Tuesday, January 25, 2011

January 26, 2011

"Be never lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." Romans 12:11

My father would have been 80 years old today, if he was still living. He may be still living had he been able to get his passions directed in the right ways. Your passions can make you or break you. Dad's broke him.

So, how do you get your passion focused in positive ways that please God and produces fruit in your life?

As I study verses 11-13 I see three factors concerning passion. It begins with a connection, it grows through a conviction and it is sustained by a commitment. Over the next few posts I want to explore those ideas.

Spiritual passion begins with a connection - connecting to Jesus Christ by faith. Verse 11 tells you to "keep your fervor". You will have no fervor or zeal (passion) unless you have the Spirit of God present and active in your life. And you will not have the Spirit active in your life if you not have a personal spiritual faith connection with the God of the universe.

When you connect with Jesus you connect to His eternal supernatural love. There is no love like the love of God. It is unconditional. It is unlimited. It is unstoppable. And it is yours for the receiving it. You will never know godly passion until you know godly love.

When you connect with Jesus you connect you connect to His grace. Grace is the "underserved favor of God". His grace assures you that He wants to know you and wants you to know His love. Grace means that we don't always have to be at our spiritual best. It means He will strengthen us when we are weak. It means he will forgive us when we repent of sin. It means we can live in unbroken fellowship with God and know the joy of His presence. Passion arises out of getting to know God in a personal and intimate way.

When you connect with Jesus you get His hope - and His peace. You know that all is well with your soul and God is pleased with you. Knowing that you have found favor with God gives you joy. You can live each day in His peace and have hope for the future.

And, connecting with Christ connects you to His passion. He is passionate about people. He wants to work through you to be a connecting point for people who don't know Him.

God wired us to be passionate people. Everyone is passioniate about something. But the "something" you should be passionate about is "someone" - Jesus! Powerful and productive passion begins with a connection to God. Are you connected?