Are You Successful?

Success is how we are measured or viewed by ourselves and others. It’s defined as “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.” So, how do you measure your success? Not how others measure whether you are successful, but how do you decide if you are successful? I have come to believe that there are only three measurements to determine if you are successful: • Understanding your creation / being • AND Understanding why you were created / for what purpose • AND Accepting the gift of salvation enabling you to spend eternity in heaven Oh, I am not a professional minister, priest, pastor or whatever else you call a leader of a church. I am just an everyday, ordinary person who follows Jesus and wants to share my “faith”—why I believe that I am successful. I pray that when you get through reading this, you too have chosen to be successful. So, the question is not how successful you are, but are you successful? It is simply a yes or no. This method of measuring success takes out all the comparison of the level of our success to others. Also, this takes out the jealousy that robs peace and joy from our life’s experiences. Our CreationI have “faith” that you and I were created by the Creator of all creation—GOD THE FATHER. Yes, you are created by the One that never made a mistake in anything He created. So, if He never made a mistake in anything that He created, then you and I are not mistakes. That is right, we are NOT mistakes and we should NEVER let anyone try to convince us otherwise. I had the opportunity to share this belief with youth in a juvenile detention center. Many of them had been told multiple times by their parents and others that they were mistakes and would never amount to anything and should never have been born. How would you like to live your life believing that?? I cannot tell you how many times I witnessed tears dripping off the cheeks of those young people when they were finally told they were NOT a mistake. I really believe many were in jail because they were believing or living a self-fulfilling prophecy. I also shared that the Creator of all creation, God, used an imperfect male and imperfect female (whom He also created) to help create us as another imperfect human being. Yes, we are not perfect but NOT a mistake. Some of these young people mentioned before had a bad or terrible relationship with their parents. So, when they accepted that they were not perfect but were not a mistake, it was truly an amazing moment. One I believe they will never forget! If by “faith” we do not believe the Creator of all creation created us and that we are NOT a mistake, then the rest of this discussion, nor the rest of our lives, will make any sense at all!! Why were we created? What is our purpose?If by “faith” we believe that we were created by the Creator of all creation and that He never made a mistake (so therefore we are not a mistake), we must ask the question, WHY? So, why were you and I created? The answer to why must be about us, right? I mean, if this amazing God felt like we were worth creating, our life’s purpose must be about us, right? It is all about our happiness, our pleasures, our desires, our, our, our, our, right?? It took me years to figure out the answer to this question is NO. The Creator of all creation’s PURPOSE for creating me was NOT about me, but about HIM—to bring glory to HIM! I can tell you from experience, the sooner you figure this out, the sooner your life will make sense. Until then, you are trying to fulfill a purpose that can never be fulfilled. For the longest time I believed that people in the profession of ministry were the only ones that God intended to share His message of hope, peace, love, and salvation. Finally, I figured that my understanding was not correct, and that God intended—actually commanded—that all His people are responsible. Whatever profession we choose, whatever hobbies we have, wherever we choose to live, we are responsible for sharing the good news. If by “faith” we do not believe the Creator of all creation created us and that we are NOT a mistake, AND that He created us for HIM, then the rest of this discussion nor the rest of our lives will make any sense at all!! EternityIf by “faith” we truly believe that we were created by the Creator of all creation and that He never made a mistake (so therefore we are not a mistake) and we believe it is NOT about us as to why we were created, then how does eternity fit into this discussion? Do we really get to choose where we exist after our time is no longer here on this earth? Well by “faith” I do believe this to be true. I believe our eternity will be in one of two infinite places: Heaven, or Hell. I am sure by now you have noticed I have based my belief on “faith” (“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” Hebrews 11:1). Faith is a choice—a personal decision. The foundation of my faith comes from the Bible. No, I have not personally seen God the Father, nor God the Son. But yes, they are who I place my faith in. Hmm, so why place my faith in someone I have not seen? Growing up my parents took me to church, and I heard, read, and was taught what the Bible said. So, yes, I had that foundation that I realize many do not. But I still personally had to make the decision to have faith to accept what the Bible said. I couldn’t just claim my parents’ faith. So, I chose personally to believe by “faith” that: God the Father was the creator of all creation including me. He became flesh by the birth of a virgin and He (God the Son, Jesus Christ) died on a cross for my sins, but was resurrected on the third day. I made a personal profession of “faith” to believe in my heart and profess with my mouth to make Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior, THE KEY TO MY SUCCESS. I have a peace that truly surpasses all understanding that I will WITHOUT A DOUBT spend eternity in heaven with my God because of my FAITH!! If you would like to have this same peace of spending eternity in Heaven, you can use a simple prayer like this to express your faith to God: Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need YOUR Forgiveness. YOU died for my sins. I now invite YOU to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow YOU as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus name. Amen **If this is the first time you have prayed this prayer, please share your amazing news with another Christian so they can help you in your wonderful new life in Christ. Also, lead others to faith in what Jesus has done so that they too can spend eternity in Heaven. ConclusionI trust by “faith” the moment I made this profession of faith that God the Holy Spirit immediately entered my life to connect me fully, always to HIM. While I may have never personally seen God the Father nor God the Son, I can honestly say that I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit and always depend on Him for guidance, peace, joy, and protection from the challenges of this world that we live in. I am still the imperfect human being that by “faith” was created by God. But I am not a mistake, and neither are you. I live my life daily trying to fulfill the purpose as to why God created me and seek the Holy Spirit to guide, direct, and protect me. I TRULY PRAY THAT YOU ARE (OR WILL BE) ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT WHEN ASKED “ARE YOU SUCCESSFUL?”, YOU CAN CONFIDENTLY ANSWER “YES I AM” FOR THE SAME REASON AS ME.