Date: September 12, 2022

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and to Him be the Glory and to the Holy Ghost that abides within me. God has laid on my spirit to write a weekly message to the saints and friends of The Church of the Living God, The Pillar and Ground of the Truth, Which He Purchased with His Own Blood, Inc.– Jewell Dominion. This week’s key word is Purpose. (Part One)

Let me start off by asking you a question. What is the purpose for your life? When you wake up in the morning what is it that drives you; what is your purpose. When you get to work, or when you go to school, what is it that makes you want to excel? As you think about this question, certain pictures may come into your mind or example; you might be motivated by a childhood dream, expectation of family members, or just trying to live the American Dream. The American Dream, isn’t that what we all want? The American Dream says that we can do anything we want to do. Be whatever we want to be. It says that we should live our lives to the fullest, exceed what our parents accomplished.

As we all think about what our purpose is in life, or even as we try to find our purpose, let’s all understand that God has a purpose for our lives. By the way what is purpose? Purpose defined is That which a person sets before himself as an object to be reached or accomplished; the end or aim to which the view is directed in any plan, measure, or exertion. In other words, we build a house for the purpose for shelter, we labor for the purpose of sustenance. (Illustrate a pen; its purpose to write) But sadly enough, many Christians don’t have a clue what that purpose is.

We are all driven either by design or default. We either live for the purpose that God designed us to, or we live according to the demands of our schedule and the expectations of others. Some people think the purpose of life is making money, for some it is having as much fun as possible, and for others it’s being popular and well-liked by others. There’s nothing wrong with these things, but if they are your whole purpose in life, there’s emptiness to it. It’s kind of like cotton candy – all taste, but no substance.

Ephesians 2:10 (KJV) tells us, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them”. In this verse Paul, is writing to churches that he established during his 2nd missionary journey; deals with the subject of a purpose driven life and those that live with no purpose. Who he is talking about is a group of religious people who lived according to Jewish customs. They lived by the flesh, and they trusted in the flesh, not only did they trust in the flesh, but they trusted that their flesh was the ticket to eternal life. Paul tells the Philippians that he used to be just like them. He used to live for the American Dream if you will, and according to society he was somebody, he was going places, he was popular, he was rich, he was circumcised, he was of the tribe of Benjamin, Hebrew of the Hebrews, he was a Pharisee, he was the persecutor of the church, killing and arresting Christians. In his mind you couldn’t get any better. But one day Paul met Jesus Christ and as a result he was saved and realized that his purpose for living had changed. Therefore, our purpose should be to live with Jesus Christ also that we may be His disciples here on earth. And remember, “With God All Things are Possible”. (Matthew 19:26) Part Two next week

In His Service,

Bishop Dr. Calvin Worthem

General Chief Overseer/Senior Bishop