The Inspired Life

Today is Day 6.
It's also Friday, my alleged day of sabbath.
I'll post tomorrow.
Have a great day, and if you'd like another perspective, check out what Pastor Reed Mueller has to say at http://www.teammueller.com/reed/
I'm pretty sure he's working today!

Day 5: Seeing Life from God’s View

Read Chapter 5 today.

+ + +

“Life is a test”? It may be Warren’s metaphor for life, but it’s not mine. I can’t live that way.

Many jobs have a probation period for new employees, during which you can be fired for pretty much any reason. It’s an unsettling time. You keep thinking, “Am I doing this right? Am I learning fast enough? Is my work acceptable to the boss?” You’re always on edge, insecure, trying to prove yourself.

That’s not how God wants us to live. Yes, there are tests in life, and yes, God notes how we respond to each one, and yes, God shapes our character through each test that life brings. But remember that God made you to love you. Just as a mother guides her child through tests and trials if the child is willing to listen to advice, so God will help us through every trial when we look to God for help.

“Life is a trust” is a better metaphor. God has entrusted us with great responsibilities. Since Genesis 1:28, we have been God’s managers of the earth and all that is in it. It does not belong to us; it is a trust.

I wouldn’t mind my girls borrowing or playing with my things, but I get pretty upset if they lose them or break them. I wonder how God feels when he sees us polluting rivers, wasting money, or hurting other people. The environment, our property, our money, our relationships – they all belong to God, and we are here to take care of them.

May everything I do result in God saying, not “Good grief, Cynthia, you broke that one, too?” but rather, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

POINT TO PONDER

God has given us the responsibility of taking care of God’s earth.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1. What tests have I passed lately? What tests have I failed?

2. How can I find more security in knowing God loves me and is with me through every test?

3. How responsible am I with the things God has entrusted to me?

Welcome to Day 4: Living in the Light of Eternity

Read Chapter 4 today.

From the time I first went to church around age 10 to the time I stepped into the pulpit, I was almost always in the choir. And over those many years, the choir directors often said, “If you think this is great, just wait till we get to the choir in heaven!”

I didn’t think much about it. And I didn’t think too much about it when I was a choir director either. It’s hard to have an eternal perspective on a Sunday morning when you realize that all the first sopranos are out of town or the drummer has a hangover.

Each day’s joys and challenges keep us busy enough. Who has time to think about eternity?

As one who officiates at funerals, I think about it and talk about it more than a lot of people. I get inspired when I think of Jesus preparing a place for us (John 14), or of the holy city of God descending out of heaven (Revelation 21).

Living in the light of eternity is about remembering what is eternally important and arranging your priorities accordingly. It’s also about being joyful and thankful for what God is planning.

A favorite verse of mine is Isaiah 64:4 (better than Warren’s quote of it via 1 Cor 2:9):

Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

POINT TO PONDER

There is more to life than just here and now.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1. When I think about eternity, what am I happy about? What questions do I have about my eternity with God (harps, etc)?

2. What is it about God, specifically, that makes me glad I will spend eternity in God’s presence?

3. How can I keep eternity in mind throughout my day?

4. Which of my activities do I need to reconsider in the light of my eternal perspective?

Today is Day 3 of the 40 DAYS OF PURPOSE
Read Chapter 3 today.

This chapter, “What Drives Your Life” can be very convicting if you let it sink in.
Let me give you some examples of how these thoughts could apply to a Christian at church -- a member, elder, deacon or pastor.

1. Driven by guilt. The day I said, “Mr. X. is very ill – Perhaps I should see him today,” then decided, “I’ll see him tomorrow,” but he died that afternoon. Consider the stress and apprehension that kind of guilt can create in future situations.

2. Driven by resentment and anger. Imagine you've been hurt by another church member, going to worship and seeing that person there in the congregation. Of course, church people would never, ever be angry or resentful.

3. Driven by fear. Fear of being criticized, fear of being disliked, fear of someone leaving the church because of what you did or didn’t say or do, fear of being unjustly accused, fear of hurting someone.

4. Driven by the need for approval. Many people receive much more criticism than appreciation. The desire to hear a kind word can make you go out of your way to do things that will get you praise.

Fortunately, focusing on our purpose can help us overcome these drivers and by God’s grace replace them with a positive focus and motivation.



SOME GOOD NEWS FROM OUR PRESBYTERIAN TRADITION
This is an excerpt from The Brief Statement of Faith,
adopted by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in 1990.
See all the good things the Spirit does in us!

“We trust in God the Holy Spirit,
everywhere the giver and renewer of life.
The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith,
sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor,
and binds us together with all believers
in the one body of Christ, the church.
The same Spirit
who inspired the prophets and apostles
rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture,
engages us through the Word proclaimed,
claims us in the waters of baptism,
feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation,
and calls women and men to all ministries of the church.
In a broken and fearful world
the Spirit gives us courage
to pray without ceasing,
to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior,
to unmask idolatries in church and culture,
to hear the voices of peoples long silenced,
and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.
In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit,
we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks
and to live holy and joyful lives,
even as we watch for God's new heaven and new earth,
praying, "Come, Lord Jesus!"
With believers in every time and place,
we rejoice that nothing in life or in death
can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Brief Statement of Faith, 1990


POINT TO PONDER

Living on purpose is the path to peace.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1. What would your family and friends say drives you? You can probably think of examples of each of these “drivers” in your own life. Write them down.

2. What phrases of the Brief Statement are most appealing to you? Which are the most challenging?

3. What one negative “driver” would you like God to remove from your life?

SCRIPTURE WATCH

Remember, as you read TPDL, have your Bible in hand. Every time it says, “The Bible says…,” follow the footnote and look up the verse for yourself.

I believe that Warren’s comments are true and Biblical, but they are not necessarily supported by some of these scriptures.

page 30 “No one can serve two masters.” That was Jesus talking about money, not purpose.
page 30 The references from Isaiah and Job are taken out of context. I don’t think Job was miserable because he had not discovered his purpose. I think he was miserable because he had lost everything and even his body was under attack (Job 1:13-19 and Job 7:5). The fact that knowing one’s purpose combats hopelessness is implicit in many other scriptures.

Welcome to Day 2 of the 40 Days of Purpose

Read Chapter 2 today.

“You are not an accident.” I love that. I especially like the way he turns around the idea of illegitimate children. Psalm 127:3 says “Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.”

Why did God make us? Remember from Sunday’s sermon based on Ephesians chapter 1…God chose us for this purpose: For us to be holy and blameless, in other words, to be redeemed from our sins through Jesus Christ. To become God’s children, to receive God’s glorious grace. To bring glory to God.

The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is:
“What is the chief end of man?”
The answer:
“To glorify God and enjoy him forever.”

That’s our chief purpose – to bring glory to God and enjoy God.

Theologian John Piper has suggested in his book that we glorify God BY enjoying him forever. Do you think that’s true? Try enjoying God today.

POINT TO PONDER
I am not an accident.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
1. What good qualities -- background, personality, gifts, talents, character, appearance -- did God give me?
2. Knowing that God created me for a purpose, what other things about myself do I need to accept?


PRESBYTERIAN READING GUIDE

Remember, as you read TPDL, have your Bible in hand. Every time it says, “The Bible says…,” follow the footnote and look up the verse for yourself.

INSUFFICIENT TEXTS FROM CHAPTER 2

Warren, p. 24: “The Bible says, “Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love.” (from The Message)

That’s lovely, but dive in deep to the text in its context in the NIV:

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

Would you like some notes on this passage from Calvin’s Commentary? E-mail me at obrien2@juno.com and request “Calvin on Ephesians 1”

Some housekeeping items for these 40 days:

1. KEEP A JOURNAL
Consider keeping a journal of your thoughts and reflections during these 40 Days. Each day I will give you at least one question for reflection. You can write in a blank book or journal or spiral notebook. Creative types should also draw, sketch, use colored pens. Paste in photos or cut out pictures from magazines. Or just open a document in your computer or start your own blog.

(If you know of someone publishing a 40 Days of Purpose blog, contact me at obrien2@juno.com and send me their link.)

2. SUNDAY’S SERMON, “What On Earth Am I Here For?” preached at Smith Memorial, April 25, 2004, is available as a Word document -- email me at obrien2@juno.com. Or listen to a similar message preached by Reed Mueller at Columbia Ridge Community Church in Troutdale by logging on to www.crcc-online.com Reed and Cynthia draw from the same Purpose Driven materials and share ideas with each other for their upcoming sermons, so there will be many points in common each week.

3. GET INTO A CHURCH THAT'S DOING THE 40 DAYS. Go to www.purposedriven.com and click on “Find a 40 Days of Purpose Church.” Call the church to confirm topic and service times.

4. RESPOND. I'd love to hear what you're thinking and learning! Contact me at obrien2@juno.com

For the next 40 Days, I will be on the journey with you as we read Rick Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Life.

Day 1
Read Chapter 1 today.
This week’s topic is “Purpose.”

Welcome to the 40 Days of Purpose!

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord...
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
With roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green, and they go
right on producing delicious fruit.Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT)

Wouldn’t you like to live like that? To stay green (healthy, peaceful, spiritual) in times of drought (crisis, loneliness, stress) and continue producing fruit (loving and being loved, peaciful, patient, kind, good, gentle, etc. see Galatians 5:22-23).

I confess I have a hard time keeping things green. Take the new hanging baskets at church. They really brighten up our entrance (thanks, Grounds Commtitee!). They refresh my soul whenever I pass them. I was strongly in favor of the idea when it first came up.

But it’s lucky the church didn’t put me in charge of them, because I can never remember to water things. At my house I finally set up a schedule for the potted plants – every Saturday morning we water them. Then I find out that once a week is not enough. Some of these flowers do need watering just about every day.

An occasional or even weekly watering of God’s Word is good, but wouldn’t you rather be like the tree planted on the riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water? Get into God’s Word. Open your Bible and let the Holy Spirit put you in touch with Jesus Christ, who is the Living Word.

Jesus said to the woman at the well, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13-14 NIV


CYNTHIA’S PRESBYTERIAN READING GUIDE

One of the things I like about The Purpose Driven Life (hereafter TPDL) is that it is drenched with Biblical references. But one of the critiques of the book is that Rick Warren “plays fast and loose” with the Scriptures. In other words, he uses many different translations, including many paraphrases, to make certain Scripture verses support the point he’s making.

A paraphrase is a version of the Bible which tries to grasp the essence of the Bible’s meaning and put it in contemporary language. The Living Bible, Today’s English Version, The New Living Translation and The Message are paraphrases. Some are from the original languages and some are paraphrases of Bibles already translated into English. The Message is amazing for its ability to combine the grittiness of the original language and contemporary English colloquialisms. Paraphrases are great for reading whole chapters and long passages, but they are not appropriate for scholarly study of individual verses. Small portions may end up being taken out of context or not mean what they seem to mean. Versions of the Bible like the New American Standard Bible are more accurate, word for word, but they can also be harder to understand. The New International Version, which is our pew Bible, was translated directly from the Greek and Hebrew and is presented in a solid English writing style. For an interesting diagram and more information on Bible translations, go to http://www.zondervanbibles.com/translations.htm

So, as you read TPDL, have your Bible in hand. Every time it says, “The Bible says…,” follow the footnote and look up the verse for yourself.

I'M SERIOUS. HERE'S AN EXAMPLE:

Warren, page 19: “The Bible says, ‘Self-help is no help at all. Self sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.” The footnote is Matthew 16:25. In the NIV, Matthew 16:25 reads: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”

POINT TO PONDER FROM CHAPTER 1
It’s all about God. (It’s not about me.)

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
1. What does it mean for me to live for God?
2. How might my life fit into a much larger, cosmic purpose that God has designed for eternity?

RESPOND…
What are you thinking and feeling as we begin this journey? Do you have questions or comments on the sermon? What is God teaching you? Did something funny or profound come up in your small group? E-mail me at obrien2@juno.com and tell me about it.

THIS WEEK’S MEMORY VERSES
My Memory Verse:
“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

Purpose-Driven Verse:
“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 NIV

Welcome to The Inspired Life.

Original purpose: commentary on The Purpose Driven Life and a guide to reading the book, a chapter a day, beginning Sunday, April 25, 2004.

Created by:
Rev. Cynthia O'Brien
Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church
P.O. Box 69
Fairview, OR 97024

www.smithmemorialpres.com