Author Rick Warren-Purpose Driven Life

trainer

Rick Warren

(REMEMBER HE WROTE "PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE")
You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having "wealth" from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren,

"Purpose Driven Life " author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.

If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,"which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.

It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know = You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.
That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.

NOW . PLEASE SHARE THIS = WITH YOUR FRIENDS

lisa42

understanding
I appreciate this posting. The pastor at my church just preached a sermon this past Sunday and talked about the question so many people have, "If God is a loving God, why does he allow people to suffer?" This is addressed pretty well above, I believe. I believe that God did not create cancer or other sicknesses or all the bad things that happen in our world. Because He allows us to live in a world where we have free choice as to whether we choose to serve Him or not, God chose to not control our every little actions. If He did, we'd be like puppets on a string. With choices, comes bad things that happen in our world. Even if we didn't personally do anything to deserve it, the consequences of living in a fallen world include sometimes good people suffering. Can God reach in and save the day or heal all of us from cancer or other illnesses? I truly believe he is capable of doing anything. Do I understand why some people are healed and others are not? No, certainly not completely. I just have to accept that our human minds are not capable of understanding all the "whys"- when we get to Heaven someday we'll finally have that understanding. Do I believe everyone is going to get to Heaven? No, I do not. I know that seems so sad and many people also struggle with the question of "How can a loving God send anyone to Hell?" Again- it gets back to choices we're allowed to make. Not everyone believes the Bible literally and they want to focus on just the good and loving things Jesus did. Certainly, we should focus on the loving things Jesus did, BUT if you follow part of Jesus and not all that Jesus said, then that just doesn't make sense to believe part of what He said and did while discounting other things that we don't like to hear. Jesus DID say, "I am the way, the truth, and the light, and no one gets to the Father (or heaven) but through me." Certainly not a politically correct statement in today's world of promoting tolerance of everything and nothing. Jesus, loving as he was, was not politically correct in his own day. The Jewish leaders at the time took great offense to things he said and did.
If any of you out there reading this find yourself bristlig at the Jesus quote above, I'd encourage you to think and pray about it. If it's true, would you want to be left out just because you don't think that's what he "should" have said?
God sent his son Jesus to earth to bring the good news to everyone and then ultimately, to die for all of our sins. It was a sacrifice that hurt God (to send his son to endure pain and death on our behalf), but He did it because he loves us. He loves all of you!!

Even if you don't "feel" God's presence and guidance during this point in your life, know that He is there for you. No matter what you've done, what you've said- no matter WHAT- He will hear you if you call out to him. Try it- WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE?

I realize I just preached a sermon here and some won't appreciate it, but after reading the posting above, I just felt inspired to do so. I can't tell you enough how wonderful God has been through all this. Yes, I've experienced some setbacks physically, but I know and believe that God is the author of my life.

God very well may heal you, but if he doesn't, wouldn't it be easier to go through all of this with his "peace that surpasses all understanding?" (which is why it's hard to explain to others- you truly can't understand what kind of a peace I'm talking about until you've experienced it yourself- then you'll never doubt again).

Just pray- (even if you never have and even if it's been a long time- WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE?!)- "Dear God, I want to feel your presence and want to experience the love, peace, and even joy that you give. I know I've done wrong things in my life (we ALL have to some extent)- I ask your forgiveness and ask you to come into my life. I want to have assurance that whenever I die- whether it's soon or still a long time from now- I want to have assurance to spend my eternal life with you in Heaven. Come into my heart and show me what I need to do. Thank you Lord."

If any of you have comments or questions, I would be very glad to talk back.
My personal email (if this site will show it) is: lisa.didier@sbcglobal.net

Take care and GOD BLESS,
Lisa

2bhealed

lisa42 said:

understanding
I appreciate this posting. The pastor at my church just preached a sermon this past Sunday and talked about the question so many people have, "If God is a loving God, why does he allow people to suffer?" This is addressed pretty well above, I believe. I believe that God did not create cancer or other sicknesses or all the bad things that happen in our world. Because He allows us to live in a world where we have free choice as to whether we choose to serve Him or not, God chose to not control our every little actions. If He did, we'd be like puppets on a string. With choices, comes bad things that happen in our world. Even if we didn't personally do anything to deserve it, the consequences of living in a fallen world include sometimes good people suffering. Can God reach in and save the day or heal all of us from cancer or other illnesses? I truly believe he is capable of doing anything. Do I understand why some people are healed and others are not? No, certainly not completely. I just have to accept that our human minds are not capable of understanding all the "whys"- when we get to Heaven someday we'll finally have that understanding. Do I believe everyone is going to get to Heaven? No, I do not. I know that seems so sad and many people also struggle with the question of "How can a loving God send anyone to Hell?" Again- it gets back to choices we're allowed to make. Not everyone believes the Bible literally and they want to focus on just the good and loving things Jesus did. Certainly, we should focus on the loving things Jesus did, BUT if you follow part of Jesus and not all that Jesus said, then that just doesn't make sense to believe part of what He said and did while discounting other things that we don't like to hear. Jesus DID say, "I am the way, the truth, and the light, and no one gets to the Father (or heaven) but through me." Certainly not a politically correct statement in today's world of promoting tolerance of everything and nothing. Jesus, loving as he was, was not politically correct in his own day. The Jewish leaders at the time took great offense to things he said and did.
If any of you out there reading this find yourself bristlig at the Jesus quote above, I'd encourage you to think and pray about it. If it's true, would you want to be left out just because you don't think that's what he "should" have said?
God sent his son Jesus to earth to bring the good news to everyone and then ultimately, to die for all of our sins. It was a sacrifice that hurt God (to send his son to endure pain and death on our behalf), but He did it because he loves us. He loves all of you!!

Even if you don't "feel" God's presence and guidance during this point in your life, know that He is there for you. No matter what you've done, what you've said- no matter WHAT- He will hear you if you call out to him. Try it- WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE?

I realize I just preached a sermon here and some won't appreciate it, but after reading the posting above, I just felt inspired to do so. I can't tell you enough how wonderful God has been through all this. Yes, I've experienced some setbacks physically, but I know and believe that God is the author of my life.

God very well may heal you, but if he doesn't, wouldn't it be easier to go through all of this with his "peace that surpasses all understanding?" (which is why it's hard to explain to others- you truly can't understand what kind of a peace I'm talking about until you've experienced it yourself- then you'll never doubt again).

Just pray- (even if you never have and even if it's been a long time- WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE?!)- "Dear God, I want to feel your presence and want to experience the love, peace, and even joy that you give. I know I've done wrong things in my life (we ALL have to some extent)- I ask your forgiveness and ask you to come into my life. I want to have assurance that whenever I die- whether it's soon or still a long time from now- I want to have assurance to spend my eternal life with you in Heaven. Come into my heart and show me what I need to do. Thank you Lord."

If any of you have comments or questions, I would be very glad to talk back.
My personal email (if this site will show it) is: lisa.didier@sbcglobal.net

Take care and GOD BLESS,
Lisa

a paradigm shift
hello Lisa,

I believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light and that He died for ALL. We cannot add to what he did. It is finished. I believe that we all spend eternity in the place that has been prepared for us, but I don't believe any more that we have to DO anything to get there be it works or saying a prayer. I believe that Jesus did it ALL. We are Children of God and that is enough.

I understand why you believe what you do since that is what has been taught and believed, but I challenge you to open your heart to the possibility that we really don't have to DO anything to get there. That is true Grace and I don't believe it is for a chosen few who have the ability to pray a certain prayer. I think WE as humans damn others to hell based on our fundamental dogmas, doctrines and prejudices, but I do not believe God has damned us. I have repented of that faulty thinking. It did not allow me to "Love my neighbor as myself" when I was damning them. How arrogant of me. And how utterly religious--the exact thing that Jesus abhorred in his day.

Now, I think we have to CHOOSE to be in a relationship with our God and that how we CHOOSE to worship is often based on our culture. And though I have asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior, I don't believe that is what "saved" me in 1982. Jesus did all that over 2000 years ago. I can do nothing. Had I died before that moment in 1982, I firmly believe that I would have met my maker in paradise and not have spent eternity apart from him just because I didn't understand to "ask him into my heart". Sorry, I just can't go there anymore.

He didn't say It is finished,....but now you have to pray the Four Spiritual Laws, get confirmed, speak in tongues, or whatever addendums we seem to place on His Grace.


Just a thought.

peace, emily who was a missionary before becoming the juice chick! ;-)

lisa42

my thoughts
Hi Emily,

I appreciate hearing your thoughts. I don't believe I said I was damning everyone- yes, what Jesus did many years ago was enough, but I do believe we have to accept it. Just because He did something- well, we have to make a response to Him. If you gave your life to Christ, then you did something. The Bible does say it is a gift- but people do have to accept gifts. If someone is busy doing their own thing, never acknowledging Jesus as Lord, then that's not accepting the gift he's giving. If they're a wonderful person who has a faith or religion that doesn't claim Jesus as Lord, then they're not accepting the gift Jesus is wanting to give us. Like I said in my post, I know that's not a popular belief by many, but it is what the Bible says. Take it or leave it. Certainly, God knows a person's heart and knows if they're innocent. For example, a child who dies before their age of understanding (which I believe is not any set age- it could be different in different people), God accepts the innocents. If someone truly never heard of Jesus' plan, well the Bible isn't real straightforward on that, but I believe that God knows their heart and they are judged accordingly. As I said in my post, it's something to think about, as is what you posted too.
Thanks for your comments. I would still welcome any other comments or questions, should anyone have any. The main thing I believe is that God loves us all and wants the best for us, but we do have to take responsibility for accepting that and not just expecting Him to be there for us when we die if we do nothing to acknowledge him while we're here on earth.
Best wishes everyone & know that you can get through life (and death) much easier with the love of Christ in your life.
Take care,
lisa

2bhealed

lisa42 said:

my thoughts
Hi Emily,

I appreciate hearing your thoughts. I don't believe I said I was damning everyone- yes, what Jesus did many years ago was enough, but I do believe we have to accept it. Just because He did something- well, we have to make a response to Him. If you gave your life to Christ, then you did something. The Bible does say it is a gift- but people do have to accept gifts. If someone is busy doing their own thing, never acknowledging Jesus as Lord, then that's not accepting the gift he's giving. If they're a wonderful person who has a faith or religion that doesn't claim Jesus as Lord, then they're not accepting the gift Jesus is wanting to give us. Like I said in my post, I know that's not a popular belief by many, but it is what the Bible says. Take it or leave it. Certainly, God knows a person's heart and knows if they're innocent. For example, a child who dies before their age of understanding (which I believe is not any set age- it could be different in different people), God accepts the innocents. If someone truly never heard of Jesus' plan, well the Bible isn't real straightforward on that, but I believe that God knows their heart and they are judged accordingly. As I said in my post, it's something to think about, as is what you posted too.
Thanks for your comments. I would still welcome any other comments or questions, should anyone have any. The main thing I believe is that God loves us all and wants the best for us, but we do have to take responsibility for accepting that and not just expecting Him to be there for us when we die if we do nothing to acknowledge him while we're here on earth.
Best wishes everyone & know that you can get through life (and death) much easier with the love of Christ in your life.
Take care,
lisa

Grace
I think that you hit upon the true meaning of what Grace is:

Giving us eternal life even when we do not acknowlege his gift.

What I "did" in 1982 was acknowlege His gift which brought me great joy. But that is not what "saved" me any more than my infant baptism did (nor my adult full immersion baptism many years later). My acknowleging His gift opened my eyes to His Glory and the gifts that he wants to give me each day. It gave me a focus on where my gratitude would be given. But Jesus did the "saving" without any help from me. I was "saved" from the moment his blood was shed, not from the moment I asked him into my heart. Do you see what I am saying?

When we start picking and choosing whom we think is going to make it to heaven based on our own interpretations of the Bible (most denominations make up their own set of "rules"), then we get into dangerous territory opening up to oppressive regimes and spiritual abuse of others with the excuse that the Bible (or Koran) condones our behavior.

Just a thought.

peace, emily

lisa42

Hi again Emily,

Just one more thought, then I'll close my contributions to this discussion. If I understand correctly what I think you're saying, then you believe Christ died for everyone (which I also believe), but we differ on the thought that in order to receive that gift a person has to willfully accept it (which is what I believe). It sounds as though you are saying that because Christ died for all of us, then all of us will get to Heaven without having to make a conscious choice to accept Him or receive His gift. Grace is Him giving us a gift without expecting anything in return (in other words, our works do not save us), BUT accepting his gift willfully would not fall into the category of works. God wants us to do good works and be obedient, be baptized, etc. but those are not the things that "save" us. By his grace we are saved, yet it's a gift He offers to us and we do have to willfully accept it. If you believe the Bible, it clearly states many, many times how not everyone will get into Heaven. It's not a matter of me just interpreting it that way, it speaks that way pretty clearly in numerous places. The only way you could get around accepting that that's what the Bible says is if you do not take most of the Bible literally.
I can see we are not going to "convince" each other of anything. So, I'll just say this to others who may be reading this: Even if not everyone agrees on theology here, just know the Lord loves us and is waiting to bestow His love upon us. Don't go through the rest of your lives without acknowledging and clinging to Him. It is sooo worth it. The "peace that surpasses all understanding" is wonderful, indeed!

God bless and best wishes to everyone,
Lisa

2bhealed

lisa42 said:

Hi again Emily,

Just one more thought, then I'll close my contributions to this discussion. If I understand correctly what I think you're saying, then you believe Christ died for everyone (which I also believe), but we differ on the thought that in order to receive that gift a person has to willfully accept it (which is what I believe). It sounds as though you are saying that because Christ died for all of us, then all of us will get to Heaven without having to make a conscious choice to accept Him or receive His gift. Grace is Him giving us a gift without expecting anything in return (in other words, our works do not save us), BUT accepting his gift willfully would not fall into the category of works. God wants us to do good works and be obedient, be baptized, etc. but those are not the things that "save" us. By his grace we are saved, yet it's a gift He offers to us and we do have to willfully accept it. If you believe the Bible, it clearly states many, many times how not everyone will get into Heaven. It's not a matter of me just interpreting it that way, it speaks that way pretty clearly in numerous places. The only way you could get around accepting that that's what the Bible says is if you do not take most of the Bible literally.
I can see we are not going to "convince" each other of anything. So, I'll just say this to others who may be reading this: Even if not everyone agrees on theology here, just know the Lord loves us and is waiting to bestow His love upon us. Don't go through the rest of your lives without acknowledging and clinging to Him. It is sooo worth it. The "peace that surpasses all understanding" is wonderful, indeed!

God bless and best wishes to everyone,
Lisa

The Good News
Hi Lisa,

I cannot pick and choose the Bible passages that I take literally. One either takes it all or not. The Bible is my guide to knowing my God and living my life.

I just think we as Christians miss the point of The Good News: The Blood of Jesus cleanses ALL sin and sinners. End of story. We cannot add nor take away. We add on the last hoops to jump through for some reason (be it control of the masses? That surely has had a history in some denominations)but we're already there. I believe THAT is what we should be shouting from the rooftops!

Isn't it awesome that our God loves us so much that we will spend eternity with our Maker? No matter what. No questions asked. He sent His son so that we could.

I don't think for a moment that God is "waiting" to bestow His love on me, I believe he has been loving me from day one of eternity. The difference is that I choose to return His love by being a Light and Reflection of Jesus---loving my neighbor as myself and by loving them I do not judge if they will spend eternity with Him or not.

Thanks for the opportunity to share my heart.

peace, emily

jenjerandkatesmom

Thanks
Thank you both for motivating me to pick up my Bible, find my answers and confirm my beliefs. Please read Romans 9:16. I also believe that I am saved by grace. This beautiful verse confirms that I need do nothing to receive that grace. It is God's choice! So..even when I am being ungrateful and unwillingly to accept His grace (forgiveness), He still loves me and grants His grace to me. He's the Boss. Found my peace that surpasses all understanding tonight! While you're in this chapter, enjoy the rest of the book of Romans. My absolutely favorite verse is here, too..Romans 8:38. So much for cancer having any power!!!
Love to you, Sharon

2bhealed

jenjerandkatesmom said:

Thanks
Thank you both for motivating me to pick up my Bible, find my answers and confirm my beliefs. Please read Romans 9:16. I also believe that I am saved by grace. This beautiful verse confirms that I need do nothing to receive that grace. It is God's choice! So..even when I am being ungrateful and unwillingly to accept His grace (forgiveness), He still loves me and grants His grace to me. He's the Boss. Found my peace that surpasses all understanding tonight! While you're in this chapter, enjoy the rest of the book of Romans. My absolutely favorite verse is here, too..Romans 8:38. So much for cancer having any power!!!
Love to you, Sharon

Jeremiah 30:17
Hi Sharon,

This verse from Jeremiah became my "cancer healing" verse and I wrote it on my wall above my bed where I could meditate on it while I nursed the little one you see in my photo (she was 20 months old when I was dx'ed--my 5th child).

Your Romans verse is a great one too. Have you had lots of people share their favorite verses with you during this cancer journey? If something really grabbed my heart I would write it on my wall (at the time we lived in an old farm house with really ugly wallpaper in our bedroom so I had no qualms writing Bible verses of encouragement on my walls! HA!). By the time we moved my wall was covered with verses. I wonder what the next people thought. ;-)

Wow, I am totally getting into Romans 14--especially 14:8-13.

Thanks for sharing!

peace, emily

trainer

2bhealed said:

Jeremiah 30:17
Hi Sharon,

This verse from Jeremiah became my "cancer healing" verse and I wrote it on my wall above my bed where I could meditate on it while I nursed the little one you see in my photo (she was 20 months old when I was dx'ed--my 5th child).

Your Romans verse is a great one too. Have you had lots of people share their favorite verses with you during this cancer journey? If something really grabbed my heart I would write it on my wall (at the time we lived in an old farm house with really ugly wallpaper in our bedroom so I had no qualms writing Bible verses of encouragement on my walls! HA!). By the time we moved my wall was covered with verses. I wonder what the next people thought. ;-)

Wow, I am totally getting into Romans 14--especially 14:8-13.

Thanks for sharing!

peace, emily

Verse
Which verse in Jeremiah is the one you liked? I must have missed it in the thread. My favorite overall Verse is Isaiah 40:31. You probably get to see eagles where you live and have seen them mount up in storms. It's give me comfort and strength in many different situations. Thanks for sharing.

Whoops, never mind, I just saw the Jeremiah reference in the subject line. check out Is. 40:31.

2bhealed

trainer said:

Verse
Which verse in Jeremiah is the one you liked? I must have missed it in the thread. My favorite overall Verse is Isaiah 40:31. You probably get to see eagles where you live and have seen them mount up in storms. It's give me comfort and strength in many different situations. Thanks for sharing.

Whoops, never mind, I just saw the Jeremiah reference in the subject line. check out Is. 40:31.

It's awesome!
I have that highlighted in blue. I love that verse too.

We do have eagles right in our woods and they hunt our meadow. :-)

peace, emily

jenjerandkatesmom

Verses
Thanks for sharing your favorites with me. Amazing how this experience touches us in different ways. I did not find this discussion board until recently so I missed out on all that you could have shared with me when I was initially diagnosed. There was a post by Buzz that touched me a couple of weeks ago when I was feeling afraid. It was his prayer that he prayed when he was afraid and he knew Satan was knocking at the door and he asked Jesus to take the call for him. I've been doing the same and the fears just melt away. I wonder if everyone on this board knows just how much they affect their fellow travelers on this journey. We get great advice about the physical aspects of this disease but sometimes we need spiritual direction as well. I am truly grateful...may we all soar on the wings of eagles.
-Sharon