Wednesday, April 18, 2018

A Purpose Driven Life - Chapter 37

A Purpose Driven Life Chapter 37 - Sharing Your Life Message

Chapter Overview:  Sharing your life message. God wants to say something to the world through me. '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 3:15.

2011 (40 years old)

I really like what Rick said about 'being witnesses'. Our responsibility is to share our story, not to argue or advocate our position. We aren't supposed to be lawyers. Just share about our personal relationship with god and what he's done for us. I was thinking about this in the shower this morning and wondering... So if I'm sharing my story with Jim here at work, he would be fine with it, but he'd say 'what's in this for me that I don't have already?' My answer should be 'an assurance and a hope for the future and a relationship with the king of kings.'

Sharing my life message.  Being a witness and not a preacherHowever, given some of the things that Rick and Jesus said in the previous chapters - do I have an assurance? I'm feeling today like the message is confused, quite frankly. There's the sheep and the goats, and there's being saved by grace through faith so no one can boast. How is there assurance when one message is contrary to the other?

2016 (45 years old)

As I reflect on my personally story, who does God want me to share it with?  This was another really good chapter. I felt grace reading this one and chapter 35. Quite different than how I felt 5 years ago. Our own personal experiences are powerful. We forget that. We are called to be witnesses - not attorneys. In answering the question above, I think of the coming Friday piano lunch session at the church and how I can share my experience with a song.  I also think of sharing it with the youth band. I have watched a couple of excerpts of talks done by Darlene Zschech lately, and really touched by the smile, joy, and grace and acceptance that flies from her.  '...full of grace and truth'. We are called to be like Jesus.  How can people see the hope in the verse above if I don't reflect it and act it out. I liked the questions Rick asked in the different sections in this chapter: things to ensure you cover when you write out your testimony; questions to jog your memory about your life lessons. Those are great. I think I had a story for every question he posed...

I actually took some time and answered those questions here (published May 7th, 2018 in this blog)

...And more of my thoughts associated with this chapter can be found in this blog post

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 12 - Friend of God II
  • 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
  • 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
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