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What’s on Your Bucket List?

Bucket list:  A list of things to do before you die. Comes from the term “kicked the bucket”.             Urban Dictionary

My bucket list might include things like…

  1. Vacationing to exotic places
  2. Spending extended time with grandchildren
  3. Doing nothing…having no responsibilities
  4. Changing the world…helping to bring world peace

It is kinda fun (in a strange way) to dream about what I would like to accomplish before my time on earth is done. Do I want to make a difference in the world or do I just want to enjoy my life? Or maybe I want to do both??

I have been studying the gospel of Luke. I was struck by the story of Simeon. We know little about him, but except his bucket list…or at least the bucket list that God had gave him. We need to look at Luke 2 to explain this… 

And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

“Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, according to Your word;

For my eyes have seen Your salvation,

Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES,

And the glory of Your people Israel.”

Luke 2:25-32

It would seem that Simeon’s Bucket List had only one item on it.

  1. See the Lord’s Christ

Simeon eagerly waiting for the Lord’s Christ to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit had let Simeon know that he would see the promised Messiah that would bring salvation. Yet he waited. When he saw the baby Jesus, Simeon was ready to die. He knew his bucket list was complete.

What is on your bucket list?

What would it take for you to say to God…”release me to depart in peace“?

Essential…Joy

 

You feel the call of God on your life…you realize He has a plan and purpose for you. It scares you, even overwhelms you as you think how you can live out God’s will. How do you move from the place of discovery to the place of fruitful active ministry…a ministry that brings glory to God?

It is a question we all have…”How do we live out our calling…”

ESSENTIALS (noun)

1. something basic; the essentials of astronomy

2. something necessary, indespensable, or unavoidable

Merriam and Webster Dictionary

What is essential…what is basic to living out God’s calling on your life? 

Faith…we have no Christian walk apart from believing Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the living God.

Again, what is essential, something necesary, indispensable to living out our calling in a way that honors God?

Joyful Faith

How would you describe your faith…strong, sincere…joyful? Would you ever think to say that I am so JOYFUL in terms of living out your faith?? Yet it is critical that we live our life of faith with joy. Often—too often we get weighed down with the difficulties we encounter..there is NO JOY—just the quick prayer, “Lord, help me survive this.

But what really keeps us from experiencing joyful faith…a joyful life? It is not circumstances or people—it is how we respond to them—ultimately it is where we put our focus—the negative in this world can consume us.
What steps do we need to take to move from weighed-down, grumpy, burdened faith to peace, hope, joyful faith??

  1. Don’t seek joy. Instead seek to love God more and to deepen your relationship with Him. Joy will come as a result of the relationship. Joy is found…when we embrace the goodness of God, have peace with God, through faith in Jesus, and when we are led by the Holy Spirit.
  2. Joy is not about you—what you want or getting your way. Joy is always about God, accepting His plan and purpose for you.
  3. Joy comes out of grace. The grace we need- because of our own sinfulness…The grace we receive- the peace of forgiveness…the grace we give-mercy and kindness to others. We lose our joy when we forget grace.

“You can tell a person’s relationship to God not by their theology, but by their kindness and their joy.”