How to Find Your Purpose

One day when shopping at Trader Joe’s, I saw an employee wandering around carrying a sign, “Ask me!” So I walked up to the young man and asked him, “What is the meaning of life?” He looked at me, surprised and speechless. When I broke into a grin, he looked relieved and seemed to hope I didn’t actually expect him to answer the question. People often refer to this as the supremely difficult or unanswerable question. Is it really impossible to answer?

Like most people, you have probably asked yourself, “Why am I here?” Another way of putting it might be, “What is the purpose of my life?” Now you can make up your own answer to that question, and many people do. However, many sense that there is a greater purpose outside of themselves to discover. Who or what else might determine our purpose in life? This brings us to another question that most people ask, “Where did I come from?”

We might begin answering the question, “Where did I come from?” with “From my mother and father.” But where did they come from? Where did any of us come from? Where did the world come from? There are primarily two common answers to this question: We came from nothing (The Big Bang and Evolution) or we came from God (some intelligent, powerful being). If we came from nothing, then you get to make up your own purpose in life (because there really isn’t one). If we came from God, then we should ask God what his purpose is for us.

So, which explanation makes more sense to you? Have we come from nothing or from God? It seems obvious to me that a world full of beauty, freedom, design, love, morality, and order did not come from nothing. The other explanation is that God created everything. The Bible teaches that the existence of God is obvious to us because of creation.

“For what can be known about God is plain to them,
because God has shown it to them.
For his invisible attributes,
namely his eternal power and divine nature,
are clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,
in the things that have been made.
So they are without excuse.”
Romans 1:19-20

Next time we'll ask: "How do we know who this creator God is? Aren't there other gods and bibles?" 

Did God Really Create the Universe in Six 24 Hour Days?

Unless you are willing to break some of the most basic rules for biblical interpretation, then yes, God really did create the universe in six 24 hour days.

The Hebrew word translated "day" can refer to a 24 hour day, a period of time, or be translated idiomatically as "when." Which meaning is intended for a particular passage is determined by the context of the word in the passage and comparing usage with other Scriptures. Here are 10 Reasons “Day” means a 24-hour day in Gen 1.

[Immediate Context]

1) The mention of “evening and morning” points to a 24-hour day.

2) The lights given for signs and seasons and days and years (Gen 1:14) indicate that the normal system for time is in place.

3) Gen 2:2 (as well as the 10 Commandments) declares the Sabbath (the seventh day of the week) as holy based on the days and week of creation.

4) “Day” in Gen 2:4 means “when” based on the immediate context. It is important to note that Gen 2:4 is in a different discourse unit than Gen 1:1-2:3. See also how this translation fits comparison with other Scriptures below.

5) Some do not think that Adam could have named the animals in one day (which he did on day six). It may be pointed out that Adam was perfect, with no degeneration due to sin. It also seems that he did not have to name the sea creatures. In the end, God could certainly have empowered Adam to do whatever he desired him to do.

[Other Scripture}

6) Every other time “day” appears with a number in the OT, it means 24-hour day.

7) Everywhere else in the OT that “evening” or “morning” appear with “day,” or “evening” and “morning” appear together, it refers to a 24-hour day.

8) Jesus said humans were made “in the beginning” (Matt 19:14; Mark 10:6).

9) If not literal days (and thus some long periods of time), then death would have come before sin (Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:21).

[History]

10) Throughout Jewish and Church history, God’s people have understood these to be 24-hour days. It is not until the last couple hundred years that it has been questioned by many scholars.

If we believe in God's "eternal power and divine nature" (Rom 1:20), then it is certainly not difficult to believe that God could have created the world in six day. And since this is the obvious, natural reading of the text, then the only reason it would be questioned is in order to make Scripture fit apparently contradictory scientific conclusions.

Why We Love Love Stories [Podcast #14]

There are not many good stories without love in it. Actually, I can't think of one, but there might be one.

We can see in the very first verse of the entire Bible that a story has begun. As Genesis 1 proceeds, the stage is set and the main characters have been introduced.

In Genesis 3 the crisis begins as sin enters the world. There are many foreshadows of the coming of the hero and savior. The super-human Jesus Christ enters the scene, "takes the bullet" and delivers the people from destruction.

We are currently still in crisis, and Jesus is still saving people. But God has already told us what happens in the end! Justice and Love win! The enemy is defeated. And those who trust Christ live happily ever after.

Series on Genesis 1

Most of the greatest questions about life are answered in the book of Genesis. Where did the earth and universe come from? Where did we come from? Why are we here? What is expected of us? Where did evil come from?

We have started a series on Genesis 1 on Sunday mornings at our church, Highland Christian Fellowship. You can now stream or download the series as it unfolds on the Downloads & Resources page. So far, there are four parts:

1. Our Cosmic Context (Intro to Gen)

2. God Created Everything (Gen 1:1)

3. God Is Sovereign (Gen 1:1)

4. God is Good (Gen 1:2)

The Beginning of All Stories - Genesis 1:1 [Podcast #13]

A Genesis 1 inspired "doodle" by Meredith Riggins

Did you know that the entire universe consists of time, space, and matter (energy/mass)? Have you considered that this is a reflection of the tri-unity of God?

“A trinity is not a trio or a triad, but a tri-unity, with each part comprising the whole, yet all three required to make the whole. Thus, the universe is all Space, all Time, and all Matter (including energy as a form of matter); in fact, many scientists speak of it as a Space-Matter-Time continuum. Furthermore, note the parallels between the divine trinity and the tri-universe in terms of the logical order of its three components. Space is the invisible, omnipresent background of everything in the universe. Matter-and-Energy reveal the reality of the universe. Time makes the universe understandable in the events occurring in it. Note that exactly the same sentence will apply if the words Father, Son, and Holy Spirit replace the words, Space, Matter, and Time.”

Dr. Henry Morris, “The Tri-Universe,” Founder of Institute for Creation Research.

I have been teaching a series on Genesis 1 at our church. The following podcast is the first part of a teaching on Genesis 1:1.

When I consider the beauty and design of the world and the conscious, moral, creative, loving human existence, it does not seem reasonable to me to conclude that matter is all that is and that we have evolved to this point. Instead, there is evidence throughout history of supernatural longing and experience. Without an obvious physically observable explanation of our existence, it is logical to suggest that there is something else, some spiritual source.