Something I’ve been learning.. from watching others……Once you taste the life of sin, it’s harder to get back to life with out it.

I know thats in the bible somewhere. It says something along the lines that its harder for someone who’s seen the Lord and turned their back on Him to find their relationship again than it is for someone who just came to know Christ…. I’ts not that they can’y have Jesus back in their lives; I think we try to find a replacement or supplement for Christ that allows us to have what we want… or is it, what we think we want..? 

It’s like breaking your leg. You cant just continue running the next day. You need time to heal. Not only that, but if you intend to run again your going to need to excersice twice as hard as before  in order to regain your strength.. I think that is how it is with a relationship with Jesus.

I honestly believe purity is something you have to fight for. Everyday hour of every day.

• Its a Decision you make in your mind;
• A Commitment you make in your heart;
•  And a Promise you seal in your soul.

It’s for the young and the old. The weak and the strong. The wise and the not so wise. God demands purity for All.

What are you and I doing to fight for it…?

    “Our God is a consuming fire.”  -Heb 12:29

 As stated in the previous post, passion is three different things:  fire, desire and attitude.

It’s a longing that determines a man’s thoughts…

Is it better to have passion without purpose, than to be passionless…?

St. Augustine wrote:

“Give me a man in love; he knows what I mean. Give me one who yearns, Give me one who is hungry; give me one far away in this desert, who is thirsty and sighs for the spring of the Eternal Country. Give me that sort of man; he knows what I mean. But if I speak to a cold man, he just doesn’t know what I am talking about.”

      I have a friend who’s brother used to be so on fire for the Lord. He was very passionate in everything he did. He was  involved in his church and just in love with the Word of God; Nothing could steal his joy….. Then, over time something in him started to give way. His fire slowly started burning out. His spirit was dying. - Granted there were other things that led up to this point- the outcome remains the same. It is a sad story to watch passion die.. We then find ourselves asking What happened?

What was my friends brother really passionate about?….. Was it something worth fighting for?  

     Well, maybe your wondering how one can even have passion if they don’t know what their passionate for…? I believe every passion has a purpose. Your either dead or alive. With passion comes purpose.. The trick is discovering the desire of your passion… What’s deep down in your heart of hearts..? The thing that only God knows about…? The thing that keeps you awake at night and just wont stop tugging on your heart. That longing that leaves you unsatisfied……………………… What is it?

The enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy- is not only trying to steal our joy, but take our passion along with it!

The enemy is pleading for our lives to be mediocre, dead to hope, Passionless.

We must Never give up!

 to be continued…..

The other day I ventured to the movie theater to see the new ‘Step it up 2′.. I have to admit, I was in love with the first one for the longest time, but this one, it has got to be about 10 times better in the dancing category. It was just so cool!!!

Now, I happen to be one of those people that throughout the movie, I try to find the deeper meaning in it all.. I noticed in this one that the kids were constantly fighting for their chance to dance. It didnt matter what the situation was, they would work around it. They would risk Everything just so they could dance. Why?… all for what? You may ask… They did it because they were passionate about dancing. They would drop dead before they gave up on dancing. It was their life.

So, as always, I began thinking about how people who don’t even know Jesus could be more passionate than the people that do…  It’s a crazy thought, I know; But unfortunately for most of us, it’s true.   (my favorite author John Eldredge says that Desire, a burning passion for more, is at the heart of both the sinner and the saint.) 

What does passion mean to me….?

Passion is what drives you to pick yourself up when you fall, and to keep pressing forward.

What level is your passion for the Lord right now if asked to rate it..?

1   2   3   4  5   6   7  8   9   10

Okay, Im passionate, yea, but have I forgotten why Im passionate? —–In the Christian faith, it’s easy to lose sight of the passion life you were once so clearly introduced to. It’s easy to just wake up with the attitude of having to do this all over again. It’s easy to just say I don’t care. As Christians, we are passionate for the Lost.

Sadly, many of us frequently base our passion off of feelings. To be passionate is more than just a feeling. It is a mindset, an unwavering attitude…..  I recently read the story in 2 Kings 13:18-20… Elisha had told the King to strike the ground. The king did so, but did so only 3 times. Elisha was angry with the king telling him that he should have struck the ground five or six times… saying that if he had, he would have defeated his enemys in the upcoming battle…

This simple example shows the impact of passion. The king was passionless. His heart was not in it. In effect to that, God says “if your hearts not in it, than niether is mine.”….  As men and women of God, we’re unable to touch the things God has called us towards with an attitude that lacks passion.

When your passionate about something, you Will do whatever it takes to fight for it!

What is fueling your passion…. the flesh… or the spirit?

Passion is NOT luke warm.

• Passion is Fire.
• Passion is Desire.
• Passion is an attitude of the Heart.

If someone was to examine your life right now, what would they find you are most passionate about?

Are you on fire for the Lord?

Sitting at my table in the corner at DaSilvas this morning, I couldnt help but over hear the variety of conversations going on around me. I sipped my black coffee (thought I’d try something new) as I tried to focus on some math homework. Eventually I just gave in and tuned into some conversation these two ladies were having next to me.  They were discussing ways to raise money for the upcoming Relay for Life. They were talking about thousands of dollars here. Craziness in my eyes.. I mean, I cant think of the last time I raised anywhere close to a thousand dollars…

So as I sat there, I began to let the Lord speak to me about some things… Its amazing when we put ourselves around coffee and a good friend how we can immediatly open up about our desires and dreams, passions and goals… We discuss things that are seemingly impossible in our eyes while somehow searching for hope in the eyes of another.

I love the time I spend with Jessica and Bethany around coffee. I dont know what it is but I become vulnerable when pouring my heart out before them. The point in it all is to recieve encouragement from eachother and build our excitement for whatever the idea or thought is… mostly though, it is simply to gain comfort from their friendship..

As I sat there, the Lord said to me, ” why is it that you go to your friends for encouragement, and you seek them for comfort instead of going to Me?”

My heart sank. Why do I do that….?  I mean, friends can only give us their perspective of the world. But God, He is able to confirm what promises he has spoken over our lives. He is able to reveal to us our purpose. He can even answer those questions and longings deep within our hearts, if only we ask… By golly! Have I been going about this all wrong!?

I think, for me anyways, I run to friends first because its easy to hear what their saying. Listening to God on the other hand, that takes time, effort and sacrifice. It’s not as easy as listening to a friend, more often than not, they tell us what we wanna hear…  On the other hand, sometimes what God has to say to us is not quite as pleasing to our ears…… I wonder if thats our problem…. We just don’t take the time to actually listen to the truth in what the Lord has to say to us…. If only we knew what we were missing out on!

My challenge for you- as well as me- is to take the time today to listen to what the Lord has to say to you.  Quiet your heart and listen… I promise, you wont be disappointed.

Tonight as I was driving home, I clearly heard the Lord say to me “You are my light.”
Now, needless to say I was driving out of a gas station I had stopped at to get some coffee filters so I can enjoy a nice cupa joe in the morning before work.. As I was doing so, God started revealing to me a truth about gas stations…

Like most people, when its late at night, Im going to be looking for the brightest gas station available because I know that I will be much safer where I can be seen than at a gas station where its less visible and the ‘God knows what could happen there’ feeling pops up.. Walking into the store people were everywhere- pumping gas , shopping down the esles… It was a hoppin place to be! Walking out, I came to the conclusion, that Christian or otherwise, Everyone wants to be in the light!
Its a natural instinct. As followers of Christ, the more we let His light shine through us, the more His people are going to be drawn to us.
God spoke to me as I was driving and said “dont be afraid to shine with the radiance I’ve placed on the inside of you, people want to see my light and they will be drawn to it. The brighter you are, the better.”
Ephesians speaks clearly on the matter of light when it says
“But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light,for everything that becomes visible is light.” vs 5:13
God’s going to bring Himself to light by us becoming radiant through Him. The light will come to the ones lost in darkness and all sin wil be exposed by the light of truth. Which is Jesus Christ.
Theres no need to worry, His word declares you are the Light of the Lord, and it’s His light that’s going to draw people to you. People who are searching for that same light of forgiveness, grace, love, joy..etc..
Just as a mosquito is drawn to the light of death, so will His people be drawn to the light of Life.
Let that be your prayer, for the darkness in this world and the light thats in your heart. Remember you who were formerly darkness but are now the Light of the Lord. (vs.8) Be Radiant for the Lord, walk as children of Light.

“I am seking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.” – Vincent Van Gogh

“Passion is the quickest to develope and the quickest to fade. Intimacy develops more slowly, and commitment more gradually still.”  – Robert Sternberg

 ”If you dont fail now and again, it’s a sign that your playing it safe.” – Woody Allen

“If you risk nothing, than you risk everything.” – Geena Davis

“The chief enemy of creativity is good taste.” – Pablo Picasso

I was looking over Sundays scripture from PM and I continued to read on in 1Corinthians 3 about Gods foundation. It says in vs. 9 that we are ‘God’s workers, His field, and His building.’  Okay, and…..

As Christians, we know that Christ is the solid foundation on which we stand, but what is the purpose of that foundation? Something has to go on top of it right..? 

vs. 11 “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”  -In the previous verses Paul says yea, we DO take part in the planting and in the watering of the seeds, But ultimatly, God is the One who causes growth….Do you know how important it is WHAT we lay on His foundation?

In our lives here on earth we only get one chance to lay our foundations before the return of our King. What will He find us doing when He returns? Will you just be roaming in the fields? …Planting seeds? …Watering the plants? 

Its obvious to me that He is calling us to be workers. I also think He is calling us to build.

vs.9 “For we are Gods fellow workers; you are Gods field, God’s building”

Yes, our lives add a brick to God’s foundation, but do you know how important that one or two bricks are!?                  

VERY IMPORTANT because we lay our foundations on God, other generations after us can continue building their foundations on Him as well! That in itself is enough to define our purposes for which we were created (to serve God’s kingdom and lead others to Him).

Be careful how you are building on Gods foundation.

Ask yourself, ‘am I building on Christs foundation or My foundation?’

Remember, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each mans work. vs.13

God is the consuming fire, does your building remain standing? or is it burned up…….