Purpose

Have you ever listened to a speaker and found yourself wondering, “Where is he going with this? What is his point?” As people, we’re programmed to expect things to have a purpose or meaning. We have reasons for everything we do—we eat because we need nourishment; we go to the movies because we think it’s fun. If we can’t come up with a reason to do something, odds are we won’t do it.

On the large scale, our lives aren’t any different. We want our lives to have meaning. We desire our lives to have purpose. Too often it’s easy to fall into a routine and wake up one morning wondering, “Why am I doing this? What am I doing with my life?” Without a sense of direction and purpose, we lose hope and motivation to continue on.

Fortunately, God tells us in Scripture that He knows the purpose of each individual life. He knew eons before you were ever born who you would be and what you would accomplish. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Moreover, He has a glorious plan for your life. Psalm 40:5 says, “Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders You have done. The things You have planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.”

But perhaps you think to yourself, “That sounds nice, but how can God use someone like me?” Psalms 33:11 says, “But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.” God knows what He’s doing, and has used His followers to impact countless people even centuries after their time—think of the apostles, or even an “ordinary” person who wrote a hymn that still stirs peoples’ hearts to worship. In fact, God has called many people who felt poorly equipped or unworthy—Abraham, Moses, Paul, Esther, and Gideon, just to name a few! Wherever you are now, God can use you to make a difference for eternity.

Your life and your every action are extremely important to God, and each day you have is a gift from Him. “…All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:16b)

God is the one who gives us hope and something to live for. “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

So if you ever wonder what the point of your life is…ask Jesus. He’ll assure you of His plan, and when you trust and follow Him, you will experience marvelous things. “…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10b)

The Importance of Baptism in the Christian Faith

I recently read a book that described how some believers were practicing baptism:  “Generally, new converts are baptized in the ocean. Here is what happens. After the words of the baptismal covenant have been exchanged, two deacons hold the person’s hands and feet in a horizontal stretch, swing the convert back and forth, and then throw the convert into a wave ‘in the name of the Father.’ The convert is washed to shore. The deacons quickly pick up the convert and throw him or her again in the name of the Son. The convert is thrown a third time in the name of the Spirit.”

Woah. Sounds pretty crazy. One may wonder whether this avant-garde approach to baptism has any biblical support. In fact, the whole issue of baptism is surrounded by a lot of questions. “What does baptism mean? What is the proper mode of baptism? Does baptism save? Who should receive baptism?” As one of the major principles of Christianity, we must make sure that we understand baptism and know how to answer these important questions.

What’s the point of baptism anyway?

Here is a working definition of baptism:  Baptism is the event in which a believer, in obedience to Christ, publicly and symbolically identifies himself with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, thus committing to walk in newness of life. Christ commanded baptism as part of His great commission (Mt. 28:19; Mk. 16:16), and the book of Acts demonstrates the fulfillment of this command in the public baptism of new believers (Acts 2:41; 8:12; 9:18; 16:33). Genuine believers will want to obey Christ by obeying this important command. Paul teaches that through baptism, the believer identifies himself with Christ’s death (Rom. 6:3), burial (6:4), and resurrection (6:5; c.f. also taught in Gal. 3:27; Col. 2:12). Thus, baptism symbolizes the believer’s “new life” (Rom. 6:4) in which he is dead to sin and alive to God (Rom. 6:6-11).

How should someone be baptized? Sprinkling? Dunking?

The question of how baptism should be administered has occupied the attention of Christians for centuries. Everyone agrees that baptism has something to do with water, but whether that involves sprinkling, pouring, or dunking is a matter of debate.

One way to solve the difficulty is to understand the meaning of the word baptism. At its root, the word baptism means to immerse. Even the occurrences and references to baptism throughout the New Testament suggest that immersion was the form of baptism that John, Jesus, and the apostles used: “They were being baptized by him in the Jordan River” (Mat. 3:6). “Immediately coming up out of the water” (Mark 1:10). “John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there” (John 3:23). “They both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him (Acts 8:38). Furthermore, the presence of many pools and baths throughout Jerusalem would have facilitated the immersion of thousands of people on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:41).

The picture communicated in baptism by immersion is the only mode that matches the symbolism that baptism intends to communicate. Romans 6:3 states, “that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death.” Paul draws a similar parallel in Col. 2:12, when he writes, “having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith.” Sprinkling and pouring fail to communicate the important symbolism demanded by Scripture.

Does baptism save?

One should keep in mind that the whole of Scripture teaches that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone (Eph. 2:8-9). It is one of the principles of Christianity that baptism is not necessary for one to be saved. Baptism is an act of obedience that should follow conversion. Only those who have personally accepted Christ as their personal Savior qualify for baptism. Peter preached “Repent and each of you be baptized” (Acts 2:38), and only “those who had received his word were baptized” (2:41).

Baptism is an important biblical doctrine. Knowing what it is, how it is practiced, and what is accomplishes is an important part of the principles of Christianity.

What the New Testament Teaches About Divine Healing

A few years ago, I was in a poor and developing nation in Africa. A prominent Christian was on a tour of Africa, preaching to thousands of people across the continent. His tour had brought him to the very city where I was staying in Sub-Saharan Africa. The event was massive. Tens of thousands of people swarmed to the huge field where the evangelist would be speaking. Hours before the event, loudspeakers were blaring deafening music. As the rally began, the speaker talked about healing. He spoke about prosperity. He spoke about a life free from trouble. He then claimed to be uttering words that had actual physical healing power.

Were his claims true? Were blind really able to see? Were the crippled really able to walk again? Were cancerous tumors removed? Were arthritic pains dissolved? Were congenital defects cured? As he declared, “I heal you now in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” was he really healing people?

In the wake of a global charismatic movement, such claims should be carefully analyzed. As you are involved in a college evangelism and Internet student ministry, it is an important part of your understanding of God’s Word. What does the New Testament teach about divine healing?

God can heal.

There is no mistaking the fact that God can heal. Jesus, who is God, healed thousands of people—paralytics, demon possessed, lepers, and many others (Matthew 12:15, Luke 6:18; 7:21; John 5:9). God is powerful, and He can heal anyone whom he chooses. The New Testament repeatedly proves this fact.

God sometimes chooses to use human instruments to heal.

In the early days of the church, God used the apostles to heal. Peter and John used the healing of a lame man to preach to thousands of Jerusalemites (Acts 4:9). Other apostles healed as part of their preaching ministry (Acts 5:16; 8:7).

God does not heal every disease.

Even though God can heal every disease, He does not choose to do so. The very existence of sickness and disease today is proof of that. Although Jesus healed thousands throughout Syria and Palestine, it is not true that every single sick person was healed. Even Paul, whose own ministry of healing and miracles is undisputed, had a physical malady (2 Corinthians 12:7). God chose not to heal Paul’s physical problem, though Paul repeatedly prayed for Him to do so.

God heals through prayer.

God never changes (Hebrews 13:8), but sometimes His methods do. Confirmatory signs were necessary in the days of the apostles, but since we now have the complete canon of Scripture healing, tongues, and other signs and wonders are not absolutely necessary for ministry to take place. Despite this possibility, it is unwise to put God in a box and say that He no longer heals. The book of James actually commands Christians, “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16). God heals through prayer.

What a wonder that we depend upon a God who can heal! As I witnessed the massive crusade in Africa, it is possible that some were healed. However, we cannot place demands upon God that the New Testament does not justify. We need not require of God that He heal every disease. Nor should we expect that healing is the only sign of His divine favor. Rather, we can rejoice in Him and thank Him for his great power that He gifts to believers as He perfectly wills.

The Cost of Discipleship

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I will not deny that the sacrifice of Jesus is a free gift–nothing we do can get us to God. Nothing can make us worthy. But neither is Jesus’ sacrifice something to be accepted and tossed aside. It is a life commitment.

Matthew 16:24-28 talks about the cost of discipleship. In verse 24, Jesus’ words are: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” That means total life commitment! Jesus isn’t just a part of your life. He will never share His glory with another. That means He comes first always! This is something we Christians often over look. We want to accept Jesus and place Him on the mantle.

It was put to me like this: the Hindu’s have many gods, so it is easy for them to accept Jesus and simply place Him in the line with many other gods. This is what most Christians do. Maybe we have a really big Jesus on our mantle piece–but as Isaiah 42:8 says:

“I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images.”

God will not share that mantle piece. It is our purpose as Christians to glorify God alone. The first four commandments are geared toward this very purpose.

You shall have no other gods before Me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in haven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

You shall not worship them or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

Did you catch all that? God comes first; He alone will be worshipped; and you shall not even say His name in vain. He comes first–He will not share His glory with another.

Does it still seem like we should accept Jesus’ sacrifice, believe God, and place Him on the mantle with all of our other Gods: food, music, education, video games, career, books, hobbies, and ourselves? Those things are not inherently evil–but God will not share the metaphorical mantle. He is all of your life–He must remain your first priority forever. That doesn’t mean that you have to give up all those things–but if they are keeping you from God, you might want to consider it.

My initial point was that Christ isn’t a part of your life–we Christians are to be holy priests–set apart for God. He won’t share His glory with another–don’t worship anything apart from God. Christianity isn’t a willy-nilly acceptance and casting by the wayside. It is a daily dedication of the rest of your life. Count the cost, like is says in Luke 14:25-35. Count the cost, people. Count the cost, Christians. Are you really willing to be wholly devoted to something greater than yourselves? Are you willing to give God control?

Keep in mind the God you will serve. He is good, just, merciful, graceful, forgiving, and loving. Giving Him your entire life may not necessarily mean abandoning all you have–but you must be willing to surrender all to Him if He asks it of you.

Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” God cannot lie–He has bound himself that way. This is the truth.

“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple…So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.” ~ Jesus Christ, Luke 14:27,33

The Meaning of Life

An Ageless Search
What is the meaning of life? This is one of the most frequently asked questions by all of humanity since the beginning of time. It is a question naturally asked by people because they have the ability to make choices about life. The question would appear to be difficult to answer and different for every individual depending on their circumstances. It is the ultimate search for truth and purpose in life; the reason we were born, wake up everyday and exist.

The Truth
Although people have struggled for the purpose of their existence throughout history, the answer for the meaning of life is relatively simple and the same for everyone; it is to love God by choosing to have a relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.

How to Move Forward
Once you understand the meaning of life, the next step is choosing to follow God’s plan for your life.  God made you for a specific purpose; however, before you can fulfill that purpose, you need to establish a relationship with God.

How to Fulfill Your Mission
The challenge to the meaning of life is being faithful to the calling of God and being dedicated to fulfilling the purpose that He created you for by accomplishing your life mission. The Holy Bible addresses these issues clearly to give people answers about how to lead their life in every circumstance, from poor to rich, from health to illness, from strong to weak, and from spiritual to sinful. Everybody has limiting circumstances, but God gives people this ultimate life instruction book called the Bible to help them understand how to make the right choices throughout their changing life. Learn about what God wants for you and submit to His plan for a life of fulfilling significance.

My Purpose in Life

My Purpose in Life
These turbulent times may be the ideal time to clarify your life purpose because many of the things you may have misidentified as your purpose may have been stripped away — that job or career, or those life roles — being a good parent, or a loyal employee, or an outstanding member of the community.

While these are important, they’re not your life purpose, and thinking that they are can be a major roadblock to identifying your true life purpose.

You see, your life purpose is much more than any of these. It’s about knowing who you are as a spiritual being and what you came to this life to be and to experience. Your purpose gives you a new context of meaning that begins to shape every moment of your life, especially when the currents of circumstances try to throw you off course.

Your thoughts, decisions, choices, and daily actions are shaped by a greater meaning for your life; your life purpose.