Why Am I Here?

For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart. - 1 Corinthians 2: 16 (AMP).

We have the mind of Christ. If we try to do everything in our own strength, figuring everything out in our own mind, we are going to be solely disappointed.

We, humans, only use ten percent of our brains whereas God uses one-hundred percent of His. Imagine having access to His brain twenty-four/seven.

We actually do have that access because as the righteous, as those who are in Christ, we have the mind of Christ.

Declare it today and every day: "I have the mind of Christ." Don't doubt it. Just believe it.

Declaring the end and the result from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure and purpose.- Isaiah 46: 10 (AMP).

God knows the beginning from the end. The times that have come, that are here and that are yet to be.

He knew my Great Great Aunt Minnie, my Great Grandmother Bessie, my Grandfather Ray and my Dad before He knew me.

He had a purpose for us all. Our plans won't stand, but His plans will.

The best thing to do is yield to His plans, then you won't waste a lot of time on plans that aren't blessed and won't stand the test of time.

I the Lord have called You [the Messiah] for a righteous purpose and in righteousness; I will take You by the hand and will keep You; I will give You for a covenant to the people [Israel], for a light to the nations [Gentiles]. - Isaiah 42: 6 (AMP).

The Lord has called us into righteousness. He took our hands and has made a covenant that is no longer between Him and His people.

Instead now He has cut the covenant with His Son, who shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins. When we accept Christ, we are now engrafted into that covenant.

Why? Because while on Earth and at the Cross, Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the covenant for us. He shed His blood for us.

Not only did God fulfill His part of the covenant, but He send Jesus to fulfill the other part as well.

Based on this, there is absolutely no reason why you cannot inherit all the promises of God. None.

Except the deception that you are not good enough, that you have not fulfilled your part. All of that is deception perpetrated by the enemy.

Jesus fulfilled all the conditions so all the promises are yeah and amen (II Corinthians 1:20).

Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people). - Ephesians 5: 15 (AMP).

Choose to be wise Choose the wise things of God over those things which are temporal and will not matter in the afterlife.

Focus on those things that have eternal consequences, such as what God has called you to do. The rest of your concerns--how to pay the bills, deal with your kids or work-related issues--leave them in God's hands.

Focus on what God called you to do...and let Him focus on everything else that concerns you.

Grace and spiritual blessing be to you and [soul] peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), who gave (yielded) Himself up [to atone] for our sins [and to save and sanctify us], in order to rescue and deliver us from this present wicked ge and world order, in accordance with the will and purpose and plan of our God and Father. - Galatians 1: 3-4 (AMP).

Jesus gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age.

We are in an evil age. There is no doubt about it. The courts are holding up what is wrong and calling it right. We are in this world, but we are not of this world.

We are seated in Heavenly places because we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. We are kings and priests, but instead of taking our rightful places and living out our purpose, we act like the world, worrying and toiling to make ends meet when we are supposed to be speaking what God says about our situations.

We are supposed to be declaring that we are rich (2 Corinthians 8:9) and that our needs are supplied (Philippians 4:19). Not in Heaven but here on earth (Matthew 6:10)...as God promised.

The thoughts and purposes of the [consistently] righteous are honest and reliable, but the counsels and designs of the wicked are treacherous. - Proverbs 12: 5

The plans of the righteous are honest and reliable. Who are the righteous? We who have accepted Christ.

Why would our plans be honest and reliable? Because the more time we spend with God--letting Him love on us, just being in His presence, being conscious of what Jesus did for us--His desires become our desires.

The Bible says in Psalm 37:4 to delight ourselves in the Lord and He will give us the desires of our hearts.

Why? Because the more we spend time with God, the more His desires become our desires. Then our will and His are the same, and He can give us whatever we desire.

This is why when we are righteous, in right standing with God, and know what that truly means, our plans are indeed honest and reliable.

Let your eyes look right on [with fixed purpose], and let your gaze be straight before you. - Proverbs 4: 25

We are to keep our eyes focused in front of us on our future, our purpose. Many times we will become distracted by money issues, people problems and what is going on in the media.

These are all distractions to keep your eyes focused on the storms of life instead of on the One who stops the storms.

Keep your eyes on Jesus. Focus on what He has done for you on the cross and what your purpose is on the Earth. Then you will move in that direction.

Though the storms rage, focus on the One who can help because as much as you try, you cannot stop the storms yourself. Only Jesus can.

I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time [appointed] for every matter and purpose and for every work. - Ecclesiastes 3: 17 (AMP).

God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked.

Isn't it wonderful to know that we, as Believers, will never be judged by God again.

Why? God punished Jesus on the Cross for all our sins. God judged Jesus for them, so He wouldn't have to judge us for them. That's the benefit of the new covenant!

Jesus' shed blood forgives us, heals us, delivers us, protects us, redeems us and so much more.

Now we don't have to focus on being judged by God. Instead we are free to focus on the assignment God has for our lives.

Isn't God so wonderful?

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men's hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. - Ecclesiastes 3: 11 (AMP).

God makes everything beautiful in its time. I don't count myself a great beauty or as the smartest person in the world, but just like all of you, I am beautiful to God.

In His time, He will bring His purpose for me to fruition as He will with you. Then we will be beautiful in our time by meeting the needs of those God called us to help. Not only will we be beautiful to God but those we help as well.

To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven. - Ecclesiastes 3: 1

There is a time for everything. Even a time for us to marry, have children, be born and start our purpose.

Some of us are what they use to term late bloomers. We marry later, have kids later, and yes, even start our purpose later.

But God has everything under control. He is executing His plan at just the right moment when conditions are all a "go." What is late to us is right on time to God.

Whether you are a late bloomer or an early one, we are all called for such a time as this.

I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills {his purpose} for me. - Psalm 57:2 (NIV).

When we cry out to God, when we seek Him, He will fulfill His purpose in us. Only His plans will stand. Not ours. Only with His help can we accomplish anything in our lives because we can do nothing on our own (John 15:5). When we partner with God and let Him work through us, we can accomplish anything (Luke 1:37).

You have proved my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and find nothing [no evil purpose in me]; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. -

Psalm 17: 3 (AMP).

It is a nice thought to think that we can just purpose our mouths not to sin. However, I find it impossible.

The more I tried to control my mouth and thoughts, the more I sinned in my words and thinking.

We try, we sin, we feel condemned. We try, we sin, we feel condemned. We are in a vicious cycle that we cannot undo on our own.

This pattern is destructive to our purpose. So what do we do? We call on God to help us.

Recently, I have learned to say something like, "God, I can't control my thoughts or words, but I know You can. Lord, control my thoughts and words for me."

Then I trust that He heard me and will. That's grace. God doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

My pastor did this a few years ago with his temper. Within weeks, his temper no longer control him.

I do this with whatever worries me...and I have seen a real improvement in those situations. Hallelujah!

Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. - Romans 10: 4 (NIV).

This Scripture says, “Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”

Do you believe that Jesus died for all your sins? That God raised Him from the dead? Do you take Him at His Word about salvation?

Then why not when He says you are righteous through the shed blood of Jesus? Why are you still trying to earn salvation and righteousness? We are righteous through Jesus' shed blood.

God has a wonderful purpose in store for us who believe Him and take Him at His Word. One tailored for each of us individually. We just need to believe Him.

For this is My Father's will and His purpose, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in and cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up [from the dead] at the last day. - John 6: 40 (AMP).

If we believe in what Jesus did for us on the cross, we have eternal life. We know that our eternal salvation is secure. It is our mission to make sure others have the opportunity to make Jesus their Saviour as well.

Can you think of people in your life that need God? Can you think of creative ways to spread the Gospel to people you haven’t met yet?

People need Jesus, and you may be the only glimpse of Him that they ever see on this Earth.

For I have come down from heaven not to do My own will and purpose but to do the will and purpose of Him Who sent Me. - John 6: 38

God sent Jesus to this earth to take all our sins, to heal all our diseases, to redeem us from destruction while being crucified to a cross.

If Jesus was sent to Earth on a mission, it stands to reason that we were too. God tells us that He has a purpose for us in Jeremiah 29:11 and Jeremiah 1:5.

Just as Jesus did, we are to focus on why we were sent to Earth. Too many times we are focused on how to pay bills and the other cares of this world when God promised to supply all our needs if we just believe.

It is imperative that we seek God on why He sent us to Earth. Ask Him to help you fulfill your purpose and trust the rest to God. There is someone out there who needs to hear what you have to say.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: - Philippians 2: 5

We need to be of the same mind as Christ. As He is so are we to be on this Earth. He is healthy, prosperous, peaceful, generous and a blessing to everyone He meets. Jesus received from the Father everything He needed to accomplish His mission, and the overflow spilled over onto the people around Him.

We need to be so full of Jesus by keeping our eyes on Him and what He did for us on the cross. When we receive all He has provided for us, the overflow will spill onto those around us too.

But for this very purpose have I let you live, that I might show you My power, and thatMy name may be declared throughout all the earth. - Exodus 9: 16

I like this Scripture. It tells me that even though what I am going through may look dark and not a part of His Ultimate Plan that God has raised me up for a special purpose. Just like Moses, Gideon and all the other great men and women of faith, God wants to show His power through us so people will proclaim His Name. May you and I let God work through us today.

The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, Surely, as I have thought and planned, so shall it come to pass, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand. - Isaiah 14: 24

What God has planned will happen. It will stand as God purposed.

It is comforting to know that God has everything under control. As much as we mess up the plans God has for our lives, God's plans will stand. They will come to pass.

Many of the people in the Bible tried to mess up God's plan, such as Abraham and Sarah.

They tried to conceive the child God promised them through Sarah's maidservant, Hagar. Only the child Abraham conceived with Hagar was not the promised child.

God's plans stood firm. Eventually the promised child, Isaac, arrived through Sarah.

Take heart if you think you've messed up God's plan because God knows what He is doing. And what He purposed for your life will come to pass.

Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]. - Ephesians 3: 20 (AMP).

God's plans for your life are always greater than your plans. If you can dream them, they aren't big enough for our God. God is into doing exceeedingly, abundantly above all we can ask, think or dream. Beyond our wildest dreams. I wonder what God dreams about you. Why don't you ask Him today?

Purposes and plans are established by counsel; and [only] with good advice make or

carry on war. - Proverbs 20: 18 (AMP).

Sometimes what we think is a good idea is actually not feasible. This is why we need to keep a counsel of trustworthy friends around to bounce ideas off. Friends who will tell us the truth no matter what.

However, the ultimate decision is not theirs. The ultimate final answer should come from your Best Friend, God.

O LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things, even purposes planned of old [and fulfilled] in faithfulness and truth. - Isaiah 25: 1

God planned things long ago. We often see Him as a last-minute God, but He planned for our victory long ago. He planned to execute it at just the right moment (in His timing not ours). He even planned our existence from the beginning of time. He knew our names, what we would look like, what He created us to do while here on Earth. I suspect that Jesus, while on the cross, might have gone over all our names in His head to remind Himself of why He had to die...for you, me and everyone who has ever lived or will live. Just as God planned for Jesus to die and be raised for us, He planned for all our needs to be met...if we just believe.

And God purposed that through (by the service, the intervention of) Him [the Son] all things should be completely reconciled back to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven, as through Him, [the Father] made peace by means of the blood of His cross. - Colossians 1: 20 (AMP)

This is our mission in life...to help reconcile people to what Jesus did for them...and us...on the cross. If we are not called to them, it is not our job to go to foreign lands. Instead we can be an influence in the lives of those we see on a daily basis. We can let God work through us to let His love and light shine to others every day.

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. - Proverbs 19:21 (NIV).

Many are the plans in our hearts. When we are younger, we might flip-flop on what we want to be like I did. A teacher. A lawyer. A doctor. But the Lord's plans always prevail when we yield our lives to Him.

I wanted to be a school teacher. God wanted me to teach His Word through writing. Although I was on the right track, wanting to teach, God knew how to make better use of the gifts He gave me.

If you yield to God, imagine what He could with your life.

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. -- Proverbs 15:22 (NIV).

Our plans fail for lack of counsel. There is only one Adviser you need—God. When you ask Him what His plans are for you, those plans are already blessed and a part of your purpose, your destiny. Many times we come to God with our plans and ask Him to bless them. We do things opposite of God’s Will and expect Him to bless those things. Next time you come to God with your plans, stop and ask Him what His plans are for you instead. Remember His plans are already blessed.

Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked. - Proverbs 10:6 (NIV).

We are righteous because of Jesus' shed blood. We are right with God not because of us but because of Jesus.

According to this Scripture, blessings crown the head of the righteous.

Why don't we see more blessings in our lives if this is so? Because we doubt that we truly are the righteous.

We know in our heads, but we still condemn ourselves. We go over a laundry list of reasons why we cannot be righteous when righteousness has nothing to do with us but with Jesus.

I invite you to go around, as I will be doing, and confess "I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus" (II Corinthians 5:21) every spare moment you have until you know that you know that you know you are righteous through Jesus' shed blood.

For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. - Jeremiah 29:11

I had been going through a time in my life of great problems in my health. I almost died, and the recovery afterward included many infections.

For me, the near-death experience compounded the functioning anxiety disorder I lived with most of my life. I lived in constant torment physically, mentally and emotionally.

No matter what meeting I went to, who I had lay hands on me, the fear, the anxiety and the pain still remained.

Then I found Jeremiah 29:11, but the members of my church saw Jeremiah 29:11 as a warm fuzzy thought but not as God intended us to live.

Since then, God taught me something very important. Without purpose, people die from their illnesses. Without purpose, people don't succeed. Without purpose, people struggle.

In order for us to get through this life the way God intended, we must seek God concerning the reason He created us. Seek Him about it today.