January 2026 – Finding Your Purpose

Dear Friend in Christ:

I cried a little bit the other night …tears of gratitude and joy. Our daughter, Victoria Grace, received her Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Wake Forest University. This was the next major step in what has been a 14-year odyssey for her, and we praise the Lord for this milestone. Her work takes her into schools where she counsels children who have experienced developmental challenges or traumas in their young lives. This has been a theme in her life for many years; she loves the children she works with, and they love her. She is living in God’s purpose … what a blessing!

As we enter into the New Year, I want to share a little about walking in God’s purpose for our lives. This is the time of year when many of us pause and hit the “reset button” for our focus, relationships, schedules, activities, diets, exercise, and new ideas.  We give ourselves to extended prayer and fasting, Scripture reading, and seeking the Lord for His presence, power, and purpose.

GOD’S JOY 

There is great joy in discovering God’s purpose and walking in it. In those times when you can say, “This is what I was born to do; this is why I am here.” Even better is when you hear the Father say to you, “Well done!”

Many of you know I’m a major film buff and have always been fascinated by the history of cinema. One of my favorite movies of all-time is “Chariots of Fire,” the 1982 Academy Award winner for best film. It’s based on the true story of two Olympic gold medal runners, Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams. There is a great line where Liddell says to his sister, “God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure!”

Sitting in a darkened theater in late 1981 as a young man who had just entered college, that line struck me like lightning. Earlier in that year, I had graduated high school and had accepted God’s calling for me in ministry. I thought, “What is it that I can do that would let me feel God’s joy?”

Jesus, Son of God, knew the Father’s joy. It was and is His life purpose:

“He Who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him” (John 6:29).

Jesus was laser-focused on His life purpose: to always do those things which pleased the Father. The key to doing Father’s will is walking in constant awareness of Father’s presence. God doesn’t simply give us purpose–He is our purpose.

King David, who sometimes wrote prophetically about Jesus, said this:

“I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:7-11).

“In Your presence is fullness of joy.” We must never allow ourselves to think that God’s purpose is in any way separate from God’s presence. His presence goes before us, beside us, and behind us to guide and strengthen us; to empower us for His purpose. When that reality finally dawns upon our consciousness, something happens in our hearts. Hope and strength are renewed. We are lifted out of our valleys on the wind of the Holy Spirit and we soar into places that our own feet could never take us alone.

God’s presence is not only around us, but by His Holy Spirit, He lives within us.  Amazing! The One Who holds all of the cosmos in the palm of His hand lives within our hearts through His miraculous grace in Christ Jesus.

GOD’S WILL

The key for doing God’s will isn’t more or better New Year resolutions; it is dwelling in His presence, even as His presence dwells in you! (NOTE: “Dwelling” is not the same as weekly visiting.) The apostle Paul says this in his letter to the Christ followers in Rome: “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).

We read this simple, but powerful truth in Nehemiah 8:10 also: “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” How does that work? The whole glorious truth is beyond our human comprehension, but when I begin to realize that my sins are forgiven in Christ, I am restored to right relationship with the Lord, He reveals His purpose to me, and He fills me with His joy and strength. Whenever I stumble or fall, I can call on the name of Jesus, repent, and experience His restoration afresh.

Walking with the Lord in His will brings joy to both Him and to us. He gives us His joy out of the overflow of His heart. This is when we are living life to the fullest. It’s like a runner who breaks the tape at the finish line or a mountain climber who summits a tall peak. There has never been any daylight between the will of the Father and the will of Jesus, Who is our model when it comes to walking with the Father and being a light to others.

“And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  

For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day’” (John 6:35-40).

Here is Jesus being crystal clear on His purpose: “to do the will of Him Who sent Me.” Jesus was sent. I’m reminded of the praise song, “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High,” which says:

You came from heaven to earth
To show the way
From the earth to the cross
My debt to pay
From the cross to the grave
From the grave to the sky
Lord, I lift Your name on high– Rick Doyle Founds (1989)

Jesus completed His mission on earth and gave it to us. He filled us with the Holy Spirit and said, “You will be My witnesses” (see Acts 1). Jesus, the Sent One, now sends us into His mission (Missio Dei). We are part of His Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Wherever we go, whatever we do, whomever we are with, at all times, we are to be on mission. Our dear late friend Gary Henley said, “Many churches talk about missions, but in reality, there is only one mission, and God gave it to all of us.”

MISSIONAL

We are sent ambassadors of Christ’s Kingdom, rather than any one nation or political movement. Jesus said, “My Kingdom is not of this world” (see John 18:36). I love the teaching of author and seminary professor Alan Hirsh, founder of Forge Mission Training Network. He wrote:

A proper understanding of missional begins with recovering a missionary understanding of God. By His very nature God is a “sent one” who takes the initiative to redeem His creation. This doctrine, known as Missio Dei—the sending of God—is causing many to redefine their understanding of the church. Because we are the “sent” people of God, the church is the instrument of God’s mission in the world. As things stand, many people see it the other way around. They believe mission is an instrument of the church; a means by which the church is grown. Although we frequently say “the church has a mission,” according to missional theology a more correct statement would be “the mission has a church.”

Many churches have mission statements or talk about the importance of mission, but where truly missional churches differ is in their posture toward the world. A missional community sees the mission as both its originating impulse and its organizing principle. A missional community is patterned after what God has done in Jesus Christ. In the incarnation God sent his Son. Similarly, to be missional means to be sent into the world; we do not expect people to come to us. This posture differentiates a missional church from an attractional church. (Christianity Today Leadership Journal, Fall 2008)

Therefore, we live in this world, but not of this world (see John 17:14-16; Romans 12:2; James 4:4). We can be ambassadors for Jesus on Wall Street, Main Street, schools, factories, grocery stores, sweeping streets, or even at our churches … many church folks need Jesus, am I right?

COVENANT AND KINGDOM

Since 1969, CSM Publishing has emphasized our covenant relationship with God in Christ and with one another, as well as the Gospel of the kingdom of God. In 1986–40 years ago–we began publishing a seven-volume Bible study curriculum with a total of 126 lessons entitled, “The Covenant and the Kingdom.” Eventually, these seven volumes were combined into one book and published worldwide in many languages and taught in many schools and churches.

We are now developing an app for phones, tablets, and computers. We hope to have it available in 22 languages. The work is intense and the costs to develop it–while continuing on with our other ministry projects and resources–are high. Given our health battles and financial stresses as a ministry in 2025, it may not seem to make sense for us to be stepping out into such a major project.  But the writer of Hebrews reminds us:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:1-3).

Would you prayerfully consider supporting us now, and throughout 2026, as we carry out this and other steps of faith? And, please share any prayer requests you have with us HERE. We love you and pray you will have a very blessed and happy New Year!

In Jesus,

Stephen Simpson
President

 

Visit us on our Socials: