Because of the Great I Am iLive!Because I Live iLove, iServe, iGive.
Your world is diminished by the life you don’t live and the difference you don’t make.
Is it possible that many of us are in a mere state of existence rather than truly living? Ben Sheppard wrote “The Psychology of Terrorism” referencing a 20% increase in childbirth 9 months after the 9/11 tragedy. Why? Meaningful relationships became focus after the tragedy.
Lets not require a tragedy to discover that the best portion of our lives will be the seemingly insignificant moments spent smiling with people who matter to us. Jesus didn’t come so we could have and enjoy vacation. He came so we could have and enjoy life!
John 10:10 “…I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” Amplified
Erma Bombeck has written more than 4,000 newspaper columns. Her reflection on her life shows us how we live life forward but tend to understand it better backward.
If I had my life to live over again I would have waxed less and listened more. Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy and complaining about the shadows over my feet, I would have cherished every minute realizing the wonderment growing inside me was to be my only chance in life to assist God in a miracle. I would have never have insisted that the car windows be rolled up on a Summer day just because my hair had just been teased and sprayed. I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded. I would have eaten popcorn in the good living room and worried less about the dirt when lighting the fireplace. I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth. I would have burnt the candle sculptured like a rose before it melted while being stored in the garage. I would have sat cross-legged on the lawn with my children and never worried about grass stains. I would have cried & laughed less while watching television and more while watching life. I would have eaten less cottage cheese and more ice cream. I would have never bought anything just because it was practical. When my child kissed me impetuously I would never have said, "Later now go up and get washed for dinner. There would have been more "I love you's" and more "I'm sorries" and more "I am listening". If I was given another shot at life I would seize every moment of it. Try it on. Live it. Exhaust it until there was nothing left of it.
We say it a lot around here but life is not about having the most of what you want it’s making the most of what you have! The video posted by The Huffington Post reminds us how meaningful the things we take for granted truly are: Here
Pause here to thank God for the many things we take for granted like hearing, seeing, walking, friendships, etc. People who could not hear suddenly overwhelmed because they knew that they were born for more than the way they were living. All these things can contribute to your life but none of these things provide your ultimate purpose in life!
Every exciting moment you celebrate is destined to become an empty memory if it’s excluded from greater story God is writing.
You were born for more than the pursuit of a moment. This is why the best moment in the world will never fulfill your life. Paul challenges the Corinthian church to greater maturity and deeper life.
1 Cor 3 Paul addresses immaturity and worldliness in the Corinthian church. Then in 1 Cor 4 Paul begins describing something about spiritual maturity that is deeply challenging!
1 Cor 4:1 So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. NIV
If you don't devote yourself to the greater purposes of LOVE you confine yourself to self-serving existence. You were born for more than that!
You were born to be a world changer! God’s plan is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry!
Your primary responsibility is to make sure you embrace God’s purposes within your reach! It’s easy to be self-absorbed and miss the assignments that are right in front of us!
Restlessness and boredom seem to abound in the church of our generation. This is the result of smallness of purpose as we are rarely equipped to get past our own personal needs.
GP4RL: Let personal ministry be your total focus this week. Make a daily difference. Post with #iLive to encourage and remind the rest of us.
Going Deeper in Corinthians
In this series I want to point you toward Paul’s writings to the Corinthian church.
Corinthian Christians gave their founding pastor, Paul, more trouble than all other churches put together.
When people become Christians they don’t at the same moment become nice.
If you have naïvely believed joining a Christian church is a good way to meet all the best people and cultivate smooth connections 1 & 2 Corinthians will cure you.
Conversion to Christ and his ways don’t automatically furnish a person with manners, morals and a Christ-like love and compassion.
Paul spent 18 mos equipping them with the Gospel teaching them how to live out this new life of salvation as a community of believers.
He then went on his way to other towns and churches to later learn in his absence things seem to be falling apart. Division, immorality and self-promoting expressions of worship