What Is My Purpose?

Thistlebend Quiet eMoment

by Laurie Aker

Focus Scripture: Luke 4:42-44 ESV

42 And when it was day,  
he departed and went into a desolate place.
And the people sought him and came to him,  
and would have kept him from leaving them,
43 but he said to them, “I must preach the good news  
of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well;  
for I was sent for this purpose.” 
44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
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“I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God
to the other towns as well;
for I was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:43).

I love John Calvin’s commentary on this verse.
It makes my heart sing as I read his comment that Jesus’
“earnest desire [was] to fulfill his office”…and the call of His Father.

God sent Jesus to preach the Good News of the Gospel.
It was one of God’s primary purposes for Jesus.
He was not sent into the world to live for Himself,
He came to live for others and to die for others.

We were not sent into this world to live for self,
but to live for God.
It takes most of us quite a while
to learn to truly live for others,
to absorb that this life we live is not all about us,
nor all about now.
Sadly, many never get past themselves
and their needs, their wants, and their desires.

TAKING GOD’S WORD TO HEART

It is a painful realization that we have
no power to transform our hearts.
We are utterly dependent on our Lord
to preach the Gospel to our hearts,
and utterly dependent on Him
to open our eyes to Him and to His purpose for our life.

I pray continually that the Lord would move the mountains
in my heart that keep me from Him and His ways.
That He would transform me more and more each day
so that there would be less and less of me.
Trusting God to transform our hearts
let’s walk in His purpose for us.

Ephesians 2:8-10
For by grace you have been saved through faith;  
and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  
not as a result of works, that no one should boast. 
For we are His workmanship,  
created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand,  
that we should walk in them.

MEDITATE or MEMORIZE

Write out the following verse from Luke 4 and recite it 3 times.
Take it with you throughout the day.

42 And when it was day,  
he departed and went into a desolate place.

PRAYER

Lord God, help me to walk in your purpose for me
as you transform my heart.

In His hands for His glory,
Laurie
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