New Year

Well, it’s a new year.  It will be interesting to see what it holds.  Personally, I find myself 15 lbs overweight and not in good shape.  I feel like I aged 5 or 10 years in the last year.  Physically, I am struggling.  However, many lessons were learned.  One of these is that it is necessary to have extraordinary faith and it should be a priority in my life to look for ways to grow my faith.  Everyday should be an exercise in faith.  I should know that if God is not in my day today, each hour and each minute, then the day is lost.  Another lesson is that love conquers all.  I should never give up hope.  The phrase “hope is eternal” has real meaning.  God can and will do anything.  He is not bound.  Hearts can change and the dead can live again.

There are some obvious challenges.  Family is one, both immediate and extended.  Some are running from God, some are aging, some are unmotivated.  I think the only solution is to get them closer to God, however possible.

This morning, as I lay in bed just as I woke up I found myself pondering the question of what are things I’d like to see in the new year.  I thought about how some people will want more money or things.  Some will want new relationships or a new body.  I have no such desires.  I am broken and so thankful that I can legitimately write this, but I want for Godly changes to occur.  I desire that I would be able to pick up the Godly sword and shield and be able to walk correctly in each day, slaying my sin nature and confronting sin where it exists around me.  I desire for those who know right and aren’t doing it, that they’d have a change in their heart to follow God.  That they would humble themselves and find their faith.

There is also potential for many blessings.  One will be to go to Haiti and start up the generators to get the new electrical system operating at the OMS main missionary campus.  I hope to take many members of my family.  Another will be to go on a vacation in Europe.  My wife has begun planning it even now.  I hope we can have the plans done within the month and begin securing reservations.  I think this can be a wonderful time for our family.

What about goals?  I do want to have a personal clarification for my purpose.  Why does God have me here?  I find myself often envying those who have their purpose defined.  They are secure in their direction.  My cousin met such a man recently.  He was on the side of the road hitchhiking.  He saw him and stopped and gave him all the change in his car and told him if he’d be there in a few hours he’d give him a ride to a nearby city.  He came back through in a few hours and found the man.  After picking him up he asked him why he was homeless and hitchhiking.  The man’s answer surprised him.  He said he had been in jail once and a lady came in and shared Christ with him and he received the invitation and accepted Him.  Not long after that, God called him to hitchhike around and tell everyone he meets about Jesus and how to be saved.  He told my cousin that he wasn't poor and was even willing to help him if he needed something.  My cousin asked him if he was an angel.  The man smiled and said no, just a disciple.

That man knew his purpose.  I find that many of us middle aged (40 something) have lost a purpose.  When we were young it was thrust upon us, get an education, get a job, and raise a family.  Now, the family is getting a little beyond us, we have an education and a job, we know how to survive.  So, what is our purpose?  For me, until I hear otherwise, my purpose is to: 1) Be a disciple, 2) Be a husband, 3) Be a father, 4) Be a friend; and each of these must be wrapped in purposeful action that has the single intent of serving God. 

How can my existence bring someone to a closer walk with God?  How can my existence demonstrate a Godly wisdom or character for someone to grab hold of and claim?  Answering these questions everyday will lead me to a purpose.