Man and woman have been created as teleological beings, That's a fancy way of
saying that they are designed to serve and achieve a purpose, and they are happiest when their hearts and minds are
set upon that purpose, and their lives are directed by it. In this lesson, we look at the aims that we set for ourselves and how they match the real point and purpose
The way our lives should be directed has been beautifully stated by
"Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is
The point and purpose of our lives is to do what is good, to do what pleases God and what is his will, and to do it with total dedication giving no place to the devil
The point and purpose of our lives is to be a living sacrifice to God. To the many of us who are rather dedicated to ourselves, that is a pretty
J.B. Phillips paraphrases the passage we quoted earlier
"With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable to him. Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God
It isn't hard to see that Paul is here alluding to our Lord's sacrifice of his perfect life, yielding up his body as a perfect sacrifice, crucified for us that we might be saved from sin. Our response is to live accordingly, our lives of full devotion reflecting Christ's own sacrificial spirit. "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus..."
We all realise that great goals are achieved by breaking them dow into several smaller goals, goals for today, goals for this week, goals for this year, goals for this decade. If your goal for today, and for this week, are worldly goals, what is the goal
Think carefully about the aims you set yourself. Don't examine only the broad