purpose

The good news of the gospel is still “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). Billy Graham was right: “One of the Bible’s greatest truths is that our lives can be different. No matter what our past has been, Christ stands ready to forgive and cleanse us—and then to make us new.”

This is because “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is not our work but God’s transforming miracle: “All this is from God, who through Christ has reconciled us to himself” (v. 18). Now we are “ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us” (v. 20).

To this end, let’s close by making John White Chadwick’s hymn our prayer:

It is good that more attention is now given to the mentally and emotionally hurting and that these struggles are no longer as stigmatized. But we also have reached a point where it’s almost fashionable to be diagnosed with a mental health condition. This is especially true for women, and progressive women in particular.

It is not unusual for people to include a mental health diagnosis in their social media profiles. Regardless of how well-founded these diagnoses are, the fact that so many (especially women and young people) embrace them as part of their identity is a troubling sign of dysfunction.  

Warren Buffett is chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, which owns dozens of companies. He has been extremely benevolent over the years, donating hundreds of millions of dollars to charitable causes. Forbes estimates his net worth at $1141 billion. My net worth is several zeroes less.

The ninety-two-year-old was recently asked at Berkshire’s recent annual shareholder meeting how to avoid mistakes in business and in life. His response: “You should write your obituary and then try to figure out how to live up to it. It’s not that complicated.”

Rather than writing our own obituary and trying to live up to it, what if we allowed God to define our life mission and then partnered with him in fulfilling it? How would we do this?

In every one of your childhood delights, there was God, teaching you about himself. And the more we can reach into this deep well of delight, the more we can give to others. Not only do our childhood hobbies and dreams bring us joy, they often involve BIG visions of how we can help others, too. Like the Japanese principle of ikigai, your childhood dreams can be the key to not just what you love, what you are good at, and what you can be paid for–but what the world needs, too.

So, reignite those dreams! Get out that journal, be brave and record yourself singing, if only for yourself. Buy that Lego set so you can feel what it's like to build again. Start with doing what you love without judgment, and the rest will follow. Your inner child will thank you for it, and so will your future self!

When we surrender our lives daily to the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), asking him to make us more like Jesus (Romans 8:29), he answers our prayer and uses us to lead others to our Lord.

75% of young adults don’t know their purpose in life and that’s why almost half feel hopeless. Dr. Jeff Myers reminds us that truth exists and can be known because Jesus is truth and he has revealed himself to us.

Its purpose is not nostalgia or history for history’s sake. "Mr. Graham wouldn’t have approved of any of this unless it could be used to further the gospel."

We don’t know if our moment is one where the enduring faithfulness of God’s people standing athwart the tides of history will push this world back to reality. Or if it is one where we will lose our lives in our quest to be faithful. What we do know is that Christ has called us to this time and this place. As Gandalf said to Frodo, when he wondered why he should have to live in such times, being meant to be here and now “is a very encouraging thought.” So, whatever comes, great victories or the full evaporation of progress, our task is the same: faithfulness, not success.

Yesterday, we discussed the importance of trusting God’s providence in order to experience more fully his providence. Today, let’s focus on this principle: If we do what only we can do, God will do what only God can do.

In an interview with Christian Headlines, Tim Tebow encouraged Christians to live out their God-given purpose.