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God created you as a unique masterpiece because he has a specific purpose for your life—a specific and unique contribution that only you can make. Consider Journeying with Someone During my research for this book, I was reminded of the value of friendships. Over 90 percent of the people I interviewed pointed to some one — not just some principle — who played a vital role in helping them find and fulfill their specific purpose in life. I actually use a whole team of people to help keep me accountable to what God is calling me to do on his behalf. If someone comes to mind whom you could invite to begin this lifechanging journey with you, give them a call. God wants you to truly understand and accept who he has made you to be. He longs for you to experience the release that comes with simply living as the person he created you to be. Uncovering Your S.H.A.P.E. Request help from others. What two sources of wisdom can you seek help from to discover your spiritual gifts? Passion is the fuel of life. It is the great source of energy and drive. It’s what makes us explore new vistas, develop new relationships, and seek solutions to perplexing problems. Bob Buford, Halftime
In fact, your Kingdom Purpose is very much a reflection of your faithfulness to God. The Bible defines faith as the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen (see Hebrews 11:1). The more time we spend with God, the more we learn of his goodness and faithfulness—and the stronger our faith in him becomes. We learn from God’s Word that it is impossible to please God without faith (see Hebrews 11:6). He made you marvelously unique for a reason. In this eye-opening, empowering, and liberating book, Rees shows you how to uncover God's most powerful and effective means of advancing his kingdom on earth: your own irreplaceable, richly detailed personal design. gives you are neither for you nor about you. They weren’t given to boost your self-image or to serve as some kind of special reward from God. They were not given to raise you up to some level of worldly greatness or success. They are yours for the express purpose of blessing the body of Christ — the church. That is why you need to be part of a church family. Discovering your spiritual gifts is not the ultimate goal — using them to bless others is. The Bible says, For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago (Ephesians 2:10, NLT).
New Arrivals
Are eager to be known as ambassadors for Christ in the world. • Willingly work hard to see churches reach their full potential for God. h Yes h Maybe h No Discernment: The God-given special ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by recognizing truth or error within a message, person, or event. People with this gift . . . • Find it easy to “read” others, and are most often right. • Recognize the spiritual source of a message — whether it is from God, Satan, or man. • Recognize inconsistencies in others. • Easily identify people’s true motives and agendas. • Perceive when the truth is twisted or communicated with error. h Yes h Maybe h No Encouragement: The God-given special ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by helping others live God-centered lives through inspiration, encouragement, counseling, and empowerment. People with this gift . . . • Are driven to inspire others and impact their lives positively for Christ. • Rejoice with those whose reliance on Christ has helped them overcome difficult life situations. • Seek out opportunities to help others reach their full potential in Christ. • Are natural encouragers, whether in words or through actions. • Rejoice at others’ success. h Yes h Maybe h No Evangelism: The God-given special ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by sharing the love of Christ with others in a way that draws them to respond by accepting God’s free gift of eternal life. People with this gift . . . 39 Another translation of Ephesians 2:10 uses the word workmanship to describe our uniqueness. It’s from the Greek word poiema, which literally means work of art, and is the root of our English word poem. You are a work of God—and nothing but the highest and best comes from his hand. Like the artist who takes scrap metal and turns it into an amazing sculpture, God takes our lives and fashions them into a masterpiece. One of a Kind
Our leader is a Servant. But we can be slow to follow. Erik Rees has written the servant’s manual and it’s accessible, illuminating, applicable, and inspiring.” John Ortberg Teaching Pastor Menlo Park (California) Presbyterian Church Experiences: Those parts of your past, both positive and painful, which God intends to use in great ways. Or consider what Max Lucado says about uniqueness in his book, Cure for the Common Life: Da Vinci painted one Mona Lisa, Beethoven created one Fifth Symphony, and God made one version of you. You’re it! You’re the only you there is. And if we don’t get you, we don’t get you. You’re the only shot we have at you. You can do something no one else can do in a fashion no one else can do it. You are more than a coincidence of chromosomes and heredity, more than just an assemblage of somebody else’s lineage. You are uniquely made. . . . But can you be anything you want to be? If you are uniquely made — now stop and think about this — if you’re uniquely made, can you really be anything you want to be? If you don’t have the sense that takes care of numbers, can you be an accountant? If you don’t have a love for the dirt, can you be a farmer? If you don’t have an appreciation and a devotion to kids, can you really be a teacher? Well, you can be an unhappy one, an unsatisfied one. You can be one of the 87 percent of the workforce that doesn’t like their work — one of the 80 percent of the people that says “I don’t use my talents on a daily basis.” You can be a statistic. My main problems with this book are that, while his intentions are noble, the author bases some assumptions and teaches some ideas from questionable sources. Quite frequently, Rees quotes from The Message paraphrase and the New Living Translation of the Bible. These versions often misinterpret or distort the meaning of Scripture. He also quotes passages out of context, making it sound like they are saying something they do not (e.g.--Romans 12:6a, as used on pp. 67 & 69). He quotes from Wilferd Peterson, a proponent of "New Thought," a belief system that purports that we are all part of a "universal mind" and that humans have the potential of becoming one with the impersonal life force at work in the cosmos (p. 81). In chapter 5, he talks about personality theories that originated in ancient astrology.gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues (1 Corinthi ans 12:28). It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11). Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms (1 Peter 4:9 – 10). The book you hold in your hand is designed to take you through a proven process, guided by the Holy Spirit, to discover who God created you uniquely to be—so you can start finding and fulfilling God’s specific purpose for your life. S.H.A.P.E. is a truly great book. Its one of those books you can tell was written by a true expert who has put his ideas into practice for years. His principles are tried, true, and they work - for everyone. I would highly recommend this book's material but I really think it would be better to go through this by using the group material they have with a group of friends. Here's why... Tap into the secrets of what makes you who you are--passions, talents, experiences, temperament, and spiritual gifts--and you'll discover the path to a life of unimagined purpose, impact, and fulfillment.
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