Before the accident, Mom and some ladies were reading through this book discussing it's content and application. Marty and I read this last year in 2002 with our cell group. I decided Mom and I would finish it together. Here are comments from the first chapter I shared with Mom. I encourage others who want to, to do the same for others to read, and I will read them to Mom also. This book was written in 2002 and made the top ten of best religious books for 2003. Chapter 1 addresses the question of where one should start in discovering your purpose and meaning in life. WHERE YOU START IS CRUCIAL to time and energy spent or wasted, but more importantly, the worldview you will most likely embrace where the consequences of blessings or curses will infect you, others, the culture and creation as a whole. Rick talks about starting with oneself is like handing you an invention and asking you or the invention what it should do. One is better off asking the inventor and/or reading the manual.

When asking "self", the questions tend to be selfish in nature. What do "I" want to be? What should "I" do with my life? Who do "I" want to marry? What can "I" get out of _______. (work, church, a relationship) Where do "I" want to live? Where do "I" want to work? We actually make a religion out of this. It's called humanism and secularism. The premise is there's no God. "Self" becomes the arbitor of truth deciding right and wrong. You make up or speculate what reality is but actually living in unreality. Living in unreality (outside of God's purpose for you, His laws and principles) will always leave a longing within for something more. We sense something is missing and so we speculate what it may be. We continually question our decisions, especially those areas we are being challenged. We seek a change of venue: a new wife, job, area to live and friends. We drift towards those that give affirmation validating our selfish worldview or our version of reality. Living in unreality always focuses on serving ourselves, building our own kingdom and buying into false doctrines.

Frank Perriti in a tape, "God's Way or My Way" does a great job in explaining false doctrines prevelant in our day taught by demons. 1Tim. 4:1, "The Spirit says clearly that some men will abandon the faith in later times; they will obey lying spirits and follow the doctrines of demons". These doctrines only feed the "self" idolatry to avoid having to answer to a personal external God or Authority. There are mainly five doctrines:

1. Truth is relative

Truth is based on opinion. Shows like Donahue, Sally Jesse, etc. thrive on those people who have bought into this lie. One's opinion is just as good as another's where political correctness says we need to agree to just disagree accepting truth to be relative. Nothing is true.....it's true! Nothing is knowable....I'm sure! Nothing matters, because if it did, someone would tell you what is true. This doctrine has no concrete hope and purpose in life....no legacy or heritage to pass on to your kids. One is left to speculate creating your own purpose and meaning in life.

2. God is impersonal

There is no moral value system, consequences or accountabiltiy. No sin basically. Sin is just a tool used to control the masses through guilt. The powers that be are referred to as natural law. Instead of acknowledging the power evident in life, we internalize it being neat to have some of that power. It use to be that if it feels good do it. Now if it feels good, believe in it. Examples of this is new age thinking. "The force is within you, Luke. Believe in the force". The Star Wars movies is full of this doctrine. Crystals that draw psychic energy to oneself giving one power over people, things or circumstances.

3. All is one god

God and the creation are the same. You're God. I'm God. Everything is God. You just forgot you were God! Here, we look to man and God made objects to focus on( i.e. stars, creation, animals) to answer the question of our purpose and meaning in life. I'm awful glad that God and creation are separate because the creation is in such a degradated state that it needs help from the outside to lift us out of it's depair and hopelessness. That's part of salvation! Left to ourselves, we have seen what man(gender inclusive) has done and how God 's creation or the garden has been managed.

4. There is no death

"...you shall not surely die", the serpent said to Eve. This is the whole reincarnation bang. You get recycled! You evolve upward into godhood....be like God. The kissing cousin lie to this is Karma. Satan is saying, "No, you have to work it off"(sin, corruption of the soul) In India, one justifies oneself not to help and serve others because a begger must have all this bad Karma and one doesn't what to hinder one's karmic evolvement. If born a begger, be the best begger you can be than maybe you'll come back as a millionaire. All this just flies in the face of God's grace. He gave us a way out of our predictament. Through Jesus Christ, you can escape the penalty of sin.

5. Cosmic Consciousness

Through drugs, yoga or a transcedental state, you can explore all there is to know from within yourself. Satan said to Eve, "When you eat of the fruit, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God."


It is amazing the bill of goods Satan has been selling through these doctrines and most of us have been buying into it. This is what we have come to when we start with or within oneself to answer the question of purpose and meaning to one's life.

"You were made by God and for God - and until you understand that, life will never make sense". R.W. You will continue to live in unreality with out the protection, provision and love of the Father that can only quench the yearnings of your soul.

Story time:
by David Long (one of my key mentors in life)

"Peanuts, the dog" - One day, a man went down to the pound and took home this dog that was about to be put to sleep. His name was Peanuts. The owner showed him this massive, lush green yard for him to play in and do anything he wanted pretty much. The owner showed and walked with Peanuts several times the boundary of his property. He said to Peanuts, " Do you understand that you need to stay in the yard and here you can have all these milk bones, towels and shoes galore to chew on and play with?" And Peanuts said, "Ruff, ruff, ruff"(yeh , yeh, yeh). The owner unleashed him and off darted Peanuts out of the yard, into the road causing an accident and almost getting hit too. The owner went to retrieve him bringing Peanuts back to the yard reviewing the boundaries. He asked Peanuts again. "Ruff, ruff, ruff". He unleashed him and off he went again this time in the woods where guns were going off being deer season. The owner retrieved him again and went through this process day in and day out until one day the owner realized Peanuts was not going to listen and drove a huge stake in the ground with a ten foot chain.

Pound = our separation from God by sin
Owner = God
Peanuts = Us
Yard = God's reality for us where he wants us planted to grow, purpose and meaning
outside of the yard = unreality or our speculation of purpose and meaning in life
boundaries = God's laws and principles
stake and chain = When we won't embrace God's laws and principles and Son that gives us life, they become a "heavy" as with the ten commandments

If you start with self, sooner or later you will get hit by the car or shot in life while affecting others around you also. Purpose and meaning starts with God. Nothing else makes sense.