Born for a Purpose

Multiplying My Influence Legacy: Owning My Influence Luke 16:13-16 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight. How you live will determine what you leave. Passion: A desire to own our influence Above Reproach: No handles of scandal Family Integrity: Faithful to spouse and children Emotionally Balanced: Temperate and self-controlled Respectable: Obedience flowing from spiritual identity Hospitable: Inviting people into your imperfect heart Able to Teach: Acquire, Believe, Communicate truth Gentle: Strength Under Control 1 Timothy 3:1-3 Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a n...

Today's Passage: Psalm 38:9-22 Key Verse: Psalm 38:15 L ORD , I wait for you; you will answer, L ORD  my God. Lord, waiting on you is hard. The procedure took longer than I thought, and now I anticipate the results. My mind gets carried away with the "what ifs."  Lord, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God. L ord, waiting on you is hard. Today he says that he will file the papers. How can all the years together-the home, children, memories-how can they all be packed away in his mind like seasonal ornaments stored in the attic?  Lord, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God. Lord, waiting on you is hard. Recovery wasn't supposed to take this long. Why so many complications? Where is the healing?  Lord, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God. Lord, waiting on you is hard. I have had a peace since leaving the meeting where I learned the company was downsizing. I knew you would provide. I was confident that a new job . . . a better job...

Book of John 5:19-47 Recap of Last week: The Cure at the Pool of Bethesda. (Verses 1-16) Last Week... Click Here Jesus heals a man at the pool of Bethesda. (John 5:1-4) The pool of Bethesda. (John 5:5-6) Jesus questions a lame man. (John 5:7-9) The man replies and Jesus heals him. The Sabbath controversy... (John 5:10-13) The Jews ignore the miracle and take offense. Where we are NOW: Jesus explains His relationship to the Father. (John 5:19-23) The works of the Son. (John 5:24-30) Jesus: power in submission. The three-fold witness to who Jesus is.  (John 5:31-32) Self-testimony was not reliable in a court of law; but Jesus has far more than His own testimony regarding who He is. (John 5:33-35) The witness of John the Baptist. (John 5:36) The witness of the works of Jesus. (John 5:37-38) The witness of the Father. (John 5:39) They reject the testimony of the Father through the Scriptures. (John 5:40-44) The reason for their unbelief. (John 5:45-4...

Do you want to be made well? Contents of John Chapter 5 The Healing at the Pool (John 5:1-15) The Authority of the Son (John 5:16-30) Testimonies About Jesus (John 5:31-47) John 6:1 assumes Jesus is in Galilee, but chapter 5 is set in Jerusalem. There is, however, no reason to doubt that Jesus moved around in this fashion.  The vague expression "after these things" (5:1; 6:1) suggests that although John is giving us a sequence of events, he is not concerned with giving us a detailed itinerary. Furthermore, shifting the chapters would destroy the thematic development, for chapter 5 is linked to the initial stories, which have revealed God's glory and the conflict that is now evoked.  The healing of the man by the pool (5:1-15) reveals the glory at its brightest and triggers the conflict (5:16-18) that will dominate the rest of the story.  The challenge of the Jewish opponents leads to Jesus' keynote address (5:19-30), a statement by Jesus that...

My "Less Than Best" Day | Psalm 34:1-7 Psalm 34:1-7 Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left. I will extol the L ORD  at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the L ORD ; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the L ORD  with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lo RD , and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the L ORD  heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the L ORD  encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. It was not David's best day. Fleeing from Saul, David escaped into Philistine territory. There he was recognized as the one who had killed the Philistine hero, Goliath. He was "very much afraid," so he pretended to be insane. Like a madman he made marks on the doors and let saliva run down his bea...

The Disciples Missed It!     Last week a few of my buddies and I went to play basketball. We needed a fifth player, and it dawned on me to invite a guy I played with before. We had a great time playing that morning. But when we were done, I wanted to see if God was up to more. So I asked this guy if he wanted to grab a drink and talk a bit at the basement. He stuck around, and we talked ’til about 11:30 that morning. My friend is Indian, with a Hindu background. He is very spiritual but has a completely different view of God than I do. We had a great discussion about faith, and at the end of the night I asked him if he would be willing to read a book with me and debate the ideas in the book instead of the ideas in our head. We are now chewing through  Mere Christianity  and talking about the ideas of truth, morality and whether or not there is one God. I am really excited to keep talking with this guy, but I almost missed the moment. I almost ...