Knowing God 's Will And His Purpose And Plans For Our Lives

In chapters four through eight of Jacobsen and Sawatsky’s book, Gracious Christianity, there is an in depth analyses of the Holy Spirit, the church, the Bible, and the future. There was so much information that I read over, so I took a concept from each chapter that I found significant and analyzed it. There are many fantastic points made that really got me thinking about the life around me and how I am executing my own life.

In this short essay, I will lay out my personal position with regard to spiritual discernment expressed in "Discerning Spiritual Discernment: Assessing Current Approaches for Understanding God's Will" by Dennis Horton. I will also consider other opinions in this appraisal.

A biblical worldview encourages people to consider the great love that God has for them and all the ways he extends forgiveness and patience to those exercising faith in him. Luke 10:27 encourages Christians to love thy neighbor as thyself. This principle suggests that tenderness, kindness and love should be shown to others in thought, word, and deed just as God shows it to his children. The Christian worldview offers that God has a role for everyone to fill and a will for their lives. Proverbs 3:5­6 encourages Christians to look for God s direction in all things and not to lean unto their own understanding. Through thoughtful prayer and introspection the direction one should take in life that will make full use of his or her talents and gifts will be revealed. It should, of course, be work of an honest nature and morally appropriate for a true Christian (Growing Christian Resources, 2015) (Open Bible,

The principles are for continual growth and elevation for Christians. The instructions in The Bible are not only for guidance is a comforting and strengthening agent. Given this statistic, this could be an additional reason why God created mankind in His image to take part in on other wonderful helpful contributions. Highlighting the difference between a secular worldview and a biblical worldview, the incorporation of belief and doctrine, theories of vocation and efforts for living righteously is proven to be an influential lifesaving

This world in which all human kind lives in is distorted and filled with sin but we are called to choose to not give in to the sin, to not conform to the work around us and prove our faith is stronger than our sinful desires. God does not control what we choose to do, he may put situations in ones lives that will test ones faith but the person themselves is in control of their fate and what will come from the challenge that lies ahead. Calvin states, “The Lord has still another reason for afflicting his children: to try their patience and to teach them obedience,” (Calvin, 52). God would not try a persons patience or teach them obedience if God knew exactly what would happen, because it is in those trials that he does not know what will

As a reflection of the significance of the item learned God is at the beginning, for our Christian faith and Christian life, how we live makes a difference in what God will do in the end.

How does being familiar with a biblical worldview help us understand the big picture of God’s design, and how can you apply that understanding to your calling?

In Shaped by the Word, by Robert Mulholland Jr., one finds a way to read scripture in order to provide a deeper understanding of God and allow His Word to shape one’s spiritual life. In the Introduction, in chapter 1, the reader is introduced to the idea that there is a movement in the church that seeks to become deeper and stricter in spiritual formation. He claims there are many books written for this purpose, and his intending purpose for this book is for God to use however he may want in the reader’s spiritual life. Mulholland provides the reader with a prayer to pray in preparation of reading this book and states there may be points where God is knocking and calling the reader’s attention to something new.

To articulate my theological view of scripture, I will address Scripture as broken yet beautiful, then express how I read and interpret sacred texts, given the need to understand the author’s intent, the historical context, and a Christocentric hermeneutic. This will be followed by the aim of reading scripture, which is not simply for orthodox doctrine, but for right living. Although Scripture is primary, it is not the only way God speaks to humanity, thus I will address the Spirit, tradition, creation, and experience as other sources of insight. Despite this integrated approach to scripture and theology, it is not foolproof or necessarily correct. Therefore, I will end this section with a discussion of knowledge and how we understand truth, grounded in the epistemological paradigm of practical

With the proclamation of the Kingdom of God, Jesus seeks to bring about God’s plan for humanity through physical, spiritual, and social healing. His purpose and mission is to prepare the hearts and minds of the people so they can build new lives in God’s kingdom. Jesus often uses stories to illustrate his message

Being created in His image is what enables me to relate and serve others. As I engage in my analysis of my own personal view, I must demonstrate and offer a way to live a life that would be consistent with my notion and reality of a Christian life. If you are anything like me, PHL 205A has allowed me the opportunity to search within my soul and analyze what I now understand is my worldview; this topic has offered a comprehensive and understanding way on how to best distinguish my preconceived assumptions and notions about my worldview. In sharing the same faith we must understand and maintain that God is a purposeful God who created all human kind with the freedom to choose right from wrong. If we pay close attention and ultimately understand that Human life is meaningful, significant, and purposeful; then we are able to see God’s greatness, goodness, and

As we bring our upbringing, faith commitment, past experience and reflections to bear on everything we do, we now stand back and go to the sources that for Christians should provide the moral insight needed to proceed: (1) Scripture; (2) Tradition; (3) Reason; and (4) Experience. As it is generally believed today that the canon of Scripture was put together through a sincere act of discernment by the Christian community and that it is truly the coming together of the human and the divine, we begin our investigation with Scripture. We will then look at the remaining three: tradition; reason; and experience in light of Scripture.

This paper will analyze the "Divine Purpose" as it appears in the various "highways of prophecy" in the New Testament, and show how those "highways" may be followed to a deeper and fuller appreciation of God's message.

Life has no meaning if you don't have the urge to wake up the next morning to see the next day. Many people live their lives unhappy since they have no purpose or meaning to fulfill or satisfy their needs. Purpose to me is something to live for and something to look forward to in life. Without purpose and meaning in life there is no point of living at all. Recently in the existentialism unit we’ve been reading, I learned that without a passion to live, one’s life means nothing and is a waste of a soul. Based on the previous books I’ve read, I learned I am happy because I have things to look forward to in life and to wake up the next morning to enjoy the new day. Three elements that give me purpose and meaning in my life are my family, my

Biblical Interpretation is important and necessary so that we can understand what the text is saying, what the intended theological message is, and how to personally apply and teach these Scriptural truths to carry forward the Gospel in rescuing others from despair and death to hope and life, thus displaying His glory and growing His Kingdom. It is about finding what God is revealing about Himself and His Son Jesus Christ. Moreover, it is for us to know that God desires to have a relationship with us and for us to be set apart in a covenant relationship with Him to display holy lives that bring Him glory. Interpretation, using hermeneutical principles, help guide us in proper boundaries for interpreting Scripture so that we can reveal the intended meaning of the text. Without this, we run the risk of imposing our own ideas on the text, therefore misinterpreting. Misinterpreting can cause us to miss theological truths, administer the wrong application, and neglect or overlook the meaning of the text which weakens the impact of God’s truth in our personal lives as well as others we are teaching.