ON THE
INSIDE 06 The Vain Pursuit of Purpose Discovering Purpose
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09
PURPOSE MENTORS/ PURPOSE PARTNERS
Wounded For His Glory
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TRIVIA
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Purpose Potholes
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he Vain Pursuit of Purpose It’s so heart-warming to see so many people in the 21st century church, so involved in the pursuit of ‘knowing purpose’! This means (or should mean) that Christians aren’t in the business of living aimlessly, but would rather narrow their focus, in an effort be more effective and productive in their lives for the glory of God! If this is you, awesome move! However, although so heavily pursued, I sometimes wonder if many will ever find it! On one hand, if too heavily sought, it can be easily missed; like spending an hour frantically looking for your car keys on a morning when you’re late for work, but yet, too ‘anxious’ to realize, it was in your pocket the entire time! It’s also one of those things that can not only be overly emphasized but even more detrimental, erroneously characterized which poses an even greater challenge because if you have no idea what you’re looking for, there is a 100% chance you may never find it!
and according to Jeremiah 1:5, this was settled “before you were born”. So let’s not merely follow the pattern of your local body and be lured in by all the common gifts like liturgical dancing, singing, beating the drums, playing the piano, or even a pastoral or prophetic ministry (although I believe many more of God’s people may be called to these areas) as if they are the only ones listed in the Bible. But rather, pursue purpose in the study of God’s word, prayer and spirit led, fearless self-examination; free yourself from the bondage of ‘sameness’ and allow God to show you who you really are!
Moreover, has it ever occurred to you that a Christian can have an occupation outside of the local body of believers and still glorify God with their lives? Or have you ever considered,
that the ‘thing(s)’ you were meant to do in this life may not be directly connected to the church, and that will still be ok? Absurd right? But, I know many business owners, lawyers, doctors, accountants and teachers who are a part of the local body of believers and are active in ministry; but their business has nothing to do with the church. And the simple point to make here is that, every Bible believing Christian Theodore Roosevelt ingeniously understood that will not work in the house of God, however, can still live “Comparison is the thief of joy”, a truth that can never be purposeful every day. This is done by making sure that their understated. But in this case, comparison can also be ‘the action, decisions and practices reflect the kingdom of God thief of purpose’! Peace activist, Carlos Reid, commonly and the Word of God and ensure that they are being salt and says, “God put 7.5 billion people on planet earth and not one of them are alike”. This says to me that each individual light wherever they’re employed. is different and has their own set of gifts and abilities, but The second reason I think Christians commonly in many instances it seems, people would rather be a carbon miss purpose is because of ignorance (and I say this in the copy of someone else and allow their original, genuine de- most non-derogatory sense). I think one of the biggest missign to deteriorate in the shadow of another. They would takes that most Christians make is that they decrease or unrather be the next ‘so & so’ instead of learning from ‘so & derestimate the idea of ‘purpose’. Decreasing it to just a so’, to be the best version of themselves, thus only perpetu- moment in time, they live their life as if they were training ating this already repulsive phenomenon that’s plaguing the and preparing for that one big day or this divine moment, for God to use them “mightily”. True purpose, for them, church. A “copycat spirit, some may call up to a big music set, or that mega conference to it”! (For my Baptist friends that feel the need to attach leads preach at, or that major dance ‘jamboree’, and sadly we the word ‘spirit’ on every adjective they use). miss the little moments in life where God gave us a Of course, I completely understand, that it’s easier plethora of opportunities along the way to ‘be’ purposeful people and to have a purposeful ‘lifestyle’. In other to copy than to be original, after all, this is how I made it through high school! One gripping question still remains, words, purpose is not a destination, but a lifestyle! This “if you’re busy trying to be someone else, then who’s going means that, every second, of every minute, of every day, of to be you?” The fact is, God created you unapologetically every week, of every year, is a moment to ‘be’ and ‘live’ purposeful!! But we often miss it because we haven’t the and unequivocally different from everyone else on earth, The desire to want to live a purposeful life is admirable and praise worthy and it should continue to be sought after by every Christian everywhere. However, my fear is that many may miss it is because of two enormous yet, unsuspecting factors: 1) Comparison, and 2) Ignorance.
slightest idea what we’re looking for! The chief end of man is to glorify God (Isaiah 43:7) and this can only be done adequately by looking to His word! But, it seems that the pr evailing pr actice of many Christians is to look outside of God’s word in pursuit of purpose rather than looking in it. All through scripture, there are tons of commands or what I call ‘purpose points’ given to us to display God’s glory on earth, but instead, we overlook them like the nose on our faces, simply because it’s always there or it’s maybe not glamorous enough. I have no doubt that God has called every Christian to a be great “___”, but it is my observation that many Christians have chosen to fill in that space with their desires and not His! Hence, we must regain our focus. The crux of it is, our ‘purpose points’ should be Jesus’s ‘purpose points,’ which not only point to His life but the instructions He gave to His disciples. This says that, every Christian is to love God, and love others, make disciples and to live a holy life among other things. In other words, God gave His commands to be the priority of His people and we should look to them as the purpose of our lives, following in the words of Jesus in saying, “My food is to do the will of my father… (John 4:34)!” The problem is, we’ve been inadequately taught to look at and lean on gifts alone when we should really be looking for commands. Undoubtedly your purpose is most definitely connected to those things that you’re most good at; particularly spiritual giftings as there is a pattern in history of God strategically equipping us in this way. But, what about the Christian that feels he ‘has no gifts’ or he is ‘good at nothing?’ Is he without purpose? Certainly not, for his purpose as well as ours, is matchless in
that of just being named a child of God, designed for the will of God (Eph 2:10). We aren’t all called to be rich, despite what your pastor told you, and we aren’t all called to a glamorous lifestyle of ‘purpose’. But we are called to fear God and obey His commandments (Ecc 12:13) and this is the greatest duty or purpose a man can ever have. Some of us are called to be great administrators, some great encouragers, and others to the work of mercy, but in Enrico all that we are called to ‘be’, we must never forget what we were also commanded to do! Just to be named by the lips of the one who ‘calls’ (Rom 9:12) is a privilege too lofty a thought for our mind to fully grasp and our lips to adequately convey. So shouldn’t we be excited to be doing anything and everything He has called us to do! I don’t know about you, but I’ll give ANYTHING to be the janitor in heaven, than to be a pastor in hell!! In the end, go into the world and live purposefully, doing all that Christ has commanded you, in every context, particularly in the areas that you are gifted. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else, and perfect the gift of individuality, being true to yourself and the Word of God!
Bain
Discovering Pur
pose
Ciashadai Cash " For me, finding my purpose was quite easy. I discovered my purpose during the summer of 2016 and my life began to unravel. Like many teenagers, I found my purpose during a time when I thought purpose wasn't for me. In 2016 I started playing around with graphics, I discovered a whole new world that I began to fall in love with. Girl Talk Magazine unraveled from there. I watched myself grow in so many ways. I decided I would use my gift to impact females all over the world. After coming public with Girl Talk Magazine, I shared the idea with a few friends and I noticed the way they looked at me. I realized many females my age weren't as confident as I assumed they would be or as bold as they appeared. I decided that it was my time to bring a change. I launched Girl Talk January 11th,2017. It was a fun and exciting day. For me, purpose isn't something you find by surprise. Purpose is something that you love, something you have a passion for and something you know will bring a change. My purpose is to impact females, it is my goal to change the lives of women and girls all over the world. Purpose isn't boring, it's never hard it's always something that makes you happy. Maybe your purpose is buried in a box you never opened or hobbies you never tried. I always tell my girls, "Finding purpose requires taking one big leap and deciding you’re not gonna stop leaping until you get where you want to be. " Someone once told me, until you learn how to value yourself you won't be able to value your time. " Purpose is your time. It's something that distracts you and makes you forget about everything else that is going on. I believe every young woman has a purpose that is waiting to be touched. "
“Purpose is the reason something or someone was created.” This statement has rung loudly throughout our nation by the late great Dr. Myles Munroe and recently by Antonia Lightbourne the CEO of eNue Global and the founder of Purpose Awareness month. Both of these leaders had/has a burning passion to see this generation discover, pursue and flourish in their God given purpose. The pursuit to find your purpose can sometimes be a very confusing road. A road filled with counterfeits, comparison, and conflict. The thing that causes you to keep going and push just a little more when you’re caught between disbelief and distress is those you have around you. We caught up with Antonia to ask her about the importance of Purpose mentors and partners in the pursuit of purpose.
When asked about the role of mentorship in her quest for purpose, Antonia said that, her mentor Simone Bowe, helped her to not only discover purpose through a Bible study teaching she did, but also streamlined her on her journey. “A lot of times when you get an idea you’re ready to move and she helped me tremendously, she said ‘okay Antonia here are the steps you need to take’; she was very honest with me and was always available.” Many of us can attest to the fact that in our
pursuit of purpose it gets difficult to see the other side and it’s imperative that we have someone walking with us as a guide. The plans of the Lord for us are too vast for us to even comprehend and when He gives us even a glimpse of the magnificent vision He has, we need advice on what to do. Antonia says that her mentor helped her to take her excitement about the grand vision she had and tell her “I’ve been there before this is where I fell, you don’t have to go through this again because I’ve already done this.” While knowing that someone is there for you through it all is important , what’s even more important is to know that there may be some down times so that you can prepare for them. For eNue magazine one of the biggest hindrance was finances. Moving the magazine from a printed publication to an online mag was one of the ways that Antonia ensured the vision did not die because of this down fall. Most persons would have gotten discouraged but she did not and continues to thrive. Speaking on partnership, she says that she does not feel over-whelmed because she has a team to help her carry the load. Her advice is to, “Love yourself enough to get a team, get people around you that can really push you and believe in you.”
Now the flip side to having purpose partners and purpose mentors who can help you run with vision is having ‘Purpose Killers’ , that can ultimately derail you from your destiny. Antonia says that 1. People 2. An untransformed mind and 3. You moving out of season are the top three purpose killers. To combat these she suggests: 1. Have people around you who will say ‘listen we’re going to get this done. We’re here with you whatever you need.’ You need to make sure you have the right people in your ear.
2. Both they (the people around you) and you need to have the right mindset and understand whatever you think on the longest, becomes the strongest in your life. You need to begin to constantly think ‘okay I can do this, I can push through’ and that comes through relationship with God knowing who He is and Him teaching you who you are will help to transform your mind. 3. Move when God says!! Many times when God gives us an idea we feel we have forever to get it done we’re disobedient and disobedience is a PURPOSE KILLER. God’s work will not be stopped. HE will give the idea to someone else if you’re being sluggish. When
I first got the idea for eNue I stopped pursing it and God showed me, in a dream, a magazine on a shelf but it was not mine and He said ‘if you don’t do it, this is what will happen.’ Her closing advice is to: 1. Seek mentorship. You need someone you can talk to about where you are going. I had mentorship that could tell me Antonia, this is what I think you should do and this is what you shouldn’t do. 2. Get around people who can constantly speak into your life. Connections are SOOOO important. 3. Have a relationship with God. From my relationship with God I feel the ‘knowing’ or instinct I had in certain situations was Holy Spirit leading me. When you have Him, you can’t go wrong. Even things you won’t think of on your own Holy Spirit will lead you. He’s constantly downloading so make sure your connection is good.
Keithra Morley
“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.� Isaiah 43:2 KJV
Are you experiencing a difficult season in your life, where you honestly thought God had forsaken you? Or you went through a season, where all hell was breaking out and you said this must be an attack from the devil! What if that season was intentionally sent, to train and prepare you for the next level where God wants to take you? Sometimes we want the victory but we want God to exclude us from the battle, we don't realize that the battle is our training ground. December 29, 2016 I was invited to share my testimony at a woman's event, I mean that night I didn't hold anything back. I spoke from the heart and so many ladies lives were touched and impacted for God's glory. I shed tears as I shared my story and knew a great big weight was lifted off of me because I declared " I would not die the way my mother did but I shall live and declare the works of the Lord" but little did I know my whole world was about to be turned upside down. December 30, 2016 I woke up to a very bad headache, I mean it was unbearable and as if that wasn't enough I couldn't walk on my right leg. I suddenly went into panic mode because just a few weeks back, I had a positive ANA test which is a pre-screening for Lupus. I went to a specialist and immediately I was admitted to Doctors
Hospital to run tests and find out why these symptoms were there. My heart sank. I said, " Lord, it's no way you can do this to me now, not when I have so many plans to start 2017 off with a bang, to have my dreams manifested God I can't be sick NO NOT NOW." But did you see the pattern? It was all about me and my plans never once did I consider God's will for my life and I had been running from that will, for a very long time. Sometimes we get so caught up in "me" and forget our creator and King, already has a predestined path for us. I was trying to build my own bridge all while troubling the water underneath. I was later released only to be readmitted within the same week and we still were unsure of what was going on with me. Looking back at it, I can say it was a sign for God to tell me slow down and do it my way. By the end of the second admission, I was handed a sticky paper with the diagnosis of Systematic Lupus, Overlap Syndrome and Connected tissue Disease. I couldn't even cry, I felt a peace come over me like none I had ever felt. I felt comforted in knowing God had a plan and I would not die a premature death, I just couldn't! His purpose was not yet fulfilled in my life. Yes I wrote my first book, a memoir called Confessions of a Woman Saved by Grace. It talked about some of the obstacles I faced in my childhood and being a teenage mom. I had yet to talk
about HOW I triumphed over those obstacles. Releasing that book for me opened up a can of worms and exposed me to the true hidden issues I had covered up with a band aid, but I never gave the wounds a chance to heal. Even as I'm on this new journey, discovering another side of God 'Jehovah Rapha'; I in no way want Him to take me out of my pain, misery or the fear I feel on a day to day bases but I want Him to take me through this test, never leaving my side. He said all things work out for our good and that means the good, the bad and the ugly. All we can do when going though these tough times is trust God's unchanging hands. He's the same God back then as He is today and His word doesn't lie nor return to Him void. So as I continue to prove God to be Jehovah
Rapha ,my healer, I will leave you with three ways you can build your faith during difficult seasons: 1. Pray and seek God like never before. 2. Read His word daily, even in moments of doubt and fear. 3. Find the right support system of people who can pray with you and not just sit and cry with you.
C. Jillian Gray The journey of purpose is a road paved by the master from before the beginning of time. (Jeremiah 29:11) Everything and everyone who was and is and will ever be has purpose. The master from the very beginning had our path laid out to be useful in the edification of the body (Ephesians 4:12); however, this road for some is one damaged by potholes. These potholes whether self- dug or genuinely put in your way by the enemy to steal your destiny are only pit stops in your journey not road blocks. Just like making our way through the city of Nassau, encountering a pothole is frustrating but there are ways around them. Two of the major potholes that I’ve faced in my life were fear and doubt. This very magazine is titled Faith Over Fear as a bold declaration against the pothole of fear. But before I divulge how I overcame these catastrophic craters to my creativity, I want to deal with you, and the sabotage your purpose has sustained from the self-dug potholes in your journey of purpose. Your present existence is the sum total of the decisions you’ve made. A harsh statement I know but even in the worst of circumstances God was and IS reaching out to you. Consider Joseph who was sold, falsely accused and thrown in jail yet ended up second in command to one of the greatest civilizations at that time. Consider Esther whose people were in exile yet ended up in the king’s court only to be faced with the challenge of death. Just like Esther and Joseph you have a choice. You have been brought to the Earth for such a time as this. Stop limiting yourself based on your past experiences, what you would have went through or even the decisions you’ve made. There is a molten lava of greatness inside you waiting to erupt. Don’t stop that volcanic explosion of purpose. Delaying your assignment because of what you would have gone through is a poor excuse in relation to the magnanimous gifts inside you. To think you’re not qualified is an even sadder excuse. You were born and equipped for purpose from
before you were conceived. Training is good, yes it’s needed, and I do encourage you to find the avenues to cultivate the raw material placed in you, BUT first KNOW that there is precious materials laid hidden below the surface of your self-dug potholes. For me as I said, fear and doubt plagued my life creating a chronic illness that surfaced every time I heard a prophetic word or got a glimpse of the platform He was preparing me for. I rehearsed scriptures like 2 Corinthians 3:5 “Not that we are sufficiently qualified in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency and qualifications come from God.” And passively told myself that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me; but still the stronghold was there. It wasn’t until I read Joshua chapter 1 that I got a revelation and the valiant fearlessness to be who God intended me to be. I was done hiding behind people’s definition of me, self-dug pothole, low-self esteem and insecurity, self-dug pothole, I was done with doubting that God had blessed me with more talent than I was currently displaying, self-dug pothole, and I was DEFINETLY DONE being afr aid to show the wor ld the Cr eator ’s creativity that was coined in me from the moment I was conceived. You see my “depth perception” was off. I had no idea how deep the pothole was that caused my tire to be deflated. I, just like you, had help in digging these holes but I was determined to not stay broken down on the side of the road. So I say to you servant of the most high “Only be strong and VERY courageous; be careful to do [everything] in accordance with the entire law which (God)…commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may PROSPER and be SUCCESSFUL wherever you go. (Joshua 1:7 AMP) You must AVOID ANY and ALL POTHOLES. Know that the only thing that purpose is second to is your relationship with God. It is the only thing that was with you from you came to this Earth. Don’t let a pothole steal your purpose!
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