Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Obeying God when obeying isn’t easy”
Our Bible verse for today: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth.” Revelation 3:15-16 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Jesus wants us to be passionate about our faith.”
The idea of being truly passionate and on-fire for Jesus scares a lot of Christians. It seems like it would be so hard, so time consuming. The condition of many Christians is actually more like what Oswald Chambers described as a sort of subdued stoicism. They do profess faith in Jesus, and they do go through some of the motions of acting out the Christian faith, but in a very limited and half-hearted way.
People like that probably attend church on a semi-regular basis and they may even read their Bibles. But if you observe their lives closely you see that there is little evidence of genuine passion for Christ. When it comes to Christianity they seem subdued and maybe even a little stoic. They seldom mention Jesus in their conversations and there is little involvement in Christian activities beyond perhaps, Sunday morning church attendance. Such folks are distracted by the cares of life and are resistant to the whole notion of plunging into the deep end of the Christian experience.
Chambers writes, “Christianity overcomes the world by passion, not by passionlessness. Passion is usually taken to mean something from which human nature suffers; in reality it stands for endurance and high enthusiasm, a radiant intensity of life, life at the highest pitch.”
High enthusiasm, radiant intensity of life, life at the highest pitch – that’s what it’s like to live the Christian life with real passion. And that’s when life is at its best. Living with a genuine and observable passion for Christ isn’t limiting, it’s freeing. When we truly plunge into the deep end and live fully for Jesus, it’s then that we come fully alive in Christ. That’s when we begin to experience life at its fullest and very best.
Jesus wants us to be passionate about our faith – not just in profession, but in practice. However, living with passion also does not mean that we are constantly busy. How is that so? More about that tomorrow. For now, I encourage you to live like you mean it. Live in such a way that your passion for Christ is the most noticeable thing about you.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 