We must use every day to the fullest, because
God has entrusted it to us.
It makes me as an
American afraid because we are trusted with so
much
wealth and opportunities. Those of us who
have been given so much by God
need to make sure
that we are not wasting it on ourselves or
letting it spoil
and rot. It is fine to enjoy
what God has given us, but there is a limit and
Americans are obese in so many ways. How could I
ever give a valuable return
for all of the
opportunities that God has given me? The truth
is that we cannot
repay what we have been
entrusted, but with God's help we can grow to
use
it more effectively.
--Joe
Day 46:
from
The Purpose Driven Life
Pg.49
With all the
fascinating attractions,
mesmerizing media, and enjoyable experiences
available today,
it's easy to forget that the pursuit of
happiness is not what life's about.
This is a hard thing for someone to read
if they just want to be happy.
Growing up, I have found happiness in doing good
and unhappiness usually
resulted from doing something wrong. I
concluded, if I do good then I will
be happy and if I am not happy, it is a sign of
something I did wrong.
Sometimes we just need to do good and not
question why we feel a certain way.
--Joe
Day 47:
from
The Purpose Driven Life
Luke 12: 13-21 The story of the foolish farmer
Someone in the crowd said to him,
"Teacher, tell my brother to divide the
inheritance with me."
Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a
judge or an arbiter between you?"
Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on
your guard against all kinds of greed;
a man's life does not consist in the
abundance of his possessions."
And he told them this parable: "The
ground of a certain rich man produced a
good crop.
He thought to himself, 'What shall I do?
I have no place to store my crops.'
"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I
will tear down my barns and build bigger
ones,
and there I will store all my grain and
my goods. And I'll say to myself,
"You have plenty of good things laid up
for many years. Take life easy; eat,
drink and be merry." '
"But God said to him, 'You fool! This
very night your life will be demanded
from you.
Then who will get what you have prepared
for yourself?'
"This is how it will be with anyone who
stores up things for himself but is not
rich toward God."
Now, this man was a good worker but he
placed value on stuff and
did not recognize God's sovereignty. The points
included in the message
consisted of discussing covetousness and how the
love of things causes
all sorts of evil especially war. The main
problem with the man in this
story is that he sought goods first and trusted
that he would be happy
and his soul would be at rest with his great
possessions. It is necessary
to desire God above goods and to understand that
possessions themselves
will not bring lasting peace and that God is the
only one who truly
knows how our lives will turn out.
--Joe
Day 48:
from
The Purpose Driven Life
Pg. 64
Anything you do that brings pleasure to God is
an act of worship.
I want God to smile when He watches me. I
need to watch for more
opportunities in everyday activities to worship
God through my
attitude and actions. Remember that God provides
these
opportunities and they will also lead to a life
containing real
pleasure. When I worship God, I can be satisfied
with the life. --Joe
Day 49:
from
The Purpose Driven Life
Pg. 72
In fact, you will never
understand some commands
until you obey them first.
This is a very difficult idea for a young man
to receive.
It is hard to accept things we do not
understand.
We need to trust God and many times this means
trusting the advice of other people. --Joe
Day 50:
from
The Purpose Driven Life
Surrendered people obey
God's word, even if it doesn't make sense.
We don't have to understand or see the final
outcome of everything.
Yes, there is a basic judgment when you obey
someone, but that
does not require understanding. Many times I
have obeyed my
parents in simple things. They didn't always
give me the full
explanation, but because I knew THEY were good
many times
I obeyed without question. We never have to wait
for God's
answers to our questioning before we obey his
commands. --Joe
Day 51:
from
The Purpose Driven Life pg. 91
Prayers let you speak to God;
meditation lets God speak to you.
Both are essential to becoming a friend of God.
pg 89. If you are seeking
an experience of his presence
through all of this, you have missed the point.
I will focus on saying small, short prayers
throughout the day,
especially as I am reminded by thoughts or
activities around me.
I will continue to have good scripture songs
playing in my mind
and remember God's presence as I do daily
activities.
These are good and obedient-- even if I don't
get a good feeling,
it will reduce my worries and honor God. --Joe
Being in Day 51 is quite an interesting
time to think about numbering my days.
As a young man of 20, I think that I better get
my life together because
I do not want to feel like this for the long
period ahead. But, it is also clear
that we should all get our lives right with God
and understand His purpose
because this could be our last week.
I trust that I will get through the 80 days, and
take it for granted as I
look ahead and sometimes worry about what I will
do next. A proper
view of life and time would be the daily
surrender of my thoughts,
actions, and plans to the One who is outside of
time.
I have to take every day as it comes with
Thanksgiving and pay
attention to the still small voice of the Holy
Spirit.
Day 52
from The
Purpose Driven Life:
pg. 94 To
be God's friend, you must be honest to God,
sharing your true feeling, not what you think
you ought to feel or say.
As this is so,
we should not dwell on feelings and our own
perceptions. Briefly acknowledge our lack of
understanding
and then take a more positive step
by reciting the Biblical cure. It is not deceit
to communicate with God that although
we have
deep emotions, we do not want to live without
faith. So as much as we can-- we speak the
absolute truth
of God's Word. Even if it does
not drastically, immediately change our
feelings, the Truth has gone forth and God
honors our attempts.
--Joe
Day 53
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg. 105
God is pleased when your worship is practical.
Warren used
this idea to mention that people who will not
bother to go, but instead say their spirit is
there -- that is worthless.
Well, I might not go
that far, but it is very valuable to Pastor
Wesley to someone from FBC Galt visit regularly.
It is important to
go and do instead of just
praying. Good thoughts and money are good, but
many times the worship can be in the feet.
If
you won't go, make sure that God has some
reason for you to stay.
--Joe
Day 54
Sunday March 5th, 2006
Today was
another fine service at Greater Love Bible
Baptist Church.
Since it was the first Sunday of
the month, we remembered the Lord's Supper.
The
Theme of the Sermon today was The Imperfect Made
Perfect -- from James 1:2-5
The main message
that was conveyed was when trials come our way,
we should see the trials in the way
God is
dealing with us (from God's perspective). Gold
has to go through the refining process.
When God
allows trials, it is a result for our own good.
When the trails are aborted, cut short, it will
not produce
the patience necessary for this
perverse world. God has a timing.
Job 42:5 "I
have heard of you, but now my eyes have seen
you."
Trials are not for evil; God will allow
them for my own good.
Practical
Aspect: Many people in Liberia do not have what
they would desire so sermons widely use verses
about overcoming trials and the benefits that
will come later. "Deep valley experience before
mountaintop delight".
Well, I needed
to hear this sermon as well.
There were
around 70 people at church today and 8?
visitors. One was a man who is returning for a
short time from Lebanon.
He is excited and wants
to see his Lebanese church help Pastor Wesley.
--Joe
Day 54
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg 111
Focus on who God is His unchanging nature.
Day 14 (PDL) is
about trusting God and having faith even when
you cannot feel His presence. Though God
promises
to never leave us, sometimes He hides
himself from us to test us and strengthen our
relationship.
--Joe
pg. 110 " He wants you to sense
His presence, but He's more concerned that you
trust Him than that you feel Him".
Day 55
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg. 118
When we put our faith in Christ ... other
believers become
our brothers and sisters, and
the church be comes our spiritual family.
This truth
compels us to help other believers. We need to
connect (hmm ... I guess I was distracted when I
was writing this) with
those who are in need,
especially those who have the love of Christ in
them and are helping people in Jesus' name.
--Joe
Day 56
from The
Purpose Driven Life pg 125
Relationship,
not achievements or the acquisition of things,
are what matter most in life.
I have
generally considered myself a rather loving
person. Now I am beginning to struggle with more
long term
concerns and they have fogged my mind.
This has led to very close relationships with my
parents, but also to a
more isolated,
introverted existence. In my concern, I have
tended to not be as outgoing to make new friends
or
genuinely care about others. Even as it feels
like I do not have the same drive as in past
years-- I believe it is still
important. So I
trust God and step-by-step make advances in
these Godly relationships.
--Joe
Day 57
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg.133 A
church family moves you out of self-centered
isolation.
Living away
from your family: Today's study is all about
how we all need a local, dependable group of
believers
to share life with. I am happy to have
a church family at FBC Galt. It's hard growing
and being away. But, I have
still found great
encouragement from my family in Galt. It is hard
to go away and to commit. Tough when I was
at
school because though I was there, my heart had
not settled with a new church family. The
important thing is
having groups of believers
who you are accountable to even if you cannot
always be with them.
--Joe
Day 58
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg
139 In real fellowship people experience
authenticity.
The main
difficulty with being authentic comes when we
feel weak and do not know how to change the
situation ourselves.
pg.140 "it means facing
our fear of exposure, rejection, and being hurt
again" It is easy to be honest when everything
is
great and things are looking up, but it is
difficult to tell people your concerns and daily
failings. The benefit is that God has
created us
and placed us in a family to help each other. We
do not need to fear our brothers and they
provide strength
and a listening ear when we are
weak.
--Joe
Day 59
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg. 148
Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is
thinking of yourself less.
Humble people are so
focused on serving others, they don't think of
themselves.
I say I want
the blessings that come with humility, and I do
not want to be proud. It is hard to serve others
and
forget about ourselves. We see what we see
all day. We know what we feel and what we want
all the time.
It takes effort to feel what
others need and to see what they see.
--Joe
Day 60
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg. 154
Most conflict is rooted in unmet needs. Some of
these needs can only be met by God.
When you
expect anyone … to meet a need that only God can
fulfill, you are setting
yourself up for
disappointment and bitterness.
Today's lesson
was written to instruct the reader how to
restore human relationships. I feel like I keep
pretty good
relationships with others. Where
this applies to me seems to be the reminder that
there are some needs that only
God can fill. I
have many reliable people who care for me very
much, but there are inner workings and spiritual
lessons
that they cannot do for me. They can and
do pray for me, but the rest is a process with
God so that God and I can build
our own
relationship.
--Joe
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg. 164
It is the Devil's job to blame, complain,
and criticize members of God's family.
pg 162 ..."we must passionately
love the church in spite of its
imperfections.
from The
Purpose Driven Life
Longing for the ideal while criticizing the
real is evidence of immaturity ... Maturity
is living with the tension.
I am being guided to focus on all the good
things instead of seeking tiny differences.
Pastor Wesley is a great leader and far
above ____.
( I guess he is far above what many would
require or expect from someone in this
situation).
Why would I want to criticize him? Though I
check to make sure he is honest.
I am a witness to the intense ... oh what is
the word, earnestness? character?
faithfulness? of this man.
Today was another service at Greater Love
Bible Baptist Church.
One of the songs we sang was "Forgive us
one more time".
The instruments include tambourines and
shakers.
Sometimes during Sunday School we will
all pray out loud to God at the same
time.
Praise and Worship was a little more
lively today as most of the people move
about
in their areas and we all clap our hands
with the beat. I am beginning to learn
some |
of the words to the more common
choruses, and when we sing the hymns I
can read every word.
As usual we enjoyed a Sunday School message
from 1 Peter 5, we are now in verses 8,9.
Sunday School lasts for about an hour from
the time the first 15 people are there and
as
others arrive until around 11 am when the
regular service begins.
The theme of the message was Exposing
Hell:
Point 1:The Darkness of hell. Matthew 8:12;
2 Peter 2:4
Point 2: The fire of Hell.
Point 3: The depth of hell. Revelation 9:1
Point 4: The loneliness of Hell. Luke 16:24,
Matthew 8:12
Point 5: The thirst of hell. Luke 16:26
Point 6: The endlessness of hell. 2
Thessalonians 1:8,9
This message was not to scare the
congregation, but to inform them and remind
them what God has saved us from. If today's
message was a bit unnerving--
next week's promises to be sweet. It will be
about heaven.
After the sermon, Pastor brought forward the
man from Lebanon.
He is excited about contacting his home
church, First Baptist Bible Church in Beirut
and
believes they could assist GLBBC and myself.
It is great to be part of an excited church
where God is bringing people to partner
together.
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg 178.
Jesus did not die on the cross so we could
live comfortable, well-adjusted lives.
pg 173.
life is supposed to be difficult
pg. 173
if you fall for the idea that life is
supposed to be easy, you will become
severely
disillusioned or you will live in denial of
reality.
I do not want to be in denial of reality. I
do not want to be severely disillusioned.
I want to accept the God-given trials and
opportunities even if they do not seem easy.
I do not want to make my life more difficult
by opposing God. I want to be content and
have God's peace even if He places me in a
position I would not seek for myself.
Today's reading is about spiritual growth
and maturing to become like Jesus.
We have to make full, Godly commitments. We
have to change our minds to
focus on helping others. Then God will work
in us and gradually the changes will come.
Gotta stop being self-centered and
self-seeking and start thinking maturely,
focusing on others p.182
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg.191
Receiving, reading, researching,
remembering, and reflecting on the Word
are all
useless if we fail to put them into practice
...
The truth will set you
free, but first it may make you miserable!
I find myself to be a selfish person. Though
I help others, I am consumed by the desire
to be happy and know what I should do. It is
easier when one is feeling wonderful to
help others, but its difficult to focus on
others when you yourself are not dealt with.
Rejoice in the Lord always. Be anxious for
nothing. Think on GOOD things.
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg.193
Life is a series of problems. Every time you
solve one, another one is waiting to take
its place.
pg. 194
God uses problems to draw you closer to
Himself.
This day was really helpful for me. It gives
some understanding and a reminder of why
God does not always comfort us and remove
our troubles.
As hard as it is (or feels if it isn't
really that hard), we have to learn to
refocus on Christ
and search for the lesson God wants to
teach. Very hard for me to trust when I
don't see...
I thought LOGIC was a strength ...
pg. 199
You know you are maturing when you begin to
see the hand of God in the random,
baffling, and seemingly pointless
circumstances of life.
The comparison to a
cake and silversmith were both ideas I had
read very recently. The CAKE story on Aimee
Sayre's myspace blog and the silversmith was
in an FBCgalt email. WOW
Whoo, Today's chapter is Growing Through
Temptation.
pg.201 Every temptation is an opportunity to
do good.
I am encouraged to consider how although I
am tempted to give up, be anxious,
be upset, selfish and all those other
negative qualities, God has given me the
strength to overcome. I am not a slave to
those. I am showing endurance every
morning I get out of bed and as I daily make
the effort to do the daily PDL readings
and journal. Though it may not be a big deal
and is certainly not my ideal performance,
God is allowing me to see fruit from my
obedience.
I have been considering that not one day do
I do what I want,
feel how I think I should and be happy all
day. That is a very negative attitude.
Once again, every prayer and response to God
is a victory and I should celebrate
God's presence and be glad that despite how
I feel at times, God is working in me
and He only does GOOD work.
love,
Joe
Day 67
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg
210 Refocus your attention on something
else.
Don't focus on problems or fears or
feelings. IF you are worrying and
there is not something you
need to do at that time, just focus on
something else. Hard to do, but we know it
will help.
Instead of wondering why ... and
worrying what if ... just look at
good things and speak to
yourself and God about all the good things
around you. Focusing on GOOD is not denial,
it is choosing the TRUE REALITY and
discovering the blessings God has given
us. --Joe
Day 68:
Today, you should
read Day 21 of the Purpose Driven Life.
How many people were in church today?
What
happened that was special? What about the sermon?
Problem areas that you are noticing.
PLEASE give some details…fill the
space, sir.
There were about 47
people in service today and about
16 in Children's
Church.
I wore a very fine
African shirt that I was given.
It is beautiful, blue and purple.
We attempted to take a picture,
but the memory stick was still with the
computer instead of in my camera.
Today's Sunday
School lesson was on
1 Peter 5:9-14.
God will allow suffering. We are not alone.
God wants to perfect you.
Two hymns we sang today were
Stand Up, Stand Up
For Jesus, and
Standing on the
Promises.
Intermittently through the service
or announcements, the
speaker may say
Hallelujah?!
In Jesus' Name
... or the pastor may say
Hello-o?
All of these calls are will trigger the
congregation to respond,
"Amen"
...
Several times throughout the service
the phrase will begin,
God is Good (All the Time). All
the Time, (God is Good to me/us).
Today's sermon was
on Heaven:
John 14 Heaven is beyond our
imagination. Heaven is a place of the
saints.
Matthew 6:20 You have to lay up
treasures.
Luke 10:20 Your names are written in heaven.
Heaven is such a wonderful place, and
God has built many mansions for us there,
but you do not want your eternal home to be
bare
so you need to do God's work while on earth.
As well, God is a
good book-keeper.
Your name is either in the
Book of Life or on the list for Hell.
pg 219
But real maturity is never the result of a
single experience,
no matter how
powerful or moving. Growth is gradual.
We are slow
learners. We oftern have to relearn a lesson
forty or fifty times to really get it.
O.K. So I can learn
how and why God matures people
through troubles and long periods,
but I still don't
always like it!
pg.220
Growth is often painful and scary
Since we don't know ourselves, we think we
have learned lessons and do not expect all
the trials. When God gives us a short
vacation, we think we have finished all of
the courses. --Joe
pg. 222
When God wants to make a mushroom, he does
it overnight, but when he wants to make a
giant oak, he takes a hundred years.
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg. 229
Regardless of your job or career, you are
called to full-time Christian
service.
Real service is helping others especially
when you don't feel like it.
It is never forgetting that people are
important. Oh, it can be so hard to share
sometimes.
What is it that you find difficult to share?
Your money? Your preferences? Your time?
--Joe
pg.232
If you aren't serving, you're just existing,
because life is meant for ministry.
God wants you to
learn to love and serve others unselfishly.
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg.235
God never wastes anything.
He would not give you abilities, interests,
talents, gifts, personality,
and life experiences unless he intended you
to use them for his glory.
I have to trust that God will continue to
work everything together for His good.
He will not waste any of my time. If I stick
to his path, I am heading in the right
direction
at the proper pace. The Bible gives good
assurance to keep going because even though
I
don't see the whole path-- God definitely
does.
--Joe
Day 71:
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg 246. It feels
good to do what God made you to do.
I have misunderstood this sentence
before. One could think anything that
feels good is right. One could believe
that God always wants them to feel good.
Generally, we will be most satisfied
when we are obeying God in all aspects
and this will result in feeling good.
But sometimes we have to trust and obey
even if we don't feel good as an
immediate result. Chasing feelings is
not the answer, but a life lived
according to God's plan for you will
yield contentment and the most
happiness.
--Joe
Day 72:
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg. 250 The best
way to discover your gifts and abilities
is to experiment with different areas of
serving.
I find that I am a pretty good helper
and like to be a part of a team. So far,
I have found a lot of encouragement to
serve in Liberia and I have been using
some very basic skills to me. I have
read emails, typed correspondences, and
taken some pictures. Doesn't seem too
difficult to me, but others have
stressed the value. --Joe
Day 73:
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg. 259 Are you
available to God anytime? Can He mess up
your plans without you becoming
resentful? ... Being a servant means
giving up the right to control your
schedule and allowing God to interrupt
it whenever He needs to.
Sometimes when we are not in control or
are uncertain about future plans, God
will use us more effectively than if we
did what seemed best in our own minds. --Joe
I have begun to make some preparations
because I expect that people will want
to get something from me before I go.
One of the difficulties in this area is
getting the right denominations of
currency as the money changers are not
really in the business of making change
from larger bills and I do not have
access to a bank for this purpose. The
small bills I brought were used about a
month ago. Dear Lord, I pray that you
will provide the desire and ability to
those who would seek a god gift from
you. Protect me from stinginess and also
from giving the wrong thing to the wrong
person. I want to give out of love and
joy, not guilt or compulsion.
--Joe
Day 75:
from The
Purpose Driven Life
pg. 276 Be content with your weaknesses.
pg 276. Honestly share your weaknesses
pg 277 Glory in your weaknesses.
What a difficult day's reading this
day's was. It is hard for me to accept
my weaknesses. Yes, I have them and they
were there in the past, but now some
just appear to be a majority of my
focus. It is difficult at this time in
my life for me to see very many of my
strengths. In the midst of some of my
most trying times, the website has been
used to share my weaknesses. My main
hope is that this will build, mold me
and help me to become more of the man
God wants me to be and it will show what
God does. I didn't do anything good. --Joe
Day 76:
Joe, we're in the
COUNTDOWN.
AS you read today's passage for DAY 36…
write prayers for your context that interact with some of the paragraphs.
TAKE the time necessary to do this well.
God, thank you for your concern for all
people on earth and for your desire to
use us to help them come to know you.
Lord, help me remember what a privilege
it is to be USED by you in Liberia.
Jesus, thank you for the rewards that
will be gained in the future as a result
of Pastor Wesley's work in your field.
May you please keep reminding us and use
the signposts to bring people to church
where they can hear about you. God,
thank you for the truth that this entire
life has been profitable if one person
comes to know you as a result of our
activities. Thank you for allowing me to
invest my time in a meaningful action,
assisting Pastor Wesley in Liberia and
helping poor children at the home.
God give me the courage and wisdom to
daily put aside
whatever plan I have that does not meet
your best for me.
--Joe
I stayed with this family during
my entire time in Liberia:
Pastor Richard Kla Wesley, Sr.
Laura Catherine Wesley
Ruth Klady Wesley, 16
Priscilla Tody Wesley, 15
Abigail Richline Wesley, 13
Eunice Laurina Wesley, 12
Richard Kla Wesley, Jr., 7
Robert Patterson Wesley, 2
Moses McCall Wesley, 7 months
_Eunice_Wesley_.jpg)
