A Purpose in Every Season

There was an absence of God's voice and presence (about 400 years if I remember correctly) following the return from exile.... Generations must have begun to believe they'd been forgotten by God. Talk about hope deferred! Being in a season of waiting on God for next steps can be so frustrating. Even a child of God can struggle with perception of abandonment! Believers are never meant to feel settled in our temporary home and lets face it, this walk with the Lord is often full of twists and turns we never see coming!
Although God's been making it clear to me that He's very much still by my side, I'll admit I'm getting a bit anxious for some direction and long-range goals! Thankfully, by His grace, as I've been seeking the Lord about next steps He's been so faithful in gently speaking to my heart: not yet, be at rest, stop striving...comforting yet difficult to accept for a planner!
Some sermons and (as always) music have really ministered to me in this time. Podcasts are such a great companion for roadtrips and sometimes the daily commute or errands. What a blessing God's given in some technology! I love being able to redeem this time to set my thoughts on greater things.
Here's a few snippets from sermons that have ministered to me in this season of uncertainty (somehow I feel as though a bit of uncertainty is meant to be a constant in this walk....) At Passion, Beth Moore pointed out that a believers primary call is to the Savior. He'll reveal the rest in time. Louie Giglio spoke on "Twenty-something or Twenty-someONE" and "Left-turns, detours and the Sovereignty of God" from Passion City Church. Louie brought out the truth that God cares more about my character than my calling. Jon Ludavina at Midtown spoke on singleness as a grace gift. These messages have uplifted me with the truth that I am where I am for a reason.
This season of my life is an amazing opportunity to pour out everything I am for Christ. I have more resources: time, money and flexibility than I will never have in any other season..."Twenty somethings" are creations and tools of God. My generation could make a huge impact for the kingdom if we accept this calling. That starts with individual surrendered hearts.
There's so much talk in the Christian community about a call to go.....what about a call to stay and have an impact in a place you don't necessarily feel attached or drawn to? I don't know if this is a long or short term assignment....either way I want this time to be characterized by an increasingly intimate walk with the Lord.

Global Impact 2010 Missions Conference

The weekend of Feb 26-28, my church held its annual missions conference: Global Impact 2010. This was my first year attending the conference.
The church as a whole is very missions-oriented. Our senior pastor and his family travel to various churches overseas over the holidays each year to personally encourage our partners there. Pastor Buster does his best to keep the body informed of what God is doing through our brothers and sisters serving the ends of the earth. I love that my church leadership has such a heart for missions and believes it important to share as much as possible with the congregation. However, there is really nothing like speaking with our missionaries themselves! I thankfully had Friday off so I was able to spend time with members of my church family preparing for the opening of the conference. The head chef at the church is wonderful! He's such a joy to serve with and so generous to his volunteers! Chef Bob invited us to take a lunch break at the Missions Luncheon. We were given the opportunity to have lunch with the visiting missionaries and the pastoral staff. When I came in, I joined my community group leader another of the girls from the Young Single Adults who are on staff at the church. They were already speaking with a missionary from Afghanistan. It was so refreshing to hear his first-hand account of the mission field. The conversation was very encouraging and eye-opening. Laborers are very wise with resources. I'm looking forward to the growth of this ministry!
Following the banquet on Friday evening, the church gathered for the opening session of the conference. Our main speaker gave us a challenge: put your "yes" on the altar before the Lord. Even before the Lord asks, tell Him that you will follow wherever He leads. It's easy to quickly say yes and dismiss the concept a part of the Christian walk. The speaker encouraged us to take the appropriate time to consider and understand what this entails. If possible, he encouraged taking a day to get alone with the Lord to find out what we may need to say no to in order to say yes to God. This also includes the possibility of saying yes to overseas service.
On Sunday, the Young Single Adults class was blessed to have a missionary from Thailand. He and his family are such examples of God's grace. When he first approached his wife about full time missions in Thailand he found that God had already been preparing her heart to say yes! They adopted a baby boy about 9 years ago finding that they couldn't have children naturally. Around 6 years ago, however, God blessed them with a brother for their oldest son. It was certainly a sweet surprise when a Buddhist nurse told them that God must be involved because she was pregnant!
I very much enjoyed hearing of the college ministry in Thailand. It's such an encouragement that their team now includes so many nationals.
Later that evening, the YSA class again had the opportunity to spend time with the missionaries. We heard from a couple who had served in Bosnia and Croatia. They describe the opportunity as one of the best seasons of their lives. I hope I view opportunities God presents to serve Him as such a great privilege and blessing.
We closed the conference on Sunday as a church body. Pastor Buster told us that our church family would be focusing more resources including laborers to India!! I feel such a personal connection to India knowing friends who are currently serving there or are currently making plans to serve there. I'm looking forward to how God uses this commitment from our church leadership.
During the conference worship sessions, our worship leader lead a song I was introduced to at the Restore Conference in Clemson last year. I love the lyrics as they relate to missions

Lord, let us pray Kingdom Come prayers and live with a Kingdom mindset!

Let Your Kingdom Come

Words and music by Bob Kauflin
As recorded on Valley of Vision

Your glorious cause, O God, engages our hearts
May Jesus Christ be known wherever we are
We ask not for ourselves, but for Your renown
The cross has saved us so we pray
Your kingdom come

Let Your kingdom come
Let Your will be done
So that everyone might know Your Name
Let Your song be heard everywhere on earth
Till Your sovereign work on earth is done
Let Your kingdom come

Give us Your strength, O God, and courage to speak
Perform Your wondrous deeds through those who are weak
Lord use us as You want, whatever the test
By grace we’ll preach Your gospel
Till our dying breath

© 2006 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI).

Birthday Week

With each passing birthday, I value memories more. Memories with those I love have become some of my favorite gifts. My birthday this year was very low-key but I enjoyed it as such! I had several opportunities throughout my "birthday week" to spend quality time with wonderful friends who have blessed my life over the last few years.
One of the many things my discipler, Tara, taught me my senior year of college was to "embrace the birthday week". For me, this has meant a weekend trip the last couple of years to celebrate with dear friends. Last weekend, I had my first experience driving through the snow at night! I was definitely thankful to be in Columbia after a 4 hr drive that usually takes 2! I thankfully got there safely and spent the evening with Meredith and her roommates watching the Olympic opening ceremonies. One of Meredith's roommates and I were in a small group Bible study together our Sr yr of college. One of the other girls from that group also lives in Columbia. She spent the night as well so the next morning was a lot of fun spending time with everyone!
The next morning, we woke up to a white blanket still largely intact. A group of us walked down to the State House and built a snowman there!




I left Columbia around noon and headed up to Clemson (where I'd intended originally to be Fri night but I loved the detour!) I had dinner with 3 other girls from college. We all have birthdays within two weeks of each other; 3 of us within a week!


It was great to catch up and just spend some quality time with ladies I respect and love so much. We went to Fatz cafe and of course loaded up on the awesome rolls and all sorts of yummy birthday food. The waitress even brought each of us a strawberry shortcake for dessert!


After dinner, we went back to their townhouse and had a couple other girls over. We ended up chatting and watching the Olympics. I really wanted my birthday to be kinda low key surrounded by friends so I loved it! After church at my old Clemson home church, I had lunch with one of the girls from my Passion family group! She's a sophomore at Clemson. It was so good to catch up with her in person! I usually end up making my way back home slowly visiting friends along the way so of course for my birthday trip I had to as well! I had coffee with one of my Summerlink roommates on my way through Greenville then stopped back in Columbia to go to church with Meredith. Her church meets at night and they were starting a new series she wanted me to visit for. I got back around 10ish pretty tired but thankful for a great trip.
The birthday celebration continued on Wed with my community group! They were so sweet in "changing the venue" for our usual meeting time to go out to dinner. We went to a little restaurant downtown that we all really enjoy. It was wonderful to have some time to just catch up on each others lives and enjoy some great fellowship!


On my actual birthday, I enjoyed a relaxing morning before going to work in the afternoon. I had the following day off which I spent relaxing, running a few errands and spending time with my roommates.
My birthday is just one of many days that I'm so blessed by family and friends who consistently remind me of how much I'm loved.

Birthday

Those who know me well know I'm not prone to waves of emotion....Every now and then though, something really grips me. That happened tonight as I was moved to tears by a birthday card from my parents. Its a music card that plays "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts. I've heard the song and I do like the lyrics. What moved me was thinking of the sentiment from my parents' perspective. They've been so encouraging throughout my life but especially now as I've been trying to navigate this "adult world". I cant express how thankful I am for parents who pray for me encouraging me to wholeheartedly pursue God's plan for my life. It's been hard on all of us for me to live so far from home. I do know I'll always have a place in their home. I think, though, it takes stronger parents to encourage their most precious gifts to venture away from what is secure and familiar.
I'm so blessed to have parents who desire above all else to see me walk closely with the Lord. Thank you mom and dad for all you've done to encourage my growth spiritually, mentally and emotionally. I love you so much!

My Wish- Rascal Flatts

.....more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.

But more than anything........

Passion 2010 Main Session: Louie Giglio

Louie Giglio gave the final main session message of Passion 2010.
Phillipians 2:1-11
Considering others more important than ourselves we need to have the same view as our example, Jesus.
Having a theological not an emotional turn-around of the way we view who God is and how He relates to me produces zeal!
The goal is not to be more moral etc The goal is to think and see like Christ- to act and respond like Him
Jesus took on the nature of a servant humbling Himself to death.
God's wrath had to be satisfied- someone had to die
....and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, (a COMMA not a period!) to the glory of God the Father
Are you putting faith and trust in Him now? The question isn't "when" its "are you"?
I'm surrounded by a bigger story-- the glory of God

Paul is writing from jail celebrating that the church was living for Christ while he was not with them.
Can 2010 make it back to towns, relationships, campuses, workplaces?

We dont need more input- God gave us everything in Christ- We need more output.
Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you
The living GOD is at work in you!
the will and the ability to act according to His great purposes

Surrender (to be His grace in me) not promise
"I cant but you can"
dying to the self trying

Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure
still something to be had for being like Christ in this world
our generation took the wrong path
my mouth, hands, face display the living God

Passion 2010 Main Session: John Piper

One of the many ways Pastor Piper ministers is by sharing the notes for his sermons in the resource library of DesiringGod.org. Passion 2010 was blessed to have him as a main speaker and that he posted his notes! Here they are!


Is Jesus an Egomaniac?
Passion 2010
Atlanta, Georgia

By John Piper January 4, 2010
Erik Reece is writer-in-residence at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, teaching environmental journalism, writing, and literature. He published a book last April entitled, An American Gospel: On Family, History, and the Kingdom of God. On May 13, 2009, he did an interview on National Public Radio with Terry Gross on the program Fresh Air about his book.
What he said is in large part why I am giving this message the way I am. It wasn’t the first time someone had said this. But it may have been the most recent and most public and most blatant. And just so you know, I wrote to Mr. Reece a long letter with my concern in the hope that I could give him another perspective.
Reece grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home, like I did. He rejected his. I loved mine and give thanks for it to this day. The background paragraph at the NPR website said that he struggled to find a different form of Christianity with the guidance of Thomas Jefferson, Walt Whitman, and other American writes.
Jesus Christ, Egomaniac
In the interview, Terry Gross pointed Mr. Reece to page 28 of his new book. On that page, he quotes from Jesus in Matthew 10:37-39.
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Then after quoting Jesus, Reece says, “Who is the egomaniac speaking these words?” Terry Gross asks him, “Would you elaborate on that reaction?”
Reece replies, “Well, it just struck me as ‘Who is this person speaking 2000 years ago, a complete historical stranger, saying that we should love him, (who we are really incapable emotionally of loving) more so than we should love our own fathers and sons?’ It just seemed like an incredibly egomaniacal kind of claim to make.”
So in his book, he says that if Jesus talked like this, he is an egomaniac, and then in the interview, he confirms that conviction that someone who would talk like this is egomaniacal.
So here is Jesus saying: “Love me more than you love anyone in the world. If you don’t you are not worthy of me.” And Erik Reece says: “That is an egomaniac talking.”
Now Reece is not the only one who feels that way.
Like a Vain Woman Wanting Compliments
C. S. Lewis, eventually professor at Oxford and great writer of Christian apologetics and fiction 60 years ago, was slow to come to Christ. He was 29 before he was converted.
And he says in his book Reflections on the Psalms that one of the great obstacles in coming to believe in the God of the Bible was that when he read the Psalms, the constant demand from God to praise him seemed (to him) to picture God as craving “for our worship like a vain woman who wants compliments.”
In other words, he stumbled, just like Erik Reece, over the self-exalting commands of God that we praise him, and the self-exalting commands of Jesus that we love him more than we love our parents or our children or our own lives. To Lewis and Reece, this was sheer egomania.
Human Tyrants Crave Adulation
Almost seven years ago in the March 30, 2003, issue of the London Financial Times, Michael Prowse wrote the same thing from another vantage point:
Worship is an aspect of religion that I always found difficult to understand. Suppose we postulate an omnipotent being who, for reasons inscrutable to us, decided to create something other than himself. Why should he . . . expect us to worship him? We didn’t ask to be created. Our lives are often troubled. We know that human tyrants, puffed up with pride, crave adulation and homage. But a morally perfect God would surely have no character defects. So why are all those people on their knees every Sunday?
Or if he were here, he would say, “Why are these 20,000-plus students standing with their hands and their voices lifted in praise to a God and his Son who are such egomaniacs that they constantly demand that we think they are the greatest?
Why are all these young people cowed into doing just what these egomaniacs want them to do, namely, admire them and praise them above everybody else in the universe?
Until He Said, “Jealous”
My wife and I had dinner last night with Francis and Lisa Chan, and I was telling them about this talk and Oprah Winfrey came up as another example of someone who left traditional Christianity because of seeing God this way.
So I went back to my room and called up the You Tube clip of her statement and wrote it down. Here’s what she said. She was describing being in a church service where the preacher was talking about the attributes of God, his omnipotence and omnipresence. Quote:
Then he said, “The Lord thy God is a jealous God,” I was caught up in the rapture of that moment until he said, “jealous.” And something struck me. I was 27 or 28, and I was thinking God is all, God is omnipresent, God is . . . also jealous? A jealous God is jealous of me? And something about that didn’t feel right in my spirit because I believe that God is love, and that God is in all things.
In Exodus 34:14, God says, “You shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” In other words, God demands that you and I and Oprah Winfrey give him all our worship. If we give any of our worship to another, he is jealous, and if we don’t repent, he will break forth in wrath. “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:24).
So Erick Reece and the early C. S. Lewis and Michael Prowse and Oprah Winfrey all turned away from the God of the Bible because they thought he was too self-exalting. Too self-centered. Too much the egomaniac.
Such a Self-Exalting, Self-Centered God
I heard Don Carson, New Testament scholar from Trinity Seminary near Chicago, say a while back that as he has done evangelistic outreach on university campuses, the questions have changed over the years. Thirty years ago they tended to revolve around historical problems with Christianity.
Nowadays it is represented by questions like, How can you worship a God who so self-exalting and so self-centered as the God of the Bible—a God who is constantly pointing to his own greatness and constantly telling people that they should recognize this greatness and tell him how much you like it?
Touching the Very Center of Christianity
I don’t think that what we are seeing here is a small, marginal, or tricky opposition to Christianity. I think what Erik Reece, C.S. Lewis, Michael Prowse, and Oprah Winfrey are seeing touches the very center of Christianity.
If you say in response: I thought Christ crucified for sinners and risen triumphantly was the heart of Christianity, you would be right. Paul said, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
That’s true. But the amazing thing is that it’s the intersection of God’s apparent egomania with the human condition of sin that makes the cross of Christ necessary and makes it intelligible and reveals the deepest things about God in the death of Christ.
So we are not dealing with something small here or marginal, but something central and crucial.
God Lives for the Glory of God
I didn’t face this issue until I was about 23 years old—40 years ago now. I had grown up in a Christian home where I was taught 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” So it was clear to me that I should live for the glory of God.
But no one ever said to me that God lives for the glory of God. Then I read Jonathan Edwards’s The End for Which God Created the World, and everything changed. He simply blew me away with page after page of biblical texts showing God’s pervasive God-centeredness. That God does everything for his glory. That he is unwaveringly committed to uphold and display his glory.
And what became clear to me, and remains clear to this day, is that many Christians think it is good for us to be God-centered, but don’t feel at all comfortable with God being God-centered. We should be Christ-exalting, but Christ shouldn’t be Christ-exalting.
God’s God-Centeredness as the Test
What I have found in my own life, and in the life of many others, is that God’s God-centeredness is the test of whether our own God-centeredness is real: Do I rejoice in God’s unwavering commitment to uphold and display his glory—do I rejoice in God’s God-centeredness? Or am I God-centered only because deep down I believe God is man-centered, so that my supposed God-centeredness is really man-centeredness, even me-centeredness?
Does my opposition to God’s God-centeredness reveal that my supposed God-centeredness is just a cover for wanting myself at the center, and the use of God to endorse that because he is so centered on me?
God’s Radical Devotion to Himself
Reading the Bible with these eyes, I began to see what Erik Reece and C.S. Lewis and Michael Prowse and Oprah were seeing. God really is radically devoted to seeing himself exalted. God is radically committed to seeing that his glory is esteemed as the supreme value of the universe.
Here is a sampling of what I saw.
God creates for his glory.
Isaiah 43:6-7: Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, every one who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory.
God elects Israel for his glory.
Jeremiah 13:11: I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the LORD, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory.
God saves them from Egypt for his glory.
Psalm 106:7-8: Our fathers rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name's sake that he might make known his power.
God restrains his anger in exile for his glory.
Isaiah 48:9-11: For my names sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you . . . . For my own sake, for my own sake I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
God sends his Son at the end of the age for his glory.
2 Thessalonians 1:9-10: He comes on that day to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at in all who have believed.
In all of redemptive history, from beginning to ending, God has this one ultimate goal: that his name be glorified. The aim of God in all that he does is most ultimately the praise of his glory.
All of redemptive history is bookended by this amazing purpose in God the Father and God the Son. And in the middle of that redemptive history stands the greatest event in the history of the world, the death of Jesus Christ.
And just at these points—the beginning and the ending and the middle (predestining of our salvation at the beginning, and the consummation of our salvation at the end, and the purchase of our salvation at the middle)—just at these points the problem of God’s apparent egomania finds its amazing solution.
God’s God-Centeredness from Start to Finish
Consider a passage of Scripture about each of these points—the beginning (predestination), the ending (consummation), and the middle (propitiation).
Beginning: Ephesians 1:4-6
God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace.
Before the foundation of the world, God planned a redemption in Christ with this great and ultimate goal: that we would praise his glory. And the apex of that glory would be the glory of his grace.
So from the very beginning, we see that God made his exaltation and our salvation one piece. You don’t have to choose between God’s glory and your joy, because the apex of your joy is praise, and the apex of his glory is grace.
What We Delight to Do
C. S. Lewis broke through to the beauty of God’s self-exaltation (thinking at first that the Psalms sounded like an old woman craving compliments). He finally saw something very different:
My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can’t help doing, about everything else we value. I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. (C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms [New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1958, 93-95])
Lewis saw that praising God is the consummation of joy in God. Therefore, when God is pursuing—even demanding—our praise, he is pursuing the consummation of our joy.
This may feel at first counter-intuitive—that when we are small and feel insignificant, while God is great and central, at those very moments we reach our highest joy. But it’s not counter to our deepest sense of where joy comes from. John is not in thinking highly of ourselves. Joy reaches its height in moments of self-forgetfulness in the presence of beauty and greatness.
So if Jesus wants you to feel most alive, most joyful forever, what would he show you?
Ending: John 17:24
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
When all is said and done, and the history of the world is complete, and the new heavens and the new earth are established, and the infinitely joyful age to come is here, the ultimate joy, the ultimate climax of history for our aching hearts, is “we will see his glory,” and we will be transformed by it into the kind of people who can enjoy it fully and not be incinerated by it.
When Jesus says, “Love me more than you love your mother and father and sons and daughters and your own children and your best beloved on earth,” he is not hurting anyone!
Jesus Is Saying…
He is saying: If you find your ultimate joy in your most cherished earthly treasure, you will be disappointed in the end, and I will be dishonored. Because I am offering myself to you as the all-satisfying beauty and greatness and wisdom and strength and love of the universe. I am what you were made for. And I am telling you that, if you see this—if you see me as your supreme Treasure—then you don’t have to choose between your satisfaction and my glorification, because in the very act of your being most satisfied in me, I will be most glorified in you.
Jesus continues, “When I pray for you, that in the end you will see my glory, it is simply because, as God, I am infinitely glorious, and I want you to see infinite glory and enjoy it. I want you to be with me and be satisfied in me. I am not an egomaniac. I am your all-satisfying friend.”
The Great Problem of Sin
But of course, there is a great problem—and this is that we are sinners. Not only do we not want to treasure someone above ourselves, we don’t deserve that privilege. And so how will sinners like us be able to stand in the presence of God and enjoy his greatness as our all-satisfying Treasure?
Which brings us now to the middle of history and the work of Christ on the cross.
The Cross at the Center
The center of God’s plan—from beginning to end—stands the mighty cross of Christ. And in it we see the clearest statement of God’s passion for his glory—precisely and amazingly in the salvation of sinners. Romans 3:23-26:
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Note the argument:
What God did: He put Christ forward as propitiation by his blood (verse 25a). Christ died to remove the wrath of God.
Romans 8:3: “What the law could not do . . . God did: . . . he condemned sin in the flesh.”
Galatians 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.”
Why did he need to do it this way—by dying on a cross? Verse 25b: “This was to show God’s righteousness.” Why did he need to show his righteousness? Verse 25c: “because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”
Why does passing over sins call God’s righteousness into question? Verse 23: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. “Fall short” means “lack.” We have exchanged the glory of God in every sin (Romans 1:23). Every time we sin, we say that the glory of God is not the supreme Treasure to be desired above all others. It is not satisfying. It is not to be preferred.
When God passes over that, it looks as if he agrees. And if he agrees, he is unrighteous. He is wrong. He is acting in contradiction to what is true. His righteousness—his commitment to doing what is right—is his commitment to act as though his glory is supremely valuable, which it is. His righteousness is his commitment to upholding and displaying the infinite worth of his glory. And that is what the cross does.
God Is Passionate for God
Therefore, from beginning to end—from predestination before creation to the final state of contemplation of the glory of Christ at the end of history—God is passionate for his glory.
In the center of that history, the greatest event that ever happened, the death of the Son of God for sinners like us, is the demonstration of God’s righteousness—the demonstration of his unwavering commitment to uphold and display the infinite worth of his glory as the supreme Treasure of the universe.
Forgiveness for His Name’s Sake
Which means that now when we come to him for mercy and cry out to him for the forgiveness of our sins we do it for his name’s sake—for the sake of his glory.
For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great. (Psalms 25:11)
And we hear the promise from 1 John 2:12, “[Y]our sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.”
The greatest news in the world is that in the death of Christ, God has made a way for his name to be exalted and my sins to be forgiven in the very same act. God is both just and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26).
The Foundation of Our Salvation: God’s Value
And what makes this so spectacular is that the foundation under our salvation is not our value but God’s value. The consummation of our salvation is not that heaven is a hall of mirrors where we like what we see, but that we will be glorified and the universe will be glorified to the point where we can fully enjoy the glory of Christ.
Here is the end of the matter: God is the one being in the universe for whom self-exaltation is not the act of a needy ego, but an act of infinite giving. The reason God seeks our praise is not because he won’t be fully God until he gets it, but that we won’t be happy until we give it.
This is not arrogance. This is grace.
This is not egomania. This is love.

Passion 2010 Main Session: Andy Stanley

It's always a mistake to determine what you want to be before who you want to be
Most spend too much time on what they'll do and who they'll be with
Who you are will determine what you'll do and achieve
My talent, education, drive has the potential to sweep me past what my character can maintain

Who a person is on the inside always impacts the other aspects Who you are on the inside will dictate what people associate with your name

You will never be that mouthpiece if you lose sight Your being will always influence your doing
There is no guarantee you'll stay passionate about the things of God unless you refuse to lose sight of this truth

Daniel 6:3-5
Daniel- Hebrew, slave in Babylon, the king gave him leadership, treated him as a Babylonian because of his intelligence and skills
Daniel is recognized for management etc skills
the men around him got jealous and tried to malign him- unsuccessfully- they found no corruption in him because he was trustworthy
They thought they couldnt find anything unless it deals with the law of his God

Laying a foundation to be a leader in the generation- people look past what you do to see that your character backs it up (nothing could be found in Daniel)

8 things you'd want said at your funeral about who you were
honest- foundation of all relationships
ask why? whats at stake if I'm not?
pure- mind, heart, soul, body What's at stake?
generous- whats at stake?

dishonesty undermines the integrity of relationships
purity paves the way to intimacy - way bigger than a bad memory
generosity ensures that the things you own never own you

these words form an invisible barrier around behavior- going outside of it
For the sake of achievement becomes too much of a risk Too much at stake
Failure because intimacy, integrity etc is at stake

What you want said about you at your funeral is your personal definition of success

What wont you sacrifice? (things God wants for you)
What kind of person will you choose to become? What type of leader?

The question is not what you'll do Its what values do I want to form a perimeter around my behavior
Within that perimeter there's freedom to achieve

What are my non-negotiables?
Get this right and you'll be a leader worth following
Who has God created me to be?
God is working with me and in me to mold me into who He's created me to be