Purpose Driven Life: Chapter 38-Becoming A World Class Christian; Day923; Stress Echo Test

Jesus said to his followers, "Go everywhere in the world, and tell the Good News to everyone." Mark 16:15
Send us around the world with the news of your saving power and your eternal plan for all mankind. Psalm 67:2

Book-The Purpose Driven Life  38 
Author: Rick Warren
Chapters: 40

The Great Commission is your commission.
You have a choice to make. You will be either a world-class Christian or a worldly Christian.
Worldly Christians look to God primarily for personal fulfillment. They are saved, but self-centered. They love to attend concerts and enrichment seminars, but you would never find them at a missions conference because they aren’t interested. Their prayers focus on their own needs, blessings, and happiness. It’s a "me-first" faith: How can God make my life more comfortable? They want to use God for their purposes instead of being used for his purposes.
In contrast, world-class Christians know they were saved to serve and made for a mission. They are eager to receive a personal assignment and excited about the privilege of being used by God. World-class Christians are the only fully alive people on the planet. Their joy, confidence, and enthusiasm are contagious because they know they’re making a difference. They wake up each morning expecting God to work through them in fresh ways. Which type of Christian do you want to be?
God invites you to participate in the greatest, largest, most diverse, and most significant cause in history-his kingdom. History is his story. He’s building his family for eternity. Nothing matters more, and nothing will last as long. From the book of Revelation we know that God’s global mission will be accomplished. Someday the Great Commission will be the Great Completion. In heaven an enormous crowd of people from "every race, tribe, nation, and language" will one day stand before Jesus Christ to worship him. Getting involved as a world-class Christian will allow
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NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS
Worldly Christian
-look to God primarily for personal fulfillment
-they are saved, but self centered
-they loved to attend concerts and seminars but dislike mission conference
-their prayers focused on their own needs
-it’s “me first”

World Class Christian
-they know they are saved and made for missions
-eager to receive personal assignment
-they have joy, confidence and enthusiasm
-always expecting to work for God every morning

HOW TO THINK LIKE A WORLD-CLASS CHRISTIAN
1. Shift from self-centered thinking to other-centered thinking.
2. Shift from local thinking to global thinking.
3. Shift from "here and now" thinking to eternal thinking.
4. Shift from thinking of excuses to thinking of creative ways to fulfill your commission.

Some Excuses:
• "I only speak English." This is actually an advantage in many countries where millions of people want to learn English and are eager to practice it.
• "I don’t have anything to offer’ Yes, you do. Every ability and experience in your shape can be used somewhere.
• "I’m too old (or too young).’ Most mission agencies have age-appropriate short term projects.
* "Don’t say that,’ the LORD replied, for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and take care of you.’"

* "My friends, stop thinking like children. Think like mature people."
* "Don’t think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too."
* The only way we can make this paradigm switch is by a moment-by-moment dependence on God. Fortunately he doesn’t leave us to struggle on our own. "God has given us his Spirit. That’s why we don’t think the same way that the people of this world think."
* Your goal is to figure out where others are in their spiritual journey and then do whatever will bring them a step closer to knowing Christ.
* "I don’t think about what would be good for me but about what would be
good for many people so that they might be saved.’
* "God so loved the world…."’ From the beginning he has wanted family members from every nation he created. The Bible says, "From one person God made all nations who live on earth, and he decided when and where every nation would be. God has done all this, so that we will look for him and reach out and find him."
* Prayer is the most important tool for your mission in the world. People may refuse our love or reject our message, but they are defenseless against our prayers. Like an intercontinental missile, you can aim a prayer at a person’s heart whether you are ten feet or 10,000 miles away.
* Quit studying and discussing your mission and just do it! I dare you to dive into the deep end. In Acts 1:8 Jesus gave us a pattern for involvement: "You will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world."
* "We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. "
* What are you allowing to stand in the way of your mission? What’s keeping you from being a world-class Christian? Whatever it is, let it go. "Let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back."
* `By doing this they will be storing up real treasure for themselves in heaven-it is the only safe investment for eternity! And they will be living a fruitful Christian life down here as well."
* If you want to be like Jesus, you must have a heart for the whole world. You can’t be satisfied with just your family and friends coming to Christ. There are over 6 billion people on earth, and Jesus wants all his lost children found. Jesus said, "Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live!" The Great Commission is your commission, and doing your part is the secret to living a life of significance.

DAY THIRTY-EIGHT THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE
Point to Ponder: The Great Commission is my commission.
Verse to Remember: "Send us around the world with the news of your saving power and your eternal plan for all mankind." Psalm 67:2 (LB)
Question to Consider: What steps can I take to prepare to go on a short-term missions experience in the next year?

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PLAN:
Work-5 hours
Workout-1Mile Run
Stress Echo Test

READING LIST:
The Purpose Driven Life, p193

TIMELINE:
0500, End of Sleep 
1300, End of work
1500, Stress Echo Test

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My Stress Echo-20130110,
Day923 since Stent#2
Day1480 since Stent#1 [my heart attack in December 22, 2008 at age 42]
Stress Echo Information

1. Fill out paperwork
2. Pay $104.00 co-pay [total cost is > $1000.00]
3. Remove shirt
4. Nurse connects EKG connectors to the chest area
5. Lie down in the exam bed
6. Nurse takes snapshot of he heart while lying in you left side [these are the pre-test pictures]
7. Nurse give instructions on how to execute the treadmill test
8. Treadmill test starts, every 3 minutes, the treadmill incline is raised.
9. Test was stop at 12minute mark.  My heart rate reached to 140 but I still have a lot of energy left.
10. Nurse stopped the test because she figured out that I was not getting tired and no chest pain.
11. Nurse took pictures again with the same position as the pre test.  This time it was a little harder because I have to hold my breath for 2 seconds so that she can take a clear snapshot of my heart at stress state.

I’m not having any bad heart symptoms lately and it’s been 923 days since my stent#2 in July 2,2010.  I had been very active in 2012 in cycling and swimming and all my activities were back to normal times.  There is no chest pains, there is no shortness of breath and if you ask me how’s my health, I will probably tell you that this is yet the best time in my life.  I don’t trust my physical health anymore.  I think the body lies sometimes.  I had been very active since I can remember all my life.  I’ve always been a healthy person doing a good amount of exercise regularly and eating the right food and zero vices.  In short, I will be the last person to be picked in a line up of sick people. My current workout is a 40mile bike ride every week and non-stop.  On every other day, I swim a mile for 35 minutes at moderate intensity with no rest.  I also added a 25 yard subsurface swim with just one breath as part of my warm up exercise before my swim workout.  Yes, I can do all that besides the fact that I am a member of an elite group called “cardiac patient”, a person with a heart condition or disease or has been in a heart attack.

In 2008 when I had my first ever event that changes the direction of my whole life, I never felt sadness or grief or being depressed.  I was worried at times but as I recover every day, I found out that being a cardiac patient is a plus – meaning it is an advantage.  I know how it feels now to die or to be close to death.  I know now how it feels to be leaving this world.  I now have a first hand experience of what it’s like to be in a cardiac arrest [or almost].

I am not here to brag about what I’ve been through and how I made it to the other side of recovery and still be able to continue living a full life.  I have only one message to you [my readers].  Do some some regular exercise.  Choose a cardio workout and do it regularly.  My cardiologist told me that the reason why I survived in 2008 – its because my collateral arteries were opened.  Read more about collateral arteries so that you will be encouraged to do a cardio exercise.  Not everyone likes to bike or swim or run.  Pick an exercise that can raise your heart rate a little bit and then do it repeatedly – in all your life.

What my myocardial infarction did to me?
1. It made me aware that life is really short and fragile.
2. It made me aware that I am not in full control of my life.
3. It gave me more meaning of life. 
4. I see things differently now.
5. It forces me to share my life to others. [ie. this journal]
6. It encourages me to share something everyday because I know that I might not be back tomorrow to write it.
7. It strengthens my faith and dependence to Christ alone and no one else.