of Christ should we not do the same?

I know all this is heavy, but just remember that it's not about you. It's all for the glory and honor of our great God! Pray that He will give you the desire to pursue Him, then do it!

The Crazy Life

Check out this link. It's about an incident that occurred in Turkey on April 18, 2007. Three Christians lost their lives in pursuit of Christ. We must ask ourselves if we are willing to do the same. And, if we are, how are we living to show that commitment to Christ.

http://www.dennyburk.com/turkish-martyrs-men-of-whom-the-world-was-not-worthy/

Don't Waste Your Life

This is a music video by Lecrae, and the song is called "Don't Waste Your Life". The lyrics are below the video. Great stuff. Very talented artist that preaches the truth of the Gospel. Preach on Lecrae!



Don't wanna waste my life.

I know a lot of people out there scared they gone die. Couple of em thinking they'll be livin' in the sky, but while I'm here livin' man I gotta ask why? What am I here fo? I gotta figure out. Waste my life? No. I gotta make it count. If Christ is real then what am I gone do about everything in Luke 12:15 down to 21? You really oughta go and check it out. Paul said if Christ ain't resurrect then we wasted our lives. Well that implies that our life's built around Jesus being alive. Everyday I'm living tryin' show the world why Christ is more than everything you'll ever try. Better than pretty women and sinning and living to get a minute of any women and men that you admire. Ain't no lie.

We created for Him. Outta the dust He made us for Him. Elects us and He saves us for Him. Jesus comes and raises for Him. Magnify the Father! Why bother with something lesser? He made us so we could bless Him, and to the world we confess Him; resurrects Him. So I know I got life. Matter fact better man I know I got Christ! If you don't see His ways in my days and nights you can hit my brakes; you can stop my lights. Man I lost my rights. I lost my life. Forget the money cars and toss that ice. The cost is Christ, and they could never offer me anything on the planet that'll cost that price.

Armed and dangerous, so the devil jus can't handle us. Christian youth them a stand wid us. Livin' n driven, given a vision, fullfillin the commission He handed us. London to Los Angeles. Da rap evangelist. Ma daddy wouldn't abandon us. "I gotta back pack fulla tracts plus I keep a Johnny Mac". So are you ready to jam with us? So lets go. Gimme the Word an lets go! Persecution lets go. Tribulation lets go. Across the nation lets go. Procrastination bes go. Hung on the cross in the cold. Died for da young and the old. Can't say you never know. Heaven knows. How many souls are going to hell or to heaven? So we gotta go in and get'em!Whaaaaat!

Suffer. Yeah do it for Christ if you trying to figure what to do with your life. If you making a lot money hope you doing it right, because the money is Gods you better steward it right. Stay focused if you ain't got no ride. Your life ain't wrapped up in what you drive. The clothes you wear the job you work, the color your skin, naw you Christian first. People living life for a job. Make a lil money start living for a car. Get'em a house a wife kids and a dog. When they retire they living high on the hog, but guess what? They didn't ever really live at all. To live is Christ; yeah that's Paul I recall. To die is gain, so for Christ we give it all! He's the treasure you'll never find in the mall. Your money, your singleness, marriage, talent, and time. They were loaned to you to show the world that Christ is Divine. That's why it's Christ in my rhymes. That's why it's Christ all the time. See my whole world is built around Him He's the life in my lines. I refused to waste my life. He's too true ta chase that ice. Here's my gifts and time cause I'm constantly trying to be used to praise the Christ. If He's truly raised to life, then this news should change your life, and by His grace you can put your faith in place that rules your days and nights.

The Relationship

This is an excerpt from "Crazy Love". It's a prayer for those who truly want to experience a relationship with Christ, but don't feel close to Him. Pray this prayer, and hope in the power of the Holy Spirit to change your feelings.

"Jesus, I need to give myself up. I am not strong enough to love You and walk with You on my own. I can't do it, and I need you. I need You deeply and desperately. I believe You are worth it, that You are better than anything else I could have in this life or the next. I want You. And when I don't, I want to want You. Be all in me. Take all of me. Have Your way with me."

The Blood of Christ

Scripture Reading: John 1:19-29

Key Verse: John 1:29 - Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Christian doctrine features several terms that are essential in comprehending the importance of the blood of Christ shed on the cross of Calvary:

Redemption: Believers have been redeemed and forgiven. Our salvation has been purchased through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God who died for our sins and took upon Himself our guilt and penalty for those sins (Ephesians 1:7).

Justification: God has justified us, or declared us not guilty, because by the gift of faith we have accepted Christ as Savior. He also has declared us righteous in His sight, applying the righteousness of Christ to our accounts (Romans 5:9, 17).

Reconciliation: Jesus’ blood makes it possible for God to bring us back into a right relationship with Him. The Bible says we were enemies of God until we accepted Christ. Christ’s blood is the bridge, the peace offering, that reconciles us to God (Colossians 1:19-22).

Sanctification: Sanctification is God’s cleansing and setting us apart unto Himself for His purposes and His will. He sanctified us when we were saved, and He continues to sanctify us to make us clean vessels properly prepared for His good works. (Hebrews 12:14).

Access: Finally, we would not have access to God’s throne of grace without the shedding of Christ’s blood. The reason we can cry out and be heard by God is Christ’s sacrificial death.



Praise the Lord for the glory of the blood (Hebrews 10:19)!

Heavenly Father, thank You that I am redeemed, justified, reconciled, sanctified, and that through the blood, I have access to You.