we are planned ...

... for God's pleasure. "You (God) created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created." Revelation 4:11b (NLT).

our first purpose in life is to WORSHIP God - "because of God's great mercy to us... offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him. This is the true worship that you should offer." Romans 12:1 (TEV).

worship is our response to God's love. we are told to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength." Mark 12:30.

God wants us to love Him:

• thoughtfully (with my mind)

it's about focusing on God and giving God our attention. very often we find it difficult to focus on God because we are self centered & we live in a self centered society... anyone who absorbed in self ignores God & ends up thinking more about self than God. we need to shift our focus from self to God & we will begin to sense His grace the moment we do so. how to focus on God? by spending some quiet moment with God & by developing a constant conversation with God in our daily lives. what's the benefit for focusing on God? "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, whose thoughts are fixed on You!" Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)

• passionately (with my heart & soul)

God wants us to response to Him by expressing our affection to God. in order to do so, we need to know more about God, know what He has done for us and it will naturally propel us to love Him back in return - "We love Him, because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19 (KJV). God doesn't want ritual, He wants a relationship with us - "I don't want your sacrifices - I want your love! I don't want your offerings - I want you to know me!" Hosea 6:6 (LB)

• practically (with my strength)

it's about using our abilities to worship God in the community, workplace, etc. All that we do is an act of worship to God. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people." Colossians 3:23 (TEV). remember, it's not what we do that matters, it's who we do it for that counts.

The Bible says God created you so He could love you, enjoy you, and adopt you into His family. Stop and ponder that statement for a moment. How does that make you feel and is it consistent with your view of God? Share with me your comments, post it right now!

what on earth ...

... am i here for? is basically a question of one's Existence; Significance & Intention.

sometimes we wonder if we are born to get ourselves into trouble (or perhaps create trouble for others?), born only to have sorrow & to end in disgrace? the question of existence is WHY AM I ALIVE? in Ephesians 1:4 (msg): "Long before He (God) laid down earth's foundations, He had us in mind, and settled on us as the focus of His love to be made whole and holy by His love." - answers that we were created to be loved by God.

sometimes we wonder why our lives seems so useless or meaningless? DOES MY LIFE MATTER? God created us for His purposes, to be loved by Him & "His plans endure forever, His purposes last eternally." (Psalm 33:11) - answers that we were made to last forever.

life has no purpose if we do not know the purpose of our lives... WHAT IS MY PURPOSE? Ephesians 1:11 (msg) says "It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for... part of the overall purpose He is working out in everything and everyone." - answers that we will find our purpose by getting to know God.

this is just an introduction. in the next 5 sessions, we will discover the 5 purposes of our existence, the reasons why God has created us & how we ought to live a purposeful & meaningful life!

the 40 days ...

... of purpose campaign is where we understand why we are alive & God's amazing plans for us - both here & now, and also for eternity - through the reading of the book "The Purpose Driven Life"; a 6-session video study & a weekly sunday sermon to reveal the answers to the question: "what on earth am i here for?".

knowing God's purpose for creating us will reduce our stress, focus our energy, simplify our decisions, give meaning to our lives, and most importantly, prepare us for eternity! therefore, in the subsequent blog postings (taken from the sermon notes & "The Purpose Driven Life" book), we will learn that before the universe was created, God had us in mind & He planned us for His purposes.

let's make a commitment for the next 5 weeks:

• for me - it's a weekly publication on what i've learn from the "40 Days of Purpose Campaign"
• for you - it's a regular visit of this blog to find out the answers to "what on earth am i here for?"

remember! this journey caters for open discussion - if you have any, just post your comment.

the time has come ...

... to review my 4th purpose of creating a personal blog! for those who have read my previous posting "1 msn chat & 4 hours.." you would have known what are the first 3 purposes. so! in continuation of the verdict "to be disclosed when the time comes", here's the 4th reason:

• this blog will be used as a channel to keep my friends posted of my well being while i'm away from home...

most of you are aware that i'll be leaving for Australia for a short period of 6mths & subsequently, there'll be more traveling around for my new work assignment. this was in the plan since early this year & finally it's going to happen as i count down to 17th Dec - the day i take on a new chapter in my life's journey, staying in foreign land & living out of a suitcase!

apart from making all the necessary preparation for what's ahead, my church has just launched the 40 Days of Purpose Campaign last sunday - taking us into a 40 days of journey where we discover the answers to one of the most commonly asked question: "what on earth am i here for?"

in the same way as i've planned to create this blog for 4 purposes/reasons, God has His own purposes for creating us humans! if you find yourself asking the same question as i do, let's take the same journey together as i'll be posting up what i've learn through this Campaign in this blog! * which means a faithful weekly publication!! =D**