Bendito said:

Here is a poser.....A man I was talking to is very frustrated by his lack of purpose in his life..He retired...now he's joined in the mass of unemployed. For you women reading this...a woman needs primarily love and to feel loved in her life, while a man needs primarily respect then secondarily a purpose in his life.... Being unemployed now, ok retired, he feels as though he has no purpose in his life...and thereby he feels useless, worthless and no longer feels any reason to live....Curiouser and curiouser hey? Why doesn't he play golf more? Well its simple....all play with no work to balance it gets really really tedious.....and totally discouraging......
So the question...I know, most of you are not retired and wish you were... How does this man find purpose in life?
LOL I often find myself in the same boat, but I do have an option... Many many trucking companies are in need of drivers so all I have to do is to look online and choose a company..Then I go on the road for a while.....although I do find it more tiring all the time

Click to expand...

Grace comes along and tells us that being identified with Christ’s resurrection life, we now have an everlasting life we do not deserve and could never earn. We always have our ministry of reconciliation, we are part of God's work crew.

the bible says nothing about retirement, but if he can afford not to work anymore, help those who need help in one way or another would be my answer, I would say missionaries have to have huger favor in Gods eyes, certainly meaningful work. My Preacher is always saying go out into the world and help, and spread the gospel every chance you get.

Greetings,

Dave M said:

the bible says nothing about retirement, but if he can afford not to work anymore, help those who need help in one way or another would be my answer, I would say missionaries have to have huger favor in Gods eyes, certainly meaningful work. My Preacher is always saying go out into the world and help, and spread the gospel every chance you get.

Click to expand...

Not sure that missionaries get special favor? The Blood of the Lamb is the only favor we have or can expect before GOD. In essence, though, those doing are doing and those not doing are not. Missionaries can be doing if the Gospel is preached and good works done.
Yes, we all should be doing that which the LORD instructs us to do. Perhaps your talking to this man may have been part of that?
And yes, helping others who need help is something the man could find purpose in. There seems to be no shortage of need. Perhaps this man is one of those in need and it would appear so as he is frustrated?

Bendito said:

A man I was talking to is very frustrated by his lack of purpose in his life

Click to expand...

Perhaps the best advice is for this man to find Jesus. I have never known someone who finds Him who complains of not having purpose.
Sometimes believers can grow awkward towards their position due to letting the wrong attitude take root and flourish, and that can only be cured by the LORD if those in that predicament will turn again fully and discover the love they have lost.

Grace and Peace.

2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
2Peter 1:3-11

@Bendito
(perhaps you could print this for the man and explain to him that it might benefit him to read it often until it becomes part of his life? - is he a following believer?)


Bless you ....><>

newnature said:

Grace comes along and tells us that being identified with Christ’s resurrection life, we now have an everlasting life we do not deserve and could never earn. We always have our ministry of reconciliation, we are part of God's work crew.

Click to expand...

People talk about grace....Please tell me your definition of 'grace' You used the word in the context of a 'person', telling us....

Well, obviously no one will be saved without grace. (whoever she is).

But grace can be fallen short of. ( Heb 12:15; )
Grace can be confused with a license to sin ( Jude 4:1; 2 Pet 2:19-20; )
It is possible to be severed from grace. ( Gal 5:4; )

Everytime we sin, grace has to increase. ( Rom 6:1; )
Grace does not cover everything... ( Heb 10:26; )

Bendito said:

People talk about grace....Please tell me your definition of 'grace' You used the word in the context of a 'person', telling us....

Click to expand...

The realization that God’s love accomplished some fantastic things on our behalf. God is anxiously awaiting his own inheritance, which happens to be us, God considers believers to be his own inheritance, he purchased us with the blood of his son, we are God’s valuable inheritance. We find the amazing and comforting truth that God’s love for those who are joined to his son, is the same unalterable and unending love God has for his son.

That is how closely connected we are to Christ, nothing will ever be able to diminish God’s loving attitude towards those who are joined to his son. We are called “saints” today, “set apart ones,” that is the word God uses for those who have placed their faith in the all-sufficiency of the sin-resolving sacrifice of his son, Jesus Christ. We are the saints of a brand new program, to be identified in Christ makes a person a saint, because we have the very righteousness of God himself freely attributed to our account.

Grace is that which God does for the human race through his son, which the human race can not earn, does not deserve and will never merit. Grace is God’s work for people, and encompasses everything we receive from God, he is free to do now for ungodly people who take him at his word. We must understand that God has predetermined to glorify us. In fact, he has predestined us to that glorification, we are objects of God’s purpose, because God had a purpose in mind where grace age believers are concerned, and he predetermined through his own decree that his purpose would stand, it will come to pass no matter what.

The inevitable result of God’s grace to the believer is true peace, because every believer is without blame before him in love. God sees us in Christ, and Christ was blameless. The only reason God could say through Paul, “Grace and Peace be unto you” is because God’s son fully paid the price. Justification by grace through faith, what a marvelous thing God has done, and who would have thought of a salvation in the sense that God’s plan would call for him to join a person to his son, therefore, what belongs to the son would now belong to believing people who have been joined to the son.

newnature said:

The realization that God’s love accomplished some fantastic things on our behalf. God is anxiously awaiting his own inheritance, which happens to be us, God considers believers to be his own inheritance, he purchased us with the blood of his son, we are God’s valuable inheritance. We find the amazing and comforting truth that God’s love for those who are joined to his son, is the same unalterable and unending love God has for his son.

That is how closely connected we are to Christ, nothing will ever be able to diminish God’s loving attitude towards those who are joined to his son. We are called “saints” today, “set apart ones,” that is the word God uses for those who have placed their faith in the all-sufficiency of the sin-resolving sacrifice of his son, Jesus Christ. We are the saints of a brand new program, to be identified in Christ makes a person a saint, because we have the very righteousness of God himself freely attributed to our account.

Grace is that which God does for the human race through his son, which the human race can not earn, does not deserve and will never merit. Grace is God’s work for people, and encompasses everything we receive from God, he is free to do now for ungodly people who take him at his word. We must understand that God has predetermined to glorify us. In fact, he has predestined us to that glorification, we are objects of God’s purpose, because God had a purpose in mind where grace age believers are concerned, and he predetermined through his own decree that his purpose would stand, it will come to pass no matter what.

The inevitable result of God’s grace to the believer is true peace, because every believer is without blame before him in love. God sees us in Christ, and Christ was blameless. The only reason God could say through Paul, “Grace and Peace be unto you” is because God’s son fully paid the price. Justification by grace through faith, what a marvelous thing God has done, and who would have thought of a salvation in the sense that God’s plan would call for him to join a person to his son, therefore, what belongs to the son would now belong to believing people who have been joined to the son.

Click to expand...

This is good but it also describes mercy...We know that grace and mercy are two different things.

Bendito said:

This is good but it also describes mercy...We know that grace and mercy are two different things.

Click to expand...

Grace within a dispensation was one thing, a dispensation characterized solely by grace is something else altogether. Grace is the foundation on which Paul’s entire ministry was built, and grace covers all the bases for the believer’s life. There is a glory that belongs to God’s grace, and it is to be praised on the bases on what God’s grace has accomplished.


Paul had been given special divine authority with the understanding that he is our apostle, and that authority carried with it the details of what God expects people to believe today, concerning the salvation Jesus Christ purchased for them with his sacrifice.


Therefore, God in his infinite wisdom devised a plan whereby he could take the very faith belonging to his son, along with its resultant faithfulness, and credit that faith and faithfulness to the account of those who believe. It is Christ’s faith that is freely credited to the account of the one who believes the good news message given to the apostle Paul to proclaim to us in this age of grace.


Paul wants us to know how a person is saved. He wants us to understand the basis by which God provides eternal security, not only has provided the gift of salvation; but provides eternal security to all those who place their faith in what the sacrifice of his son accomplished. It is our faith in the accomplishment of Jesus Christ’s faithful sacrifice that is the means whereby God acknowledges that we have accepted the gift his son purchased.

Greetings,

I came across the folowing and thought it might be useful.

Bless you ....><>

From BibleDen
Purpose of life

THE PURPOSE OF LIFE

When my Dad was ill, he commented sadly…

“I’m useless; good for nothing; a drain on the NHS; put me on the scrapheap!”

I was joking with an 87-year old lady about a pretty brooch she was wearing: “Your brooch or your life!” I joked.

She replied: “You’d better have my life then; it’s not worth much now, is it?”

Do you recall a film some years ago: “What’s it all about, Alfie”?

• Well, what IS it all about?
• What factors determine whether a life is well lived… or not?

A man I know of died towards the end of last year… he was not particularly old…

His obituary was very moving… all about a loving father, devoted husband, much-loved brother to so-and-so and uncle to so-and-so. Sadly missed, etc.

• However, a reliable source told me that the man was anything but loving and devoted… in fact, quite the opposite
• Why the glowing obituary? Who’s to say what a life is worth!

Life can be very confusing sometimes…

• Just when you think you’ve got it sorted…bang!

I recall a colleague, who was going through a tough time, looking at me with a bewildered face and asking: “Why is this happening to me!”

We are all born (if we’re not aborted)… most people grow up, have all sorts of experiences, reach our teens… 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s…

• Life ends… a service of remembrance is held…your possessions are divided up
• A photograph of you is placed on the mantelpiece… and perhaps a small urn with your ashes!
• And life goes on for everyone else!

So… what’s it all about, Alfie?

King Solomon in the Bible grappled with such matters…

‘I wanted to see what was worthwhile for people to do under heaven for the few days of their lives’

SO WHAT MAKES LIFE WORTH LIVING?

I want to suggest seven reasons…

1. 1. God made us for His pleasure and delight

• What a difference it makes when we know that someone truly cares for us
• Some years ago, the Soviets carried out an experiment to see what would happen if new babies were deprived of affection, though otherwise cared for… sickness and death followed
• To know that we are cherished by God should transform our lives
• He says: “I have loved you with an everlasting love”

We are not God’s ‘toys’ for Him to have fun with!

• We are the crowning glory of His creation
• Though when I look in the mirror each morning it’s hard to believe!

1. 2. God has a plan and purpose for our lives

• My uncle used to say, “If the bullet’s got your number on it, you’ve had it!’
• Doris Day had a famous hit song: Que Sera Sera (whatever will be will be)… But is life just a series of random occurrences?
• There is a famous verse in Jeremiah to reassure us that life is anything but random:

“I know the plans I have for you… plans for good and not for evil to give you a future and a hope”

However, God’s plans can be thwarted…

• I have a friend who once told me that “if it’s the Lord’s will, it will happen; if not, it won’t” Is this true?
• We need to distinguish between trusting (‘having faith in’) God in every situation… and fatalism where every event is fixed
• We can actively hinder God’s plans if we choose to ignore Him … He never forces His will upon us
• We are not robots or clockwork mice… we decide whether God has His way in our lives… or not

But how wonderful to know that you are never out of His mind… He keeps a close eye on your life… and a plan for good and not for evil

1. 3. We have opportunity to worship and praise God today

• One of the most amazing events in the Bible is when Paul & Silas are singing praises to God while chained in prison
• God is still God regardless of our circumstances and feelings
• True praise and worship is living a life that reflects the Person of Jesus Christ… and offering that life back to Him
• Praise and worship is more of a condition (a state of being) than an event!

Of course, there are special occasions when we rejoice and thank God, not least during formal services of worship…

Paradoxically, such times can create tension in church life…

• Should we sing old hymns or modern songs?
• Stand still or wiggle!
• Sing fast or slow
• Have drums and guitars… or a pipe organ
• Wave our arms or keep our hands still
• Pray spontaneously or use prayers from a book
• Dance, bounce and wave banners or meditate silently

It’s almost impossible to please a 17-year old and a 77-year old in the same service! We all need much grace and willingness to be accommodating of other viewpoints.

• But we should all be worshippers… thankful… giving God the glory… It makes life so much more satisfying

1. 4. We have the privilege of growing more like Jesus Christ

• We can’t grow more like Jesus simply by trying hard!
• We can’t do it by saturating ourselves in theology or attending conferences or listening to sermons… though such things are often helpful

We have the joyful experience of growing more like Jesus by spending time with Him and with fellow-believers, listening to His Word, conversing with Him and sharing our lives with Him

• We read that “with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord, we are being changed into His likeness, from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18)
• “From one degree of glory into another” Wow! It’s a continuous process… and lasts a lifetime
• None of us have “arrived” yet but we are promised the opportunity to grow more and more like Him

A farmer cleared his land of boulders… but when he ploughed the field, he discovered lots of medium-sized stones just beneath the surface… After much effort, he cleared the stones and started ploughing again, only to discover hundreds of small pebbles…

Growing more like Christ is a bit like that, isn’t it? Just when you think you’ve “arrived” as a Christian, the Holy Spirit shows us further areas of our lives requiring attention!

• How wonderful to know that we can be “clothed in the righteousness of Christ” and be free from the penalty of sin

There is a story of a man who came to a Mission House asking to see Jesus… it turned out that “Jesus” was one of the missionaries, who was so kind and good that naively but wonderfully, the man innocently assumed that he was the Saviour

There are some folk who trust Christ for salvation and believe the Gospel message… but whose faces and behaviour suggest something different!

• Perhaps the greatest compliment we can ever receive is for someone to say~ “I can tell you are a Christian; it shines out like a beacon the moment you enter the room”

1. 5. Our lives can witness and be a blessing to others

• They can be… but it doesn’t always happen!
• Jesus has returned to heaven
• The Holy Spirit comes to live within every believer…
• So why isn’t the life of every Christian equally powerful in witnessing to and blessing others?

The American preacher, DL Moody once made this statement: “The day came when DL Moody died and Christ took up residence”

• The more we relinquish control of our lives, the more the light of Christ shines through us
• The more we submit to His will, the more we become salt on the earth

The closest that people get to Jesus is through their contact with you and me!

• We are His representatives… His presence on earth… our words, our reactions, our attitude to others
• It’s not merely a case of being witnesses in the sense of preaching the Gospel… but being His ambassadors through the lives we lead

Is it said of you and of me? “I’m so glad that I know him/her… he’s such a blessing to me… such an encouragement… so caring…so interested in me as an individual”

• Some of us need to do much better in this area of our lives!
• It makes life so much more worthwhile when we bless others

1. 6. We can ‘move the hand of God

• You might feel unimportant, insignificant and with little ability
• But you can be a powerhouse in the Kingdom of God… through prayer

One resolute and committed person can accomplish a lot…

• One lady was determined to rid telephone boxes in London of cards advertising sex for sale… and eventually succeeded!
• But also… one determined lady made sure that prayer was banned from schools in the USA
• One determined politician pushed through the Abortion Act in England and Wales (1967) that has so far cost the lives of well over 7 million of the unborn in England and Wales

In the Letter of James we read:

“The fervent prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective”

• So prayer in itself is not enough…it must be ‘fervent’ and ‘righteous’
• There is no place for perfunctory prayers tossed out casually as a good-luck charm or used as an insurance policy
• Prayer is first and foremost for us… to seal our relationship with our heavenly Father…to praise the Lord … to engage in spiritual warfare
• It strengthens our faith and provides us with a supernatural weapon to use for God’s glory

The privilege of prayer gives life greater meaning, as we become an integral part of God’s Kingdom work

1. 7. Life is worthwhile because this life is not the end

A younger man met a much older man after many years: “So you’re still in the land of the living!” he asked mischievously.

“No”, the old man answered. “I’m not in the land of the living. I’m in the land of the dying… but one day— maybe soon— I shall be in the land of the living… and never die again”

One of the best reasons for living well is that we are able to die well with confidence about the future

Eternity doesn’t begin when we take our final breath… For those who trust Jesus Christ as Saviour, it begins TODAY