FROM THE KEYBOARD

To be a "living sacrifice" to God is often seen in our service of others. You see, choosing service over status is the pathway to real significance and purpose. And purpose is not ultimately about doing what we like, but rather doing what is right. God wants to use us in His service as living sacrifices to make a difference. Thus, will you offer yourself as a living sacrifice to the One whose death paid the ultimate sacrifice?

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). A heart that is purified through testing learns to see every happening of life as a blessing. How? Because that person knows God--they know He is all powerful (omnipotent), all places (omnipresent), all seeing & all knowing (omniscient). They know He is the beginning and the end and that He wrote the end from the beginning. Which means there is nothing in His script that He didn’t foresee. Therefore, if I know He saw it providentially, then I can see Him in it faithfully. Again, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

If you don’t see God as faithful, you will never see adversity as useful. Conversely, when we see God as faithful, we see every circumstance as the grounds to be fruitful. Consider the life of Joseph in the Old Testament and how he named his 2nd born child as a reflection of the fruit of his affliction >> And the name of the second he called Ephraim: "For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction" (Genesis 41:52).

Just as medicine may lift a headache, so can joy lift a heartache. You see, even in the midst of a hardship, when we connect with the Lord, He injects our hearts with His joy--there is medicinal power in His joy. And that’s why the “joy of the Lord is our strength" (Nehemiah 8:10).

Can a computer tell you what it was created for? No! You program the computer and put it to personal use. Likewise, we cannot find our purpose in life by asking ourselves or even others. We can only find our purpose from our Creator, and understanding can only be programmed into us from the same. God made us, fashioned us, and formed us for His purpose. We must ask Him for understanding and He will show us His way through His Word. Thus, let us recognize and pray, “Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments” (Psalm 119:73).

Don't hide your weakness, but learn to give God your weakness. He specializes in using weak people to do powerful things. "God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong" (I Corinthians 1:27).