Choose Your Own Adventure (Grace)

I dont know if you remember those "choose your own adventure" books where you got to make decisions and the story would unfold based on those decisions...  Life is kinda like that too and this blog has that simple style too (but only 1 question as I like to keep it short).

Q1:  If all your accomplishments big and small were stripped away and shown to have no worth, would you be OK standing before God with nothing but your sinful, selfish, self to offer?  Would you be OK?  Why or why not?

Option A:  If your answer is "Yes, I'm OK because that's how grace works." then from that place (all of your accomplishments being worth nothing), how do you operate today, this week, month, year?  What do you aim at?  What is really important?

Option B:  If your answer is, "No, I'd be scared, ashamed and fearful standing there, a sinner." then I'd encourage you to sit down in that place before God and watch how He treats anyone who comes to Him. As you sit and watch God interact with the sinners who come, I think you will be surprised and likely overwhelmed.  You may be tempted to cry out "it's not fair" as you see worse sinners than you freely accepted and loved by God. 

(INSERT TIME HERE TO PONDER AND THINK)

Here are a few verses for you...

• A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. (Isa 42:3)
• All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. (John 6:37)
• "Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." (Rev 3:20)

Let's Start with Identity

Happy New Year!!
Thanks for reading.

Just going to recap some of my THMs (Take Home Messages) from the sermon this morning at Grace Roseville (http://www.extendgrace.org/) by Mark Allen...
   Twas a great sermon and start to a new year.  He reminded us to remember our identity, "I am a child of God."  Easier said than done, I know.  To help me remember, I need to get up early and write it and re-write it in my journal.  How do you remember who you are?
   The other aha for me is the following...

I've been focused on my goals for 2017 which isn't a bad thing, but there's a logical order to it and without a solid base to your pyramid, your top two layers may be misdirected (this risk is completely avoidable).
   If your identity (firm foundation) is solid on the rock (Matt 7:24-27) you can discover your specific purpose through that lens (child of God).  This is not our home, so seek out your purpose from that place (Col 3:1).
   Assuming you've spent the time to establish your firm foundation and discover your unique purpose / passion / interests, now (and only now) can you identify a few goals to live out your purpose.  Let's do it!!

   But wait, what about all those other goals you had, such as lose 10 pounds, exercise more, this or that?  Don't toss those goals out but re-frame them (and re-direct them as needed) based on the first two layers of your pyramid.  There's nothing wrong with health goals or financial goals that are grounded in the truth of our firm foundation, so ask yourself the checking question:  "Is this goal supported by who I am and my purpose on the planet?"
   This is what I call peeling back the onion.  There are many layers/complexity behind us and our goals.  Let's peel back the layers of the onion to get to the real "why" behind our goals.  As an example, let's say you want to pay off your home mortgage early.  Why?  I don't want to waste money on interest and I want to lower my monthly expenses.  Why?  If I lower my expenses, I can save more.  Why?  If I can save more and lower my expenses, I can retire earlier.  Why?  If I retire earlier, I won't have to work and will have more time.  Why do you want more time?  That's a good question!!  I would argue that the answer to that question is the most important thing in the world (it's part of our goals, from our purpose, from our foundation) and we should start doing that NOW (not when we pay off the mortgage & retire).
   I think I'll leave you to ponder that and please do so, the happiness and utility of your life depend on it!