Soul Purpose: Acts 20:24

Starting a new short term mission team, in a new location, has been an exciting process of praying about how God wants to use this team. What is our personal mission? What are our goals? As we were throwing around name ideas for the blog, the one that stuck quickly was "Soul Purpose". As we are taking the time to prepare (physically and spiritually) for our trip in 6 short weeks, we wanted to explore this mission in more depth.

But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Acts 20:24

As Christians, what is our purpose? What has God called us to, and how do we make sure we missionally stay on track? One of the oldest questions known to man is "What is the purpose of life?" I remember going through school, and continually asking God, what purpose do you have for me? We often are looking for worldly answers such as: What should my career path be, what job should I take, who should I marry, where should I live, etc. Instead of giving us details to these questions, God points us to our spiritual purpose: to glorify God and rejoice in Him.

So how do we glorify God? What commands has He given us to follow? Jesus taught many things while He was on this earth, but 3 commands stand out and are repeated throughout the Bible. He's good at repeating things so we don't miss them!

And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.  “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”  And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 22:35-40  

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

Mark 16:15

These 3 commandments flow very easily, one out of the other. First, if we love God, God's love will flow through us to help us love our neighbor. I will be the first to admit that I'm still human, and working on doing these things better each day. Finally, if we love God, and we want to love our neighbor, the ultimate love is for them to know God and spend eternity in heaven. Everything is rooted in the first commandment, and the end goal is "soul purpose", for each soul to know God.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on His law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Psalm 1:1-3

As a Christian, we must be rooted in Christ for these things to work. We are still human, we still make mistakes, we still fall short every day, but we continue to strive for the purpose that God has called us to. By abiding in Him, we glorify Him through our actions, and we strive to share how Christ has changed us so others may know Him. In knowing Him more deeply, and learning to trust Him, the second part of our purpose (to rejoice in Him/enjoy Him forever) begins to be easier. Joy is easy when things are going well. True joy, even when things are difficult, comes from a deeper understanding that God has a bigger plan in mind, even though we do not understand it.

Romans 8:28 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. "

As we prepare for the trip ahead, the team is studying the book of Jude to help ground us as we strive to glorify God in all we say and do. Jude carries a stern warning of any one who is preaching a gospel that is not the true Gospel of Jesus. What the world says may sound good, but we must compare everything to the word of God. We have a big responsibility to make sure we are sharing straight from the Bible. Please pray that we carry this responsibility well, and that we use every opportunity we have to share the good news of the Gospel.

Though Jude offers a stern warning, it also ends with one of the most recognized benedictions. When read in context of the book, it is such an encouragement as God knows that we are not perfect. However, Jesus is perfect and wants to walk with us to keep us on track. We will walk this path ahead with this encouragement ever on our minds!

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Jude 1:24-25

While this blog is mostly about the team preparing to serve in Nicaragua, we are also here for our family and friends at home. Do you have questions about any of the above verses? We are always happy to talk and pray with and for you! Additionally, if you don’t have a Bible, please email and let us know. We are happy to make sure that one gets in your hands.