BE Purposeful ~ According to His purpose.
Romans 8:28-31 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose... If God is for us, who can be against us?" What on Earth am I here for!? Haven't we all asked that question? The Purpose Driven Life is a bible study book written by Christian pastor Rick Warren and published in 2002. The book offers readers a 40-day personal spiritual journey and presents what Warren says are God's five purposes for human life on Earth: Purpose #1: You Were Planned for God's Pleasure (Christian Worship) Purpose #2: You Were Formed for God's Family (Christian Church) Purpose #3: You Were Created to Become Like Christ (Discipleship) Purpose #4: You Were Shaped for Serving God (Christian Ministry) Purpose #5: You Were Made for a Mission (Christian mission) The Purpose Driven Life was on the New York Times Bestseller List for over 90 weeks. It sold over 18 million copies by 2008,and 32 million copies within its first decade, 2012. According to both the author and publisher Simon & Schuster, 50 million copies had been sold in more than 85 languages by 2020. Incredible, right? Not really... because the remainder of the chapter goes on to explain how the quest for personal fulfillment, satisfaction, and meaning can only be found in understanding and DOING what God placed you on Earth to do. Just a week ago we celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jrs. life and honored his death. Even though we may think his time was cut short here on the Earth, God has His plan. I believe Dr. King fulfilled God’s purpose for his time… based upon his quote below: “Use me God. Show me how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use if for a purpose greater than myself.” -Martin Luther King, Jr. Christie and I have been stirring about this Plan Be | Be Designed To Be Ministry for many years! We believe that the truths of Scripture will transform your life when you make the time to understand them and then implement (DOING) them each day. Living in the confidence of God’s promises, the fruit of the spirit, developing a real relationship with Jesus - - -this is how you find your purpose and change the lives of those around you! Don't just understand Your Plan BE, DO your Plan BE!! Do you think Rick Warren had any idea his book would reach so many people around the Earth and transform their lives?! Did Martin Luther King, Jr. know then the impact his life and passion would make, probably forever? Don’t underestimate how God can use you! Be Purposeful…Pray each day this week for God to fill you with His Spirit and embrace the purpose He has for you on Earth. PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Powerful Jesus: “Use me. Show me how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use if for a purpose greater than myself.” Amen In His Mighty Purpose for you, Sandi
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“Be STILL and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10 Still: Verb: The word still comes from a Hebrew word meaning to “let go” or “release, cause yourself to become restrained or to let go.” In other words, we need to come to a place where we are willing to submit ourselves to God and acknowledging that He is in sovereign control. Be Still ~ Honor God and his power and majesty is being still. To be still before God implies that we must be still as to words; not speaking against or complaining of them; not darkening relationship by words without knowledge, or justifying ourselves and speaking great boasting words of vanity. Be still as to actions and outward behavior, so as not to oppose God, and as to the inward frame of our hearts, cultivating a calm and quiet submission of soul to the sovereign pleasure of God, whatever it may be. His being God is a sufficient reason why we should be still before him, in no wise murmuring, or objecting, or opposing, but calmly and humbly submitting to him. How we must fulfill this duty of being still before God? This command—“Be still…”—is written in the context of a time of trouble and war; therefore, we should consider the verse with that context in mind. Instead of interpreting “be still” as a gentle suggestion, the people of God should interpret the command for themselves to read more like: ‘snap out of it,’ ‘wake up,’ ‘stop fearing’—acknowledge who your God is—be in awe! God does call us to stop fearing, to be still and commit to him. ACTION: “In order to find security in God, we have to stop finding security in everything else. …Nothing in this world will offer you the security you have in God.” Prayer: Dear Lord, I realize that I am incapable of controlling life, and I surrender my will to your will. It may be a matter of finally saying “I trust You.” Please let this open the door so that I may experience the fullness of all You want and have for me, for us. After all, you are our Creator and you have a perfect plan for me when I let you orchestrate it. QUESTION: What does STILL or BE STILL represent in your life right now? Or not? QUESTION: What is your relationship with God? We can know Him by having an intimate relationship with Him. That does not come from knowing about Him, but rather getting to personally know Him by what He says (in His Holy Word, the Bible), recognizing the things He does in our lives, and by way of His Holy Spirit who comes to guide and comfort us. In John 14:26, Jesus says “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (KJV). “Be still and know that I am God; I will be honored by every nation, I will be honored throughout the world!” The KJV uses the word ‘exalted’ the entire world will someday lift up and glorify the Lord. meaning lifted up. Honored means highly valued or glorified. ACTION: THIS WEEK Take time to BE STILL this week With God For God This week Plan Be is focusing on Being Still -Don’t give up. 1) Ongoing process: as we keep practicing, we will find it...and we will lose it, and will find it again. 2) Prioritize: decide Plan Be is important, focus on it and do it 3) Be specific; Utilize our daily tools and practices to put yourself into ACTION. BE-ing is DO-ing 4) Participate with another person/group: draw from and give energy to each other, and be inspired through praises, prayers and affirmation! References 1) “Life Application Study Bible” 2) YouVersion - Bible App 3) Authors: Christie Lynch & Sandi Hanscom Our Story
FOR YEARS WE HAVE BEEN POSITIVE, HOPEFUL, FAITHFUL, JOYFUL, OPTIMISTIC, STRIVING, DEDICATED, RESILIENT CONTINUALLY REINFORCING TO OURSELVES AND OTHERS THAT WE ARE DESIGNED JUST AS WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE... DESIGNED BY GOD. God said, “Now, is the time!” to share our purpose. What is your Plan Be? We want you to find out! We will address a “Be” attribute through interactive questions, guest speakers, recipes for success, workbooks, virtual presentations and bible studies, and creative exercises in various areas of our lives. This is new . . . anything is possible! We want you to discover that you can “Be the person God Wants You To Be” and find peace in your everyday life! We want you to progress, and move forward. We will focus on your "Plan Be” based upon scripture and you. Below is a little bit about us: Sandi Hi, I'm Sandi, (Sandi with an i), and am from Huntington Beach and currently live in Newport Beach, California. I have been married to my husband Andrew for 25 years and we have have two adult children, my son is 22 and my daughter is a 4th year senior at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. We currently attend Grace Fellowship Church in Costa Mesa, California. I took baby steps to learn about having a relationship with Jesus and understanding about God’s plans and purposes...and without knowing ‘everything’ - my natural activator/achiever/leadership instincts led me to lead home discipleship groups, Experiencing God with Blackaby, working in faith based organizations, living out my faith through a breast cancer diagnosis and loving the concept of the 5th Gospel. I am currently working as the Grants Manager at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and the Inland Empire, manage several family foundations part time, as well as involved with Free Wheelchair Mission, Night to Shine with Tim Tebow Foundation, Transformed in Him, and Northrise University in Zambia. Christie Hi I live in south Orange County, California with my wonderful husband, Ken. We have 3 sons: A sports broadcaster in Little Rock, AR, another who just graduated from the University of Utah, and the youngest currently studying at the Univ of Utah. I was raised Catholic but have attended and learned much about the bible from Saddleback Church (lead by Pastor Rick Warren). I have been a part of and lead a number of bible studies. One of the most rewarding and meaningful ministries I have been involved in, is being a lay counselor at Saddleback Church. In addition to working in advertising for a publisher, I love to spend my time at The Shea Center in San Juan Capistrano - it is an equine therapy facility dedicated to helping the disabled and US veterans. —————————-- How Sandi & Christie Met Sandi and Christie, both fresh out of college, began working at an ad agency in Los Angeles called DDB Needham. They became fast friends which turned into roommates. After they both got married, they became involved in bible studies together and even carpooled monthly to LA to be a part of a DDB Needham book club (which as of today, it’s been around 27 years!). During these long car rides, they developed a dream of ministering to others through scripture and family/work related topics. Sandi and Christie both had their kids around the same time and 15 years later found themselves competing on the club-volleyball court throughout Southern California. With their kids successfully out of the house, they are now both empty nesters and ready to share their wisdom of what they’ve learned throughout the years (the good, the bad and the ugly) of raising a family and tackling the work world - all with a positive attitude, dedication, always learning, always bettering themselves and striving for excellence and significance in all they do - not perfection, but excellence. Psalm 46:10 became our anxiety diffuser: Be still and know that I am God. And broke it down to: Be still and know that I am. Be still and know. Be still. Be. Q: Aren’t you curious what that could look like?! We want you to discover with us how to:
our hope and prayer is to let you know that you are uniquely designed by God! We welcome you and your small group/bible study to join us in this time of rebirth, transformation, and enjoy this adventurous and fabulous journey God has us on. This will be the ride of your life! Hang on! And “Be Inspired” ! We ask Jesus for all of this, “In God’s Name” ASK and you WILL receive. Inspiring you to BE Designed To Be. Thank you for BEing with us: To learn about our upcoming podcasts and future endeavors, please email us at: [email protected] |
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April 2021
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