As Christianity is progressing into the future, we need to keep our passion for Christ as our first priority. Passion is a motivator, it is defined as an intense emotion compelling action. When Paul wrote to the Ephesian Church, he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to say, “awake those who are asleep and arise from the dead and Christ will give you light.” The word “asleep” in this verse means to become “spiritually lazy.” The word “dead” refers to “completely ineffective” or loss of passion! If we find ourselves becoming lazy in our spiritual life we will become what Jesus said in the Revelation to the Laodicean Church which is “lukewarm.” If we discover that we have become lukewarm, lacking passion and conviction, we are “unusable and ineffective” as a believer! Jesus said, “I’ll spew you out of my mouth,” which doesn’t mean He loses His passion toward us, but can no longer use us as an effective witness for Him!
We experience passion everyday and don’t realize it, for instance ,do you remember what it was like when you got your first car? How excited you were, and washed it all the time. Then as time goes by, you don’t care for it like when it was new. This is a good example of loss of passion and laziness. When motivation is lost, our passion is diminished and we will slowly become ineffective toward those things that once were priority in our lives. A marriage can head in that direction, our job can be affected by this and so on… and most importantly our passion for the things of God can lapse into a state of ineffectiveness!
If we will recognize this, and as Paul said, “awake thou…” we can get back in pursuit of that passion. We will begin to see the move of God we so desire in our lives, churches, etc… God wants to use every one of us to be a witness of Christ in our generation, but we have to pursue that passion that we usually experience when we first meet Jesus Christ. His passion toward us is unchangeable, so lets get back in pursuit of our passion toward Him, not just wanting Him to meet our needs, or for Him to work miracles when we need them but spending time with Him because of who He is!
Don’t get distracted, He’s waiting on us!
RB
Last Updated: October 18th, 2007 |
Morality it the conformity to right conduct. Morality ultimately comes from the character of God Himself! I used to think that morality was a “social issue” or a cultural issue, then I discovered the Truth… it’s a personal issue! It’s basic foundational behavior. Morality has “values” that identify with it such as, fairness, justice, truthfulness, and compassion. These values are the conduct of what is right according to the nature of Jesus Christ who is our example as a Christian.
When I learned this, immorality wasn’t just a social condition any longer. Things like abortion, or public nudity, or capital punishment are not the only issues that define morality any more. You cannot “legilate” morality by man’s government. Why not? Because morality is in the heart of man or it’s not! We tend to think that if someone doesn’t participate in abortion, or public nudity, etc… then they are morally good. But what if they cheat on their time card at work? What if someone has become wealthy by cheating others through deception and misleading them, would you say that’s acceptable? How about someone whom everyone loves, but his family is mistreated by his or her behavior in private, would you say that’s permissible because it’s not hurting anyone else? The bottom line is what’s wrong in society is not a social condition, it’s a lack of God’s character clear and simple! It can only change through one person at a time, as we begin to search our own heart and actions. It has grown into a social condition because people are what make up society. We have laws to govern society but society begins in our living room. Morality can no longer be regarded as “external” conditions of culture where kids now walk into classrooms and blow people away because the victims believe in God. There are laws against that right? Maybe the next law will be to close down all public schools? Laws legislated by governments haven’t stopped the immorality.
Laws are simply a guide to identify moral character or the lack thereof. If we have God in our heart we wouldn’t need the law as our guide. Sometimes humans are thinking that man can legislate morality but that leaves morality up for a vote! Case in point, the Bible teaches us God’s character and His will for human life. It doesn’t change in the voting booth to satify man’s human desire. So man can pass a “new law” to allow homosexual marriage, (which is an abomination to God), but that doesn’t make it morally right! Does that make it a “hate crime” for men to disallow such behavior? It’s not hatred to allow God to “govern” morality, in fact it’s the only encounter we can have in life of the expression of God’s loving grace!
Where do we go from here? Hopefully back to the basics of moral theology, leading to moral principles, then making moral choices by expressing moral virtue and ultimately moral conduct! All of this begins in the heart of man seeking the heart of God for the answer to social problems. It all starts with me and you. Let’s help our government and society by getting our “moral compass” recalibrated. I want my family to enjoy their future don’t you? Back to the basics… I hope so!
Grace and peace upon you,
RB
Last Updated: October 12th, 2007 |
Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church in his second letter, chapter 3, “God wants to write His story in your heart for everyone to read!” We’ve all heard the old saying, “I can read you like a book,” meaning that they can predict how you will respond to a given situation. God wants to tell His story through your life by expressing His Word working in your life though all of lifes challenging situations. I remember looking for a book that was recommended by a friend only to find out after much searching that the book was “out of print.” Sometimes I have felt like my life was that way to people I’ve met, like I couldn’t relate to them and I was “not in touch” with the world they live in everyday. It seemed like my testimony of Christ was “out of print” in my life personally.
Then I found out how God wants to write His story on my heart to express His goodness to anyone who will read it! I thought about a great book, and how great books seem to have several things in common such as: 1- A great “cover” 2- A great “introduction” 3- A predetermined “purpose” 4- Awesome “contents” 5- A great “conclusion.” I began to look at my life as having these attributes and feature to see if it were the makings of a great story? Like the cover being my countenance! Does my appearance speak of the joy of the Lord when people see me, or do I look as though I just wrestled a rattlesnake? Then my “introduction” has to be “interested” in the people I meet. You never get a second chance to make a good first impression is how I’ve always heard it. If my countenence invites someone to meet me, then my first impression must be good enough to attract their interest in the rest of “my story” (which is where I want to express my witness of God’s work in me). Remember, people are not looking for people who are “interesting, but people who are interested!”
Then we can get to the “purpose” of my life which is to witness of God’s work in me. If my appearence invites new friends, and I’ve expressed the interest in them, they’ll want to “read on” and find out about me, which is where I can share the “chapters” of my life that God has written with His pen! That’s the “contents” of my testimonies. I tell our congreation how “the last thing God has done through you, is not the last thing God wants to do through you!” God is writting His Bestseller by the chapters of my life in Christ! For a great “conclusion” would be the consistancy of my Christian life, not making it to the end and then “falling short!” To compromise, or lose our witness, would be tragic for an ending of the story God is writing. Likewise to get “out of print” would be unfulfilling to say the least. If there are chapters that need to be “rewritten” God specializes in doing just that! Writting new chapters continually giving us more “testimonies” of His grace and mercy in us.
I believe God wants to write His “bestseller” for the world to see His story through you and I. The Bible is the greatest story ever told, and that’s all about Jesus. But Jesus Christ working in our lives today is always going to be a bestseller so let God have the pen for your life today… He’s got a great story to tell the world through you!
Keeping it real!
RB
Last Updated: October 1st, 2007 |
