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Do you ever find life to be very exhausting at times? Staying up too late or doing too much every day or maybe just feeling like you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off? This is something I have experienced in my own life and lately, I have been wondering if there is more to life than this or if this is just normal for the Christ-follower?
I think about John 10:10 a lot; “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” I believe with all my heart Jesus really desires His followers to fully experience this "rich and satisfying life.” So the next question is, “What does a rich and satisfying life look like?” My guess is that it’s connected to rest, peace, and purpose. Without going too deep here, I hope to get you thinking as you read through this blog post; taking the time to really consider these statements. What is the purpose of life? I think this should be the same for all people. I’m not trying to ask “What is your calling for your life?” or “How are you supposed to live out that purpose?” or even “What should you be doing for a living?” Rather I am trying to ask “What is the purpose to all of life?” “Why do people exist?” “What’s the point of everything?” It is my feeling that once we discover the answers to these questions we can see God’s desires for our lives along with how we it is possible for us to live a rich and satisfying life; with peace and rest being tied to that. For example, if I were to consider the question, “What is the purpose to life?” and found the answer to that question for me was to be financially wealthy, then I should be filling my time with activities that would make me financially wealthy. (We know that financial wealth is not the purpose of life because the Scriptures speak against that lie.) But, in Hebrews 12:14 it says, "Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.” This strikes me as God’s picture of what the purpose of life is. I encourage you to pray and study the Scriptures on this subject and then to post your findings/comments on this blog if you are interested. Stay tuned to our podcasts and future blogs for more conversations on this topic. Walking together in His grace, Art
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Every year this day comes, and goes. It took me about 10 years to realize that with me being a minister of the gospel who works on Sundays, my wife, the mother of my three children, wasn’t able to be honored on this day as much as I’d liked. Last year I put an appointment in my phone calendar to remind me to celebrate my wife the Saturday before Mother’s Day.
I felt so proud of myself this year; we are planning a day (afternoon) to celebrate my wife. It dawned on me this morning, as I thought of Ephesians 5:25-28, “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself.” What would it look like if I lived out honoring my wife in this way and was teaching my kids to honor their mother as Exodus 20:12 speaks of; ““Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” I would like to continue to encourage the men in my life to live our lives discipling our children to honor and love their mother, not just on Mother’s Day, but every day. In their speech, actions and obedience. May we, as husbands, love our wives; teaching others around us about the sacrifice of Christ. And as men, may we love and honor the women in our lives as Christ would desire us too, as sisters. I pray the Spirit reminds us daily that our role as men of God is to lead as servants. Walking in His grace, Art |
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