Purpose Driven Life

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Why Does God Appear to Bless Evil People?
by Rick Warren

He causes the sun to rise on good people and on evil people, and he sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong.
Matthew 5:45 (NCV)

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A common question among believers is, ?Why does God appear to bless evil people?? I?ve asked this question myself.

In Matthew 5, Jesus says God causes his blessing to be given to both the evil person and the good person ? and that both those who are evil and those who are good go through difficulties. Whether someone is a believer or unbeliever, evil or good, we all face sickness in our families, natural disasters, and all sorts of other problems.

God doesn?t always protect believers from having to face the same difficulties that unbelievers must face; and he allows unbelievers to experience some of the same benefits that we, as believers, enjoy because we are a part of his creation. One reason for this: it allows those who don?t know Jesus to see what it really means to know him. When someone sees a believer finding even a bit of light in the middle of a struggle, it helps those who do believe in Jesus to see who he really is and that he is the light in the darkness.
© 2008 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved.

Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church (http://www.saddleback.com/) in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches.
In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life (http://www.saddlebackresources.com/NR/exeres/A0728D73-BD00-42D0-8240-801393296740.htm) and The Purpose Driven Church (http://www.saddlebackresources.com/en-US/Resources/ProductDetail.htm?sku=PB210000), which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com (http://www.pastors.com/), a global Internet community for ministers.

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What Does God Know about You? (Part 1)
by Rick Warren

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Hebrews 4:13 (NIV)
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One night I was standing in front of the refrigerator. I’d gotten out of bed to make a midnight refrigerator raid even though I was on a diet. And I stood there with the refrigerator door open, thinking, “Just one bite ….”
You know how it goes. You get into a debate with yourself: “Go ahead; it won’t hurt this one time.” “No, I’m on this diet.”

It’s in moments like these that Satan feeds us a devilish excuse, “No one will ever know.”

You may not be standing in front of the refrigerator. You may be at work, or filling out your income tax form, or some place your parents wouldn’t want you to be. But you go ahead and do something questionable because we all can get caught in the false belief that “no one will ever know.”
But God already knows!

The Bible says nothing in creation is hidden from God (Psalm 147:5) and that God knows everything about you (Psalm 139). This means there’s no question God cannot answer, no problem that confuses him. He’s never surprised. He’s never shocked. He never says, “Oh, really?!” God knows everything; it’s something theologians call the omniscience of God.

The fact that God knows everything about you is good news, not bad, and today we will look at two of five specific areas where knowing this will make a difference in your life.

God know your faults and failures. I find it uncomfortable to realize I don’t have any secrets from God, because there are things about me I’d rather God not know. But the Bible says, “My sins, O God, are not hidden from you; you know how foolish I have been” (Psalm 69:5 GNT).

So we’re foolish when we do something wrong and then try to sneak it past God, to stuff it in a closet and lock the door. God knows what’s behind the locked door (Proverbs 5:21).

Everything you think, everything you see, everything you do, everything you feel, God knows all about it. He already knows all you’ve done wrong and he still loves you!

You’re not fooling God when you keep your sins hidden (1 John 1:8). He’s not shocked by your sin; and when you admit it to him, it doesn’t ever, will never, change the way he feels about you. He loves you unconditionally, and that means you don’t have to fake it, you don’t have to pretend.

God knows your feelings and frustrations. Some of you think, “Nobody knows what I’m going through, nobody feels the pain I’m experiencing.” God knows. He knows your feelings and frustrations. He’s seen the crisis in your soul. There’s no hurt that goes unnoticed by God. Psalm 56:8 says, “You know how troubled I am; you have kept a record of my tears” (GNT).

Often when we’re hurting, we feel very isolated and lonely. Maybe there’s been a death in the family, a divorce, maybe we’ve gotten fired, and we start to think, “Nobody understands the way I feel; nobody feels the pain.”
But God knows, and “The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him” (Psalm 103:13 NLT).

God not only sees, he cares. He knows the causes, the reasons, the things that brought you to this point. He understands because he made you, and he sees the hurt in your heart like nobody else can.

Because God knows our frustrations and despair, we can give those feelings to him: “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you” (1 Peter 5:7 NLT). Cast them all permanently on God, once and for all. Don’t take them back.
© 2008 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved.

Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church (http://www.saddleback.com/) in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life (http://www.saddlebackresources.com/NR/exeres/A0728D73-BD00-42D0-8240-801393296740.htm) and The Purpose Driven Church (http://www.saddlebackresources.com/en-US/Resources/ProductDetail.htm?sku=PB210000), which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com (http://www.pastors.com/), a global Internet community for ministers __________________

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What Does God Know about You? (Part 2)



Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Hebrews 4:13 (NIV)

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God knows everything about your faults and failures, and your feelings and frustrations, and he also knows what your tomorrow holds.

God knows your future. We’re all interested in the future. It’s interesting to me the things people will use to try to figure out what’s going to happen next: astrology, horoscopes, reading tea leaves, consulting with people, bio-rhythms.

But they’re going to the wrong source because the only one who knows what’s going to happen next is God.

The Bible says, even before you were born, God knew all of your future (Psalm 139:16, Jeremiah 29:11). This means God sees your tomorrow, today. He already sees the things you’ll face.

The fact is, God is not limited by time. He’s able to be in the past, the present, and the future all at the same time. Think of it like this: if you were in the Goodyear Blimp looking down on the Rose Parade, you could see the beginning of the parade and the end of the parade all at the same time.
God, from his perspective, can see past, present, and future all at once. That should give us great confidence in God. It’s comforting to me that he knows everything that is going to happen in my life. He not only knows about the future, he’s there in the future. He not only walks with us day-by-day, he can also walk in our future.

God is already prepared for everything you’re going to face – tomorrow, next week, or next month. What the future holds may surprise us, but it doesn’t surprise God. Nothing ever catches him by surprise, or makes him say, “Oh, really?!”

Next month or next year you may be faced with a crisis, and you may ask, “What’s happening? Where is God?” God’s been there all along, preparing. He’s already in your future and he’s prepared for everything.

If I know that God knows all my tomorrows, today, then I should ask him for advice. He knows what’s going to happen: “Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own” (Jeremiah 33:3 MSG).

The things you don’t know, God can tell you about. He’s not going to lay out your whole life all at once, telling you everything that will happen in your life. If he did, you’d likely get very discouraged or prideful or both. Instead, he gives it to you a little bit at a time.

It’s like this, when you’re driving up a mountain on a curving road and you’re caught behind a slow car, you may think, “If I could just see around the curve, I’d go ahead and pass this guy.” If there were a helicopter above, the pilot could let you know if there was another car around the curve. From his perspective, he could help you out.

The same is true with God: from his perspective, he knows everything that’s going to happen, so you can ask him for advice.

Here’s what I’d suggest, when you get up in the morning, go over your schedule with the Lord. Pray, “Father, you’ve already seen this day that I’m about to experience. You know ahead of time every interruption I’m going to face, every cranky person in the office, every flat tire, every traffic jam, every missed plane, when I’m going to spill the coffee on my suit. You’ve already seen it all. Would you, right now, give me the strength to cope through this day, the strength that I need for today.”

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What Does God Know about You? (Part 3)

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:13 (NIV)

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Over the last two days we have looked at God’s omniscience – that he knows everything, specifically everything about you and your life. We have been examining God’s presence in your life by breaking it down into five areas. Today we’ll look at the final two.

God knows your fears. God knows everything that gets you stressed out. For instance, many of us today are concerned about the economy, and so we have financial fears.

And then we act as if God is unaware of our bills. “Don’t you see, God? I’m going under! I’m not going to make it!” We’re trying to stretch and make ends meet. We get uptight, upset, and we worry. But worry is the result of not realizing the omniscience of God.

When we think that God doesn’t know what’s going on in our lives, then we think we have to take matters into our own hands. In effect, we’re saying, “I’ll be God.” Worrying is taking responsibility for things God never intended you to have.

The truth is God is aware of all your needs. Prayer is never giving information to God. The Bible says, “… Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8 NIV). He’s aware of every single need you have: financial needs, spiritual needs, sexual needs, social needs, emotional needs.

God knows your faithfulness. Here’s another benefit from the truth that God knows everything: He sees everything you do that is good and right. Every time you choose not to sin, every time you resist temptation, every time you take a stand because of God’s Truth, he sees your faithfulness to him.

The Bible says every good deed will be rewarded, no matter how insignificant and regardless of whether anybody else on earth sees it. Every encouragement you give to other people, every kind word you give to your children, every time you do a thoughtful act for your husband, every time you pick up around the office when it’s not your job, every time you set up chairs in church or stuff bulletins, every act of courtesy, every time you refuse to gossip, every time you’re positive instead of negative – God sees it all, no matter how small (Matthew 10:40-42).

Imagine yourself on a giant stage and you’re the only person on that stage. You’re acting out your life. In the audience there is only one person and it’s God. He’s out there clapping and saying, “I see that good thing you just did. Keep on going! Nobody else saw it, but I did. I know that thought you just had and I know it was a positive good thought. I saw it.”

So what should be my response? If God sees all the good things that I do and he’s out there cheering me on, then my response should be, “Don’t Be Discouraged!”

Some of you may be saying, “I’ve been trying to do the right thing in my marriage. I don’t see any results. I’ve been trying to be the right kind of person and respond correctly with my kids or to my parents. I’ve been trying to do the right thing at work or at school. And I don’t know if it’s paying off. I don’t see it making any difference in anybody’s life.”

God says, “I see it and it doesn’t matter who else sees it.” Nothing good we ever do is ever done in vain: “So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up” (Galatians 6:9 HCSB).
Knowing the truth – that God knows everything in your life, can either be very disturbing or very comforting. It depends on your relationship to him, whether you’re trying to fool him or not.

Have you been acting as if God is totally unaware of your life in any of these five areas?

· God know your faults and failures, but he still loves you unconditionally.
· God knows your feelings and frustrations, and he sees your hurt more than anyone else can.
· God knows your future, so he can tell what you need to know.
· God knows your fears, and he wants you to hand your worries over to him.
· God knows your faithfulness because he sees every good thing you do.

The fact that God knows everything is a tremendous motivator for me to live a godly life. I realize that nothing in my life is in secret; nothing I face will hinder his ability to help me; nothing that is to come will catch him by surprise; nothing I fear will be too big for God’s strength; and nothing I do in his name is ever done in vain.

God says, “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for” (Jeremiah 29:11 MSG).

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Fellowship: Formed for God’s Family

See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are! 1 John 3:1 (NLT)


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You were formed for God’s family.

“God is the One who made all things, and all things are for his glory. He wanted to have many children share his glory...” (Hebrews 2:10 NCV).
God wants a family, and he created you to be a part of it. This is one of God’s purposes for your life, which he planned before you were born. The entire Bible is the story of God building a family who will love him, honor him, and reign with him forever.

“His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure” (Ephesians 1:5 NLT).

Because God is love, he treasures relationships. His very nature is relational and he identifies himself in family terms: Father, Son, and Spirit. The Trinity is God’s relationship to himself. It’s the perfect pattern for relational harmony and we should study its implications.

God already exists in loving relationship to himself so he’s never been lonely. He didn’t need a family – he desired one, so he devised a plan to create us, bring us into his family, and share with us all he has.

This gives God great pleasure.

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Living in Light of Eternity

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.
Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)


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Healthy families have family pride; members are not ashamed to be recognized as a part of the family. Sadly, I’ve met many believers who’ve never publicly identified themselves as Jesus commanded – by being baptized.

Baptism is not some optional ritual to be delayed or postponed. It signifies your inclusion in God’s family. It publicly announces to the world, “I am not ashamed to be a part of God’s family.”

Jesus commanded this beautiful act for all in his family: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19 NIV).

For years I wondered why Jesus’ Great Commission gives the same prominence to baptism as it does to the great tasks of evangelism and edification. Why is baptism so important? Because it symbolizes the second purpose of your life: incorporation into the fellowship of God’s eternal family.

Your baptism declares your faith, shares Christ’s burial and resurrection, symbolizes your death to your old life, and announces your new life in Christ. It is also a celebration of your inclusion in God’s family.

Your baptism is a physical picture of a spiritual truth. It represents what happened the moment God brought you into his family: “Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ’s body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13 NLT).

Baptism doesn’t make you a member of God’s family; only faith in Christ does that; baptism shows you are part of God’s family. Like a wedding ring, it is a visible reminder of an inward commitment made in your heart.
It is an act of initiation, not something you put off until you are spiritually mature. The only biblical condition is that you believe.

The Bible says, “Jesus and the people he makes holy all belong to the same family. That is why he isn’t ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters” (Hebrews 2:11 CEV).

Let that amazing truth sink in!

Because Jesus makes you holy, God is proud of you. Being included in God’s family is the highest honor, the greatest privilege you and I will ever receive. Nothing else comes close. Why not pause right now and thank God that he included you?

“Praise God for the privilege of being in Christ’s family and being called by his wonderful name!” (1 Peter 4:16 LB).

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Keep On Praying

"Why be persistent? How come my answers sometimes don't come immediately? Why should I keep on praying when the answer doesn't come in my time table?"

Keep on praying when there's no answer, because persistent praying helps me focus on God. God wants me to remember that He alone is the source of my answers to prayer. The Bible says in Philippians 4:19, "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

God wants us to see Him alone as the source of our needs. When we have to pray about something over and over, who do we look to? We look to the Lord. Persistent prayer focuses our attention. Have you discovered that we like to look to everybody else to solve our problem except the Lord? We look to our friends, we look to our family, we look to counselors, we look to the government, we look to anybody -- except the Lord. God often delays an answer to force you to focus on Him.

Persistent praying also clarifies my requests. A delayed answer a lot of times gives me time to clarify what do I really want. Time separates deep longings from mere whims. I've prayed for things and sometimes during the delay decided I didn't really want them after all.

God delays the answer to test you. It's not that He doesn't want to give it to you, He wants to know if you really want it. Do you want it enough to keep praying? Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek me and find me when you seek for me with all your heart." Nothing worthwhile is accomplished with half-hearted prayers.

Persistent prayer will prepare me for the answer. God usually wants to do more than you are praying for. Surprise! God wants to do it greater and He needs time to get you ready for it. There are changes God wants to make in you. Ephesians 3:20 "Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us, is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes."

People say, "Prayer changes things." Of course we know it is God who does the changing. But prayer changes you. And God is more interested in you than He is in circumstances. Often as soon as you've made the change in your life the doors of heaven open and the answer comes. Expect a miracle.

Persistent praying strengthens and develops your faith. A mark of maturity is how long can you wait. Galatians 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." God’s saying, "Hang on! Be patient! The harvest is coming. Don't give up! Look up!"

We want to encourage you to take time daily focusing on God, reading His word and talking to Him. We liken this to dating, in which we spend time with someone to get to know them better, to learn more about her/him. Likewise, we spend time with God daily to know Him better.

from free resources at Purpose Driven Life

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When the Future Seems Uncertain
by Rick Warren


For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans to give you a future and a hope You will find me when you seek me, if you look for me in earnest.
Jeremiah 29:11, 13 (LB)

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No matter what the pollsters, pundits, and prognosticators claim, no one can accurately predict all that is going to happen in the next year, let alone the next few days or weeks. Our best forecasts are just educated guesses.
Change is not only increasing in speed and intensity, but also in unpredictability. How can anyone succeed when the future is so uncertain?
The Bible suggests three timeless principles for facing an uncertain future:

1. Set goals according to God's direction. It's foolish to make plans without first consulting God. He's the only one who does know the future and he's eager to guide you through it.

The Bible says, We may make our plans, but God has the last word(Proverbs 16:1 GNT). In other words, planning without praying is presumption. Start by praying, God, what do you want me to do in 2009?

2. Live one day at a time. While you can plan for tomorrow, you can't live it until it arrives. Most people spend so much time regretting the past and worrying about the future, they have no time to enjoy today!
John Lennon once wrote, Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. Decide to make the most of each moment this year. Jesus said, Don't be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time(Matthew 6:34 LB).

3. Don�t procrastinate. Do it now! Don't boast about what you're going to do tomorrow, for you don't know what a day may bring forth (Proverbs 27:1).

Procrastinating is a subtle trap. It wastes today by postponing things until tomorrow. You promise yourself that you'll do it one of these days. But one of these days is usually none of these days.

What did you plan to get done last year that you didn't do? When do you intend to start working on it?
© 2008 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved.

Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church (http://www.saddleback.com/) in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life (http://www.saddlebackresources.com/NR/exeres/A0728D73-BD00-42D0-8240-801393296740.htm) and The Purpose Driven Church (http://www.saddlebackresources.com/en-US/Resources/ProductDetail.htm?sku=PB210000), which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com (http://www.pastors.com/), a global Internet community for ministers.

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Everybody Surrenders to Something
by Rick Warren

Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God, but laid aside his mighty power and glory, taking the disguise of a slave and becoming like men. Philippians 2:6-7 (LB)


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Everybody surrenders to something or someone in life.If not to God, youll surrender to popular opinion, to money, to resentment or fear, or to your own pride, lust, and ego.

We were designed to worship something, and when we fail to worship God, we create gods (idols) to surrender ourselves to. E. Stanley Jones said, If you dont surrender to Christ, you surrender to chaos. Youre free to choose what you surrender to, but youre not free from the consequences of that choice: So give yourselves completely to God (James 4:7 NCV).


Surrender is not the best way to live; it is the only way to live. Nothing else works.All other approaches lead to frustration, disappointment, and self-destruction.

The King James Version of Romans 12:1 calls surrenderyour reasonable service. The Contemporary English Version translates it: the most sensible way to serve God.

Surrendering your life is not a foolish emotional impulse but a rational, intelligent act, the most responsible and sensible thing you can do with your life.Your wisest moments will be those when you say yes to God: So we make it our goal to please him (2 Corinthians 5:9 NIV).

Sometimes it takes years, but eventually you discover the greatest hindrance to Gods blessing in your life is not others, it is yourself your self will, stubborn pride, and personal ambition.You cannot fulfill Gods purposes for your life while focusing on your own plans. If God is going to do his deepest work in you, it will begin with this.

So give it all to God: your past regrets; your present problems; your future ambitions; your fears, dreams, weaknesses, habits, hurts, and hang-ups. Put Christ in the drivers seat of your life and take your hands off the steering wheel. Dont be afraid; nothing under his control can ever be out of control.

Mastered by Christ, you can handle anything: I am ready for anything and equal to anything through him who infuses inner strength into me. I am self-sufficient in Christs sufficiency (Philippians 4:13 AMP).

You may worry, What if I stumble or relapse?

If? You will stumble in pleasing God! No one can live a perfectly surrendered life except Jesus.

But God has provided for the inevitability of your sin: If you do sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who pleases God completely (1 John 2:1 LB).
© 2008 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved.

Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church (http://www.saddleback.com/) in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life (http://www.saddlebackresources.com/NR/exeres/A0728D73-BD00-42D0-8240-801393296740.htm) and The Purpose Driven Church (http://www.saddlebackresources.com/en-US/Resources/ProductDetail.htm?sku=PB210000), which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com (http://www.pastors.com/), a global Internet community for ministers.

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The Practice of Surrender
2009/02/23

“If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing even to give up their lives to follow me.” Matthew 16:24 (NCV)


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Paul’s moment of surrender occurred on the Damascus road after he was knocked down by blinding light. For others, less drastic methods are needed to get our attention.Regardless, surrendering is never just a one-time event.Paul said, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31 NASB).


There is a moment of surrender and there is the practice of surrender, which is moment-by-moment and lifelong. The practice of surrender requires perseverance; you may have to re-surrender your life fifty times a day: “If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing even to give up their lives [daily] to follow me” (Matthew 16:24 NCV).


Let me warn you: When you decide to live a totally surrendered life, that decision will be tested. Sometimes it will mean doing inconvenient, unpopular, costly, or seemingly impossible tasks.It will often mean doing the opposite of what you feel like doing.
“Those who are living by their natural inclinations have their minds on the things human nature desires; those who live in the Spirit have their minds on spiritual things” (Romans 8:5 NJB).

We are, by nature, self-centered. When hurt by someone, your natural inclination is to hurt back.It is natural to hoard money instead of generously sharing it, to defend yourself when criticized, to hide your mistakes instead of confessing them, and to try to impress others. You can usually figure out what will please God by doing the opposite of your natural inclination.

Bill Bright founded Campus Crusade for Christ. Through the worldwide Crusade staff, his tract “The Four Spiritual Laws,” and the “JESUS” film (seen by over one billion people), it’s estimated that over 150 million people have come to Christ and will spend eternity in heaven.
I once asked Bill, “Why did God use and bless your life so much?” He said, “When I was a young man I made a contract with God.I literally wrote it out and signed my name at the bottom.It said ‘From this day forward, I am a slave of Jesus Christ.’”
Have you signed a contract like that with God? Or, are you still arguing and struggling with God over his right to do with your life as he pleases?
It is time to surrender – to God’s grace, love, and wisdom.

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Every Nation: Shift from "Me-First" to "God-First" (http://links.purposedriven.com/u.d?TYGttBY2-_yr6kJdw=53)
by Rick Warren


In our Devotionals series, Pastor Rick Warren discusses the Bible passages that inspire him the most. Today's Devotional is based on this passage: "Jesus said to his followers, 'Go everywhere in the world, and tell the Good News to everyone'" (Mark 16:15 NCV).


People with "me-first" faith ask, "How can God make my life more comfortable?" They want to use God for their purposes instead of being used for His purposes.

"God-first" believers know they've been saved to serve and made for mission. They're eager to receive a personal assignment and excited about the privilege of being used by God.

Their joy, confidence, and enthusiasm are contagious because they know they're making a difference. They wake up each morning expecting God to work through them in fresh ways.

Which type of believer do you want to be?

God invites you to participate in the greatest, largest, most diverse, and most significant cause in history—building his kingdom. History is His story; He's building His family for eternity. Nothing matters more and nothing will last as long.

From the book of Revelation we know God's global mission will be accomplished, that someday the Great Commission will be the great completion. In heaven, an enormous crowd of people "from every race, tribe, nation, and language" will one day stand before Jesus Christ to worship Him (Revelation 7:9 CEV).

Becoming a "God-first" believer will allow you to experience in advance a little of what heaven will be like.

Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America’s largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church.Notice our new look? The Daily Devotional is still the same scripture study you love and trust. But we’ve changed the way it looks as it becomes a part of the new Purpose Driven Connection (http://links.purposedriven.com/u.d?Y4GtvRgfQ4yr6kcn0KSv=431).
Tell us (http://links.purposedriven.com/u.d?XYGtvRgfQ4yr6kcn0KSk=441) what you think. Then visit PurposeDriven.com (http://links.purposedriven.com/u.d?TYGtvRgfQ4yr6kcn0KSZ=451) for more Christian guidance.Missed out on one of the Daily Devotionals? View the online archives. (http://links.purposedriven.com/u.d?K4GtvRgfQ4yr6kcn0KSe=461)
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Every Nation: Pray for Specific Countries (http://links.purposedriven.com/u.d?SYGtmoGe4pSr6kW265=63)


by Rick Warren


In our Devotionals series, Pastor Rick Warren discusses the Bible passages that inspire him the most. Today's Devotional is based on this passage: "If you ask Me, I will give you the nations; all the people on earth will be yours" (Psalm 2:8 NCV).


A good way to begin thinking globally is to begin praying for specific countries. Get a globe or map and pray for nations by name. The Bible says, "If you ask Me, I will give you the nations; all the people on earth will be yours" (Psalm 2:8 NCV).

Prayer is the most important tool for your mission in the world. People may refuse our love, or reject our message, but they are defenseless against our prayers. Like a rocket, you can aim a prayer at a person's heart whether you're ten feet or 10,000 miles away.

What should you pray for? The Bible tells us to pray for opportunities to witness, for courage to speak up, for those who will believe, for the rapid spread of the message, and for more workers. Prayer helps us do what God calls us to do, and it makes you a partner with others around the world.

You should also pray for missionaries and everyone else involved in the global harvest. Paul told his prayer partners, "You are also joining to help us when you pray for us" (2 Corinthians 1:11 GWT).

Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America’s largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church.Notice our new look? The Daily Devotional is still the same scripture study you love and trust. But we’ve changed the way it looks as it becomes a part of the new Purpose Driven Connection (http://links.purposedriven.com/u.d?Y4GtvRgfQ4yr6kcn0KSv=431).
Tell us (http://links.purposedriven.com/u.d?XYGtvRgfQ4yr6kcn0KSk=441) what you think. Then visit PurposeDriven.com (http://links.purposedriven.com/u.d?TYGtvRgfQ4yr6kcn0KSZ=451) for more Christian guidance.Missed out on one of the Daily Devotionals? View the online archives. (http://links.purposedriven.com/u.d?K4GtvRgfQ4yr6kcn0KSe=461)
Did someone forward this Daily Devotional to you? Get your own free subscription (http://links.purposedriven.com/u.d?K4GtvRgfQ4yr6kcn0KST=471) to The Purpose Driven Connection Daily Devotional, your daily inspiration via email.