A Purpose Driven Life Chapter 12 - Friend of God II
Chapter Overview: You are only as close to God as you choose to be. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you"
Rick makes a number of main points in this chapter:
- You must choose to be honest with God
- You must choose to obey God in faith
- You must choose to value what God values
- You must desire friendship with God more than anything else
2011 (40 years old)
I can be honest with God. However, there's a point where your gripe gets in the way of moving forward with God. For example, my issue with the next point. I can't 'choose' to obey God in faith because how do I know what He is saying? My argument is this: I believe He can make Himself heard (He is speaking to me). However, I don't have a lot of faith in my ability to correctly discern what He is saying. Was this You, God, or was it that? Which one was You? Perhaps I over analyze it. It's a real struggle. And because it is and continues to be, I use it as a cop-out.
2016 (45 years old)
I'm as close to God as I want to be. God uses everything... EVERYTHING for our good. Sometimes we blame him for our circumstances. He wants us to be honest with him, even when we feel hurt. Pain is God's megaphone. Like the church in Ephesus, if your motivation for doing things for God is duty, then you've missed it completely. You're just going through the motions and you're missing God. What are some practical choices I can make today in order to grow closer to God? Perhaps ask myself this question in every situation and circumstance I find myself in today, remembering that God always has my best interest at heart and that he likes honesty and obedience. Outward results don't matter - that's not what God is interested in or looking at.
For background on what these 'Purpose Driven Life' posts are about,
click this link.
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 1 - Its Not About Me
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 2 - You Are Not an Accident
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 3 - What Drives You?
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 4 - Eternity In Our Hearts
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 5 - What is Life?
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 6 - Life on Earth is a Temporary Assignment
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 7 - The Reason for Everything
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 8 - You Were Planned for God's Pleasure
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 9 - What Makes God Smile?
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 10 - The Surrendered Life
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 11 - Friend of God
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 13 - Worship That Pleases God
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 14 - When God Isn't There
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 15 - Part of God's Family
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 16 - What Matters Most
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 17 - You Belong
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 18 - Life is Meant to be Shared
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 19 - Made for Community
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 20 - Restoring Broken Fellowship
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 21 - Unity of the Church
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 22 - Transformed to be Like Christ
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 23 - Transformed by Thought
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 24 - Transformed By Truth
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 25 - Transformed by Trouble
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 26 - Transformed by Temptation
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 27 - Defeating Temptation
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 28 - It Takes Time
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 29 - Shaped for Serving God
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 30 - Our Place in Serving
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 31 - Finding Your Specific Purpose
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 32 - Using What God Gave You
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 33 - How Real Servants Act
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 34 - Thinking Like a Servant
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 35 - God Uses Our Weaknesses
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 36 - You Were Made for a Mission
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 37 - Sharing Your Life Message
My Appendix to Chapter 37
My Testimony Based on Chapter 37
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 38 - Becoming a World-Class Christian
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 39 - Balance
Purpose Driven Life Chapter 40 - Living With Purpose
No comments:
Post a Comment