Passion-filled

August 30, 2011
As I was studying for my Sunday school lesson this morning I became overwhelmed with a renewed passion for sharing my thoughts with my friends on the Net. In times past, I used to post a devotional every day and have had a number of people request that I begin the posts again. I am not sure if I can keep up with a daily blog, but we will see what God has planned!

Romans 1:1-7
1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:’

Paul had a number of passions in his life, and like many of us, those passions changed from time to time. One passion that never changed for Paul (once he started his ministry) was his burning desire to tell the non-Jewish world the Good News. What was that Good news? That God loves the world, so much so that he gave His son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes on Him will have eternal life; a chance to have a relationship with their creator. That message of hope for a lost and sinful world was truly “Good-news”. Our sins no longer have to keep us separated from God. All we have to do is accept that gift, turn from sin, and serve the God who loves us. That message of Hope is still the “Good News” for today!

Paul had another passion in life, to meet the Christ-followers in Rome. He had been hearing about these Christians everywhere he went so he wanted to meet them, fellowship with them and encourage them. We need to make these two passions a priority in our own lives;

• Sharing the Good-news of Jesus Christ with a lost and dying world
• Meeting and Encouraging People - Gods highest and most precious creation

Sharing the Gospel to a lost world is a beautiful collaboration between the Almighty Creator and the created. God uses his creation to spread this “Good-news” to the rest of His creation… Pastor Jerry Thorpe once said, “Jesus has given us each a Lake, and in that Lake are people who are drowning. Our job is to get the people out of the lake”. We have a life-preserver and that is Jesus Christ…GET PEOPLE OUT OF THE LAKE – Share the Good News with others!!!!

Our other passion should be People. If God’s passion is people, than our passion must be the same. People are precious, even when they are messed up and full of filth, junk, baggage, and heartaches. They are still one of our most treasured gifts God has given us here on earth. We are to come along side others and befriend, encourage and guide them. We are to correct and teach them in Love. Paul felt a kindred spirit with the believers in Rome, and thus people he didn’t even know he reached out to and encouraged them with the Love of God. Paul heard the heartbeat of God and acted… What do you hear today?