WHAT ON EARTH AM I HERE FOR?

A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree. PROVERBS 11:28 (MSG)

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit. JEREMIAH 17:7 - 8 (NLT)

DAY 1

It All Starts with God

For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. COLOSSIANS 1:16 (MSG)

It is God who directs the lives of his creatures; everyone's life is in his power. JOB 12:10 (TEV)

Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. ROMANS 8:6 (MSG)

Jesus said, "Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self." MATTHEW 16:25 (MSG)

God's wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don't find it lying around on the surface. It's not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. 1 CORINTHIANS 2:7 (MSG)

It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. EPHESIANS 1:11 (MSG)

DAY 2

You Are Not an Accident

I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born. ISAIAH 44:2 (CEV)

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. PSALM 138:8 (NRSV)

You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. PSALM 139:15 (MSG)

You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your Book! PSALM 139:16 (LB)

From one man he made all nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. ACTS 17:26 (NIV)

Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. EPHESIANS 1:4 (MSG)

God decided to give us life through the word of truth so we might be the most important of all the things he made. JAMES 1:18 (NCV)

God formed the earth and made it. He set it up. He did not create it to be empty but formed it to be inhabited. ISAIAH 45:18 (GWT)

God is love. 1 JOHN 4:8 (NIV)

"I have carried you since you were born; I have taken care of you from your birth. Even when you are old, I will be the same. Even when your hair has turned gray, I will take care of you. I made you and will take care of you," says the Lord. ISAIAH 46:3 - 4 (NCV)

The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us. ROMANS 12:3 (MSG)

DAY 3

What Drives Your Life?

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." JOHN 14:6 (NIV)

Everyone's life is driven by something; many are driven by things like guilt, resentment, anger, fear, materialism, and the need for approval.

To worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do. JOB 5:2 (TEV)

I observed that the basic motive for success is the driving force of envy and jealousy! ECCLESIASTES 4:4 (LB)

A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life. PROVERBS 13:7 (MSG)

There are other forces that can drive your life but all lead to the same dead end: unused potential, unnecessary stress, and an unfulfilled life.

I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. ISAIAH 49:4 (NIV)

My life drags by—day after hopeless day. JOB 7:6 (LB)

I give up; I am tired of living. Leave me alone. My life makes no sense. JOB 7:16 (TEV)

You will be a restless wanderer on the earth. GENESIS 4:12 (NIV)

The Bible has a remedy.

Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants. EPHESIANS 5:17 (MSG)

Reflect on what I am saying [about serving the Lord], for the Lord will give you insight into all this. 2 TIMOTHY 2:7 (NIV)

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." JOHN 14:6 (NIV)

The Benefits of Purpose-Driven Living

Knowing your purpose gives your life meaning, simplicity, focus, and motivation. It also prepares you for eternity.

What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! What joys when sins are covered over! What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record. PSALM 32:1 (LB)

Well-formed love...