The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - What’s On God’s Bucket list For You

Episode Date: November 20, 2020

We all have bucket lists for our lives, but have we ever asked what's on God's bucket list for us? Today, Jeff shares with us God's desires and plans for our lives revealed in Scripture. If we pause to ask God what he has in store for us, we will be surprised by God's marvelous dreams for us. Snippet from the Show If we pause to ask God what he has in store for us, we will be surprised by how God's dreams for us. Email us with comments or questions at [e-mail] Text “jeffcavins” to 33-777 to subscribe and get Jeff’s shownotes delivered straight to your email! Or visit ascensionpress.com/thejeffcavinsshow for full shownotes!

You're listening to the Jeff Kavana show, episode 193. What's on God's bucket list for you? Hey, I'm Jeff Kavans. How do you simplify your life? How do you study the Bible? All the way from motorcycle trips to raising kids, we're going to talk about the faith and life in general. It's the Jeff Kaven show.

Hey, thanks for joining me. another week. And it is an interesting time that we're living in right now to be sure. And all you have to do is go on social media and you'll know that there's a lot of deep conversations going on about the future of our country and how people are dealing with COVID-19. And I do trust that you are in God's word and that you are going deep with the Lord right now and developing that relationship with him and using every opportunity that otherwise you wouldn't have to go deeper with him. I really pray that for you. By the way, if you hear some kind of like a, it sounds like a chainsaw in the background, I think a ways down the shoreline on the lake, there's someone chopping wood

right now. And so if that comes to, you know, you know what it is. Being here deep in the woods, you think you're alone. And then you hear chainsaws or you hear. the gunshots going off because it's deer season. Well, that's part of being in the woods, I guess. So I was praying, which I often do, and I was praying, and I happened to see a piece of paper next to the Lord, and I asked him what it was. It had my name at the top of it. I asked to see it, and he said, you already have it. And I was shocked, and I said, no, no, I don't have it. He said, yes, you do. Look down. And I looked down, and there was my well-worn Bible. I pointed to it, and I said, is this? And he said, bingo. And that opened up for me a whole new understanding of the Word of God and God's will for me.

And I realized that what was on that piece of paper was God's bucket list for me. you imagine that? We're so used to filling out our own bucket list. You know, 100 things that we want to do before we, quote unquote, kick the bucket. That's where it comes from. We want to do certain things before we die, before we kick the bucket. And if you have that bucket list, I encourage you to grab it and settle down here for this show and compare it your bucket list with the bucket list that God has for you. Now, one of the things that I discovered is I, as I was comparing my own bucket list with the bucket list that God had for me, I started to understand that my list was quite different. It was, it was very self-centered. It was materialistic,

and it was, it wasn't eternal. It was quite finite. It was what I wanted to see in this life, and what I wanted to experience in this life. And, well, it was kind of self-centered. I don't know if your bucket list is like that, but I kind of, in the light of Christ, I realized that mine needed some changing, and that I would do well if I would bring his bucket list into my bucket list. And I also realized that there was a hole in my bucket, dear Jeffrey, dear Jeffrey, there's a hole in my bucket. And those things that I thought were so important really don't matter. I'm going to give you 12 things today that are on God's bucket list for you and you can go through them with me and if it fits do it you know wear it put it into practice

and hopefully we can adjust our bucket lists for the life that we have here on earth. Hey, by the way, this is the first time that I'm announcing it, but I love staying in touch with you and now I'm on parlor. I'm on parlor and if you are on parlor, will you friend me? Will you reach out? Let's become friends. continue the dialogue on Parlor, Rumble, and Miwi. I'm finding a lot of wonderful people on there that got there before I got there, and there's some really good dialogue going on. That's Parlor, Rumble, Miwi, I'm just Jeff Kavans. That's my name. I figured I'd go with it, the easiest way to find me. Okay, so let's go through this bucket list. I'm going to give you

12 things that were on the bucket list for me, and maybe they will fit for you. In fact, I know they'll fit for you because they're for all of us, right? So number one, I'm going to read some scriptures to you, and if you're in the car, I will provide all these scriptures for you. In fact, I will even highlight, in bold, the part of the scripture that is in God's bucket list for you. Kind of exciting, huh? Well, let's go. Number one, Ephesians 3, 14 through 19. God wants you to know the love of Christ. That's on his bucket list for you, that you would know the love of Christ. Listen to this, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints

what is the width and length and depth and height to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge. With all that's going on in the world right now, I think that God really wants you to come and know the love of Christ. Because you see, love covers a multitude of sins. Love is what knocks down the walls. Love is what communicates to other people. And we're not talking about a love like just friendly love, like Filo or Eros. We're talking about agape, a selfless love that keeps others' interests in mind and their eternal welfare in mind. That's the way that Jesus loves you today. In the midst of all this craziness, know this, God loves you. I could have used John 316, but God loves you so much. And here's the thing on his bucket list for you. He wants you to know the love of Christ, not just to love

others, but he wants you to know the love of Christ for you. Maybe you felt unloved recently. Maybe you have felt rejected or set aside in some way. My friend, I want you to know that God loves you so much, and he wants you to know that. That's on his bucket list. Can you imagine that when God was putting together his bucket list, that would be one of the points? Amazing. Amazing. Number two, John 1721, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. That's number two, that that we would all be one, that there would be a unity, as Paul says to the Ephesians, a unity of the spirit, and that we would all be unified in the Eucharist. We would all be unified in the sacraments,

in the word of God, in the power of the Holy Spirit, that we would put our differences aside, our petty differences, and that we would truly be one in Christ, the closer you see that we get to Jesus. And this is true in your family as well. The closer you get to Jesus, the more we become one. Because we have picked up his mantle, we have picked up his yoke, his worldview, and we have bowed down and given our lives to him. And he wants us all to be one. well that's number two and you can see so far we well there's nothing on here i can tell you right now there's nothing on here like um going visiting niagara falls or something like that that i mean those are good things to do but these things are big that we would all be one number three on god's bucket

list for you is jeremiah 29 11 god says for i know the plans that i have for you declares the lord plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you hope and and a future. And that third item on the bucket list is God has plans to give you hope and a future. Now, I know that you might be feeling down right now with the job situation and COVID and restaurants, closing, schools, and sports, and it doesn't look good for a lot of families. I understand that. And my heart particularly goes out for all the kids in school right now. They'll never forget this time period that their dreams of sports and socializing have been dashed to some degree. But God wants you to know that he has plans. He has plans to give you hope and a future. Now, can you imagine getting a bucket

list from God and seeing that on there for you? Think, wow, God wants me to realize the plans he has for me, because he's giving me hope, and he's giving me a future. That is amazing. And receive that from the Lord, my friend. My dear friend, receive that from the Lord. God is giving you hope. And that hope, the Hebrew word is Tikva. That hope is a projection of the future that we see through his lens, through his plan. And he does have a future for you. And that future goes all the way into heaven. Isn't that amazing? Number four, first Thessalonians five and verse 18. Paul writes, and he says, and this is going to be a little bit of a challenge for some of us, he says that in all circumstances, in all circumstances, that's COVID, that's all the election things that are going on

right now, that's everything that is going on at work and family and homeschooling and the rest of it. listen, here's his bucket list item for you. Number five, give thanks in all circumstances. That's right. God wants you to give thanks in all the circumstances that you find yourself in. I wrote a book just a few years ago about praising God and giving thanks, and that's out with Franciscan Media. I think you can even get it through Ascension Press. But in there, I outlined this entire aspect of God's bucket list item for you. you, that he wants you to meet the hurdles in your life and the difficulties in your life. And when you feel all penned in or you're out of ideas, give him thanks in all circumstances.

Proclaim who he is and what he has done. And he is mighty and powerful. And he will be in your life as well. That is amazing. That's number four. Number five comes from First Thessalonians four, three. And again, these are all in the notes. and if you want the notes, you can simply type my name out, Jeff Kavens, and you can text it to

33777. I'll say that again, it's 3377, and we'll give you all these scriptures. So first Thessalonians in chapter four and verse three, and it says, it is God's will that you should be sanctified, that you should avoid sexual immorality. Wow. that's an amazing thing on God's bucket list for you. What is his, what is, what is, what is, what succinctly are we saying here? What does God want you to know on that list? You should be sanctified. You should be sanctified. You know, in the Old Testament, this was the marker for the people of God. This is what marked them out as being different and unique in God's own possession, his firstborn among the nations, that they would be sanctified. What does that mean? Well, to be sanctified, well, to be

sanctified means to be holy. And that's the Hebrew word kadoosh. Kadoosh. I'm going to put that right in the notes here for you. Just pardon me for a second. There we go. I'm going to put that right in the notes. Kadoosh, and it means to be distinct, separate. You see, we're not a part of this world in the way we act, in the way we respond to people, and how we, quote-unquote, get ahead in life, and what are our priorities? What do we watch? What do we watch? What do we we laugh about. What do we teach? We are a sanctified people. He wants you to be distinct. He wants you to be different. And that basically means we're imitating God, as Paul said in Ephesians 5 and verse 1. We are imitators of God, imitators of God. And that's why God said in Leviticus to the children

of Israel when they were coming out of Egypt, six times in Leviticus, he said, be holy as I am holy. Be holy as I am holy. Be holy as I am holy. Be holy as I am holy. Be holy as I am holy. And a sixth time, be holy as I am holy. Learn to distinguish between that which is clean and unclean. That's on his bucket list for you. This is a great list to print out and put it in your purse or put it in your briefcase or put it up on the bathroom mirror. I need to be sanctified. That's God's will for you. me to be sanctified. So those are the first items on God's bucket list. And after the break, I'm going to give you more items. And my friend, I really do hope that we'll take this seriously and take our old bucket list and bring some of this in there. Not just tangible things, but the intangible, the spiritual growth, the changing of the heart, the development of virtue, the conquering of vice. This is God's will. This is God's bucket. list. You're listening to the Jeff Kaven show.

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all right you're ready for more than you might remember how this all started i was in prayer and i looked down and saw that that piece of paper the lord had and it had my name at the top of it and wouldn't you know it it was his bucket list for me what a find what a treasure i ran into i don't know if that's ever happened to you but you can share in the bucket list that he shared with me because it's universal it's for it's for all of us. Okay, so number six is from Hebrews chapter 13, verses 20 and 21. It says, Now, may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, equip you with every good for doing his

will. And may he work in us what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. So what do we pick out of that? Bruce chapter 13, the seventh item on God's bucket list for you is that you would be equipped with every good for doing his will. That's on his bucket list. And you know what? We could break that down, couldn't we? He has equipped you with everything good. He's given you his word. He's given you his church. He has given you leadership. He has given you the Holy Spirit. He's given you the Blessed Mother. He's given you the communion of saints. He will lead you and guide you. He's given you a choice. He's given you reason. Wow. We are equipped. And you might want to go while you're

thinking about it to Ephesians chapter 6, where he talks about all the armor that we put on in this battle. God's will is that you would be equipped with every good thing for doing his will. Number seven, that's James chapter one in verse five. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. If you lack wisdom, God wrote down, you should ask me. If you need wisdom in your life today, for whatever you're going through, you should ask God for wisdom.

Why? He gives generously, and he will. I can't tell you exactly how he's going to give it to you. It might be through the word. It might be in a holy hour. It might be through a friend's suggestion and a conversation. It might be something that your parents told you. But God will give wisdom to you generously.

And, you know, in some situations, it's not even a believer who says something, but God is speaking through that unbeliever, just like God spoke through Cyrus in Persia when the children of Israel were going to return from. 70 years of exile. God used Cyrus to do his work, even though Cyrus wasn't even aware of it. So if you lack wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously. What is the eighth item? Proverbs three. Proverbs three, there's a good one, verses five and six. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Here it is. It's coming up. In all your ways, submit to him. And he will make your paths straight. So what does God have on his bucket list for you?

He wants you to submit to him. He's going to make your path straight. You feel like life is a little crooked that the road is zigzagging. You're not sure where you're going. Your compass you thought was pointing north, but it's actually south. Well, submit to him. He wants you to. Why? Because he's some ogre that just needs everybody to submit to him so he can feel big. No, he has your path. He has your path in mind. He wants your paths straight. That's the way we're created to live, according to His Word. And number nine, it is First Peter chapter two in verse 15, for it is God's will that by doing good, you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Ooh, that's kind of interesting, isn't it? And particularly during the times we're living in right now,

certainly, certainly you and I can agree on the fact that we're hearing a lot of foolish talk. We're hearing a lot of ignorant talk in the community. And God says, well, my bucket list for you is that you will silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. How? By doing good. By doing the right thing. by doing my will that is on the bucket list. I think that that is some really good advice. Lord, I receive that. And 10 is 2 Peter chapter 3 in verse 9. This is a good one.

This is a good one, and this is universal, and it involves all of us and all of our relationships, our direct family, our neighbors, extended relatives, people at work, and people that we encounter at the store. who are stocking up on toilet paper. It's 2. Peter 3.9, the Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, as some understands slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. So on God's bucket list for you is this. He doesn't want anyone to perish. he wants everyone to come to repentance, and part of that is he is asking us to do as he has

done, and that is to be patient, to be patient. He doesn't want anyone to perish. Part of people not perishing, and part of people coming to repentance involves patience, patience, not insisting on our own way and arguing for the sake of arguing, but being patient with those in your family and your extended relatives because God doesn't want them to perish. Put that in your bucket list. And then number 11, 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 4. Again, these are all on the list that I'm going to send you, if you are on the list. Jeff Kavens at 33777.

1st Timothy 24, God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Wow. Well, Lord, I had about five books on my bucket list that I really wanted to read. But you're saying you want me to come to a knowledge of the truth. And sometimes I'm, you know, I find myself saying, well, I just don't have the time to read. And, you know, life is short and there's a lot of obligations. And I got a lot of, I got a lot of email to return. And I've got to find out what's going on in social media. Put it aside. Seek the knowledge of truth. The knowledge of truth. Come to a knowledge of the truth. And that comes by purposeful reading of Scripture, spending time with the Lord, reading the lives of the saints, reading the catechism, and asking God to reveal truth to you. Now, of course, we as Christians, we know that truth is not just an idea, right? Truth is actually a person. Jesus said, I am the way, and I am the truth, and I am the life. And so God wants to be. you to come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ, the truth. And it's when we walk in truth that life

starts to make sense. I'm not saying that we're not going to have difficulties, but I'd rather go through life and difficulties with truth than to go through life and difficulties without truth. Truth is grounding in our lives. And that's why God has it on the bucket list for you at this particular time. And then number 12 is the big trifecta. That is Micah chapter 6 in verse 8. He has shown you, O mortal, what is good? And what does the Lord require of you? Get it? Here it is. It's the trifecta. To act justly, number one. To love mercy, number two, and to walk humbly with your God. isn't that amazing on a bucket list? God is saying to you as he pens out his bucket list to you saying to you, Mark, to you Susan, to you Anne, to you Peter, to you Brian, to you Melissa,

to you John, to you Heidi, to you Samuel, to you Gregory, to you Mary, to you Peter, I want you to act just and I want you to love mercy and I want you to walk humbly with me. You think you can do that? Oh, Lord. Lord, yes, yes, yes, yes I can. That's on my bucket list now. I'm going to put that on my spiritual bucket list of the heart. So there you have it, my friend, you've got 12 different things that I saw on that bucket list in prayer that the Lord had written out. Now, I'm not kidding about that. He wrote it. He wrote it just as sure as I'm speaking, and he wrote it in the Bible.

Now, there's many other things in the bucket list on the bucket list of God that come from Scripture, but those are the ones that I saw on the list today, and I wanted to pass them on to you. I'm curious, are there others that you have seen on the bucket list? Are there other things that the Lord has revealed that are on your bucket list? I'd love to hear from you. I really would. So you can email me, and all the information is in the show notes. You can email me. We'll carry on the conversation. And again, I want to see you there with me on Parlor, Rumble, and Miwi. And maybe you can send a note to me there about your bucket list and what God is challenging you to do and what he's inviting you to participate in. It's a beautiful thing to follow the Lord, knowing that he has direction for our life, that he has a goal. He has the means of attaining the goal. We are in relationship. We'll never be forsaken. His wisdom is here with us, and he wants us to walk with each other in love. He's given us

a hope and a future. And he wants us to give thanks in every situation that we find ourselves in. And he really truly wants us to be a separate people. And he's going to equip you with every good thing to do his will in this amazing plan. It's really something. If we say, submit to him. He's going to make our paths straight. And in the way we live, we can silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. You see, he doesn't want anyone to perish. He wants everybody to come to a knowledge of him. And he wants us all to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with God. Such a bucket list. Thank you, Jesus. My friend, will you pray with me right now? Let's make this part of our bucket list. And if your bucket list has all fun things to do and places

to go and experiences that you want to have. I guess that's fine. But what about his bucket list for your life? Start that. Start a bucket list from the Lord for you. Maybe you want to put it in your journal. Maybe you want to put it in the back of your Bible. Write it down and put it on the walls of your house. Do it with your children. Sit down with them and show them the bucket list that God has for them. And one thing we need to make sure of, take a good look at that bucket and make sure there's no holes in that bucket, dear Liza. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Lord, we thank you so much for speaking to us in your word. We thank you so much, Lord, for walking with us and not leaving us alone and giving us guidance in the form of a bucket list.

Lord, may we take this and walk in it. And may be. you be honored and worshipped and glorified in everything we do. For Lord, we are a sanctified people with a mission. Praise you, Jesus. Praise you. We also ask for the prayers of our blessed mother. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women. And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners. Now and at the hour of our death. Amen. and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. You have an amazing week.