A HEART OF PASSION

HOLDING YOUR FEET TO THE FIRE

"And they said one to another, did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" - Luke 24:32

       When was the last time you recall feeling a burning sensation that gripped your heart for God?  I'm talking about a passion that rose up inside you that made you feel like nothing in this world mattered like having God in your life.  I recall times, particularly moments alone in my study, when a truth of God's Word or His sweet holy presence has suddenly welled up inside me, to the point where I felt something deep down wanted to erupt.   Paul described it this way, he said:  "The love of Christ constrained us..." (2 Cor. 5:14). Literally, he was saying the love of Christ is something that takes hold of us with such force that it is almost irresistible.  The Greek describes it as a cattle squeeze where each animal is pushed in on every side, forcing it into a stall. Have you ever felt such a passion for something that everything in you was compelled to do whatever it was you had in your heart to do?

People who are passionate are never casual.  They don't wait on what they want.  They go after it!  They are not drifters who embody indifference.  They live for a cause bigger than themselves.  They are like a bulldog on a bone.
 

         This is what our walk with Christ should be.  We should have such a drive to live our best for him!  The Webster dictionary explains "passion" as part of our emotional makeup as distinguished from our reasoning ability.  In other words, it is where the things we hold in our heart join hand in hand with what we feel, so that together we live with a burning sensation to walk out and experience our deepest desires.  Passion means having an intense, driving, overmastering feeling or conviction.  It is ardent affection.  It is a strong liking or desire for something, or a devotion to some activity, object, or concept.  It is the very thing that we are the closest to emotionally. 

       The Psalmist David expressed his passion by saying: "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is" (Psa. 63:1). Generally speaking, our passion is what locates us. It is what lets other know our pursuits. If you are passionate about some sort of activity, then it is probably something you do on a regular basis.  People who are passionate are never casual.  They don't wait on what they want.  They go after it!  They are not drifters who embody indifference.  They live for a cause bigger than themselves.  They are like a bulldog on a bone.

This is how we are to love God: "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deut. 6:5).  There is NOTHING about our relationship with God that should ever be casual!  We are called upon to be fervent in spirit! (Rom 12:11).  That means our lives are to be boiling hot for Jesus! 

       As I look around and observe different people, it appears to me that the passion level for God isn't as consuming as maybe it once was.  Certainly there are pockets of places where folks are giving their all to Jesus.  But for the most part, the ardent love that holds people to their convictions and drives them to go beyond the call of duty isn't as intense as it should be. Jesus told us plainly that in the last days, "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold" (Matt. 24:12).  What did he mean?  He was saying that sin will rob you of your passion. Even a little compromise here and there is designed to turn a person who was once hot for Jesus into a lukewarm Christian.  And the ultimately end of it all is to cause that person to become faithless! 

       This is the enemy's ploy!  If he can steal away your heart of passion, he will cause the very foundation of your faith to eventually erode away.  If there was ever a time that we need to hold our feet to the fire it is now.  I suspect that there are very few folks, who have swerved from the faith or have become hardened because of the deceitfulness of sin, would have ever believed something like that could ever happen to them. But it did, and today they are nowhere near the person they once were.  Jesus said to the church of Ephesus, "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee; because thou hast left thy first love" (Rev. 2:4). 

       I love the different translations of Paul's exhortation to Timothy when he told him: "But refuse profane and old wives fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness" (1 Tim. 4:7, KJV).  New Century says, "Train yourself to serve God!"  Good News says, "Keep yourself in training for a godly life."  Living Bible says, "Spent your time and energy in the exercise of keeping spiritually fit."  And I love the New Life Bible Version, it says, "Keep yourself growing in God-like living."  How do we that?  We have to maintain a heart of diligence to love God and never let the fire die out!  We have to stay hot for Jesus!

PRAYER

Father, I thank you for your great love for me.  It is that intense love you have that has led me to love you deeply and to serve you wholeheartedly.  Keep me centered on a heart of passion.  Never let the love I have for you ever grow indifferent.  I choose today to stay on fire for Jesus. Amen.

CONFESSION

I purpose to be a person of love.  I will burn for Jesus.  I will be compelled and motivated to serve my heavenly Father acceptably with reverence and godly fear.  I will demand more of my commitment to Christ.  I will hold my feet to the fire.  I will raise the bar.  I will give heart, and soul, and mind, and strength to serve Christ Jesus fully and faithfully all the days of my life.

DEFINING MOMENTS... 

Sometimes the word "passion" is described as Christ's sufferings on the cross. It is a depiction of his intense devotion and willingness to die in our place.  We are to take our example from him on how to live.  If there was ever a person to live with a true heart of passion he certain was the one to fit the bill.  He was passionate about everything: About doing the will of God, about showing others how to live, about helping and healing all who were hurting, and about the drive that compelled him to serve the purpose of God. It was his love that defined his mission. A love not only intense, but unquenchable!  If we want to live as he lived, then we must be determined to love as he loved.  That is the key that will cause you to live in victory and not fall in the heat of battle!

In His Grace,