1/1/12- Our Main Goal

Q. 1- What is the main goal of human life?
A.- The main goal of human life is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31).

"For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things.  To Him be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:36)

Thoughts: The religious question is more of a "why" than a "how" or "when."  In that sense it is the primary question that gives meaning, purpose, love and hope.  The "why we are here" answer brings soul or breath to dry bones.
     God doesn't give us life simply so we might be comfortable in it.  In fact, God may call us to sacrifice our comfort for a greater good- as Jesus did on the cross. God doesn't even call us into existence simply to be saved.  We are not created simply to coast through this life in order to populate heaven.  Salvation is necessary and justification and conversion is a very important but neglected first step.  But salvation is not why we are here-- it is only a partial answer.  We are here to glorify God.  We are here to reflect His personhood- His light- His love- His grace into the world.  We reflect God as the moon reflects the sun.
     But we are also here to enjoy Him.  God wants us to have the abundant life (John 10:10).  But we too often turn away from the joy of God.  Yet Nehemiah reminds us "the joy of the Lord is your strength." We are created to be a certain way- and when we turn away from how we are made, we are turning from our own joy, hope, and meaning.  It is not only possible to enjoy God, it is how we are created to live.
     The main goal or primary purpose is not for a moment (unlike other resolutions- like losing weight or eating/drinking more moderately).  It is a lifelong- even beyond this life goal.  It is our eternal goal that we need to embrace on this first day of the year and the rest of our lives!

Prayer: May my life lift up your being Lord.  May my life be a song of reflection and joy to you, now and forevermore.

Original: "What is the chief end of man?"  "Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever."
Modern Tranlsation: "What is man's primary purpose?" "Man's primary purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."

12/31/2011- A Reason for a Daily Devotional About Faith-Hope-Love

If you are looking for a daily devotional to plug into about Christian faith for the coming year, you may have come to the right spot.

In a time in which people don't know what Christianity is really all about, and many Christian leaders have unloosed themselves from the anchor of scripture and even the person of Jesus, this devotion is an effort to stake ourselves firmly to the strengths of faith while also applying this faith to the current day (which is why it is written daily-or almost daily).

We cannot separate faith from the content of faith.  "Just believing" is meaningless unless we know what we believe.  So each day will have a bit of a classic creed (starting with the basics of the Westminster Shorter Catechism), but re-translating it into modern English.  So this will be a Christian blog- not an "all about me-and what I'm doing" blog.

We also cannot separate faith from love- lest we become dry as a well-preserved rose-petal.  Thus an emphasis on love- which makes faith dynamic, and the Holy Spirit- which applies faith to everyday life will be made.

We also cannot separate faith from hope- for faith is not yet made complete.  Hope finds some strength from missions- which is ever-reaching out in hopes for others to be influenced by the light of Christ. But our ultimate hope is found in God (Father,Son, Spirit) who calls us to Himself.

If you have been kind of drifting and need to be reminded of your north star- your hope this might be a good blog to feed into.
If you have been wondering why you believe what you do, this might be a great blog for you.
If you are looking for a source of daily nourishment from scripture as well as some deep thought from the past- this could be the place for you.

In our world there is a growing sense of fear, superstition and selfishness.  The best way to fight these things is not with more police, government, and laws- but with faith-hope-and love.

Come join us in a journey of faith hope and love.

(Left- Polaris- the North Star)