Well I know this has been long awaited sorry for taking so long but hear it goes,

Part 3 LIFE AS A TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT, Well this part is basically what the title says, life is a temporary assignment. Have you ever felt that there is something missing and that there is more to life than what we have on this earth. "Well to fully understand this the book, asks us to never forget two truths, 1. this earth as it stands now is only our temporary residence, and 2. compared to eternity this life is very brief." It highlights the fact that we wont be here long so we shouldn't get too attached to the things of this world. The Bible compares this life to us temporarily living in a foreign land (for those living oversea like Zah and myself can relate), how ever the bible uses words like alien, pilgrim, foreigner, stranger visitor and traveller to describe our brief stay on earth.

Rick Warren goes on to highlight the fact the we as Christians need to get serious with our Christianity and our identity as Christians, as our home land is in heaven and not this earth. God is very blunt says the Rick, He is very blunt about the danger of living for the here and now, and adopting the values, proprieties, and lifestyles of the world around us. When we flirt with temptations of this world , God calls this spiritual adultery. James 4v4 puts i very bluntly and clearly " Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. " Very sobering isn't it, I know but that is just what it is. The Lord put it very clearly you cant serve two masters its either you will love one and hate the other. Rick goes on to give an interesting example, he says, "Imagine you are asked by you country to be an ambassador to an enemy nation. You would probably have to learn a new language and adapt to some customs and cultural differences in order to be polite and to accomplish your task. As an ambassador you would not be able to isolate yourself from the enemy. To fulfill your mission, you would have to contact and relate to them. But suppose you become comfortable with this foreign country to the extent that you fall in love with it, preferring it to your homeland. Your commitment would change. Instead of representing your homeland, yo would start acting like a the enemy, and the word used for that is you would become a TRAITOR"

In 2 Corinthians 5v20 (NLT) " Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, ..........." we are called Christs ambassadors and sadly many Christians have betrayed their King and His kingdom. 1 Peter 2v11 (Msg) says"Friends this world is not you home. so don't get too cozy in it, Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul." Life in this day and age has never been easier which is very true, we are well entertained, well informed, and well catered for, the media keeps things following to us to the extent that we have 24hr media and basically the devil has made certain that every facet of our life is filled with something to do that will distract us from our God and the mission before us. Only when we remember that life is a test, a trust and a temporary assignment will we realise the devices of the devil and can we be loosed from his grip by making a conscious decision to follow the Lord and His will. The Lord is preparing us for something better, the things we see here can be gone tomorrow but the good things that are hidden from our site will last forever.

At this point it would be wise to sit back take a deep breath and reassess our values, our goals and the things that drive us to be who we are and define us. Are these things that you would consider something that brings joy to the Lord or would you feel ashamed when the Lord asks you at the end of time for an account of the time that He gave you. I would like to draw your attention to the story of the rich young ruler, in Matthew 19 v 16-25, getting too attached to that which is of this world world can be dangerous, and you could lose eternity. Let God bless you as He sees fit based on that which He knows you are capable of handling and don't get too attached to it it is only temporary. Take stock of your life and see what is it that could make you miss eternity.

Part 2, LIFE AS A TRUST, As promised I will continue with where we left of yesterday, this is the 2nd metaphor the we are given by the Bible. Our time on earth, energy, intelligence and resources are all gifts from God that He has entrusted to us. This is not an uncommon teaching in the Christian community but I hope it may bring about a change in attitude and heart amongst us.

The concept of stewardship is what this part of the book talks about, I know most people especially Adventists when the talk of stewardship arises its about money, well it is more than that but yes money a also a part of it. We will get to money later, however the underlying principle is God has entrusted us with that which we have, the bible says in Psalms 24v1, (T.E.V) " The world and all that is in it belongs to the Lord, the earth and all who live in it are His." We never really own anything in this world during our short stay, God loans us everything including life itself. Think of it the earth and all its riches was here before you and it will be here still after you are long gone and are just a memory. We just get to enjoy the earth and its riches as a gift from God.

When God created man He entrusted to them everything that He had made, well I am tempted to think that is why we were created last. So we couldn't calm or boast to have taken part in something our minds cant even fathom like creation. We are trustees appointed by God to manage that which is His. that is why God gave man dominion over everything that was created and this is a roles that God has never taken back. The bible says, in 1 Corinthians 4v7b (N.L.T) "What do you have that God has not given you? And if all you have is from God why do you boast as though you have accomplished something on your own?" Its a sobering thought to think that every time we achieved something truth is we had very little or nothing to do with it. I know we have been conditioned to the "I", or "Me" Factor, where everything is about me and what I can get out if life and everything I do. But God says we should realise that with out Him in the mix basically we are useless.

Rick Warren goes on to give an example of how some friends of his lent him and his wife a beach front property for the holidays, he says that they were given the go ahead to do to it as they wished and to be at home, so they did. they ate the food in the fridge, they used the towels they swam in the pool they even jumped on the beds, but in all that they took extra care so that they did not damage anything. They enjoyed the benefits of being friends with the owners but they knew hat the property was not theirs. The human culture is that of "if something does not belong to you, you should not take care of it" But as Christians we live by a higher standard and because God is the owner we must take better care of what ever we have been entrusted to us. This is seen in the parable of the talents, Matthew 25 v 14-29, when the master came back he required the servants to give an account of what ever they had been given, and you know what happened right. God in 1 Corinthians 4v2 (N.C.V) says "Those who are trusted with something valuable must show they are worthy of that trust"

At the end of our lives we will be evaluated and rewarded according to our performance as stewards of what we have been entrusted with. Now comes the money bit, well this is the biggest challenge for most people and I must admit even for myself, but i would like to draw your attention to the fact that money is both a test and a trust. God uses finances to teach us to trust Him, and to most people this is the greatest test of all. The Lord watches how we use the money He gives us to test our trustworthiness. the Bible in Luke 16v11 (N.L.T.) says "If you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches in heaven" This is an important truth Rick says. God says there is a direct relationship between the way we spend our money and our spirituality. How we manage our money determines how much God can trust us with spiritual things.

Well there is an extra part I would like to add to this it is not found in this Book, but it is something a I got from a sermon by Pastor Dwight Nelson, he says that as the three servants in Matthew 25, everyone has not been given the same amount of resources yes this is true, because God knows how much we can handle comfortably. However he says that we can ask for more but we must be careful when we ask. Because the Bible says in Luke 12v48b (N.I.V.) " From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded, and from one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked" so I say when you ask be careful for what you ask for because it may end up being a the very thing that cold stop you form have eternal life.

Tomorrow will be the last part of this three part series, it is entitled ............

LIFE AS A TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT............

The other night i was talking to my love, and we were discussing something that......well i had read it and understood it but had never shared it with anyone. Well its on the subject of Trails and Tests.

I read the book "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren, although he isn't an Adventist I sincerely believe that we (Everyone) can learn a lot from his work. The one chapter that I want to share with you for those who have not read the book, is the entitled "Seeing life from Gods view" this is by far the most challenging idea that I have come across in my entire life. Is it possible to see life through Gods eyes?, well Mr Warren believes so.

He says that, " the way we see our life shapes our life" this is very true and can be seen in today's world. The way you see your life defines who you are and your destiny, your perspective influences the way you invest your time, spend your money, use your talents and value your relationships. Just by asking someone how do they view their life you can tell what kind of a person they are and their values. People have come up with many metaphors as to what life is according to the book, "some view life as a roller coaster, a puzzle, a journey, or even a dance, these are then held in our conscious or unconscious mind, and are translated into our everyday lives into clothes or jewelry we wear, tattoos , hair styles and even bumper stickers. "

Our unspoken life metaphors influence our lives more than we really think. They determine our expectations, relationships, goals and values. "for example, if you think life is a party, you primary value in life would be to have fun, If you see life as a race, you will value speed and you would most likely be in a hurry most of the time, If you see life as a marathon you will value endurance, and if you see life as a game you will value winning at all costs." Now I want you to think about it, what is your life metaphor? and you will see what your values are.

Now to fulfill the purpose for which the Lord made us we are challenged to divert from conventional wisdom or earthly wisdom and to tap into the wisdom from the Lord. The Bible says in Romans 12 v2 (TEV), that "Do not conform to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then we will be able to know the will of God". What a challenge, don't you think, well the bible offers us three metaphors that teach and show us what God's view of life is, and how we should go about it. Today we will consider one then another tomorrow

Firstly, LIFE AS A TEST, this can be seen in the stories you find in the bible, God continually tests His people's character, faith, obedience, love, integrity and loyalty. This is seen in the words, trails, temptations, tribulation, refining and so on. the book goes on to add, God tested Abraham when he asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, God tested Jacob when he had to work and extra 7 years for Rachel. Some sadly failed their test the most notable of course is our first parents Adam and Eve, then there was David who failed his tests a number of times. But there are these who passed with flying colours, Joseph, Ruth, Esther, and Daniel to name a few.

"You see character is both developed and revealed by the tests that we face, and all of life is a test. We are constantly being tested to reveal that gem in us, to be refined more than fine gold (1 Peter 1v7), God watches how we respond to people, problems, success, conflict, illness, disappointment and even the weather. God watches the simplest actions such as when you open the door for others, when you pick up the trash, or even when you are polite to a clerk or even a waiter or waitress"

We don't know all the tests that God has in store for us but we can predict some of them according to Rick Warren. We will be tested by major changes in our live e.g. marriage, also by delayed promises, undeserved criticism, impossible problems, what seems like unanswered prayers, and even senseless tragedies. But the greatest test of of all is how you react when you don't feel the presence of the Lord near you. his can be seen in the life of King Hezekiah, 2 Chronicle 32v31 the bible says, "God withdrew from Hezekiah in order to test him and see what was really in his heart" we all know the story Hezekiah had a close relationship with the Lord and well God left him at a crucial point of his life, to test his character to reveal his weakness and prepare him for a greater work and responsibility.

When we understand that life is a test, we will realise that there is nothing insignificant in our lives no matter how small it is every situation we find ourselves in is for our character development. Every day and moment is crucial and vital, to deepen or character, to show love, and to depend on God. yet in very test God always provides a way of escape when it becomes overwhelming and too much to bear.

Secondly, LIFE AS A TRUST,......

to be continued......................................................