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According to Scripture and the Lord Jesus Himself, the
greatest commandment is this: “You shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matt.
22:37)
Many Christians can quote this passage, say all the
right words, do all the right things, go to all the right places, but
yet something vital is still missing on the inside of their mortal
being. What is it that’s missing in the lives of so many “born again”
Christians? Where is the genuine adoration and love of God that once
burned within us? Do we really love Him with all of our hearts, all of
our souls and all of our minds or is there a mixture in our
Christianity?
One of the key ingredients in a Christian’s life is
passion. Not passion for worldly things, but a true heartfelt passion
for Jesus. A passion that burns on the inside and consumes our thought
processes, consumes our decision making, consumes our worship, consumes
our emotions and will.
I believe many Christians today are lacking passion for
Jesus. We have passion for our friends, passion for our animals,
passion for our computers and other realities of life, but where is our
passion for God?
Passion is an abandoned display of emotion such as love, joy, etc. It denotes strong feeling, fervor, enthusiasm and zeal.
Remember when you were first saved (born again)?
Remember the zeal that penetrated every fiber of your being? You
couldn’t keep quiet about your salvation experience; you had to share
your newfound faith with almost everyone. Your classmates thought you
had lost your mind. Your parents looked at you with eyes of suspicion
as the Lord began to transform you into a new person. You bubbled over
with joy unspeakable and full of glory. You danced before the Lord in
perfect liberty.
Where is that passion now? Where is that enthusiasm, joy
and zeal for God that once burned so bright in your life? Why is it
that Bible reading no longer has an effect upon you? What has happened
to your prayer life? Why is it that you’d rather spend your evening
watching your favorite television program instead of being in the
presence of the One who died for you?
I believe many of us pray, read the word, go to church
and serve Jesus out of obligation instead of passion for Him. Passion
does not operate out of obligation. Passion operates as a result of
agape love.
Passion loves and serves because it wants to, not
because it has to. Passion is serving God because there is nothing else
that we would rather be doing. There is no passion without
relationship. Passion always has a direct object. Passion is focused on
a person or thing. Passion is energized by a person or thing. You can’t
love a person that you don’t know. Knowing Jesus is essential to a
passionate relationship with Him. Any hindrances to that relationship
must be dealt with. Sins must be confessed. Passion for Jesus cannot be
earned, but comes to us instead as a gift.
Passion is something that has to be cultivated and
guarded. The enemy will do everything he can to discourage us from
falling totally in love with Jesus. He will tell us we are too vocal
about our faith. He will tell us that we need to calm down and not make
such a spectacle of ourselves at church when God’s Spirit is moving
profoundly upon the congregation. The Devil is a deceiver and a liar.
He doesn’t want any of us to enjoy our Christianity. He will do
everything in his power to distract us from achieving and performing
our eternal purpose on this earth.
Martha's sister Mary had a passion for Jesus. When Jesus
was present, all she wanted to do was sit at His feet and worship Him.
(Luke 10:38)
Luke 7:36-38 – “Then one of the Pharisees asked
Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down
to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew
that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an
alabaster flask of fragrant oil and stood at His feet behind Him
weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears and wiped them
with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them
with the fragrant oil.”
This woman didn’t come to receive a blessing. She came
to be a blessing and show her true devotion and passion for Jesus. She
came knowing that she would probably be ridiculed by the Pharisees and
others who were present, yet she took a risk and poured out all that
she had upon Jesus.
Passion does not focus on what others think or say.
Passion is willing to take a risk no matter what it costs. Passion
flows from a heart that is consumed with love for Jesus. That love must
find a way to be released in His presence.
When a man really loves a woman, he will show it by
releasing that love to her in a way that no other man can do. It’s the
same way with our love for God. When we truly love the Lord with all of
hearts, all of our minds and all of our souls, we will be consumed with
Him and His holy presence. Nothing else will satisfy. Nothing else
matters. When we really love the Lord and have a true understanding of
all that He did for us at Calvary, we too will want to sit at His feet
and pour our hearts of worship upon Him. We too will want to shed tears
of adoration and love as our passion for Him pours forth as a sweet
fragrant ointment.
Don’t allow yourself to fall into a place of numbness
and complacency in the realm of the Spirit. Don’t allow your love for
Jesus to grow cold. Don’t allow the flame that once burned so brightly
on the inside of you be darkened by the cares of this world and lusts
of the flesh. Pray for the Holy Spirit to blow on that flame. Pray for
the Lord to pour out His Spirit upon you once again. Pray and ask the
Lord to give you passion for Him.
I believe some are going to miss what God has for them,
because they have turned their hearts away from Him. Their love for
Jesus has grown cold. Their passion has faded away.
Song of Solomon 2:10, 14 – “My beloved spoke, and
said to me: rise up my love, my fair one, and come away. O my dove, in
the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliff, let me see
your face. Let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your
face is lovely.”
Passion for Jesus is all about relationship. The Lord is
calling out to you today. He desires to have a relationship with you
forever. Not a one night stand, but a life long relationship of
commitment, love and passion. If you will respond to His call, He will
satisfy your every need. He will be your Father, your Husband, your
Lover and your Friend.
Prophetic Word:
Where is the fire that once
burned so brightly within you, saith the Lord. Where is your love for
Me? Where have you been? Where are you going? What is more important
than your relationship with Me, saith the Lord. I have missed you and
have longed to be with you. I have been calling you and you have not
responded to Me. I have been knocking at your heart's door and you have
not opened unto Me. Why have you forsaken Me, saith the Lord. Why are
you neglecting Me and turning away from Me? Have I not given My all for
you? Have I not laid down My life for you? Have I not made a way for
you to know Me in a personal way, saith the Lord. Do not be deceived by
those who would draw your attention to other places. Do not be deceived
into believing a lie, saith the Lord. For I am the One who saves man
from his sin. I am the One who has the power to heal and deliver. I am
the One who has created you for Myself. My Spirit grieves and weeps
over you, saith the Lord. You have gone your own way and destruction
awaits you. Turn back to Me now, saith the Lord, and repent while there
is still time. Turn your heart back to Me, saith the Lord, and I will
receive you unto Myself, for I love you with unconditional love. Be not
deceived by the wicked one, for he desires to destroy your soul in
hell. Turn to Me and repent of your wicked ways, saith the Lord, for I
long for your fellowship. I long for you to seek Me, for when you seek
Me with your whole heart, you will surely find Me.
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