Tag: purpose

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God and People

Daily Reading

Nehemiah 7

Daily Thought

So far, Nehemiah has been all about rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. The book begins with the report to Nehemiah, “The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are destroyed by fire” (Nehemiah 1:3). Nehemiah is cupbearer to the king and believes he can do something about it, and does. Six chapters later, “the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days” (Nehemiah 6:15). 

End of story? Hardly. 

The book of Nehemiah has 13 chapters; we are only half-way there. Building the wall got us to the heart of the story, the heart of Nehemiah, which is all about God and his people.

Chapter 7 begins, “Now when the wall had been built” (Nehemiah 7:1), and the rest of the story is about Jerusalem because Nehemiah is about God and people, not walls. Nehemiah wasn’t building a wall, but a city of 42,360 people who love the Lord their God. It is after the wall was built the story really begins, “and when the seventh month had come, the people of Israel were in their towns” (Nehemiah 7:73). Israel had come home. Now to build a nation again.

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, deep in my heart I know I belong to You. I can sense eternity, that there is more to this life, and that I am more than flesh and blood. You have told me that I am specially made and I believe it because I know my Maker and You are good. This world is not all there is, and someday all things will be renewed and there will be a new heavens and a new earth, and someday I’m going home. I look forward to that Day.

I live my life today with eternity in mind. I pray my life will be a reflection of that eternity, of You, that I might show You to others. I suffer the pains of this world knowing they are short compared to forever, and that they will end. I walk confident in the sure hope of Your sovereignty, that You are King of kings, that You are my King and my God and my Father forever.

Amen

Daily Question

What makes your heart happy?

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A Better Idea

Daily Reading

Ecclesiastes 1-4

Daily Thought

Remember the 1960’s jingle, “Ford has a better idea”? Actually, we all have a better idea–at least we think so–and that is the point of Ecclesiastes. We all want to eat, drink, and be merry (Ecclesiastes 2:24, sort of), and we think we know how; and, in a way, we do know how, and therein is the problem. We eat and drink and work and play to fill a void and find meaning, and if that is all we do, it is a poor substitute for what God has in store for us. What we do turns out to be empty, meaninglessness, vanity, “vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). Our better ideas bring instant, but not enduring, gratification–no wonder or beauty, which is what God has in mind for us.

We live for the moment, for the immediate, life “under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:3), life without regard to God; yet God has put eternity in our heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and so we miss him in the moment. God has established a time for everything; a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, build up, weep, laugh, mourn, dance, cast away stones and gather them again; a time to embrace and refrain, seek and lose, keep and cast away; to tear, to sew, to keep silence, to speak, to love, to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace (Ecclesiastes 3:2-8).

Perhaps the most difficult, but the most vital of all of God’s commands is “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7), for “he has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11), not ours. God has a better idea.

Daily Prayer

My God, I desire to live a life not focused on pleasure, but on purpose; not for now, but for forever. God, thank You for placing eternity in my heart, for creating me in Your image with Your delights and Your desires. May I always live for You.

Teach me patience and endurance, to wait on Your plans, to endure hardship and suffering, and to discover Your joy and the beauty of Your ways.

Amen

Daily Question

What is the purpose of your life?

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All or Nothing

Daily Reading

Acts 24-26

Daily Thought

Paul summarized his life’s purpose to the elders of the church in Ephesus, “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). Paul was willing to die for the cause of Christ, and to this cause, Paul saved many and angered more, especially the Jews in authority. They tried to silence the gospel by arresting Paul, but their efforts lifted him to his biggest stage, placing Paul in court before the governor of Judah, then the king, and ultimately the Caesar of Rome.

The charges against Paul were brought by the chief priest and leaders of the Jews, who “had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive” (Acts 25:19). The cross has always been the crux of the matter. If it was the end of Christ, it was the end of Christianity, but if Jesus lives, Jesus reigns, over governors and kings and Caesars, and over the Apostle Paul, and over me. Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords and reigns over all. In the well written words of C.S. Lewis, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” All or nothing and nothing in the middle.

Daily Prayer

Savior God, there is no other Name than Jesus Christ by which we are saved. Jesus, Son of God, You left heaven, came to earth, sacrificed Your life, saved many. But not all. Some say no. You gave your life for them anyway. That’s how much You love us.

Thank You for displaying Your love to me in such a way that my will wilted and I could do nothing else but embrace You. Your grace compelled me to make You Lord and Savior. God, in my life and the lives of all who call You Lord, may Your grace be displayed and cause all who see it to bend our knees and call You Savior and Lord.

Amen

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The Muddle of the Middle

Daily Reading

Nehemiah 4-6

Daily Thought

“So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. But…” (Nehemiah 4:6-7a). Discouragement had set in. “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall” (Nehemiah 4:10). There is enthusiasm at the beginning and anticipation when the end is in sight, but in the middle a weariness sets in. Enemies of the wall were plotting against its completion. “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work. You must return to us.” They were being called back home. The temptation was to drop their tools and return to their families and get back to the routine of life. The wall could wait.

It is in the muddle of the middle when a leader must remind the people of their purpose, refresh their vision, and renew their strength. Nehemiah stood tall and called “to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes’” (Nehemiah 4:14). We are building a fortress for our families and a kingdom for our God. Get back to work. The leader kept his trumpeter close at hand, rallying the people with the cry, “Our God will fight for us” (Nehemiah 4:20). 

God’s work may be thwarted in the middle by discouragement, by danger, by drudgery, and by despair. The leader, undaunted, must rise above. Nehemiah stood tall, the people responded, and “the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days” (Nehemiah 6:15). 

Daily Prayer

Almighty God, You are my strength and the desire of my life. You are my rock, the foundation of my life, and the fortress that protects me. You have called me to follow You and I am eager to do so. Keep me focused and renew my strength when I tire of the task. May I not grow weary of doing good, of living well, of pursuing justice, of loving others. May I stand tall and firm, keeping my eyes on You, that others may find encouragement and join in the work of Your Kingdom. 

Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 

Amen

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Settle

Daily Reading

Genesis 46-47

Daily Thought

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen” (Genesis 47:5-6). Pharaoh means for Jacob and his family to make a home here in the land of Goshen, but hidden inside that word ‘settle’ is often a whisper of compromise, of settling for less. It can even mean “to sink gradually or slowly to the bottom.” 

By no means was Goshen the bottom. It was the one-time domain of the great Pharaoh Rameses, the best of the land of Egypt, but it wasn’t the land God promised to Jacob, “the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you” (Genesis 35:12). To take Pharaoh’s offer would be to settle for something other than what God had designed for Jacob. 

May I brag about my dad for a moment? My dad taught math to junior high students for 35 years. The pre-teen years are an age of terror for most people, but my dad delighted in them, in shaping these young students not just for math, but for life. It was more than his job, it was his passion. He was made for the classroom, made to teach. Early on, he had been offered advancement into school administration. It was attractive and lucrative, but it wasn’t what God had designed him to do and he stayed in the classroom. I’ve always admired that he didn’t settle, in this case, for more.

“Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly” (Genesis 47:27). Sounds good, doesn’t it? But there is more to the story. The people of Israel would become the slaves of Egypt. For 400 years, they would sink slowly and gradually to the bottom, until God called a man named Moses to lead them out of Egypt and back to his land of promise. But that’s another story. 

This story is about my dad. My dad did not settle. He taught me the best life is to discover what God has made you for, grab on and give it all you got.  

Daily Prayer

My God, your design in all of creation is amazing and wonderful. I see that everywhere I look, so remind me of that when I look in the mirror. I am fearfully and wonderfully made, made on purpose for a purpose. May I give my whole heart to you and live the life you have set before me. God, help me to never settle for less, or even what might appear to be more, than what you want for me, because I know your desires are my greatest delight. 

Amen