I remember having childhood heroes of Spider-Man, Batman, and Superman. They were great, but I really wanted to find REAL life heroes I could model my life after.

I looked for people with integrity, character, and a sense of purpose. Sure there were people setting goals and achieving, but when I followed them long enough they had no sense of their purpose.

When I became a Christian, I began studying the Bible. Excitement came over me when I saw flawed men, like myself, be transformed by God as they humbly pursued Him with PURPOSE.

John the Baptist was one of those men. He had a more clear sense of his purpose than most. When pressed by the Pharisees, he confidently answered, “I am not the Christ”.

He was not looking for fame or a platform. Instead, He was there to prepare the way for Jesus. His whole life was lived for someone else.

There was no mid-life crisis for John mentioned in scripture. He was laser focused on his mission and pursued it to the point of death. That is the kind of unshakeable purpose and passion I wanted.

We, too, can have that kind of laser focus. We can avoid the mid-life crisis. We can wake every day with an unwavering sense of passion and purpose…when Christ is at the center of every part of our lives.

Is Jesus an after thought or is He at the center of all your plans?

#MPWarrior

#MissionAndPurpose

#JesusAtTheCenter

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If you are a believer, you were rescued from sin and death for a reason.  Had you not been saved, you would have spent an ETERNITY apart from God.  I don’t know about you, but to me, eternity is a long time.  960 minutes is a drop in the bucket compared to eternity.  Actually, our entire life is also. We were given an eternity with Him!

If we are going to live the life of joy that God has prepared for us, we must take the 960 minutes and live them out intentionally for Him.  We cannot just merely let the minutes come to their death unproductively.  To do so is to not understand our purpose. Each one was designed for His glory.  Let’s use them for that very purpose. 

Reflection

1. Have you been a good steward of your time?
2. Do you know your purpose and are you living it out?
3. What steps are you going to take today to glorify God in every minute?

Prayer

Father forgive us for not seeing the opportunity you have given us in each of these minutes.  Transition or thinking, habits, and schedules, that we may glorify You in every moment.  May our time be walked out in a wise manner filled with light, purpose, and fruit for You. We love You and thank You in Jesus’ Name, Amen!

#truthtalk4life #knowlivespeaktruthinlove

@brianfriedl

Read Acts 21:15-26

1) What do you see in the text? Who’s present? Where are they? Why are they there? When did this take place?

2) What questions need to be answered to fully understand the passage?

3)  What is the main heme if this section summarized in one sentence?

4) What was the application for the original readers?

5) How does this apply to believers today and you personally?

We are on the downhill of the book of Acts. I hope your enjoying your time in God’s word as much as I am!

Over the years I’d revisit this verse often to remind myself of he feeling I had when I had this encounter with God.  As I learned how to study scripture, I expanded my reading to paragraphs and full chapters and books. I began learning about context and not just verse shopping for the ones I liked.  

The 4 verses immediately following the news that we are a new creation are just as amazing!  It shows us that we were rescued for a reason.   He has given us a ministry of reconciliation, the word of reconciliation, and made us His ambassadors.  All of this was made possible  because of the finished work of Jesus Christ at the cross! 

Personal Reflection

As believers, I believe we are all on the same mission together.   Each of our ministries of reconciliation look a little different because we are gifted differently but our end goal is found in Matthew 28:18-20.  So we are reconcilers and disciple makers.  

Spend some time today thinking about how God has gifted you?  What gives you energy and passion?  How can you use that to help others know who God is and the power of the Gospel truth? Pray that God would open opportunities to use those gifts to do just that.  Take action when He makes the way. 

Prayer Focus

LORD, your name is great and greatly to be praised. For You rescued us out of darkness, loneliness and shame and brought us into your loving light.  Furthermore You have adopted us into Your amazing family.  Help us never forget that all of this was done for Your glory and for the souls of those that have not yet experienced Your love and grace.  Equip us for the work of ministry and Your glory, in Jesus’ Name, Amen!

#truthtalk4life

@brianfriedl