"Purpose"
What is your Purpose ~ ?
Most people go through their lives never realizing their purpose/s. We were placed and set here for “Just a Time as This”. While I believe we all have many skills and traits and fulfill many “purposes”; our main purpose is to worship God and have a personal relationship with him.
I don’t understand it all, and no human on Earth knows it all, and none of us are perfect (there was only 1 who lived a perfect life but we’ll save that teaching for another session). Therefore, we live and believe by Faith, and with the Joy & Peace God puts in our hearts; to be calm when we feel things are crumbling or disaster abounds. We are to rebuke, bind, and push back the darkness and forces of evil and to release goodness and glory from Heaven, declaring “Heaven on Earth”.
While we all see uncertainty in our lives, and there may be a time when we just “stand” (Ephesians 6:11-15) instead of pushing forward and moving forward; he will make the way when there seems to be no way…(Isaiah 43:19). In the times of “standing” we need to use prayer as our weapon, wielding it like a two-edged sword; releasing the power of Heaven and binding the enemy and dark forces against us, our families, our communities, and beyond!
Purpose:
- Of Life: a trial period, to qualify us for our positions in eternity; this life is the trial period.
- We Were Created: to worship God and have a relationship with him.
- Individually: to be a blessing to others and everyone I encounter.
- Of the Organization: is to get ahead of the Death Cycle. It was a burden wondering “where did they go” (up or down, heaven or hell) when I attended funerals… Always wondering about their life and if they had a relationship with Jesus. Then thinking, for those I knew, did I ever speak to them about Jesus, and if not – why not? Realizing that once friends, family, loved ones, community members and every other person on the planet died, it was too late to tell them about the “Good News” of Salvation. In John 3:16 it says all who believe in him (Jesus) will have everlasting life. And, in Ezekiel 33:8 it says those who know the truth (right from wrong) and see their *brother/sister doing wrong and do not speak up to them about it, and tell them the right way, that their blood will be upon your hands (paraphrased)…
The mission is to teach and spread the Word of God so the “veil of clouded judgement” can be lifted and people see clearly – an epiphany, if you will. Realization of the truth so you can turn from your undesirable ways and receive a “new heart”.
This “new heart” is what ministers are referring to when they say “born again” or “saved”. It means you’ve come to this realization of the truth, you’ve repented of your sins and asked Jesus to be the Lord and leader of your life. He will come in and give you a “new heart” and a new spirit; he will remove the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).
This is the 1st step, a new heart, then you will want to continue to develop your new relationship with the Lord, and mature it into a fruitful life with him. John 15:5 says he (Jesus) is the vine and we are the branches. Whosoever abides in him, he will abide in and they will bear much fruit.
Get yourself into a bible believing, bible teaching church, look for a weekly bible study group or create one if there aren’t any in your area. Spend time with the Lord daily (at a set time: morning, noon, evening, etc.) and *pray/speak to him throughout the day.
During your daily “alone time” with the Lord you can pray, worship, sing songs to him, or tell him how grateful and thankful you are for ___ (fill in the blank); or talk to him about issues or concerns you may have; no need to keep things from him, you can and should tell him everything on your heart, give your concerns and worries up to him; put them in his hands and let him work on them for you – turn them over to him. The main point is you’re spending time with him. {However, I do not want to downplay or under stress the importance of reading your Bible… Trust me, you have to read it for yourself. Pastors, Preachers, Ministers, Evangelists, Priests, etc. don’t teach the book cover to cover, they pick and choose their sermons, so you want to read it for yourself, to learn about what you haven’t heard verbally communicated. And, sometimes, what happens during your personal reading time is a new perspective is revealed… This is why you must read it for yourself – Remember this book is the inspired Word of God ~ it is a living Word; Hebrews 4:12 says the word of God is alive and active. In Matthew 13 Jesus likened it to a seed, not dead but living, it has the ability to bring forth life more abundantly.} We are to get the Word of God deep down in us, rooted, so that it cannot be snatched away by the evil one.
God Loves You soooo much, so much that he sent his one and only Son, to die a horrible and excruciating death upon the Cross; so we could have Salvation. Our sins were washed away by the shedding of his blood, and we were healed by his broken body (referring to the whipping he took that carnaged his body, so that our bodies could be healed).
Many don’t realize, or stop to think, about how brutally beaten Jesus was before he was hung on the cross; what he went through for you and for me. Not only was he humiliated, scoffed at, passed between Pilot and Herod’s custodies being mocked and abused, but he was whipped un-relentlessly by the Roman soldiers. The Roman soldiers, in the days of Jesus’ time, were renownedly known for their severely brutal punishments which were more like acts of torture, the Romans found the “best” ways to inflict as much pain as possible... The Romans used a several stripped whip, usually between 3-5 strands called a Flagellum Aculeatum (pictures inserted below), to carry out their beatings. Each of these strip strands had several sharp pieces of bones, stones and/or anything else they could find, flesh ripping, tied or woven into the strips; so when the whip was swung the force sent these sharp protruding pieces into the skin and when the whipper pulled the whip back the sharp pieces, now lodged in the body of the individual, would rip out through the skin. Romans would beat the backside of the person, sometimes the device would wrap around the legs, and front part of the thighs and be pulled back out.
No one knows how many times Jesus’ was whipped…as he was “beaten” by the Romans and not the Jews. The Jews only gave 39 lashings as they believed the 40th would kill the person; but again, Jesus wasn’t lashed by the Jews but by the Romans. So, there is a good chance he endured much more.
It’s no wonder he was too weak to carry his own cross. Not only would he have been weak from being beaten and blood loss (plus, likely, quite dehydrated); but it’s very likely there was little to no flesh left on his back, and his legs were likely in similar condition, with chunks of flesh missing.
THE POINT BEING: This is how much you are loved by God, that he sent his only son to die for us, and a huge Thank You to Jesus for going through with it for us! Jesus was the lamb slain before the foundation of the World (Revelation 13:8). Therefore, please, talk to him and have that relationship with him that he so desperately wants and desires.
God Bless
