4 Powerful Convictions for Living With Eternal Intentionality®

When one commits to Living With Eternal Intentionality, life takes on a depth of meaning and purpose encapsulated in the word destiny. Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly, that it might be full and meaningful” (John 10:10).

While Scripture tells us “He has also set eternity in their hearts” (Ecclesiastes 3:11), assumptions rob us of the God-given opportunity to live with dynamic focus. So, rather than live in default mode, I suggest 4 Powerful Convictions which allow us to think eternally while living temporally.

Intimacy with Jesus

You and I are given the opportunity, not only to believe in Jesus, but to BE with Jesus. Our Savior invites us to worship Him, to get to know Him, to walk with Him—to do life One-on-one with Him. What starts inside us as a flicker develops into a flaming fire when we devote ourselves to walk with Him on our own Emmaus Road. (Luke 24:13) Intimacy is a rare quality in today’s world, and intimacy with Jesus is rarer still. Yet I am convinced that developing intimacy with Jesus is our first concern each day. And, as Dr. Charles Stanley says, “Intimacy with God, His greatest priority for our lives, determines the impact of our lives.”

Authenticity with others

False, fake, and fictional plague our society. The world desperately longs to discover a real person with real problems who walks with a real Jesus. With security and significance grounded in Him, we are not intimidated to relate with transparency. “Be who God created you to be and you will set the world on fire.” -St. Catherine of Sienna

A Passion for your calling

Our culture fights for our attention and exerts itself to commandeer our passions. Yet, pursuing a loving and ever-increasing vibrant love for God is our divine decree. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (Mark 12:28-30).

A Purpose for your influence

Before Jesus left, He gave us a holy homework assignment. Not just a benediction, this statement of purpose is implanted within the spiritual DNA of every follower of Christ. Speaking in Scotland in the Autumn of 1930, Olympian Eric Liddell said, “Tonight, I want to leave a message for you all; we are all missionaries.”

Jesus wanted His children to know how to invest their days while He left them here on earth. He said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Telling people everywhere includes literally everywhere: kitchen tables, carpools, dorm rooms, front porches, baby nurseries, fitness centers, soup kitchens, boardrooms, neighborhoods, military bases, coffee shops, soccer pitches. And, indeed, everywhere certainly embraces the nation on the other side of the globe. Wherever you and I find ourselves, we look through these location lenses to see a God-given purpose for our influence.

Viewing these 4 convictions holistically, intimacy, authenticity, passion, and purpose coalesce together to lay a framework for Living with Eternal Intentionality. Upon this structure Jesus Himself is the Architect to, as the Westminster Catechism states, bring about “the chief end of man — to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

Living with Eternal Intentionality®

Led by the prayer of the psalmist we embrace each God-given day as a gift, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12 NHEB).

So, what do you think?

What would you offer as your definition for Living with Eternal Intentionality?

Do the suggestions above spur you on in any particular manner?

Which of the 4 convictions stirs within you a longing for growth?

7 Quotes from Dietrich Bonhoeffer to Inspire Your Faith

Bonhoeffer, Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas, takes the reader on a journey of both history and heart. As Tim Keller writes, “The English-speaking public needs to know far more about his thought as well as his life.”

It is my hope, that in pondering these quotes, you, too, will want to know more about the German Christ follower who, because of his faith, gave his life for that faith.

“In the whole of world history, there is always only one really significant hour, the present.”

“Pain is a holy angel who shows treasures to men which otherwise remain forever hidden.”

"When you read the Bible, you must think that, here and now, God is speaking with me.”

“Every word of Holy Scripture is quite personally a message of God’s love for us.”

“Quite personally, since I have learned to read the Bible in this way, and this has not been for so very long, it becomes every day more wonderful to me.”

“It is not your love that sustains the marriage but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love.”

"Anyway, what do happiness and unhappiness mean? They depend so little on circumstances and so much more on what goes on inside us."

In the final pages of this book, the author quotes from Bonhoeffer’s memorial service, which, due to the upheaval in Nazi Germany, took place in London:

"Millions have seen Bonhoeffer's death as tragic, and as a prematurely ended life. We can be certain that he did not see it that way at all. In a sermon he preached while a pastor in London, he said "No one has yet believed in God and the kingdom of God, no one has yet heard about the realm of the resurrected, and not been homesick from that hour, waiting and looking forward joyfully to being released from bodily existence … that life only really begins when it ends here on earth.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

February 4, 1906 - April 9, 1945

Place of death: Flossenbürg Concentration Camp

Living with Eternal Intentionality®

In considering these quotes, which one in particular inspires you?

Why?

Anxiety Pandemic

“I went to the doctor, and he told me I am suffering from anxiety.” These words from my friend reverberated on the other end of the phone, and this individual is not alone. Anxiety now climbs to its own pandemic proportion. And, the outbreak does not limit itself to one age group or gender.

Moms struggle to coordinate bizarre school schedules; families attempt to manage internet access; the news warns of impending doom; and the elderly—failing to thrive—suffer in isolated silence. 

Yet, we hear whispers of hope from The Ancient Wisdom.

 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be make known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Are there any among us who do not long for such respite?

In reading the prayerful words written by Scotty Smith*, I sensed a place for them in our considerations today. May this rich resource minister to you right where you are.

A Prayer of Desperation for Peace

Dear Jesus,

I’ve memorized this Scripture, taught it, preached it, and prayed it for many struggling friends. Today, however, I’m desperate to lay hold of it for myself. I am anxious, so I need grace to obey this command. I know you’re not asking me to pretend and pose, for knowing you is the end to that way of life. And I know you’re no asking me to be a stoic, for you are gentle and humble of heart.

 Jesus, it was you who turned the chaos of an unformed world into the beauty of creation. Please do the same with all the chaos swirling around me and in me. Replace my angst and confusion with order and beauty. 

For the things that grieve me, bring your tear-wiping hand. For the things that offend me, keep me from a critical and selfish spirit. For the things that alarm me, grant me the perspective of heaven and gospel sanity. Please don let me get bitter.

For the things over which I have no control, give me a fresh vision of the occupied throne of heaven. For the things I do have control over, grant me wisdom and strength to act accordingly. Please help me steward my anger, my sadness, and my weariness to your glory. I don’t want to waste this moment or these feelings.

Jesus, I have no reason to doubt either your mercy or your might. You gave your life for us upon the cross. You have risen to make all things new. You are unremittingly advocating and praying for us. No one loves us more that you do. I have seen you do astonishing things before. Do astonishing things again. I am weary and worn down.

 Set the peace of God as a sentinel in my heart and mind. Great King of glory and grace, guard and protect my heart from the lies of Satan, the whisperings of gossip, amid the cynicism of naysayers. I pray with hunger and hope, in your most trustworthy name. Amen.

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

 What is your greatest source of anxiety?

 How can you gain traction, one day at a time, to be set free from this menacing Anxiety Pandemic?

*Everyday Prayers, 365 Days to a Gospel-Centered Faith Written by Scotty Smith Published by Baker Books