Purpose Driven/Daily Hope Readings April-July

[Carol87]

Daily Hope

Thursday July 22 2010

Your job should express your heart
Posted by Rick Warren

From now on if you listen obediently to the commandments that I am commanding you today, love God, your God, and serve him with everything you have within you, he'll take charge of sending the rain at the right time .... Deuteronomy 11:13-14 (MSG)

"Don't waste your life in a job that doesn't express your heart. "

Repeatedly, the Bible says to "serve the Lord with all your heart." God wants you to serve him passionately, not dutifully. People rarely excel at tasks they don't enjoy doing or feel passionate about. God wants you to use your natural interests to serve him and others.

How do you know when you're serving God from your heart?

The first telltale sign is enthusiasm. When you're doing what you love to do, no one has to motivate you, or challenge you, or check up on you. You do it for the sheer enjoyment. You don't need rewards, or applause, or to be paid, because you love serving in this way.

The opposite is also true: When you don't have a heart for what you're doing, you're easily discouraged.

One characteristic of serving God from your heart is effectiveness: whenever you do what God wired you to love to do, you get good at it. Passion drives perfection. If you don't care about a task, it is unlikely that you'll excel at it.

On the other hand, the highest achievers in any field are those who do it because of passion, not duty or profit.

We've all heard people say, "I took a job I hate in order to make a lot of money, so someday I can quit and do what I love to do." That's a big mistake. Don't waste your life in a job that doesn't express your heart.

Remember, the greatest things in life are not things. Meaning is far more important than money. The richest man in the world once said, "A simple life in the fear-of-God is better than a rich life with a ton of headaches" (Proverbs 15:16 MSG).

Don't settle for achieving "the good life," because the good life is not good enough. Ultimately, it doesn't satisfy. You can have a lot to live on, and still have nothing to live for. Aim instead for "the better life" - serving God in a way that expresses your heart.

Figure out what you love to do - that which God gave you a heart for - and then do it for his glory!

[Carol87]

Daily Hope

Friday July 23 2010

Stepping into a new life

Posted by Rick Warren

"Come!" answered Jesus. So Peter got out of the boat and started walking on the water to Jesus. Matthew 14:29 (TEV)

"By our obedience, we learn to be faithful."
(This guest devotional is by Jon Walker, author of Costly Grace: A Contemporary View of Bonhoeffer's 'The Cost of Discipleship.)

When Peter stepped out of the storm-tossed boat and onto the water, where was the safest place to be? In the boat or in the arms of Jesus?

The answer, of course, is Jesus, and for a brief time, Peter saw that. Right then he got a glimpse of what it is like to TRUST in Jesus and what it is like to operate within the realm of costly grace as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.

And we get a glimpse of that too. We see that following Jesus requires us to step into apparent insecurity in order to find true security.

It's a paradox of faith: Our first step of faith places us in a position where faith becomes possible. By our obedience, we learn to be faithful. If we refuse to follow, we never learn how to believe. We stay stuck in the shallow end of faith, trusting in ourselves, living by sight and not by faith.

The essence of discipleship is Jesus constantly pushing us into new situations where it is possible for us to trust him even more. He pushes us toward "the impos­sible situation in which everything is staked solely on the word of Jesus," says the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

[Carol87]

Daily Hope

Saturday July 24 2010


Choosing a simpler life

Posted by Rick Warren

. . . a time to embrace and a time to refrain. Ecclesiastes 3:5 (NIV)

"You are the only one who can assume responsibility for your time and clarify what's really important to you. "
You'd think that living in Southern California means I'm surrounded by people who live a laid-back lifestyle. The truth is just the opposite: Most of the people I know are trying to cram more and more into each day.

For instance, a couple of years ago, I was with a group of friends driving down the interstate. At one point, I looked around and realized most of us were engaged in some activity other than talking to each other. Two people were on their cell phones; another was working on his BlackBerry; and a fourth was focused on his laptop computer.

As a joke, I declared I felt left out. I called the driver, who was sitting right next to me, and we chatted together on our cell phones for a few minutes! The point of our traveling together in the van was so we could grab time to talk face-to-face! Yet we felt pressed to get it all done.

That's when I realized the truth - we couldn't get it all done, and God never intended for us to make completing a to-do list the purpose of our lives.

The fact is, there are many things we think we must do that really are not worth doing. My point is this: You won't simplify your life by getting an electronic organizer. You won't even find it by convincing your neighbor, who makes Martha Stewart look like a sloth, to give you tips about coordinating your activities while still wearing a perfect dress and pearls like Beaver Cleaver's mom.

Simplifying is really about choices - prioritizing what is important - and then sticking to those choices no matter how tempting it is to add more to your to-do list. In fact, take those tempting activities and put them on a list of things not to do.

You are the only one who can assume responsibility for your time and clarify what's really important to you.

Now maybe you're thinking, "But I have to take care of the kids," or "I have to get this report done by Friday." I'm not naïve about the pressures many people feel today, but it may be that those things - your children, your work - are the priorities you keep on your to-do list, and you move other things to the not-to-do list.

[Carol87]

Daily Hope

Sunday July 25 2010


Choices control your calendar

Posted by Rick Warren

We are each responsible for our own conduct. Galatians 6:5 (NLT)

"You have just enough time to do God's will while you're here on earth."

Your choices control your calendar and, as a result, your lifestyle. Your choices are far more powerful than your circumstances. You may not like how complicated your life has become yet, with very few exceptions, no one is forcing you to keep your life complicated.


You have the power to simplify your life.

The Bible teaches, "We are each responsible for our own conduct" (Galatians 6:5 NLT). To me, that means God expects us to assume responsibility for our lives and to carefully choose how we spend our time.


That's why I've spent years teaching people to discover why God placed them on this planet: What is your purpose for being here?

Ultimately, it will be the donation of your life that will count far more than the duration.


In other words, it's not how long you live - or even how much you cram into how long you live - it's really about how you live.

Here are three essential steps to simplify your life:

• First, figure out your purpose, and then let your purpose guide the goals of your life.

• Second, organize your activities based upon your purpose.

• Finally, harmonize your schedule with your purpose; that is, bring your activities into agreement with your goals.

You have just enough time to do God's will while you're here on earth. You've been given just enough time to fulfill your purpose. When you try to do more than God planned for you, it's only natural that you'll find yourself constantly out of time or stressed over your schedule.

If it doesn't fit the purpose of your life, God doesn't want you doing it. In fact, he may be overjoyed that you finally got the message and stopped doing meaningless activities. He may even want you to add "rest" or "have fun" to your to-do list.

My prayer for you is that you will find relief from stress and a new sense of satisfaction as you do only the things God created you to do.

[Carol87]

Daily Hope

Monday July 26 2010


God says you are acceptable

Posted by Rick Warren

God has made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:6 (NKJV)

"God loves you unconditionally and accepts you for who you are. "

Many of us base our self confidence on what other people think, so we work hard at being accepted. We buy things, we wear things, we join things -- all just for the benefit of trying to be accepted by our friends, family, co-workers and peers.


But our verse today says God has already accepted us in Jesus Christ.


Does God say you have to earn the acceptance? That you could ever deserve it? No. The Bible just says, God has accepted you.


If you're a believer, then you've accepted Jesus into your life. But do you understand that God accepts you? He loves you unconditionally and accepts you for who you are.


Psalm 27:10 says, "Even if my mother and father forsake me, the Lord will receive me."


Some of you grew up with unpleasable parents. They were perfectionists. No matter how much you tried, you couldn't get their approval. If you got B's, they wanted A's. If you got A's, they wanted A+'s. No matter what you did it was never, ever good enough. Even today you're still trying to earn their love and approval.


If that's the case -- with your parents or with anyone else in your life you've been seeking to please -- there are two things you need to know:

• In all likelihood, you're never going to get that approval or acceptance. Not because of who you are but because of who they are.
• You don't need their approval because you are acceptable to God. You don't need their approval to be happy.

What a relief that is to understand. You only need the love and approval of one person, and you already have it: God says you are acceptable!

[Carol87]

Daily Hope
Tuesday July 27 2010


God says you're capable

Posted by Rick Warren

I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me. I'm ready for anything and I'm equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me. That is, I am self sufficient in Christ's sufficiency. Philippians 4:13 (Amp)

"Who are you going to believe? What other people say about you or what God says about you."

When God puts his Spirit in our lives, it gives us confidence. Not the phony, baloney, boot-strap, self-help psychology that the world talks about - "I'm okay, you're okay." When I look around I want to say, "I'm not okay and you're not so hot either!" But the fact is God says, "You are okay." And if God says you're okay, then you are okay!

I've met all sorts of people who are considered highly successful according to the standards of the world. And yet a lot of them feel incompetent, insecure, and incapable.


How about you? Perhaps you look at your life and think it's working. Sure, you have your problems, but compared to others, you're probably considered successful. Yet, inside there is still a gnawing, inner insecurity and a lack of confidence and a feeling of incompetence. Why is that?


It's because you're still listening to old tapes from your past. You're replaying them in your mind over and over. You are acting on the basis of things that people said to you twenty, thirty, forty years ago and they were no more true then than they are now. Old tapes that say things like, "You don't matter." God says, 'Yes, you do!' "You're a loser!" God say, 'No, you're not!' "You'll never amount to anything." God says, 'You are important to me!'


You need to quit believing those lies and start believing God. Quit looking in a distorted mirror of what peers and partners and parents have said to you. Start repeating what God says about you: "I am acceptable, I am lovable, I am valuable, I am forgivable, and I am capable."


Who are you going to believe? What other people say about you or what God says about you.

[Carol87]

Daily Hope

Wednesday July 28 2010


God says you're forgivable

Posted by Rick Warren

I am the God who forgives your sins and I do this because of who I am and I will not hold your sins against you. Isaiah 43:25

"Once we've confessed our sins to him, it's all forgiven and forgotten and he doesn't even bring up the past. "

When something starts going wrong in your life, do you automatically think, "God's getting even with me, I know it! I did that thing I'm ashamed of yesterday (or last year or twenty years ago) and now he's settling the score.

"Does God really treat his children that way? Absolutely not! Isaiah says God doesn't hold our sins against us. Once we've confessed our sins to him, it's all forgiven and forgotten and he doesn't even bring up the past.


If you're a Christian, pay close attention to Ephesians 1:4-5: "Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be his through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without fault before him. Because of his love God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his children—this was his pleasure and purpose." (TEV)


Do you realize that when God looks at you, he sees you through Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ on the cross paid for all of your sins so that you're forgiven and they're forgotten.

That's why becoming a Christian is such GOOD NEWS. I give Jesus all my life -- the good, the bad, the ugly - and he takes it and he forgives me and he gives me a new chance. He says, "Now I see you without a single fault. You stand before me covered with my love."

[Carol87]

Daily Hope

Thursday July 29 2010


God says you're lovable

Posted by Rick Warren

The mountains and hills may crumble, but my love for you will never end, so says the Lord who loves you. Isaiah 54:10 (TEV)

"God says, "I will always love you and it is unconditional. You don't earn it.""

God says you're lovable. This is so important because you can't fulfill God's commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself" until you believe this. If you don't feel lovable, you can't love anybody else.


Our verse today says a couple things about God's love for us.

• God loves you consistently -- He doesn't love you one day and not the next. He doesn't love you on your good days and not on your bad days. A lot of you grew up with inconsistent love. One lady told me, "Growing up, I didn't know whether I was going to be hugged or slugged. My parents were never consistent." God isn't like that. God is 100% consistent in his love for you.

• God loves you unconditionally -- He says, "I will always love you and it is unconditional. You don't earn it." He doesn't say, "I love you if you're good, or I love you if you do these things, or I love you because you look this way or you do these things." What if you were unable to fulfill the condition? Then all of a sudden you're not loved anymore.

"God is 100% consistent in his love for you."
But God says, "I don't love you like that." He says, "I love you consistently and I love you unconditionally." You never have to wake up in the morning and say, "God, are You going to love me today? Did I read my Bible enough? Did I pray enough?" He loves you consistently no matter who you are or what you do.


What is the result when you really understand this? Daniel 10:19 says "God loves you, so don't let anything worry you or frighten you." That's a comfort to me. When I don't have to worry or be afraid of anything, then I am free to give love to everyone around me.

[Carol87]

Daily Hope

Friday, July 30, 2010

God says I am valuable
by Rick Warren

God feeds the birds and you are far more valuable to Him than any birds! Luke 12:24 (NLT)

"If you calculate the cost of creating each cell in your body it would be about six thousand trillion dollars. You are priceless. "

How much are you worth? I'm not talking about money. We confuse self-worth with net worth, but they are very different. Your value has nothing to do with your valuables.


How much are you worth?

I once read an article in the Journal of Hospital Practice that calculated how much each of the enzymes and hormones and all the different things in your body are worth. The author added them up and if you are an average size person you are worth six million fifteen dollars and forty-four cents ($6,ooo,o15.44) based on your weight. (Some of us are worth more!)

You're a six-million dollar man or a six-million dollar woman! The article's author also estimated that, if you calculate the cost of creating each cell in your body, it would be about six thousand trillion dollars.


You are priceless.


Jesus thought this was so important that he took a whole chapter of the Bible to talk about it. In Luke 15 he tells three stories -- the lost son, the lost coin, and the lost sheep. It's the same punch line in each story. Jesus says, "You matter!"


You matter to God. You are valuable. God says you are valuable because he loves you and he has accepted you in Christ.

[Carol87]

Daily Hope

Saturday July 31 2010


Keep loving others by recharging emotionally

Posted by Rick Warren

"So many people were coming and going Jesus said to them `Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.'" Mark 6:31 (NIV)

"Jesus was the most intensive, ministry-oriented person that ever lived, but He enjoyed life. When you're giving to others, it costs and exhausts. You need play time. "
When your emotional tank is empty you're unable to love others unselfishly. You just give up. You may have a sense of being overwhelmed and feeling inadequate. You may even get angry at the ones you love the most. You may try to avoid people or view them as problems. You have no desire to love. You dream of getting away.


David had this problem. He said, "If I had the wings of a dove, I'd fly away and find rest."
(Psalm 55:6 GW)

To love others you have to keep your emotional tank full because when it gets low, it's going to make a difference in your relationships.
The Bible has three suggestions for recharging emotionally:


Solitude -- You need time alone. Today's verse teaches us Jesus frequently withdrew from crowds when he needed to recharge himself emotionally. In this case there was so much hustle and bustle, Jesus says to the disciples, "Come apart for a while." (KJV) You either come apart or you will come apart. You need times of solitude.

Your emotions are like a battery. If you plug one light bulb into a battery, it will last for a fairly long time. If you plug 100 lights in, then it's going to drain real quick. You can't give love if your battery is drained.


Recreation -- There are certain things that recreate energy in your life and enthusiasm for life. For you it may be hobbies, a sport, a craft, or games. Experiment and find out what it is that recharges you emotionally, then make time for it.


One of my favorite verses is, "Jesus came enjoying life." (Matthew 11:19 Phillips) He was the most intensive, ministry-oriented person that ever lived, but he enjoyed life. When you're giving to others, it costs and exhausts. You need play time.


Laughter. "Being cheerful keeps you healthy." (Proverbs 17:22 TEV) There are studies that prove that when you laugh it increases the number of T-cells - and that raises your immunity level. It produces endorphins in your brain. Humor has beneficial effects.

God has given us the gift of laughter and we need to learn how to laugh. I've talked to couples who were in serious conflict in marriage. They say, "Someday we'll look back at this and laugh." I say, "Why wait? Why not just laugh at it right now?"


Laughter is a load lightener, an emotional recharger and a love rebuilder.