The Purpose – Stay the Course

October 20, 2014

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” – Philippians 1:6

Frustration often abounds as we look forward with anticipation of what is to come.  There is often nothing but bad or disappointing news in the media.   Let’s face it, we spend way too much time listening to other’s talk about how hard things, rather than focusing on how we can make it better.  People like to complain, they like to tell of their difficulties and struggles rather than the goodness that happens every day.  It is common that people look for sympathy from others, rather than looking for areas where they can help others and be of service.  We move at such a fast pace in this life that we often times take for granted the hundreds of small wins each day.  In addition, we often lose sight of the purpose we are put here to accomplish and we lose sight of the greater good that we can provide in this world because we become overwhelmed with our smallness.

It’s important to remind yourself and those around you how big and how great our God is.  Don’t lose sight that you are working on His plan in this life and that you are called to serve Him right where you are.  It is often easy to miss the small accomplishments each day if you can’t get your eyes off of the negative around you.  God does not work on our timetable and although there are times we wish Jesus would come back today, He realizes there is still much work to do.  Paul reminds us in Philippians 1:6, that what God has started inside of us, will come to pass in due time.  He has not forsaken or forgotten us, and we need to be strong in staying the course, standing for His righteousness and glory, and spreading His love and message to those in need.  Do not allow the negativity of the world’s news influence the goodness of the Good News.  You are an overcomer through Christ Jesus and you are destined for an eternity with the King.  Stand for His principles, His truth and refuse the tolerance of unrighteousness perpetrated by society.  For on that day, when He comes again, you will be in His glory and serving His Kingdom.


© Sondove Enterprises, 2014
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The Purpose – Requires Obedience

October 15, 2014

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

When I saw them sitting on the curb of the parking lot, my heart felt compassion.  She had tears in her eyes, he had a look of desperation on his face and they both looked very hopeless, lost in this big world.  As they stood and walked into the restaurant, she went straight to the restroom and he ordered two glasses of water and sat down at a table near the door to wait.  His face buried in his hands, which were tattooed and covered in dirt.  Then came the voice in my head, “Give them everything in your pocket.”  Of course I think to myself that I’m just imagining things, so I try to rationalize it away: “they’ll just waste it”, “they’ll blow it on smokes or drugs”.  The voice returned, “It doesn’t matter what they do with it, the point is to give it to them because it is My will.”

Arguing with God is not a good idea.  His plan is always right and ours is often very wrong.  Needless to say I rose and walked across the room, approaching this young couple down on their luck.  As I neared them she returned and gave me a defensive look as he rose from his chair.  Before either could say anything, I reached in my pocket took out all of the folded up money in my pocket and handed it to the man, with the words, “God truly loves you and wanted me to give this to you.”  She started to cry, he gave me a very puzzled look.  Just then two others, similarly disheveled, came in and joined them, one carrying a baby.  I simply nodded and said, “Have a blessed day.” and went back to my table.

They took the money and each ordered some food, and took it with them out the door.  The young man though, turned and came to my table.  “Why?  Why, would you help us?”  I looked him in the eye and said, “When God tells you to do something, you do it.  He wanted me to give this to you, because He knows you needed to feel His love today.”  Tears in his eyes, he reached out and shook my hand.  “We haven’t eaten in 2 days, and we spent what little we had to get baby formula and diapers.  You have no idea how much we needed this.”  I shook my head, “No, I didn’t, but God did and always remember He will always be there to help and provide a way.”  He thanked me once again and walked away to meet up with his friends.

God is our provider, everything we have comes from Him and belongs to Him.  We are here to use it for His purpose.  We don’t have to understand the how and why, but we are called to be obedient.  I don’t tell you this story to speak of how wonderful I am, but of how loving and wonderful He is.  I can’t consider myself further blessed than to be used to enact a good deed upon the life of another.  Our good works are not to gain His approval, but are because of His love working through us.  He created me for good works, and if I am willing to be obedient and trust in Him, His purpose will be fulfilled in my daily walk.

© Sondove Enterprises, 2014
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The Purpose – From the Beginning

October 13, 2014

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” – Micah 6:8

Why do we do what we do?  Why do the sins from our past continue to remind us of who we were?  Throughout life we are challenged to live righteously, with integrity, with truth and with humility.  We know this, from our childhood.  We were taught right from wrong, to be nice to others, to share, and to love.  The baseline for our character, our value structure and our moral position in life was developed from our upbringing.  So, where does the unrighteousness come from?  Why do we continue to push against what we know is good and pure?

It is inherent.  You and I are born in sin, not from sin, but in sin.  There is a huge difference.  Mankind was created by God the Father, who knows no sin.  Placed into this world with authority over all things (Genesis 1).  We were created to love, serve and worship God the Father with every fiber of our being.  Satan, the evil one, deceived mankind though.  His temptation was to convince mankind that they could be as powerful as God.  In pursuing this, mankind became separated from God’s perfect peace and love.  For there is no other like God in all of creation.

This choice, this weakness to succumb to the temptation of this world, has forever set an inheritance for mankind’s generations.  From that moment on, the seed of man would be tainted by sin and passed on.  Because Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb, He alone was made perfect by the Father.  Through His birth, His perfect life, His sacrificial death and resurrection, God created a way for us to atone for our original choice to separate. 

By choosing to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we are choosing to walk away from the sinful past and the inherent nature of this world.  We are making a choice to accept that God is authority over all things, including our lives and that we are here for no other purpose but to serve, love and worship Him and Him alone.  All other desires and all other actions are for self gratification, which is sinful and evil in His eyes.

We are no different than Adam and Eve.  We must make choices daily to serve God or serve ourselves.  It takes humbleness and a desire to please Him above all other things. From our origin that is the purpose we were created for.

© Sondove Enterprises, 2014
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The Purpose – Help Others See

October 10, 2014

{Jesus to Paul} “to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’” – Acts 26:18

Salvation is by no means the end of the journey.  No, for that event of accepting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is just the beginning.  The journey consists of the daily effort to help and serve those around you to come to an understanding that God, through Jesus Christ, is the answer for them as well. 

Everyone is seeking something more.  Each day, we wake up and believe that today will be different than yesterday.  We judge our accomplishments in 18 hour windows, from the moment you wake up to the moment you lay your head down at night.  This is global, every country, every state, every village and every home; the routine is the same.   The problem that everyone of us is facing though is that when we lay our head down, there is still a feeling that more could have been done.

Saul (later converted to Paul) was approached by Jesus Christ directly.  A light so bright it blinded him temporarily.  He heard the Lord say, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”  (Acts 26:14) So, I ask, is that truly what it will take for some to come to Jesus?  A personal visit to convince them that He is real.  Jesus went on to give Paul his direction and purpose for the rest of his life on earth (Acts 26:17-18 above). 

We are no different than Paul, having accepted, by faith, that Jesus Christ is Lord.  We are purposed to learn from Jesus, through His Word, and open the eyes of those around us.  There is no limiter on this, no filter on who we should help.  Therefore we should look for opportunities to help them all – family, friends, co-workers, students, neighbors, strangers, foreigners and enemies.

It’s not a suggestion, it’s a directive from Jesus Christ himself.  Why then is it so difficult for most of us to take the initiative?  I propose it is pride.  Fear of confrontation, political correctness or embarrassment; which all comes down to maintaining a perceived image in someone else’s eyes, therefore pride.  Most of us who have accepted Jesus Christ are content with salvation and be done with pursuing Him.  It’s almost like a checkbox in our life plan, once completed we can then move on to something else.  I fear that is not salvation at all, but rather a convenient escape clause for death.  We should not be okay with the fact that our spouse, our children, our parents, our siblings, our neighbors, our friends and colleagues, our classmates and even the strangers we meet are destined for Hell.  Whether you like it or not, you have a responsibility to help open their eyes to the truth each and every day.

When your head hits the pillow at night, forget what you did for the company, for your social network, for your family and for your friends and simply ask yourself one thing – “Did I do everything I could for God today?”

Sondove Enterprises ©, 2014
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The Purpose

October 9, 2014

“You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.” – Deuteronomy 13:4

Stand up.  Get off your chair and stand up.  Say this out loud, “I am designed for a great purpose, to do great things with the life that has been given to me.  I will not settle for what mankind says I can do, but will pursue that which God alone has created me for.” 

Why do we settle for mediocrity?  What is stopping each of us from standing up and pursuing that which is greater than any man made charter or man inspired dream?  I propose that we have become comfortable and settled for a life that is within our own control rather than pursuing that which requires us to be 100% dependent upon His provision.  I know this is true for me, and I’m guessing if you were completely honest with yourself it is true for you as well.  Here is how you will know.

If Jesus walked amongst us here in the 21^st century and came upon your house as you walked to your car.  His words, “Come and follow me.”  Would you expect that He would lead you to your place of work or school?  Would you hesitate and consider the cost of missing a day at work?  Would you struggle giving up everything around you: the car, the house, the stuff and perhaps even the relationships?  Would you fear how you will pay your bills, how you will provide for your family and yourself?  All of these would suggest that you are the one in control and not the Father.

We all want to have a greater purpose in life.  We all want to know what purpose God has for our life, but I suggest that most of us really do not want to know the answer.   For if we became aware of the answer, that would mean a dramatic change in our lifestyle and choices in life.  We lose control of those decisions and we are forced to depend on Him for everything.  We all know that what He has planned is much bigger than the comfortable life we have chosen to participate in, but yet few of us will actually step into the greatness we were designed for. 

Fear is what stands between you and the purpose for your life.  Fear is from man, not from God.  It is Satan’s way of keeping you from realizing the incredible freedom and truth that comes from truly serving God in this world.  I’m not suggesting that you leave your job, or school, or give up those things you have in life.  I am only suggesting that you carefully consider who you are, what are you afraid of losing and what are you addicted to in this life that keeps you from His purpose.  If you are serious about finding God’s purpose in your life than you must be willing to dig into His Word and seek Him in everything you do.  He’s not hiding it from us.  Most of us are unwilling to peel back the curtain and reveal it.

Sondove Enterprises ©, 2014
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