Rick Warren's Blog, page 611

Eternity Should Shape Your Goals

God���s purposes for your life aren���t just for here and now; they are forever and ever and ever. If you think this life is all there is, then you will set goals as if this life is all there is.

What Will You Do with What You���ve Been Given?

Do you know what God created you for? Do you know what your destiny is?

In order to fulfill your destiny, you must recognize the gifts God has given you to use. These are the cards you are dealt in life. They include the things you can���t control: your parents, your nationality, your race, your native language. They also include your SHAPE: your spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences. These are the things that make you uniquely you.

Your Life has Eternal Importance

You are going to give your life for something. What will it be ��� a career, a sport, a hobby, fame, wealth? None of these will have lasting significance.

Service is the pathway to real significance. It is through ministry that we discover the meaning of our lives. The Bible says, ���Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body��� (Romans 12:5 MSG).

The Clues to Where You Should Be Serving

The Bible uses the term ���heart��� to describe the bundle of desires, hopes, interests, ambitions, dreams, and affections that you have. Your heart represents the source of all your motivations ��� what you love to do and what you care about most. Even today, we still use the word in this way when we say, ���I love you with all my heart.���

How to Prepare to Share Your Life Lessons

God has put a life message within you.

When you became a believer, you also became God���s messenger. God wants to speak to the world through you.

You may think you don���t have anything to share, but that���s the Devil trying to keep you silent. You have a storehouse of experiences that God wants to use to bring others into his family.

Celebrate Your SHAPE

God never wastes an experience. Romans 8:28 reminds us, ���And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose��� (NIV).

At Saddleback Church, we help people consider five areas of experience that will influence the kind of ministry they are best shaped for:

God Made You, and You Belong to Him

When it comes to planning, many Christians act like atheists. They realize Jesus saved them, but they don���t really trust him. They think they can plan their life any way they want to. But the reality is God created everyone, and he made each person for a unique purpose. He has a specific destiny for everyone.

God Uses Your Problems for Good

Life is not a series of random, freak accidents. Life is not totally unplanned. Life is not without meaning. God knows what���s going on. He���s weaving the tapestry of your life, and it has light and dark threads ��� happy and sad times ��� to give richness and texture and color to your life. Nothing can come into the life of a child of God without God���s permission. Everything is Father filtered.

The Right Attitudes for a Quiet Time

You may understand that a daily quiet time is necessary for spiritual growth and be motivated to do it, but how do you go about having one?

You have to start with the proper attitudes. In God���s eyes, why you do something is far more important than what you do.

You Need an Outside Power Source

Have you figured out yet that a lot of times you are your own worst enemy? It���s your own reactions, your own fears, and your own inadequacies that cause you to act in foolish ways. I know that���s true for me.