God’s Purpose for Your Life: Chapter 1
One weekend, many years ago, my wife and I were visiting her family. We were sitting together in their living room, engaged in a fairly casual conversation. It was obvious that my wife's sister was irritated by something. During a lull in the conversation, she finally turned to me and said in a puzzled. voice, "Jim, why don't you just
JESUS AT THE CENTER: CHAPTER 2
As I began to realize what God's purpose for my life was, something important came into focus. I saw that throughout the New Testament, Jesus was central to the plan and purpose of God. The Father has determined that all men are to "honor the Son, even as they honor the Father" (Jn 5:23). To the Christians at the church in Philippi
GOD’S VISION: CHAPTER 3
A little over twenty-five years ago, when I was a young minister, I met a man whom I believe was a very great missionary. Though I doubt he would have considered himself so, his works confirmed the fact. This man's name was William W. Simpson. He was instrumental in founding numerous churches throughout northwestern China after the turn of the
CONFORMED TO CHRIST: CHAPTER 4
Every person yearns for personal fulfillment and happiness. Much of our lives are directed to the pursuit of happiness. But, tragically, many people never find true happiness. Some people grow cynical and bitter about life, while others simply resign themselves to enjoying the few comforts and pleasures they are able to acquire. Worse yet, many people plunge blindly from one thing
UNITY OF THE BODY: CHAPTER 5
Perhaps nothing in the New Testament is dealt with more extensively than the subject of unity among God's people. Near the end of his earthly ministry Jesus prayed to the Father: "And the glory which Your has given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one
PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL: CHAPTER 6
Some things are beautiful in the sight of God, which to human eyes may not be beautiful at all. In fact, they may seem quite ugly. For example, in Isaiah the Lord says, "How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news" (Isa 52:7). Beautiful feet? Most people would agree that a finely featured face can
COMMITMENT: CHAPTER 7
"All right," you might be thinking. "I know there's a higher purpose for my life. I see a vision now that's much bigger than I've ever seen before. I've been challenged and stirred. But what exactly do I do?" This kind of questioning is important. If after reading all that I've written about God's purpose and vision, your only response was "That's
