Several years ago, I read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. An excellent book! There’s a reason why the book is a best seller. It’s broken into forty sections to be read in forty days. Since it’s been a while, I thought I would once again read The Purpose Driven Life and write down my responses to the reading.

Day Thirty-Five

Point to Ponder: God works bst when I admit my weakness.

Verse: “My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9a (NIV)

Question: Am I limiting God’s power in my life by trying to hide my weaknesses? What do I need to be honest about in order to help others?

God knows I have weaknesses- things I need to work on. In my pursuit for an authentic life being able to be honest about where I fall short is key.

My weaknesses often boil down to selfishness.  God has used the Purpose Driven Life and other books and people to challenge my self-centeredness. I believe that through God’s work in me in this area, I will be better equipped to serve others and help them as they pursue a life of authenticity.

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Several years ago, I read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. An excellent book! There’s a reason why the book is a best seller. It’s broken into forty sections to be read in forty days. Since it’s been a while, I thought I would once again read The Purpose Driven Life and write down my responses to the reading.

Day Thirty-Four

Point to Ponder: To be a servant I must think like a servant.

Verse: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” Phillipians 2:5 (NIV)

Question: Am I usually more concerned about being served or finding ways to serve others?

Honestly, I have difficulty accepting being served.  That’s not to say that serving others always comes easy to me.  Sometimes it takes effort.  But receiving service is awkward for me.

I remember when my wife had her gallbladder removed a couple of years ago and we had people from church bring us dinner each night for about a week. It felt weird. I thought, “I can take care of Gwyn and my family. I don’t need people dropping by with dinner.” Boy- that was stupid and selfish. In retrospect, I really appreciate what those folks did. It was very kind and the food was awesome.

I certainly can look to be more of a servant.  The past few chapters certainly revealed I have work to do.  But I also need to receive the ministry of others- in particular non-family members. I don’t want to deny others their opportunity to serve because of my pride.  That’s my challenge.

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Several years ago, I read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. An excellent book! There’s a reason why the book is a best seller. It’s broken into forty sections to be read in forty days. Since it’s been a while, I thought I would once again read The Purpose Driven Life and write down my responses to the reading.

Day Thirty-Three

Point to Ponder: I serve God by serving others.

Verse: “If you give even a cup of cold water to one of the lesast of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.” Matthew 10:42 (NLT)

Question: Which of the six characteristics of real servants offers the greatest challenge to me?

The six characteristics of a servant according to Rick Warren are:

1. Being available for service
2. Paying attention to needs
3. Do the best with what they have
4. Treat every task equally
5. Faithful to their ministry
6. Maintain a low profile

I have work to do in each of these six characteristics but my biggest challenge lies in maintaining a low profile. All too often I get caught up in pleasing others rather than pleasing God. I don’t know if it’s a brain fart or a misplaced priority but humility is something God is working on in me.

I’m wrapping up the book, “Uprising” by Erwin McManus and in reading it I felt conviction in the area of humility. My problem isn’t so much with arrogance but with pride. If a person of humility sees nothing as beneath him then I’m guilty. Humility isn’t something I should ask for- it’s something I should do. This is my challenge and my quest.

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Are you kidding me? I was at Borders looking at some books when I saw a display of board games and there it was- “Your Best Life Now” the board game. I have nothing against Joel Osteen but c’mon- a board game? What’s next? Well…here are some ideas for other Christian books:

The Barbarian Way: The Board Game- Similar to “Battleship” but with civilized, tamed, and safe Christianity on one side and a passionate, untamed, and adventurous Christianity on the other. Instead of ships, this game uses boxes that will be blown up. The winner get’s a captain caveman stick.

In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day: The Board Game- Inspired by the classic game, “Risk”, except the only way to conquer the world is to chase and kill a giant, wild lion. I thought about using the game, “Operation” and devise a way to kill a lion with forceps, but I wasn’t sure that was quite the point of Mark Batterson’s terrific book.

The Purpose-Driven Life: The Board Game- Just like the game of “Life” it takes 40 days to set it up and get through.

The Secret Message of Jesus: The Board Game- Okay, I bought the book and haven’t read it yet but the provocative title alone screams for a board game doesn’t it?

Okay, that’s a good start…

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Several years ago, I read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. An excellent book! There’s a reason why the book is a best seller. It’s broken into forty sections to be read in forty days. Since it’s been a while, I thought I would once again read The Purpose Driven Life and write down my responses to the reading.

Day Thirty-Two

Point to Ponder: God deserves my best.

Verse: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)

Question: How can I make the best use of what God has given me?

Simple. By using my gifts and talents.  I like what Rick Warren mentioned in this chapter about just serving and there you will begin to discover what your strengths are. That is true.
For me, a couple of my strengths include teaching and leading. This is how I best serve God.  My greatest successes have been when I’m playing to my strengths.  I love people, I love helping them become who they are meant to become, and do what they are meant to do.

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So I got some money for my birthday and Christmas and decided I wanted to get a new MP3 player. I went to Best Buy expecting to get a 1GB player but walked out with an iPod Nano.

Best Buy had returned items being resold on a table. I spotted the Nano with $20 taken off of the regular price. On top of that, Best Buy offered a $40 gift card. The iPod was never used but was returned and as a result- I ended up getting $60 bucks taken off the price of a new 4GB iPod Nano! Sweet!

It’s a definate upgrade over the 512 MB MP3 player I had. Needless to say, I feel like a kid with a new toy.

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Several years ago, I read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. An excellent book! There’s a reason why the book is a best seller. It’s broken into forty sections to be read in forty days. Since it’s been a while, I thought I would once again read The Purpose Driven Life and write down my responses to the reading.

Day Thirty-One

Point to Ponder: Nobody else can be me.

Verse: “God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God’s many kinds of blessings.” 1 Peter 4:10 (LB)

Question: What God-given ability or personal experience can I offer to my church?

Because my job is in Human Resources, I’m able to help others as they examine their careers, look for a job, and figure out what their strengths are.  I often get requests to review resumes by people.  This is something I could do for those in my church as well.

It’s a great feeling when you know you’ve helped someone find an occupation that fits their talent. Too many of us settle for something that we don’t like instead of pursuing a career that maximizes our strengths. I like to help folks not only examine their resumes, but examine their careers to make sure they’re doing just that.

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Several years ago, I read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. An excellent book! There’s a reason why the book is a best seller. It’s broken into forty sections to be read in forty days. Since it’s been a while, I thought I would once again read The Purpose Driven Life and write down my responses to the reading.

Day Thirty

Point to Ponder: I was shaped for serving God.

Verse: “God works through different men in different ways, but it is the same God who achieves his purposes through them all.” 1 Corinthians 12:6 (Ph)

Question: In what way can I see myself passionately serving others and loving it?

I get most excited when I’m leading a group of people toward a common goal.  I also love to see others use their talents and do what they were created to do and be who they were created to be.

These are things that I’m passionate about and what motivates me…

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Several years ago, I read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. An excellent book! There’s a reason why the book is a best seller. It’s broken into forty sections to be read in forty days. Since it’s been a while, I thought I would once again read The Purpose Driven Life and write down my responses to the reading.

Day Twenty-Nine

Point to Ponder: Service is not optional.

Verse: “For we are God’s worksmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

Question: What is holding me back from accepting God’s call to serve him?

In today’s reading, Rick Warren talked about how all Christians are in ministry- not just pastors, priests, nuns, etc. I believe that 100%. I was raised to believe that by my parents. My dad is a carpet layer and he always said that was a ministry. What other reason could he have to be on his knees in many homes and businesses. I’ve taken that attitude with me as well.

What holds me back sometimes is risk. My challenge is to not play it safe and that is sometimes difficult for me. I calculate and analyze things to death before I do them. And often God just wants me to do it- take the risk. I recently read “In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day” by Mark Batterson. Here’s a snippet from my review of the book.

I haven’t chased lions like I should. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve taken risks, albeit calculated ones. I’ve walked through lots of fire in my life, although usually not on purpose. I’ve accomplished, achieved, failed, learned, sacrificed, and worked hard…but haven’t chased the lion. I know what the lion is, but haven’t gone after it. I’ve made lots of deals with God. Before I chase the lion, I’ll squash a bug. After the bug, I’ll trap a mouse. After the mouse, I’ll take on a warthog. After the warthog, I’ll box a kangaroo. After I knock out the kangaroo, I’ll man-up and go after all wild felines. And if, and only if, I get through those catfights, I’ll consider chasing a lion. Sounds prudent doesn’t it? The only problem is, I see the lion and I’m in that moment of hesitation. You know what I’m talking about? The point where you’re trying to figure out your move. Do you run, climb, hide, stand still, play dead…or chase?

This book challenges me to chase. God’s working on me and this is my challenge.

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