From our Perspectives Class

Daniel and I are taking Perspectives together this semester. This is a class focused on missions and is hosted by local churches all over the country. We have both been incredibly blessed so far by each of the different speakers we have had (each week there is a different speaker). The book is divided into four sections: The Biblical Perspective, The Historical Perspective, The Cultural Perspective, and the Strategic Perspective. We are still in the first section now, studying the Biblical basis for missions. Man, I am learning so much about God's heart for the nations. His heart has been the same since the very beginning, He desires and has always desired to be known by the nations of the world, not just Israel. The entire Old Testament testifies to this! I think that it is sometimes easy to miss this fact though, because it seems that everything is revolving around the Hebrew nation. It is essentially, but they are being used to display God's power and sovereignty to other nations (Egypt and the Canaanite nations are examples). The following definitions are from some of our readings and I thought that they were worth sharing!

Purpose:

We were made to live for purpose. God Himself lives for purpose. The way to live with significance is to devote your life to a purpose that is larger than your life.

Passion:

Passion is the heart set free to pursue that which is truly worthy. Those who set their hearts on that which is most worthy - the glory of God - live with joy-filled abandon. Their hearts are both seized and satisfied with the ambition for Jesus to be ardently worshiped. That love comes to dominate and integrate all other desires so as to live in the freedom of single-minded purpose.

Hope:

God has called us to live our lives as a bold act of hope. To hope is not merely to wish for small improvements of personal circumstances. Hope expects all things, large or little, to be overwhelmed and filled with the immense glory of Christ. Thus, true hope pursues global glory and total triumph over evil. Lives of hope can face great evil with relentless courage, since there is no telling how soon God will break through with ultimate victory.