You may choose your career, your spouse, your hobbies, and many other parts of your life, but you don't get choose your purpose. p31
Listen: Those who have hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you now unless you hold on to the pain through resentment. Your past it past! Nothing will change it. You are only hurting yourself with your bitterness. p28
When life has meaning, you can bear almost anything; without it, nothing is bearable. p30
When you fully comprehend that there is more to life than just here and now, and you realize that life is just preparation for eternity, you will begin to live differently. You will start living in light of eternity, and that will color how you handle every relationship, task, and circumstance. p37
When you live in light of eternity, your values change. You use your time and money more wisely. You place higher premium on relationships and character instead of fame or wealth or achievements or even fun. p38
To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths; First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. You won't be here long, so don't get too attached. p47
With all the fascinating attractions, mesmerizing media, and enjoyable experiences available today, it's easy to forget that the pursuit of happiness is not what life is about. Only as we remember that life is a test, a trust, and a temporary assignment will the appeal of these things lose their grip on our lives. p49
In order to keep us from becoming too attached to earth, God allows us to feel a significant amount of discontent and dissatisfaction in life. We're not completely happy here because we're not supposed to be! You will never feel completely satisfied on earth, because you were made for more. p50
At death you won't leave home - you'll go home. p51
You let go and let God work. You don't have to always be "in charge." The bible says, "Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him." p81
The most difficult area to surrender for many people is their money. Many have thought, "I want to live for God but I also want to earn enough money to live comfortably and retire someday." Retirement is not the goal of a surrendered life, because it competes with God for the primary attention of your lives. Jesus said, "You cannot serve both God and money." and "Whenever your treasure is, your heart will be also." p81
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. p84
You will never grow a close relationship with God by just attending church once a week or having a daily quiet time. Friendship with God is built by sharing all your life experiences with him. He wants to be included in every activity, every conversation, every problem, and even every thought. You can carry on a continuous, open-ended conversation with him throughout your day, taking with him about whatever you are doing or thinking at that moment. p87
When you think about a problem over and over in your mind, that's called worry. When you think about God's Word over and over in your mind, that' called meditation. If you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate! You just need to switch your attention from your problems to Bible verses. p90
To be God's friend, you must be honest to God, sharing your true feeling, not what you think you ought to feel or say. It is likely that you need to confess some hidden anger and resentment at God for certain area of your life where you have felt cheated or disappointed. p94
The most common mistake Christians make in worship today is seeking an experience rather than seeking God. They look for a feeling, and if it happens, they conclude that they have worshiped. Wrong! In fact, God often removes our feelings so we won't depend on them. Seeking a feeling, even the feeling of closeness to Christ, is not worship. p109
Life without love is really worthless. "No matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love" p124
If you want to know a person's priorities, just look at how they use their time. Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it. You can make money, but you can't make more time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you'll never get back. Your time is your life. That is why greatest gift you can give someone is your time. Many have said to me, "I don't understand my wife and kids. I provide everything they need. What more could they want?" They want you! Your eyes, your ears, your time, your attention, your presence, your focus-your time. Nothing can take the place of that. p127
Love means giving up - yielding my preferences, comfort, goals, security, money, energy, or time for the benefit of someone else. Why is now the best time to express love? Because you don't know how long you will have the opportunity. Circumstances change. People die. Children grow up. You have no guarantee of tomorrow. If you want to express love, you had better do it now. The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now. p128
The difference between being a church attender and a church member is commitment. Attenders are spectators from the sidelines; members get involved in the ministry. Attenders are consumers; members are contributors. Attenders want the benefits of a church without sharing the responsibility. They are like couple who want to live together without committing to a marriage. p136
God wants you to love real people, not ideal people. You can spend a lifetime searching for the perfect church, but you will never find it. You are called to love imperfect sinner, just as God does. p137
Of course, being authentic requires both courage and humility. It means facing out fear of exposure, rejection, and being hurt again. Why would anyone take such a risk? Because it is the only way to grow spiritually and be emotionally healthy. The Bible says, "Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed." We only grow by taking risks, and the most difficult risk of all is to be honest with ourselves and with others. p140
In real fellowship people experience sympathy. Sympathy is not giving advice or offering quick, cosmetic help; sympathy is entering in and sharing the pain of others. Sympathy says, "I understand what you're going through, and what you feel is neither strange nor crazy." Sympathy meets two fundamental human needs: the need to be understand and need to have your feeling validated. Every time you understand and affirm someone's feelings, you build fellowship. The problem is that we are often in so much of a hurry to fix things that we don't have much time to sympathize with people. p141
You can't have fellowship without forgiveness. God warns, "Never hold grudge," because bitterness and resentment always destroy fellowship. Because we're imperfect sinful people, we inevitably hurt each other when we're together for a long enough time. Sometimes we hurt each other intentionally and sometimes unintentionally, but either way, it takes massive amounts of mercy and grace to create and maintain fellowship. The Bible says, "You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgive the person, so you must forgive others." p142
The Bible tells us to "speak the truth in love." because we can't have community without candor. Solomon said, "An honest answer is a sign of true friendship." p146
Frankness is not a license to say anything you want, wherever and whenever you want. It is not rudeness. The Bible tells us there is a right time and right way to do everything. p147
Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Humility is thinking more of others. Humble people are so focused on serving others, they don't think of themselves. p148
Courtesy is respecting our differences, being considerate of each other's feelings, being patient with people who irritate us. The Bible says, "We must bear the 'burden' of being considerate of the doubts and fears of others. God's people should be bighearted and courteous." p149
If you are a member of a small group or class, I urge you to make a group covenant that includes the characteristics biblical fellowship: We will share our true feelings (authenticity), encourage each other (mutuality), support each other (sympathy), forgive each other (mercy), speak the truth in love (honesty), admit our weakness (humility), respect our differences (courtesy), not gossip (confidentiality), and make a group a priority (frequency). p151
"To worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do" and "You are only hurting yourself with your anger." p155
Sympathy with their feelings. Use your ears more than you mouth. Before attempting to solve any disagreement, you must first listen to people's feeling. Focus on their feelings, not the fact. Begin with sympathy, not solutions. Don't try to talk people out of how they feel at first. Just listen and let them unload emotionally without being defensive. p155
Bible says, “A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense." Patience comes from wisdom, and wisdom comes from hearing the perspective of others. p156
Every time you forget that character is one of God's purposes for your life, you will become frustrated by your circumstances. You'll wonder, "Why is this happening to me? Why am I having such a difficult time?" One answer is that life is supposed to be difficult! It's what enable us to grow. Remember, earth is not heaven! p173
Many people assume all that is needed for spiritual growth is Bible study and prayer. But some issues in life will never be changed by Bible study or prayer alone. God uses people. He usually prefers to work through people rather than perform miracle, so that we will depend on each other for fellowship. He wants to grow together. p176
You must be around other people and interact with them. You need to be a part of a church and community. Why? Because true spiritual maturity is all about learning to love like Jesus, and you can't practice being like Jesus without being in relationship with other people. Remember, it's all about love - loving God and loving others. p176
To change your life, you must change the way you think. Behind everything you do is a thought. Every behavior is motivated by a belief, and every action is prompted by an attitude. God reveled these thousands of years before psychologists understood it; "Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts." p181
The Bible says, "Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." Your first step in spiritual growth is to start changing the way you think. Change always start first in your mind. The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel influences the way you act. p182
Christianity is not a religion or a philosophy, but a relationship and a lifestyle. The core of that lifestyle is thinking of others, as Jesus did, Instead of ourselves. The Bible says, "We should think of their good and try to help them by doing what pleases them. Even Christ did not try to please himself." p183
Meditation is focused on thinking. It takes serious effort. You select a verse and reflect on it over and over in your mind. If you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate. Worry is focused thinking on something negative. Meditation is doing something, only focusing on God's Word instead of your problem. p190
Without implementation, all our Bible study is worthless. Jesus says, "Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man built his house on the rock." Jesus also pointed out that God's blessing comes from obeying the truth, not just knowing it. He said, "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." p191
The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge but to change our lives. p192
Don't give in to short-term thinking. Stay focused on the end result: "If we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later." p198
Refuse to give up. Be patient and persistent. The Bible says, "Let the process go on until your endurance is fully developed, and you will find that you have become men of mature character. with no weak spots. p199
If you are facing trouble right now, don't ask, "Why me?" Instead ask, "What do you want me to learn?" Then trust God and keep on doing what's right. "You need to stick it out, staying with God's plan so you'll be there for the promised completion." Don't give up - grow up! p199
For instance, God teaches us love by putting someone unlovely people around us. It takes no character to love people who are lovely and loving to you. God teaches us real joy in the midst of sorrow, when we turn to him. Happiness depends on external circumstances, but joy is based on your relationship to God. p202
Ignoring a temptation is far more effective than fighting it. Once your mind is on something else, the temptation loses its power. So, when temptation calls you on the phone, don't argue with it, just hang up! Do whatever is necessary to turn your attention to something else. To reduce temptation, keep your mind occupied with God's Word and other good thoughts. You defeat bad thoughts by thinking of something better. This is the principle of replacement. p211
You are only as sick as your secrets. So, take off your mask, stop pretending you're perfect, and walk into freedom. p213
The truth is, whatever you can't talk about is already out of control in your life: problems with your finances, marriage, kids, thoughts, sexuality, secret habits, or anything else. If you could handle it on your own, you would have already done so. But you can't. Willpower and personal resolutions aren’t enough. Some problem is too ingrained, too habitual, and too big to solve on your own. You need a small group or an accountability partner who will encourage you, support you, pray for you, love you unconditionally, and hold you accountable. The you can do the same for them. p214
If you don't have any Bible verses memorized, you've got no bullets in your gun! I challenge you to memorize one verse a week for the rest of your life. Imagine how much stronger you'll be. p215
We are afraid to humbly face the truth about ourselves. I have already pointed out that the truth will set us free but it often makes us miserable first. The fear what we might discover if we honestly faced our character defects keeps us living in the prison of denial. Only as God is allowed to shine the light of his truth on our faults, failures, and hang-ups can we begin to work on them. This is why you cannot grow without a humble, teachable attitude. p220
People often build their identity around their defects. We say, "It's just like me to be." and "It's just the way I am." The unconscious worry is that if I let go my habit, my hurt, or my hang-up, who will I be? This fear can definitely slow down your growth. p221
Habits take time to develop. Remember that your character is the sum total of your habits. p221
Have you ever wondered why God doesn't just immediately take us to heaven the moment we accept his grace? Why does he leave us in a fallen world? He leaves us her to fulfill his purposes. p229
We have all heard people says, "I took a job I hate in order to make a lot of money, so someday I can quit and do what I love to do." That's a big mistake. Don't waste your life in a job that doesn't express your heart. Remember, the greatest things in life are not things. Meaning is far more important than money. The richest man in the world once said, "A simple life in the fear-of God is better than a rich life with a ton of headaches." p239
You have dozens of hidden abilities and gifts you don't know you've got because you've never tried them out. So, I encourage you to try doing some things you've never done before. No matter how old you are, I urge you to never stop experimenting. You never know what you're good at until you try. When it doesn't work out, call it an "experiment", not a failure. You will eventually learn what you're good at. p251
Consider your heart and your personality. Ask yourself questions: What do I really enjoy doing most? When do I feel most fully alive? What am I doing when I lose track of time? Do I like routine or variety? Do I prefer serving with a team or by myself? Am I more introverted or extroverted? Am I more thinker or a feeler? Which do I more competing or cooperating? p251
If my life is fruitless, it doesn’t matter who praises me, and if my life is fruitful, it doesn't matter who criticizes me. p254
The Bible says, "If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done." God expects you to do what you can, with what you have, wherever you are. Less-than-perfect service is always better than best intention. p260
You may have heard it said, "If it can't be done with excellence, don't do it." Well, Jesus never said that! The truth is, almost everything we do is done poorly when we first start doing it - that's how we learn. p260
Great opportunities often disguise themselves in small tasks. The little things in life determine the big thing. Don't look for great task to do for God. Just do the not so great stuff, and God will assign you whatever he wants you to do. But before attempting the extraordinary, try serving in ordinary ways. p261
To become a real servant, you are going to have to settle the issue of money in your life. Jesus said, "No servant can serve two matters... You cannot server both God and Money." He didn't say, "You should not," but "You cannot." It is impossible. Living for ministry and living for money are mutually exclusive goals. Which one will you choose? If you're a servant of God, you can't moonlight for yourself. All your times belongs to God. He insists on exclusive allegiance, not part time faithfulness. p267
When Jesus is your Master, money serves you, but if money is your master, you become its slave. Wealth is certainly not a sin, but failing to use it for God's glory is. Servants of God are always more concerned about ministry than money. p267
This is why God wants to use your weaknesses, not just your strengths. If all people see are your strengths, they get discouraged and think, "Well, good for her, but I'll never be able to do that." But when they see God using you in spite of your weaknesses, it encourages them to think, "Maybe God can use me!" Our strengths create competition, but our weaknesses create community. p277
Your mission gives your life meaning. "The best use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it." The truth is, only the kingdom of God is going to last. Everything else will eventually vanish. That is why we must live purpose driven life - live committed to worship, fellowship, spiritual growth, ministry, and fulfilling our mission on earth. The results of these activities will last - forever! p285
The great barriers are no longer distance, cost, or transportation. The only barriers are the way we think. p299
So much of what we waste our energy on will not matter even a year from now, much less for eternity. Don't trade your life for temporary things. p302
Proverbs says, "An intelligent person aims at wise action but a fool starts off in many directions." p313
What will be the character of my life? What kind of person will you be? God is far more interested in what you are than what you do. Remember, you will take your character into eternity, but not your career. Make a list of the character qualities you want to work on and develop in your life. p314
You may wonder, "What about God's will for my job or marriage or where I'm supposed to live or go to school?" Honestly, these are secondary issues in your life, and there may be multiple possibilities that would all be in God's eternal purposes regardless of where you live or work or whom you marry. Those decisions should support your purposes. The Bible says, "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." Focus on God's purposes for your life, not your plans, since that's what will last forever. p317
The Purpose Driven Life★★★★★(Warren Rick, Zondervan, 2007.02.02) Jul 28, 2021
Zack's Comment
Actually, I cannot leave any comment on this review. It's because my comment must be nothing much rather than above says.
In order to figure out the purpose of my life, I'm going to keeping to check my life from time to time compared to someone's word. That doesn't mean I'm ready to enter his world. However, I hope someday I will realize what purpose of life in his way for last forever.
It's NOT related to being a man of religion for the specific religion that it's like I must believe God for everything going well in real life. It is just really inspired me as below comment about Christianity.
Christianity is not a religion or a philosophy, but a relationship and a lifestyle. The core of that lifestyle is thinking of others, as Jesus did, Instead of ourselves.
Very short comment but leaving a long impression!
That's reason why we have to find and read a good book for the entire our life.
