DAY 40 MAN OF SORROWS (video)

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The Purpose Driven Life - Finding Your Purpose

CHAPTER 40 - LIVING WITH PURPOSE

Living on purpose is the only way to really live. Everything else is just existing. 

Most people struggle with three basic issues in life. The first is identity: "Who am I?" The second is importance: "Do I matter?" The third is impact: "What is my place in life?" The answers to all three questions are found in God's five purposes for you. (See Day 39 post)

It's easy to drift away from what matters most and slowly get off course. To prevent this, you should develop a purpose statement for your life and then review it regularly. 

WHAT IS A LIFE PURPOSE STATEMENT? 

• It's a statement that summarized God's purposes for your life 
• It's a statement that points the direction of your life
• It's a statement that defines "success" for you 
• It's a statement that clarifies your roles
• It's a statement that expresses your shape

LIFE'S FIVE GREATEST QUESTIONS

1. What will be the center of my life?

2. What will be the character of my life?

3. What will be the contribution of my life? 

4. What will be the communication of my life? 

5. What will be the community of my life? 

Point to Ponder: Living with purpose is the only way to really live

Verse to Remember: "For David...served the purpose of God in his own generation." Acts 13:36 (NASB)

Question to Consider: When will I take the time to write down my answers to life's five great questions? When will I put my purpose on paper? 

Day 39 - Surely this man was the Son of God!

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”  – Mark 15:37-39 (NIV)

How could an act of weakness, such as a man dying on a cross, cause this kind of response in an elite Roman soldier? In the Jewish temple there was a place called the Holy of holies. A heavy curtain covered the entrance; separated unholy man from a holy God. When that curtain was ripped in two the separation between God and man was gone. Suddenly the centurion saw what he couldn’t see before: Jesus was not an ordinary man, but God’s very act of reconciliation. Can you see that? Or do you still see just a man on a cross?
 (Dave Whitehead, Senior Pastor Grace Church NY)

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The Purpose Driven Life - Finding Your Purpose


CHAPTER 39 - BALANCING YOUR LIFE


Blessed are the balanced; they shall outlast everyone.

Your life is a pentathlon of five purposes, which you must keep in balance. These purposes were practiced by the first Christians in Acts 2, explained by Paul in Ephesians 4, and modeled by Jesus in John 17, but they are summarized in the Great Commandment  and the Great Commission of Jesus. These two statements sum up what this book is all about -- God's five purposes for your life:

1. "Love God with all your heart": You were planned for God's pleasure, so your purpose is to love God through worship


2. "Love your neighbor as yourself": You were shaped for serving, so your purpose is to show love for others through ministry


3. "Go and make disciples": You were made for a mission, so your purpose is to share God's message through evangelism.

4. "baptize them into...": You were formed for God's family, so your purpose is to identify with his church through fellowship.

5. "teach them to do all things...": You were created to become like Christ, so your purpose is to grow to maturity through discipleship

Point to Ponder: Blessed are the balanced


Verse to Remember: "Live life with a due sense of responsibility, not as those who do not now the meaning of life but as those who do." Ephesians 5:15 (Ph)


Question to Consider: Which of the four activities will I begin in order to stay on track and balance God's five purpose for my life?

Day 38 - Becoming a World Class Christian

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The Purpose Driven Life - Finding Your Purpose


CHAPTER 38 - BECOMING A WORLD CLASS CHRISTIAN


The Great Commission is your commission.

You have a choice to make. You will be either a world-class Christian or a worldly Christian.

Worldly Christian: 

• look to God for personal fulfillment 
• saved, but self-centered
• "me-first" faith

World-Class Christian:

• know they are saved to serve
• made for a mission and purpose
• "others-first" faith

How can you shift from a worldly Christian to a world-class Christian? Here are a few ways:

1. Shift from self-centered thinking to other-centered thinking
2. Shift from local thinking to global thinking
3. Shift from "here and now" thinking to eternal thinking
4. Shift from thinking of excuses to thinking of creative ways to fulfill your commission
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Point to Ponder: The Great Commission is my commission


Verse to Remember: "Send us around the world with the news of your saving power and your eternal plan for all mankind." Psalm 67:2 (LB)


Question to Consider: What steps can I take to prepare to go on a short-term missions experience in the next year?

Day 37 - Share your message! Share your 40 day renewal!

**LAST CLASS WILL BE NEXT WEDNESDAY APRIL 11TH. COME PREPARED TO SHARE YOUR STORY AND HEAR HOW OTHERS TRANSFORMED THROUGH THESE 40 DAYS!**


If we count in Sunday's through Lent, today is exactly 40 days since you started your 40 day renewal!

There is no class this evening, however it's now time to meditate and reflect on Holy Week and on what Jesus dying on the cross meant for you and me. We've been focused on getting ourselves physically ready these past 40 days, so now take some time and ask why? What is the big purpose/reason you took on this challenge? How does physically cleansing our body help us spiritually?

The most amazing time of the year is upon us! Without Christ we have nothing, but with him we have eternal life!

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The Purpose Driven Life - Finding Your Purpose

CHAPTER 37 - SHARING YOUR LIFE MESSAGE

God has given you a Life Message to share.
When you became a believer, you also became God's messenger. God wants to speak to the world through you.

You may feel you don't have anything to share, but that's the Devil trying to keep you silent. You have a storehouse of experiences that God wants to use to bring others into his family. 

Your Life Message has 4 parts.

1. Your testimony: the story of how you began a relationship with Jesus
2. Your life lessons: the most important lessons God has taught you
3. Your godly passions: the issues God shaped you to care about most
4. The Good News: The message of salvation

Don't miss the opportunities God is giving you.

Point to Ponder: God wants to say something to the world through me.

Verse to Remember: "Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect." 1 Peter 3:15b-16 (TEV)

Question to Consider: As I reflect on my personal story, who does God want me to share it with?

Day 36 - Part 5 Stress series

Dear Reader

Christopher Lord here and I will conclude the 5 part series on stress to educate you and to assist you in your faith journey.  In the previous blog entries, I introduced the father of modern stress research, Dr. Hans Selye, who discovered the physiological underpinning of the human stress response- the “HPA Axis” which stands for the Hypothalamic- Pituitary- Adrenal Axis that also includes the chemical messengers between these structures, chief among them are the stress hormones, with cortisol being the big player I will focus on.

It was also stated that the “HPA Axis” or the stress response wasn’t necessarily a bad thing but rather a helpful/adaptive strategy to temporarily deal with the demands of increased stress.  The problem came when the need to deal with stress wasn’t temporary after all, but constant/near constant demands that lead to a nasty collection of symptoms that could be built into a syndrome called Cushing’s Syndrome which is associated with weight gain/obesity, musculoskeletal and skin problems as well as sex hormone dysfunction and an overall rough time in life.  I did not go into the mental health effects but I plan to now in this final blog entry.

We have long known in my field that there is a link between depression (“Big D” or Major Depression) and dysfunctional HPA Axis (as well as thyroid gland) but our search for a “chemical test” has remained elusive and unfulfilled because the association between HPA Axis/thyroid dysfunction is strong, it is not across the board and therefore not a good medical test.

So what do we know? We know that HPA Axis dysfunction (in most cases related to cortisol levels) is associated with Mood Disorders (which includes things like Major Depression and Bipolar Disorder) as well as Anxiety  Disorders (what matters with these is the rate of change in cortisol levels rather than just a high level). Additionally, there is HPA Axis dysfunction associated with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in which the cortisol response is abnormal, especially in those children who present primarily as hyperactive. HPA dysfunction is also associated with psychotic mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and Major Depression with Psychosis. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (which is technically an Anxiety Disorder) is unsurprisingly associated with abnormalities of cortisol functioning (cortisol levels are actually low- we think that with that population the system actually wears out and other changes happen too). HPA Axis dysfunction is also associated with disruptive behavior in general in young people. Also, and very importantly, HPA Axis dysfunction is also associated with brain damage!

Specifically, chronic stress (in the study I read it was very severe stress) was associated with the loss of brain cells in a part of our brain called the hippocampus, which is associated with learning, verbal memory, as well as memory storage and retrieval, so much so that people were actually cognitively impaired on neuropsychological testing.

There you have it. By no means have I told you the whole story in terms of the deficits associated with long-term, chronic stress and its impact on your mind and body, there are other chemical messengers and systems involved with other deleterious effects.

Re-reading this material and writing these blog entries has reminded me to work harder at relaxing, and trying where I may to take better care of myself and to thank God

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”
-Psalm 139:13-14
 
God’s peace and thank you for the opportunity to be of service

Christopher Lord

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The Purpose Driven Life - Finding Your Purpose


CHAPTER 36 - MADE FOR A MISSION


You were made for a mission.
God is at work in the world, and he wants you to join him. This assignment is called you mission. God wants you to have both a ministry in the Body of Christ and a mission in the world.

Your life mission is both shared and specific. One part of it is a responsibility you share with every other Christian, and the other part is an assignment that is unique to you.

THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR MISSION

• Your mission is a continuation of Jesus' mission on earth. 
• Your mission is a wonderful privilege 
• Telling others how they can have eternal life is the greatest thing you can do for them
• Your mission has eternal significance
• Your mission give your life meaning
• God's timetable for history's conclusion is connected to the completion of our commission. 

Point to Ponder: I was made for a mission

Verse to Remember: "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)

Question to Consider: What fears have kept me from fulfilling the mission God made me to accomplish? What keeps me from telling others the Good News? 

Day 35 - let go and let God

Easter week. Time to let go of everything and let God in. God is ready to do what you cannot do yourself. All you need to do is let him in. Will you?
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The Purpose Driven Life - Finding Your Purpose


CHAPTER 35 - GOD'S POWER IN YOUR WEAKNESS


God loves to use weak people.
Everyone has weaknesses. Usually we deny our weaknesses, defend them, excuse them, hide them, and resent them. This prevents God from using them the way he desires.

We think that God only wants to use our strengths, but he also wants to use our weaknesses for his glory. 

• Admit your weaknesses
• Be content with your weaknesses 
• Honestly share your weaknesses
• Glory in your weaknesses 

Point to Ponder: God works best when I admit my weakness

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

Question to Consider: 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? 

Day 34 - Balance

Balance is often over looked as part of a fitness routine until we loose our balance.  That sound like an odd statement but it's true.  Have you ever watched a kid play and wonder, "How do they do that?"  They can jump, climb, hop on one foot, walk on top of a brick wall and many other gravity defying tricks.  So what happened?  We use to have that kind of balance.  For one we stopped playing like kids and another reason is we got older.  Without actually knowing it we slowly loose our body's ability to balance as we age. 

Don't worry, you can get better with practice.  I don't suggest walking on the edge of a brick wall but you can improve your balance.  Here are a few hints at helping you build confidence.

     1.  During your exercise routine, do some of the exercises on one leg, then change legs.  This will help your body gain strength and work on your balance at the same time. 

     2.  Try and do basic daily activities on one leg, then alternate legs, like brushing your teeth.  It is a great way to work on balance while doing something else. 

     3.  Do one legged stands at home with your shoes on, then try it with no shoes.  You can also try different surfaces like on the carpet as well as a solid surface.  This helps mimic multiple surfaces that we encounter everyday.  The goal would be to stand on each leg for 30 seconds without putting the other leg down. 

     4.  Once you have accomplished standing on one leg then stand on two legs and close your eyes.  This changes your ability to stabilize yourself.  You can further challenge yourself by doing one legged stands with your eyes closed. 

Balance is an integral part of our day.  We walk on uneven surfaces, climb stairs reach in cabinets on our toes, or even getting out of a chair.  All these regular activities require some level of balance.  That is why it is important in our daily routine to continue to work on our balance and hopefully capture some of what we have lost.  With practice you will get better. 

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The Purpose Driven Life - Finding Your Purpose

CHAPTER 34 - THINKING LIKE A SERVANT 

Service starts in your mind. 

To be a servant requires a mental shift, a change in your attitudes. God is always more interested in why we do something than in what we do. Attitudes count more than achievements. Real servants serve God with a mindset of the five attitudes. 

1. Servants think more about others than about themselves

2. Servants think like stewards, not owners

3. Servants think about their work, not what others are doing 

4. Servants base their identity in Christ

5. Servants think of ministry as an opportunity, not an obligation 

Imagine what could happen if just 10 percent of all Christians in the world got serious about their role as real servants. Imagine all the good that could be done. Are you willing to be one of those people? 


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


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


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