Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “A life that matters”
Our Bible verse for today: “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed.” Acts 13:36 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Are you fulfilling God’s purpose for your life?”
Saint Irenueus was one of the early church fathers in the Christian faith. He was born in what is now modern day Turkey in A.D. 130 and served most of his adult life as the Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, in the Roman Empire. He was one of the first theologians of the Christian faith and in that capacity God used him to help clarify Christian doctrine and practice.
The most famous quote attributed to Irenueus is, “The glory of God is man fully alive.” What he meant by that is that when a person is living the life God has planned for them, that person is fully alive and fulfilling their intended purpose. That then brings great glory to God.
King David lived like that. Now if you read his story you will immediately realize that he was far from perfect, in some ways he sinned greatly, but he was a man with a heart that was after God and he did live with passion and purpose. That’s why in Acts 13:36 Luke was able to write that David served God’s purpose for his life and once that purpose was fulfilled, it was then that he died.
I don’t know about you but I would like to have that said about me: “Jim served God’s purpose in his generation …” But in order for that to be true for any of us, we will have to be fully surrendered to Jesus and intentionally living with passion and enthusiasm for the cause of Christ on earth. No room for casual Christianity or lukewarm faith in a life lived like that.
Recently I came across a poem written by the poet D.H. Lawrence. The title of the poem is “Vitality” and one stanza reads: “You might as well take the lightening for once and feel it go through you. You might as well accept the thunderbolt and prepare for the storms. You’ll not get vitality any other way.”
His point was that you cannot live with vitality, passion, and purpose; you cannot and will not fulfill God’s purpose for your life in your generation, if you are timid, withdrawn, lukewarm, or lazy. The glory of God is man fully alive. The glory of God is you fully alive. But living like that will require you to step-up, step-out, and embrace the Christian life in all of its fullness and with passion and commitment.
As we approach 2017 I encourage you to give much prayerful thought to how you will live in the New Year. Will you bring glory to God by being fully alive?
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 