The Purpose Driven Life days 1,2 & 3

The following thoughts are conveyed in the first three chapters of this book.

A. It is not about me but God
B. I am not an accident
C. What drives my life ?

At Battle Plan Ministries website at the link listed below we have 160 members and thus far only 6 men have engaged in making a committment to do this devotional for 40 days. I wrote a message yesterday to encourage the men to take the step and just do it. I can see where some folks just might be intimidated by the thought of journaling their thoughts, meditations to these devotional chapters in an online log. Nevertheless, as a leader there I felt compelled to lead by example and to share my thoughts. My fear is that someone will see me for who I really am as I share my heart. My HOPE is that everyone will see the real me and my personal pursuit to be who God wants me to be despite my sinful nature. So, with that in mind I choose to be transparent. I choose to be that way not to bring attention to who I am but rather to reveal who God is to me and through me. So, now that I have said that I will begin to share my meditations with you. I also hope that as you read what I write that you too will receive this as a challenge to buy the book "The Purpose Driven Life" and join me in your own personal journey.

The Purpose Driven Life Website

Battle Plan Ministries


40 Days of Purpose


Chapter 1: It all starts with God


Coll 1:16 for everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him

Point to ponder: It's not about me

Question to consider: In spite of all the advertising around me, how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God, not I?

I live in a materialistic world that tells me that I deserve a break today. If it feels good do it. Everything about our society is centered on what I can accomplish for myself. Before Christ I was my own God sitting upon the throne room of my heart. My meaning and satisfaction and purpose started and ended with my flesh and emotions. At the point of salvation the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to God the Father and showed me how my sinful nature made me an enemy with my creator and separated me from Him. Through Gods grace I was able to enter into a personal relationship with God and found a new purpose for living. Instead of satisfying flesh and emotional needs I now desired to fulfill Gods purpose for my life. My spirit was awakened and given the ability to see Gods love, mercy and character. The road to sanctification is a daily struggle to remove self off the throne of my heart and to put Christ first. Christ died so I might live eternally with Him. God created me for His good pleasure and purpose. My struggle is to realize that life is not about whom I am or how I feel or how much junk I can accumulate. The only way that I can connect myself to Gods true purpose for my life is to continually pursue Him through prayer, reading of His word and being obedient to His bidding.


Chapter 2: I am not an accident

Verse- Isaiah 44:2 - I am your creator. You were in my care even before you were born.

Question to consider- Knowing that God uniquely created me what areas of my personality, background and physical appearance am I struggling to accept.

I sometimes struggle with the fact that I want to pursue people in deep personal relationships and very few folks make an effort to get beyond the superficial aspects of daily living. I want to talk about matters of the heart and it tends to scare people off. I tend to be strongly opinionated and I call things for what they are. I know the importance of tact and being politically correct but my Christ view usually conflicts with the normal worldview of most people. That typically puts me in a position of being separate from others and lonely. I sometimes wish I was not a people person.



Chapter 3: Living on purpose is the path to peace.

Isaiah 26:2- You Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you.

Question to consider- what would my family and friends say is the driving force of my life. What do I want it to be?


I think that my family and friends would say that my family and being religious are the two driving forces in my life. I have a handful of family members who view my church activities and Christ view of my world as being super religious. They do not understand that my religious activities and Christ view has been born out of years of sanctification and trials by fire. I can look back at my life and see several instances where my life was driven by fear, resentment and anger and need for approval. Every since I was 17 years old and God entered into my heart I have wanted to serve Him in any way that I can. I used to perceive serving God as something that could only be done in the context of full time ministry in a traditional church setting. As I lived through the consequences of divorce in the Southern Baptist Convention I had a rude awakening about ministry. I was told that I was not good enough for ministry because of my divorce. I was shown by God that I could serve him on a personal level in my life and that my faith and obedience in the non traditional moments of ministry were able to touch the lives of people in the community all around me. God showed me that He could use me for the purpose of glorifying His Kingdom without being licensed or ordained. God showed me the importance of ministry to my family first and then the church and community. I am learning that when I look outside of myself for Gods purpose and desire in the community and lives of people around me that as I engage in these activities God reveals His purpose for me personally. I am also learning that when I seek Gods purpose that when I find it the experiences is not always emotionally charged. I must pursue God daily on a personal level without requiring God to make me feel good or do something in my life to make me happy. I have also learned that it is easier to be in survival mode living life reacting to circumstances instead of living life proactively with a planned out purpose.