SERVING GOD’S PURPOSE TO OUR GENERATION
“Wisdom is the principal thing: therefore, get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”
“Wisdom is the principal thing: therefore, get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7 (KJV)
Christians have become great “getters” – you “get” saved, filled, delivered,healed, blessed, etc. Perhaps you have developed the art of spending God.With all of your getting are you walking in defeat? Do you let Satan get the best of you? Are you being short changed and why haven’t you impacted theworld the way that you know that you can and should.
The reason for all this could be that “…with all of your getting, you haven’t gotten understanding.” It is one thing to know that Jesus will save you and fix you up, but it is another to know why He does it.
Jesus saved you and fixed you up for a purpose. Jesus not only saved you from something, but He also saved you for something. All that He has done for you, all that He has given you, and all that He has allowed you to go through, were for a reason. He had a purpose in mind. To this end you need
to cry out for understanding, because to miss the purpose for which the Lord has done all of this is to miss the abundant life (for the abundance of life has more to do with how you are and what you do than what you have) that Jesus came to give us.(John 10:10)
“For you are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.”
Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)
There are two things in that verse that I would like to address, so you may have a better understand of what God is after in your life.
1. “You are His workmanship” – Paul is trying to communicate that God is the one who created you, and He used great skill in doing so. As a master craftsman, He took great care in what He was doing because you were going to be a “masterpiece.”
Psalm 139:13-16 describes the skill with which the Lord knit you together and how He is concerned about every detail of your life. He was the one that gave you your individual physical features, your
personality, and your different capacities for feeling, thinking, and sensing. It’s no accident that you are unique and different from everyone else. There has never been anyone like you. There isn’t
anyone like you now and there will never be anyone quite like you in the future. Yor have a unique expression of God that the world needs to see and touch.
2. “Created … for good works” – This phrase communicates the idea that God had a purpose in mind when He designed and engineered you. Before you were, your purpose was, and your purpose determined how you were going to be. Your purpose determined your personality, sense of humor, intelligence, etc. In creating you God gave you everything you needed to be effective and successful within the purpose for which He has called you.
In Colossians 1:28 Paul states, “We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.” The word “perfect” in this passage means perfect in function. The idea being communicated is that of trying to match the right tool with the right job. If you want to get a nail into a board, the perfect tool for that job would be a hammer. In the same sense, Paul is stating that there is a work in this life that God wants to accomplish.
You are the perfect tool to get it done since you were specifically created for it.
What you need to understand is that since coming to Jesus, everything you have been given and gone through was to prepare you for the purpose that God has for your life.
It is my prayer that this article will birth in your heart a desire to have said about you what was said about King David in Acts 13:36 “For David, after he served the purpose of God in his own generation fell asleep.”
Jim Newsom
The statement that God made concerning King David could also be written as follows: For Jim Newsom, after he served the purpose of God in his own generation fell asleep. Jim was passionate about helping people move out of complacency and into reaching out to those that are hurting around them.
He wanted to see Christians built up strong, so that they could do what God created them to do. Jim’s messages are continuing to impact people’s lives,even though he is no longer here.
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
• Do you know what purpose God has created you for?
• Have you taken the necessary steps (training, learning, etc.) to accomplish your purpose?
• Do you need someone to mentor/train you in your purpose?
• Are you actively walking out that purpose?
• Are you making an impact with that purpose?
• Should you be mentoring/training someone else to carry on the purpose after you are gone?
• Will your life continue to make an impact after you are gone?
Personal Update
The statement that God made concerning King David could also be written as follows: For Jim Newsom, after he served the purpose of God in his own generation fell asleep. Jim was passionate about helping people move out of complacency and into reaching out to those that are hurting around them.
He wanted to see Christians built up strong, so that they could do what God created them to do. Jim’s messages are continuing to impact people’s lives,even though he is no longer here.
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
• Do you know what purpose God has created you for?
• Have you taken the necessary steps (training, learning, etc.) to accomplish your purpose?
• Do you need someone to mentor/train you in your purpose?
• Are you actively walking out that purpose?
• Are you making an impact with that purpose?
• Should you be mentoring/training someone else to carry on the purpose after you are gone?
• Will your life continue to make an impact after you are gone?
With all the stress of trying to pack up, move and unpack, I decided to take a quick weekend trip to Columbus, OH to visit Jason. He recently bought a house there, so this will be the first opportunity that I have had to see it.
At our new house, we have got most of the main floor and the upstairs unpacked but are still working on the lower level. We are starting to bring some of my boxes over from storage but are waiting to have the large items moved by professional movers. Jason will be coming down for a visit on the
weekend of the 9th, so he is going to rent a truck and take a lot of the bigger items that I can’t use to furnish his new house. So, we are trying to coordinate the movers so that they can load both Jason’s truck and my truck at the same time.
As I mentioned, Ronan will be competing in another figure skating competition and has been working really hard to perfect his routine. He has also started to have rehearsals for “The Nutcracker on Ice.” Those performances will be held the weekend before Christmas.
Riker is now 5 months old and has started to teethe. There is drool everywhere! He doesn’t like to be put down on the floor, (he thinks he should be sat up to look around) but he is starting to scoot across the floor a little. He is such a source of joy for me, as I watch him every day.
It seems that I injured a tendon in my left ankle during all the moving, and finally went to the doctor. I’ve been stuck in a walking boot for several weeks and I can’t wait to get rid of it! Please pray that it will mend quickly.
I pray you all have a wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving with family and friends! Thanksgiving will be a bit tough this year for our family, as this was Jim’s favorite holiday with our family. Please be in prayer for us as we navigate the holidays without him.
In His service,
Diane Newsom
Executive Director