Christian Living

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Recently Dr. Ken Hemphill came to my church to speak about our life’s purpose. At the end of the sermon, he summarized his main points by this statement, my life purpose is “I will advance His kingdom, by His power, for His glory.” Pretty neat and succinct. His sermon made me pause and ask myself some questions. I would ask you to consider them as well.

1. What am I doing in my daily life to advance God’s kingdom? Is my faith evident to co-workers, neighbors, and family? Do my children see me looking to God for direction?

2. Am I doing things in my life in my power or God’s power? We often say there is no way I could do a certain thing,
you are right there is no way you can complete some tasks unless you do it in God’s strength and not your own.
Do you access God’s power or is it there for use in emergency situations only?

3. Is everything I do for God’s glory? 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” This is a radical way of living. We can wash clothes for God’s glory, we can discipline a rebellious child for God’s glory, we can be patient with an irritable co-worker for God’s glory. We need to be aware of praising and glorifying God in the
mundane tasks as well as the big tasks.

The world will not understand the above and will think we are foolish for making our life’s purpose to advance God’s kingdom. When we live with an eternal perspective, we make decisions that have an eternal impact. Are you doing things in your own strength or in God’s power? Believe me it is a lot easier when you do them in God’s power. Are you glorifying God in everything you do? What can you do today to advance his kingdom?

The other part of his sermon that was convicting was asking me if I am parenting with a kingdom focus. Do I model and teach my children these above principles? Dr. Hemphill has written a book with Richard Ross, entitled Parenting with Kingdom Purpose. The book is somewhat aimed at parents with teens, but I found a lot of the principles work with younger children as well. In the back there is a chart of small things you can do as a parent for your children to show them you love and care for them. You can also find a 30 day prayer guide and it will give you things to pray for your children every day. The phrase on the back of the book is startling, “What if we raise our children to gain the world but in the process they forfeit their souls?” You can find more out about the book by going to http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?event=AFF&p=1026894&item_no=43299X.

My dear sisters in Christ, as Christian Moms, we are held to a higher standard. We don’t just want to raise “good” children. We want to raise children who worship and glorify God in everything they do. We need to teach them that is the highest calling.

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