Looking for Love

Have you ever wrestled with the thought of what it would be like to be unconditionally loved? Is that not the pursuit of every human being, to be loved completely?

If you don’t mind, I am going to quote a song by Audio Adrenaline from over 20 years ago, entitled “Who Do You Love?”

“Love love love
Thats what the world
And the people are in search of
Lovey dovey turtle dovey
Everybody's looking for that warm fuzzy”

The premise stated is the world and the people are in search of love. However they think the “love dovey turtle dove” and “warm fuzzy” is what love is. As long as the excitement, the thrill and the feelings are there then it must be love.

How sad our culture has become that love has been cheapened to represent a particular set of emotions and lacks the true depth of commitment and perseverance.  Even as I turned on the radio today I heard the comedian Kevin Hart making jokes about his divorce. The light hearted nature in which our society has treated the marriage covenant and the ease of divorce has shattered the expectations of finding the one relationship that is to be “for better or worse, in sickness and in death, till death do us part.”

The endless fear of rejection, the worry of “if they find out who I really am,” the anxiety of being alone all cause so much stress that people retreat into a mask. Open up the Instagram ap on your phone and take a look at what you see. People trying to make themselves look the way they want you to perceive them, but not the way things really are.

When society, media, celebrities, music, and movies become the source of defining true love and relationships, all become focused on personal happiness, the elusive feelings of being accepted and constant fears of being rejected, and the relationships are destined for failure. Yet God has not left us alone to figure out what love is.

Reflect on Psalm 139.

Kind David states it much more eloquently then I could ever hope to, so please take time to read it, slowly, meditatively and ask God to help you understand it. Yet I’d like to summarize briefly a few things.

God created you specifically, intimately and on purpose. God loves you and knows you better than you know yourself. You are wonderfully and beautifully made. No where you go and nothing you do can separate you from God’s presence and His love (Romans 8:38-39). Through the toughest of times, God is there. In the best of times, God is there. You are inexplicitly, unconditionally loved by God.

To take it further, Read Romans 5:8: God demonstrated His love in this, while we were still sinning against Him, running from Him and rebelling, Jesus died for us (paraphrased). Now that is unconditional love.

How would you feel if you knew someone loved you unconditionally? That would be so amazing! I’m an introvert by nature. I question everything in my head, way to much! Every interaction I have, I evaluate in my mind what that person thinks of me. I walk away sometimes sure of my conclusion that they don’t really love me, accept me or want me to be around. I’ve learned that self doubt is based on lies, fears and anxieties. Psalm 139 has been a huge help for me in my insecurities. But I’ve had to learn to shut off the conversation in my head at times. Yet when I know someone loves me, has my back and cares for me, it allows me to break out of my introverted shell and be myself. Yet when I’m not sure where I stand, I withdraw and hide.

Unconditional love allows freedom. We do not have to hide from God, He already knows your worst and still loves you. You cannot fool God by wearing a mask. The Good News is…you don’t have to! Jesus loves you so much that He died for you and offers a real relationship with the Father that is unconditional.

No matter where you run, no matter what sins you commit, no matter how dark your night seems to be, God’s love is greater, bigger and brighter. It is unconditional and it is free, but not cheap! In order for Him to tell you how much He loves you, Jesus had to die, BUT He rose again.

Right now you may not know the forgiveness of Jesus, the extent of the love of God. But you can! Admit that you are a sinner, which you cannot earn your way to God. Believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Trust that Jesus unconditionally loves you and accept His free offer of a relationship with Him. Talk to Him and tell Him what you believe.

You might believe in Jesus but are stuck in a sin. You have been trying to prove yourself, or pursue love in all the wrong places. Jesus wants to forgive you right now. Turn to Him and tell Him. He will never turn you away.

You are loved more than you could ever imagine, despite your sin and mess-ups. God knows you, loves you and invites you into an intimate, unconditional love relationship with Him.

What are you thirsty for?

When you are really hungry or thirsty, what do you crave? What do you long for when your appetites rage?

I find it interesting that when I run, I crave water and fresh berries; blackberries and raspberries to be precise. Nothing sounds better in those moments, and it is such a healthy snack to turn to, it satisfies me and energizes me.

On the flip side, when I am being pretty lazy and sitting around I crave Mountain Dew and brownies, I can’t seem to get enough of them. These don’t satisfy, they taste great but leave me feeling yucky (super spiritual term there) and yet I want more. Hmmm I guess my body is telling me something.

In those moments of hunger and thirst, that desire, that craving you have should be a parable of your souls thirst. Your soul is desperately thirsty, craving something to satisfy, desiring happiness; it’s an appetite, but your feeding it spiritual Mountain Dew and brownies. It tastes so good in the moment, but leaves you with a sugar crash, a bloated feeling and a gross sense of wanting more.

Jesus knows that our soul thirsts for happiness. After all, He made us to desire happiness. That’s why He told us how to get it:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6)

He is not saying, “those who are good enough get to be happy!” He is saying that when you desire to be “in a right relationship with Him” you find happiness. Your desire is to be the way you were intended to be. You were designed to be in an intimate relationship with your Creator, but sin has separated you from God. In Christ Jesus there is reconciliation, forgiveness and restored intimacy.

When you learn to crave that right standing with God, you will find your soul satisfaction. Your soul is sick of the cheap imitations, the over sugared empty spiritual calories. It wants true spiritual substance, it longs for the Living Water only provided by Jesus.

Jesus tells us in John 15 how we can draw from Him, by building a friendship with Him. We draw from the Living Waters by spending time with Him everyday.

Consider your best friends. How did they become your best friends? What sets them apart from others?

Common interests, shared affection and time. The more time you spend with your friends the more you act like, think like and talk like them. That is the way you were wired. You are thirsty for relationships and as you drink of them they change you. Depending on who you choose to be your friends will determine whether this is good or bad.

When you choose to, desire to, make Jesus your best friend you will look like, talk like and act like Jesus. Not because you are trying to, but because of your proximity to Him.

Read Psalm 1:1-3

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.”

You see what the promise is there? He turns from the desires of this world and thirsts for God’s Word, for the Living Waters. The results are growing fruit and health.

That’s Jesus promise to you. If you want a truly happy life, seek to be with Jesus. Make Him your best friend and watch as He does a work in and through you. The more time you spend with Him, the more you become the way you were intended to be.

You maybe stuck seeking happiness in the cheap things of life. You might be thinking it is found in the latest fashion, the thin waste line, the big muscles, in a boyfriend or girlfriend, the forbidden fruit, the pornography, the video games, the sports, the highest grade, the right college, and the list goes on. None of these will satisfy you.

Jesus satisfies! Set up camp by the stream of Living Water, drink deeply and never thirst again.

***DISCLAIMER: It is not easy. It’s a daily fight. The Living Waters are offered freely, but they demand everything. Jesus loves you the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you the way you are. If you are truly in a relationship with Him and drinking from the Living Waters you will be changed. You won’t regret it. It produces joy unspeakable, but change will happen.***

The Desert

Have you ever been to the desert? The vast, dry and wide wilderness?

There is a type of thirst that you can only experience in the desert. When you are detached from the city life, when you are far away from the gas stations and the city water, where the earth and the sky seem to go on forever and you have no idea where the next water source might be. There is a desperation thirst that is different when you are thirsty but you know that the water fountain is around the corner. The wilderness reveals your very dependence upon water and your thirst is magnified.

Consider what the David said about his thirst for God in Psalm 63:1, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

David was a man that was accustomed to the desert. He had raised sheep in the desert, he had delivered food in the desert, he defeated Goliath in the desert and he hid from Saul in the desert. He knew the thirst that the desert brings. It is desert thirst that he describes his desire for God is like.

I’ve been to the desert wilderness that David was in, the Negev. In southern Israel, we went for a hike up Masada, the desert fortress of Herod the Great. Some great history there, but that is another post. The day I went happened to be one of only two days that they do not run the tram to the top. We arrived at 6AM to climb the “snake” path, a winding path up the side of the mountain. We had to leave early before the heat of the day arrived. In early spring it was a chilly 50 something degrees in the morning, requiring a light jacket. As we climbed, so did the sun and the desert heat with it. By mid morning it was already in the 90’s and super dry. We had only made it half way up the climb and I was parched. My throat was dry, my lips felt like they were cracking and I was out of breath. Even as I sipped my water bottle, which was warm, I felt like I couldn’t get enough water.

The climb was tiring but amazing. The sites were great and I will remember them forever. However, the large ice water and berry smoothie at the café after was so delightful. My thirst was from only hours in the desert, but David’s was from days, months and even years of desert living. He knew that the only thing in this life that would satisfy his soul was to drink from the Living Waters of Jesus Christ.

The desert has a way of changing us. When we are aware of the vastness and limited resources we are humbled into realizing how frail life really is. Gone are the overwhelming cravings for the superficial 1^st World wants and our desires turn to the basic needs. Those who have been there and experienced desert thirst can only understand the joy and satisfaction that comes from fresh, cold and crisp water in the desert.

The people of Israel experienced the desert in their wanderings. Moses led them out to the wilderness to hear from God. At first they were in awe of the spectacle of the mountain with a burning bush, but the emptiness and harshness of the wilderness soon took its effect on them. They became desperate for the comforts of Egypt. They lost site on what God was doing and wanted out. However they had 40 years of desert living before they were ready for the promises God had for them. Yet God never forgot them and He supplied all their needs along the way.

Similarly Jesus spent time in the wilderness. After his baptism, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for a 40 day fast. This was the same Negev type wilderness described above. Freezing cold at night and extremely hot during the day. Alone, hungry and exhausted, Jesus was tempted by the enemy of our souls. The desert is a defining place, and Jesus demonstrated our way of surviving the desert. As He depended upon the Spirit, He used Scripture to overcome temptations and defeat the enemy.

As hungry as He was, He refused the temporary relief for eternal satisfaction. His physical and emotional fatigue were overcome with the Word of God. He stood toe to toe with Satan and won through the power of God’s Word.

We too are in a desert. Our souls are desperately thirsty, whether you recognize it or not. You may not feel like your in a desert right now, or you might feel like you have been wandering for a long time. One thing remains true, your soul thirsts for Living Waters. When you begin to realize that Jesus Christ provides the soul satisfaction you are desperate for, you will leave behind the desert and enter in His rest.

Drink deeply of the Word of God and rest in the Spirit. Allow Him to wash you and restore you through His Word. Allow the desert place to define you, to reveal to you that you can be refreshed only by Christ and put off the cravings of the flesh. Do as David did, acknowledge your thirst for God and He will quench your thirst.

Thirsty?

In the last couple of years I have decided to start doing something I never imagined I would do. I actually would make fun of people who did it, thinking it was absurd. Running. In High School, I said I wouldn’t run unless I was chasing a ball in soccer or basketball. When the new craze of 5K, 13.1 and 26.2 stickers came out, I wanted to get a 0.0 sticker. But then I supported my friend running in an 80K Ultra Marathon, that’s 50 miles!! I saw all sorts of people running and I felt lazy.

I decided to commit to running the Akron Half Marathon and gave myself 9 months to prepare. Long story short, I have run two half marathons and am planning to keep on running.

One thing that became very apparent early on was the need to increase my water intake. I used to run without planning for water breaks. But when it is a hot summer day and you are 6 miles into an 8 mile run, you are craving water. It’s hard to describe, but your mouth seems to have lost all moisture and your saliva gets really thick. Your throat gets dry and it almost feels like are you are dying!

Then the end comes and you can grab your drink and it is like “salvation is here!!! Be refreshed!” It’s a great feeling. Soon I learned to drink lots of water before I begin, have water along the way, and finish with water. Staying hydrated leads to more energy, endurance and faster recovery.

What we may not realize is that spiritually we are running a marathon. Our souls are thirsty and we don’t realize it. Our soul is dried up and craving something refreshing, but we keep on pouring things on that never satisfy.

Jesus wants us to come to Him, to drink of the Living waters and find satisfaction for our soul. We need to stop seeking to satisfy ourselves with substitutes and come to Jesus for the real thing. We find that in His Word, Jesus will meet our souls longing.

We need to recognize our thirst as a soul thirst. We need to see that we need to drink of Christ before, during and after our race. Spending time in God’s Word, in prayer and with God’s people is how we drink of the living waters. Consider what Isaiah said in chapter 55:1-3:

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. ² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. ³ Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live.”

Dancing before Angels

Have you ever been lost? You find yourself in a place you don’t know and have no idea how to get to where you need to be? Once as a young child, long before the cell phone era, I was probably not where I was supposed to be and therefor got left at church. At first I thought it was funny and exciting. Even when people started leaving I was excited to have the whole place to run around it. Then the lights started going off. Have you ever been in a big church as the lights were going off? It’s soooo scary!!

I ran to the front door just in time to catch the janitor as he was locking up. He called my parents and they came and got me. Wow it was so good to be found again!! The fear of the dark, of being alone and of being lost finally gave way to relief at the sight of my parents. Joy and celebration replace the fears of before.

There is great joy being found! Fast forward a few years later when I took the youth group to Winter Jam in Cleveland. Winter Jam is a concert with probably close to 10,000 people attending. When the concert was over I led our group out to the hallway to regroup. Only to find out that one young lady, I won’t mention her name here, was missing! I do not know who was more scared at that point, me or her!

One of my greatest fears as a youth pastor is losing a student! It’ such a horrible and sickening feeling when you feel completely out of control. She did not have a cell phone either. So one leader stayed with the group, I ran back to the van to see if she ventured out, and Steve ran back to our seats to see if she was still there. Thankfully she did have an iPod, signed into the wifi and Instagramed me a picture of were she was. After finding the picture I was able to track her down. Again, I felt joy and relief at finding her safe and sound. It was something to celebrate!

These stories help me understand what Jesus was trying to tell His disciples in Luke 15:3-10. How a man celebrates after finding his lost sheep, or a woman who finds her lost coin celebrates is a picture of celebration when someone comes to repentance. Here were two very relevant stories to that culture and the people would have understood the joy of finding what was lost. It’s as if a man lost his wallet after just having cashed his paycheck. Or if a woman lost her engagement ring right before the ceremony. Finding them would bring relief, joy and even celebration.

What I love about these stories is the verses about the celebration that takes place when a sinner comes to repentance. Look at verses 7 and 10. What stands out to you? Some have said, “the angels rejoice when a sinner is saved,” and I am sure that is true. But what is significant about these verses? Who is the one rejoicing, particularly in verse 10?

God! God is celebrating in the presence of the angels when a sinner repents. When someone realizes they have sinned, are headed in the wrong direction, turn and trusts Jesus, God erupts into celebration.  What that means is that when you chose to follow Jesus, God threw a party for you in heaven! If you trusted Jesus, then God celebrates you! Think about that for a moment. THE…GOD….OF….THE….UNIVERSE….CELEBRATES….YOU!!!

WOW! That is exciting to think about. God dancing before the angels because one of us has come to know Him. We do not deserve His great love, yet He pours it out on us, not begrudgingly but with great joy!

Have you ever been in the presences of someone who is really joyful? It’s contagious! God’s joy and His love are contagious!

This is the type of love we should want to talk about! This is what we should be celebrating! This is why Paul writes in Philippians 4 to “rejoice always and again I say rejoice!” How could we not be a joyful people when we understand that God has rejoiced over us? Celebrate with God today, be full of joy and live for Jesus!

Follow the Leader

One of the favorite games children play on the playground is “Follow the Leader.” You remember playing it right? One child shouts, “follow me!” and everyone lines up and does exactly what the first child demonstrated. Run up the slide, climb down the steps, jump on the tire, etc. However, just a few moments into the game, another child tries to take the lead. All the children begin to think that their ideas and routes are better. Before you know it, the game ends and everyone is a bit upset because nobody is following them. Everyone wants to be the leader.

Really we push leadership on everyone today, don’t we? If you walk into the bookstore, even a Christian bookstore, you will find dozens of books on leadership. How to become a leader, the effective habits of a leader, leading a team, and the list goes on. These are excellent books. Yet not everyone can be a leader. Not everyone is gifted in leadership. Not every idea is a good idea.

It becomes evident when the one child finally gets his chance to lead the group and he has no idea where to go. He tries to remember what somebody else did, but then becomes dependent on what others think. Soon the other kids are yelling, “this is boring! Let so-and-so lead!”

It’s not so different in life. You hear all the time that you are to be a leader, but then when you get the opportunity you don’t know where to lead. It becomes frustrating, scary and some just give up. “Why can’t I just follow?” Where are the books telling me how to be a good follower? If someone is leading, the others have to follow, right? Help me do that better, cause I don’t want to lead.

In reality, you have to be a good follower if you want to be a good leader. The best leaders are the ones who remember what it was like to follow. They remember what motivated them, what frustrated them and then they lead in such a way to bring others along with them. It’s called followership. After all, you are not leading if no one is following. What are you following?

The beautiful thing about Christianity is that you do not have to be the leader! We are all called to be a follower. Follow Jesus Christ, do what He does and say what He says. The pattern has been set; it is your joy to follow. Notice how I didn’t say, “job,” but “joy!”

Knowing and following Jesus is a privilege, not a job. However, it is hard work. He does not lead us down all the easy paths, but there is a great cost in following Him! What we do not realize is that we think we are following Jesus, but we are just one of those kids running around doing our own thing and nobody is following. We have made “following Jesus” into our own game and in reality it looks nothing like what Jesus has called us to.

The question is, are you going to stop doing your own thing and join in the one true journey?

Bearing the Cross of Self Denial

Although Jesus attracted great crowds with His miracles, His teaching caused many to stop following Him. You see, the Gospel is simple, but it is not easy. Jesus said in Luke 9:23-26 that if you want to follow Him, you have to deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Him. What in the world does that mean?

This does not mean that you grab your gold cross necklace and wear it everyday. It doesn’t mean wear your Christian t-shirt. The call to take up your cross is a call to die.

Consider what the first century crowd would have thought. See, crucifixion was not a distant event that the occasional drama or provocative movie to them. It was a very present reality. Crucifixion was originally intended to torcher and kill the worst of the worst criminals. Over the years, it became a very compelling device to dissuade any rebellion.

They would walk the main roads possibly seeing friends and family members hung by crosses. The Romans did not put the crosses on hills far away, but on the main roads where everyone had to walk by and see the humiliating and painful death. They would have seen the humiliation of many who had to carry their cross down the public roads, stripped naked and beaten, only to suffer the indignity of dying in a public place.

Jesus’ command to deny self and take up their cross would bring very vivid pictures to their mind. This is death row. This is acknowledging that this game of follow the leader has no place for pride and there is no return.

To obey Christ call, you must daily strip yourself of pride, arrogance and die to self. You must live in such a way that causes people to see that you no longer belong to yourself, but to Jesus.

Kingdom of God

We get so caught up in our own pride and trying to take care of ourselves, that we begin to create our own path. We worry about what people will think about us, what are the popular styles, what we are going to eat (or not eat). We are caught up in the latest fades. Our Christianity becomes our own creation.

But to follow Jesus, denying ourselves and carrying the cross, is to look to Jesus first. It is to seek the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). Jesus is not calling you to destitution and poverty. He is promising that He will take care of you. Our motivation is that we get Him. We are His children, part of His family and He will give us our needs.

Looking to Jesus everyday, gives us strength to deny self and follow Him. Looking to Jesus allows us to forget ourselves and imitate Him. Remember what He endured for us, should motivate us to joyfully surrender and join the eternal line of faithful followers. As we do, people will see our lives and glorify God in heaven.

Our New Desire

John the Baptist is one who really got it. He gave up everything to proclaim the Good News of Jesus’ arrival. He was a spectacle to some, a radical to others and a voice of hope to others. He saw crowds come to hear him, and kings arrange to meet him. Yet his perspective was continually, “I must decrease that He might increase” (John 3:30).

His job was to point others to Jesus. Through his voice, his life and even his death, he wanted others to know Jesus. His humility and love for Jesus became the testimony of his life.

He demonstrated to us what it means to deny self, pick up a cross and follow Jesus. Are you a Christian? What does that mean to you? Can you say that when people look at your life, your desires and your passions they would see Jesus?

You have to understand, that Jesus’ call to deny yourself and pick a cross daily was not a command only to the few super spiritual Christians. It is not only to the pastors and missionaries. It is the call to every Christian. It is His call to you!

Jesus does not want mediocre followers. He doesn’t want you to be half in and half out. He does not want you leading your own little game on the side. He wants you all in or all out. The choice is yours!

The cost is great! Deny self, empty yourself of pride and follow Jesus. The clear sign of a disciple is one who thinks of themselves less and more of Jesus. Who or what are you following?

G.O.A.L. 2015

It’s January of a brand new year! With a new year comes new year resolutions, goals and challenges. The local gyms fill up with new memberships with clients that believe this is finally the year they will get in shape. Budgets are readjusted with promises of spending less and saving more. People are filled with hope of achieving their dreams.

But what is fuelling their goals? Just taking a moment to glance over the covers of 2015 magazine covers you find the source of many people’s motivations. Here are just a sampling:

“Reboot Your Life: the wardrobe, gadgets, cars and extreme diet every man needs” – Loaded

“Wake up hotter” – Cosmopolitan

“Insta-glam your best skin, hair and makeup ever” – Teen Vogue

“Parrrty! The modern man’s guide to throwing a legendary bash!” – GQ

“Crazy cool confidence: crush it at school, on insta, with guys” - Seventeen

This is the message that the magazines, media and entertainment world are pushing. The focus is on the external, the toys, and the clothes. It’s superficial and temporal. They sell the lie that you will be happy if you look like this celebrity, or if you have this brand, or if you do your hair and makeup this way. These things look good, but they are empty. Paul describes their true nature of these promises 2 Timothy 3:2-4, summarized in the last phrase as “lovers of pleasures rather then lovers of God.”

And so people begin their year with high aspirations of becoming the celebrity they worship. Yet within a month or two the gyms are empty again, the credit cards have been max out and people have fallen back into the ruts from which they came. Their expectations, hopes and dreams have been shattered or were so unrealistic that they gave up on them.

It doesn’t have to be this way!

When Jesus came, He came to set us free of the worldly passions and the meaningless of these temporal pursuits. The hope we have in Christ is to see the lies for what they are, fix our focus on Christ and train to reach the GOAL He has for us.

Jesus desire for our life is that it is Gospel Oriented Abundant Life. If we want a life full of purpose, meaning and joy we will only find it in living a Gospel Oriented Abundant Life. But what does that look like?

Read 1 Timothy 4:6-10

Step one is “Don’t Believe the Lies!” Paul says to “have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths.” Everything this world throws at you is an attractive lie to deceive you and cause you to get caught up in a meaningless cycle. The enemy wants to destroy you with these lies, but Jesus wants to give you life (John 10:10).

Although loosing 10 pounds isn’t a bad thing, it won’t give you the joy and happiness you are craving. Thin people can be just as miserable as fat people. Pretty people can be just as lost and lonely as ugly people. These lies tell you that if you fix the temporal superficial stuff you will finally arrive. Don’t believe the lies!

Step two is to “Fix Your Focus!” The author of Hebrews tells us to firmly fix our eyes on Jesus Christ because He is the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). And Paul says that our motivation is found in the hope we have in the living God, who is the Savior (1 Timothy 4:10). When we look to Jesus we begin to understand what the Gospel is all about and how we can become Gospel oriented people.

The lies tell you that you need to improve yourself to find favor. The enemy has crafted intricate lies to get you to think you can earn God’s favor and be liked by man if you just become something that you are not. Jesus says that you can do nothing to earn God’s favor, but He will freely give it to you. You cannot be perfect, but Jesus is perfect for you. You will fail, but Jesus did not. He loves you so much that He provided a free gift for you. The lies lead to guilt and shame, the Gospel speaks grace and freedom into our lives.

Step three is to “Train for Godliness!” Anything you want to develop in requires a great deal of training. You identify what you need to become and strive to become that. As believers Jesus is our GOAL, we are to become more like Him everyday (Ephesians 5:1-2). 

If we are going to imitate Jesus we need to learn about Him by reading the Scriptures. One verse that patterns a healthy GOAL style is found in Luke 2:52 describing Jesus as a youth. He matured in wisdom, stature, favor with God and favor with man. Training for godliness is to become more like Christ. These are four great areas to set goals to develop in each year.

1.     Wisdom – God has given you the capacity to learn and to think. You need to always be learning, seeking to understand and growing in discernment. Being eager to learn, keeping a humble and teachable spirit is the attitude we need to continue to grow in wisdom. We should study and grow continually (2 Timothy 2:15).

2.     Stature – God as given you your body, you need to take care of it. Paul says that bodily exercise does have some profit (1 Timothy 4:8). We care for our bodies because it is a gift from God and the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).

3.     Favor with God – God wants to have a vibrant relationship with you. He doesn’t want to just be some concept you believe in, but part of your life. He wants you to be friends with Him. Unlike physical exercise, which is only good in this life, training for godliness impacts this life and the next (1 Timothy 4:8).

4.     Favor with Man – God wants you to know how to be friendly and make friends with others (Proverbs 18:24).

A Gospel Oriented Abundant Life is a life that follows Jesus. It prioritizes the Jesus over the world. It is life that recognizes the lies of the enemy and refuses to fall into their grip. It is a life that looks to Jesus everyday. It is a life that strives for godliness in all areas. The promise given by God Himself is this kind of life is Abundant with meaning, purpose and joy. A GOAL is for your ultimate joy and God’s glory!