Passion…Have You Caught It?

When is the last time something good kept you awake at night?  Have you ever heard a word from God….a mission from the King of Kings that set you on fire?  I have had this happen to me since late November.  I can’t go into details just yet, but keep watching my posts for the scoop.

 Anyways, what if your life has no passion?  There’s got to be more to God’s purpose for your life than feeding your pet cat and watching Oprah!  Here are a few things that God has laid on my heart about passion…

1. Passion comes from God.  I believe God made each one of us for a paticular reason for a paticular season throughout our life.  There are seeds of passion that are already deep in our spirit.  You could call this your God-given purpose.  When a word from God meets up with the seed of passion that he has put inside of you, it will explode with fruit!
2. God’s purpose for you is always much bigger than YOU can imagine.  Every man wants to live for something that’s greater than himself.  God gave us this and tells us time and time again:  “In your weakness, I [God] am strong.”  If you don’t feel qualified to do the task He’s given you, don’t be afraid…this is His idea and He will surely equip you to do it.
3. Zeal needs wisdom.  When you hear that word from God, your first instincts will be to dive in head first, throwing all caution to the wind.  That’s probably because it feels so refreshing to think that your life has a great purpose.  But know this…wisdom and knowlege are key to doing what God has laid on your heart.  Study, prepare, ask questions, DO YOUR HOMEWORK! (Sorry, the teacher came out in me there!). 
4. Enjoy the ride.  Make sure you have fun!  Adventures are not meant for you to live alone.  Take your family along, listen to the heart and concerns of those around you.  They are your first ministry.  God does not intend for you to do a great ministry at the expense of your spouse and kids.  Also, in this great adventure, don’t forget God!  He knows the destination, the road path you’re going to be taveling down, and He has all the equipment you’ll need.  Live it out with Him…

Keep watching for more posts…Marilyn and I have small group tonight.  I can’t wait because I really love those guys!

Pull The Anchor!

Life is sometimes like a storm.  It’s loud, scary, and unpredictable.  We can wring our hands and nervously scream to the horizon, “Who’s there?!  What do you want?!”  The unknown can be a scary place.  Shadows seem to lurk around the corner and fear arises inside of us asking a thousand times over “What is yet to come?” 

The Apostle Paul found himself in a similar situation in Acts 27.  Had they kept their ship anchored down, then every one of them would have drowned in the tremendously powerful storm.  Paul wasn’t afraid of the storm…he feared the creator of the storm! 

 Have you ever sat back to think that maybe God allowed you to go through this storm?  I know that the obvious question is “Why?”.  But you should know one thing about God.  It’s the thing that Paul knew that allowed him to fully trust Him.  God is love.

In verse 40, it says, “And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoised up the mainsail to the wind…”.  God has a destination in mind.  It’s a place better than you can imagine, and a place that you might have otherwise overlooked.  This storm in your life was not meant to punish you or destroy you.  It was meant to direct you to God’s divine will for your life!  So trust God, and together, let’s pull anchor!