Tag: Purpose

Navigating Life with Zeal and Purpose

Navigating Life with Zeal and Purpose

I am a learner. When people are teaching or I think they have knowledge that will help me, I listen. I don’t pretend to have all the answers or that I know everything. I will challenge someone and their thoughts if they are using passages out of context or making arguments for something with no new information than I already have. But I am teachable, if you are right I will prayerfully change my mind with new understanding. However, I am not one to be whisked away, blown about by every wind of doctrine or “new revelation” someone one has.

When in a teaching service I take notes. I have always taken notes. Something I learned from my jr. high camp counselor. I don’t remember much about him but I do know that I looked up to him, I admired him. So much so that when I saw him taking notes during chapel, I took notes during chapel. One thing that he told me was “write questions” if you want to learn, write down questions that stir in your mind as you listen. Then after, find the answers. This is how you grow.

This past Sabbath while I sat and listened my mind was full of questions. The first question that I wrote down was given by the Pastor. “Who are you a hero to?” I need to be totally honest here, although I was listening and relating to the message, many of my thoughts and attention were drawn to more and more questions. Some admittedly prompted by the message others prompted by the questions themselves.

This post is going to be different than the majority of my posts because I am going to ask you the questions I was prompted to write. I will include the answers that I wrote, even the partial answers, if I have them. I am still working through these thoughts, after all this was just yesterday that I wrote them down.

The message text was the Torah portion Numbers 25-29. The hero in the text is Phineas. The prompt, “Who are you a hero to?” My next note was ‘who do I want to be a hero for/to?’ This resinated with me because I have for much of my life had a hero complex. I wanted to be the hero. I tried to fix problems even if the person didn’t want me doing anything. My desire to be needed and a hero won out every time and it killed many relationships. Passion and zeal are a double-edged sword. You will either be admired or despised because of it.

David was passionate in many areas some good and some not so good, depending on human nature. In the end king David was said to have a heart after Gods own heart. That’s pretty high praise. David writes in Psalm 119:57, “Indignation has taken hold of me because of the wicked who forsake Your Torah!” The thing about David is in the end his desire was for what God desired. This puts into perspective the idea of being a hero and answers what being a hero looks like. The motivation is key, am I the motivation or is God the motivation?

What am I indignant about? Do I have a zeal and passion for Torah? Does it motivate me? Certainly, the majority of my posts since 2020 have revolved around being observant of Gods instruction rooted in the Tanakh. What stirs my passion and zeal in the Kingdom of God? Clearly, a desire for those who call themselves Christian to walk in the ancient paths. In life there are times when heroism is needed. A train is speeding down the rails and someone is stuck on the track. A hero is needed, get the person off the track! Someone is struggling in their understanding, struggling in a sin or rebellious spirit, instruct, persuade, but you cannot force someone. Let your own zeal and passion be a witness not the enforcer.

This begs the question: “What topics does one hear coming out of my mouth?” When in conversation am I joining in on the gossip? Am I adding to hurtful speech? What is my response to these things happening around me? It depends on the location, and the circumstances, as it does in most instances. In John 2 we read about Yahoshua’s visit to the Temple. “In the temple courts He found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So He made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves He said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning My Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.“

Time and place matter. Here in the above passage they are in the Temple. In the Torah, how we are to treat the Temple and use the Temple is explained in detail. They weren’t even close and Yahoshua acted on the zeal He had for His Father’s house. We read in Acts 21:20 that those coming to faith in Yahoshua, were, “all zealous for the Torah.” In a letter to Titus, Paul writes, “. . . who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every Torah-less deed, and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

So what keeps me from being zealous today? What keeps me from observing Torah? Is it temptation, surely, the temptation of the flesh. As the Scriptures say, our spirit and our flesh are at odds. Do we give into the flesh? We shouldn’t. In fact we should do what we can to die to ourselves and put on the new man. For we are new creations in Messiah Yahoshua. Does that mean temptations stop, that the great seducer just stops whispering in our ear? Absolutely not, if anything he fights even harder. Therefore we must fight harder by surrendering to the will of God in Messiah Yahoshua. “If you love Me, obey My commandments.” This can be a fearful thing which brings us to another question.

What fears are keeping me down? For me right now I would say, fear of failure, fear of other’s opinions, doubt in myself, in my knowledge and ability. Even fear of and in my past failures. Are these fears stronger than my Messiah? “Fear not for I am with you.” That’s what Yahoshua says. So why am I running from my fears rather than chasing them off? “I can do all things through Messiah who strengthens me.”

Who have we been made to be? Revelation 5:9-10 says; “. . . with Your blood You purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” We are in Messiah Yahoshua a kingdom of priests to serve our God! We are to lead others in honoring the Sabbath Day, the Feast Days, the Torah!

What legacy am I leaving for my children? What I hope is to leave them an example: Don’t be a simple follower of Yahoshua, but servant leaders. Love God, Love your neighbor. Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly. This is what I hope my kids see in me. When life knocks you down, when temptation grips your heart, when the spiritual battle around you seems too over whelming: “Trust in Adonai with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

You are loved,
cj

Feeling ???

Have you ever wanted a personal assistant who would do all the things in life that you didn’t want to do, thereby giving you more time to enjoy the things in life you want to do? For instance, i want to clean up my blog, link topics better, maybe create page links for specific topics, that sort of thing. This project will take quite a bit of time. It will be tedious and require good notes, good memory, and good organizational skills. As far as note taking goes, i am not the best, and my organizational skills, although not terrible, are not necessarily the greatest, my memory however is great, at least at the present time anyway.

Now left with the reality that i will have to do this myself, i lack the necessary motivation required. Time isn’t really an issue. i live alone if one neglects to count Shiloh who although is dependent upon me is not a dependent but a friend. my present employment is flexible allowing me to work when i want, for instance its snowing today and i decided that i didn’t want to work, so here i am. i can be both a night owl and a morning person, as long as a meeting isn’t involved in that morning or at anytime for that matter. In fact, i lack any good excuse whatsoever. All that to simply say this, i want it done, but i don’t want to do it.

Any success in life, is about finding purpose that ignites desire and motivation, hard work and discipline, dedication and drive. You can have desire but if you lack motivation, it’s not happening. You might be a hardworking person but if you lack discipline, forget about it. You can be dedicated but without drive, you are not going anywhere. Finding ones purpose is essential to success, it is the root answer to the question, what is the meaning of life? Want to know why depression is on the rise, look no further than purpose. People who lack a sense of purpose are going to naturally be depressed.

The easier life gets with technology and various inventions, the harder life becomes in finding purpose. There are different depths to purpose it isn’t just your purpose in life. Which i believe is the root cause of depression in younger people. It’s not always as profound as life, it could be work, school, hobbies, family, or any subcategory of life itself. If i were to ask you what is your purpose how would you respond? Some having trouble answering, are asked to start with what motivates you, what is your passion? They will say, answer that and you are on your way to finding a purpose. However, be careful as this purpose or lack of is a trap to a false sense of purpose.

Case in point my blog, it is not my purpose. No matter how much i want it to be it simply isn’t my purpose. But i could fool myself into thinking that it is, dedicate myself to it, pour myself into it, and in the end feel unfulfilled as if my life has no purpose. No the purpose to life, the answer, it is spiritual and it involves understanding the bigger picture of the meaning of life. Knowing your purpose will be what gives you the ability to get through any obstacles.

Purpose:
“The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.” Luke 19:10

“Then Yahoshua answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.’” John 5:19

“Come and See” John 1:39

“Follow Me” John 1:43

“Not My will . . .” Luke 22:42

“Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Yahoshua of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ And Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’” John 1:44-46

What is your purpose?

“And Yahoshua came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.” Matthew 28:18-20

“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Adon Yahoshua, giving thanks to Yahweh the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:17

Your purpose isn’t your job, it isn’t your family, it isn’t your hobby, it isn’t your friends, your purpose is to glorify Elohim. So with your purpose known, when you go to work, when you serve your family, when you are out with your friends, when you are engrossed in your hobby, when you are all alone, ask yourself, “How can I do this in a manner that is befitting the name of Yahoshua?”

Let His life, death, and resurrection be your desire and motivation, hard work and discipline, dedication and drive, He is our purpose.

You are loved,

cj