What is my purpose? Why am I here? How can I make a difference?

Hi all, Jonathan Schweinshaupt here! I just wanted to kind of introduce myself and let you guys know, though I wasn't part of the team that went to Russia, I am praying for you all and hope these blog posts have been able to answer some of your questions.

My topic for today is, Why am I here? What is my purpose in life? and how can I make a difference in the world today?

First of all, I'd like to share from 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body; and in your spirit, which are God's."
The first thing is that we are not our own. I am not my own, WE ARE GOD'S. When Jesus Christ came and died on the cross for our sins, with his blood, he bought us. He saved us from our sins and because of that, we are not our own.

Basically, the bible tells us that we are to glorify God, not only in our body, but also in our spirit. The reason being because when we are saved, the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in our hearts. The Holy Spirit dwells in a temple, and when you are saved, your body becomes a temple of the Holy Ghost. And now because of salvation and Jesus Christ, our body is now a temple - therefore we are to keep it holy.

So why am I here? What is my purpose? And the answer to that is found in verse 20 that I just read. '.. to glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.' THAT is the purpose of our lives on this earth - to bring glory to God!

What can I do to make a difference?
Hebrews 12:1 - "Wherefore, seeing as we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."
Galatians 5:25 - "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."
There are a lot of different ways we can make a difference! For example, we can witness to others, telling them about Jesus Christ. We can set an example by living a godly life. We can give to those in need. There are countless ways to make a difference in the world by the things we do - but I believe the best thing we can do to make a difference in this world is to let others see Jesus Christ in you.
How do we do that? And that is answered in Galatians 5:25. WALK IN THE SPIRIT.

As it says in Hebrews, we have a race to run! It is our life as a Christian. And we run that race by NOT giving in to sin, but by walking in the Spirit. When we begin to live in the Spirit and put off this world, those around us will KNOW that we are a temple of the Holy Spirit - and they will begin to ask you questions.. what makes you so different from those around you? And through the testimony of the way you dress, your music standards, your attitude, the way you live your life; you will be able to make a difference in this world.
When we are living in the Spirit, everything about our life changes! It says in scripture that we 'become a new creature in Christ'. 'Old things are passed away and all things are become new'. When we receive Christ, everything becomes new, and the old things, the sins you used to walk in, you will no longer strive for - because you will be striving to walk in the Spirit. And when that is our desire, then we can truly make a difference in the world.

I hope that I was able to answer some of these questions for you guys, and if there were other questions that you had, I will be happy to answer them if you go ahead and leave a comment on this post.