What Are You Here For?

"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."
John 6:38 (NKJV)

Have you ever had the experience of walking into a room and when you got there you didn't remember exactly why you were there?  You find yourself unsure of what to do next because you forgot the reason for why you are in the room.  Some people say that is just something that happens when people get older, but it can happen to anyone because we can all lose our train of thought or get distracted.  No matter how something like this might happen, the issue is about not knowing the purpose for being somewhere, without a purpose you can feel lost.

When Jesus was on the earth He made many statements about what He was doing here and why He was doing it.  For example, Jesus said He came to do His Father's will and not His own will (John 6:38), He came to fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17), to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), and to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).  Jesus knew why He was here and what He was here for, the question is if we know why we are here what we are here for.  If we don't know what our God given purpose in life is, then our top priority needs to be to find out.

The best way to discover God's purpose for our life is of course to read and study God's Word and to talk to Him in prayer.  A great way to learn more about our purpose is to get involved in our local church and by helping others.  Our purpose from God does not revolve around ourselves and it will only be seen in relationship to others.  God has a plan for each and every person and He has given everyone some gift and ability to use to glorify Him and serve others, our task is to discover this gift and then to make the best use of it as God directs us. 

Watching The Master

"Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens.
Behold, as the eyes of the servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He has mercy on us."
Psalm 123:1-2 (NKJV)

Recently as I was out shopping, in the town where I live in Germany, I saw a man walking his dog.  As I came up to and then passed the man and his dog I noticed that for nearly that entire time as dog was walking along it was looking up at the man, who I would assume was the dog's owner.  What caused me to take notice of this particular dog was that except for one or two very short glances forward the dog was staring at their owner the entire time and still walking along fine.  The two thoughts I had were that this is a well-trained dog and that the dog is smart enough to know that the man is the master in the situation, so he was watching his master.

God is our loving heavenly Father and we are His children, but in Ephesians 6:9 and Colossians 4:1 it talks about our having a Master in heaven.  While Jesus was on the earth, His disciples called Him Master, and that word master could also be translated as teacher.  We know that our Father God and Jesus do not treat us as slaves by demanding harsh servitude, but we still cannot emphasize one aspect of our relationship with God over another.  While we do need to develop the relationship that exists between us as children and God as our heavenly Father we also need to develop in our relationship with God as His being our Master and Teacher.

As we go about our daily life, do we expectantly look to our heavenly Master knowing that He is truly our source of supply for everything we need or do we just move forward not even considering that He may have something to say about what we do and what happens in our life?  Just like the dog in my example who had learned to walk forward while all the time looking at his master, we need to learn to live our life with our eyes continually on our Master in heaven.  No matter who we are or what we might do in our lives we need to be watching our heavenly Father knowing that He has the best plan for our lives and He knows which direction we need to go.

Flip The Switch Christians

"Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. 
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
John 8:31-32 (NKJV)

We have all seen different types of switches.  We use some switches to turn lights on and then turn them off when we leave the room or are finished with our work.  While the power that makes the light work is always available, the power is not put into use until the switch is turned on by someone who wants to have some light.  We don't really think about whether or not the light will work for us because we always expect the power for the light to be there.  But what if the power was not available?  How would we know until we turn on the switch?  If we can be sure that the power for the light is always available, then we can be confident that the light will always work for us.

Our relationship with God, our faith in His Word, and the Word of God itself are intended for full-time use, not just when we think we are ready for them.  We cannot just turn our relationship with God and His Word on and off when it is convenient for us.  Jesus said to be His disciple we need to abide, to live, in His Word.  Often we have the idea that because God is all powerful and God is always present we can just flip the switch, so to speak, and things will work the way we want them to.  If we have this mentality, then we are putting all the emphasis on God and His part in our life but we are ignoring our part in our relationship with Him and our being a doer of His Word.

While it is certainly true that the Christian life is not based on our works and we do not earn any of the blessings of God it is also true that God is not a vending machine that we put our money into when we want something to come out.  God and His Word in our life is not just something that is meant for our convenience but for a daily walk and relationship with Him.  As we spend time growing in our relationship with God and living a life that is focused on Him, that is when all the things we need are added to us (Matthew 6:33).  We must have a lifestyle of Christianity and not just a life of running to God when we have some type of problem that needs to be solved.

So Much More

"And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles.
Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist."
Ezekiel 47:3-4 (NKJV)

There are some well-known sights that people are very familiar with and the places where these famous sights are located are often known for them.  For example: Paris, France is known for the Eiffel Tower, California is known for its beaches, and Switzerland is known for the Alps.  But while all of these places are known for these things, that is not all that there is to them.  Paris has other sights to see besides the Eiffel Tower, California has more than just beaches, and there is more to Switzerland than just the Alps.  If all you know about these places are the famous sights, you are missing a lot that these places have to offer.

One wonderful thing with God is that no matter what we have experienced with Him, no matter how much we know about His Word, and no matter how long we have been in our relationship with God there is always more.  Some people know about the goodness and love of God, but there is so much more to God than just that.  Some people have experienced miracles and mighty moves of God, but there is so much more to God than just that.  Some people have spent time reading and studying God's Word and have achieved a level of spiritual development that others do not have, but there is still so much more.

Some Christians have been taught well and are very knowledgeable about the Bible, but there is always more to learn about God and His Word.  Some have done great things for God and can't imagine that what has happened in the past can be surpassed in the future, but with God there is always much more.  Some believers have only waded into the things of God and then for some reason they believe that they have reached their limit with God.  But, we all need to go on to "deeper waters" with God.  As Christians we should never get to the point of complacency with God, because there is always so much more that we can experience with God, learn about God and His Word, and do for Him!