In the Beginning...

"In the beginning God created..." I have begun 2009 by reading in Genesis 1. Makes sense to start in the beginning at the beginning of a new, fresh year. “In the beginning God created…” Those were the first words. There is a reason "God created..."

As your pastor, one way I can help you make advances in your daily life journey is to help you understand that the purpose of your life is far greater than personal fulfillment, peace of mind, or even happiness. It’s far greater than our families, our careers, or even our wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. Each of us was born by His purpose and for His purpose and with value.

The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. That’s because we typically begin at the wrong starting point -- ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like: What do I want to be? What should I do with my life? What are my goals, my ambitions, my dreams for my future? But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life’s purpose. The Bible says, “It is God who directs the lives of His creatures; everyone’s life is in His power.” Job 12:10

Contrary to what many popular books, movies, and seminars tell us, we won’t discover life’s meaning by looking within ourselves. We didn’t create ourselves, so there is no way we can tell ourselves what we were created for! If I handed you an invention you had never seen before, you wouldn’t know its purpose, and the invention itself wouldn’t be able to tell you either. Only the creator -- or the owner’s manual -- could reveal its purpose.

God, on the other hand, tells us that we are not accidents and that our lives have significance -- because God had His reasons for creating us. The Bible says, “For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible… everything got started in Him and finds its purpose and value in Him.” Colossians 1:16

To understand your life’s purpose, you must begin with your Creator. You exist only because God wills that you exist. You were made by God and for God -- and until you understand that, life will never make sense. It is only in God that we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance, and our destiny. Every other path leads to a dead end.


How, then, do you discover the purpose you were created for?

You have only two options. Your first option is speculation. “This is the best guess I can come up with.”

Fortunately, there is an alternative to speculation about the meaning and purpose of life. It’s revelation. We can turn to what God has revealed about life in His Word. The easiest way to discover the purpose of an invention is to ask the creator of it. The same is true for discovering your life’s purpose: Ask God. God has not left us in the dark to wonder and guess.

The Bible says, “It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, He had His eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose He is working out in everything and everyone.” Ephesians 1:11

I hope through this Scripture you discover some valuable insights:

* You discover your identity and purpose through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

* God was thinking of you long before you ever thought about Him. He planned your life before you existed, without your input! You can choose a lot of things but not your purpose.

* The purpose of your life fits into a much larger purpose that God has designed for eternity.

Start 2009 by making significant advances in life by looking up -- to Jesus Christ and His Word. It is only in Christ that we discover God’s value and purposes for our life…

May your 2009 be filled with the exciting journey of discovering and fulfilling God’s purposes for your life!

Pastor Joe