The passion that offended many…..

 

Don’t let another person’s lack of passion determine your passion!

 

As He came near to Jericho, it occurred that a blind man 

was sitting by the roadside begging. 

And hearing a crowd going by, he asked what it meant. 

They told him, Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. 

Luke 18:35-43

 

I was challenged by the blind man in this passage of scripture.

He was blind and needed, desperately needed a touch from God!

What challenged me was his passion. It was raw, uncensored,

untamed, bold!!

As a Christian in today’s world can we follow Christ with a tame,

steril passion, if you can call it that?

The blind man’s passion made people around him uncomfortable.

Look at what the word says,

 

And he shouted, saying Jesus, Son of David, take pity and have

mercy on me!

But those who were in front reproved him, telling him to keep

quiet; yet he screamed and shrieked so much the more, Son of

David, take pity and have mercy on me!

Luke 18:38, 39

 

He screamed and shrieked so much the more!!

 

Jesus was passing by and there was nothing and nobody who

would stop him from getting a touch from Him.

We need that kind of raw, untamed, uncensored passion

if we are going to make our life count for Christ.

Jesus is passionately in love with us so how can we give Him

any less?

Let us not allow other people to dictate how passionate we should

be.

Let us be passionate about our Lord.

He is the one after all who gave His life for us!

I want my passion to get His attention don’t you?

I want to live out my passion for Him and not just talk

about it!!

He is my everything and deserves nothing but the best!

Let us follow the example of the blind man!

Bless you friends!!

 

photo credit: Google images

 

Rolain

 

 

 

 

The man in chains……

Paul was one of the greatest apostles that ever lived. He was

a man who obeyed God 110%, no make that 150%, actually make

that 200%……I think you get the picture!  🙂  When I read the

life of Paul I am challenged by his obedience. Let’s look at the

things he accomplished because he was obedient.

 

He got to share the gospel with Felix who was Governor at

the time. He was a man who had lots of influence. 

Read Acts 24:10-26

 

Paul shared the gospel with King Agrippa and his wife

Bernice. God brought Paul before powerful men

and women to share the gospel.

Acts 25 and chapter 26

 

By the way he carried himself and his faith in God,

Paul was able to minister to the Roman soldiers

Read Acts 27:42, 43

 

Because of his obedience Paul ministered to a whole

tribe on the island of Malta.

Read Acts 28.

 

During imprisonment in Rome, Paul wrote a lot of

the books in the new testament. It is said he wrote,

Ephesians Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

After imprisonment it is said he wrote Hebrews,

Titus, 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy.

 

Now for the crux of the matter. I will share a scripture that I

believe is the key that opened the door to all the ministry he did:

 

After several days of visiting, a prophet from Judea by the name

of Agabus came down to see us. He went right up to Paul, took

his belt, and, in dramatic gesture, tied himself up, hands and feet.

He said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: The Jews in Jerusalem

are going to tie up the man who owns this belt just like this and

hand him over to godless unbelievers.”

When everyone heard that, we and everyone there that day

begged Paul not to be stubborn and persist in going to

Jerusalem. But Paul wouldn’t budge:

Why all this hysteria? Why do you insist on making a scene

and making it even harder for me?

You’re looking at this backward. The issue is Jerusalem is not

what they do to me, whether arrest or murder, but what the

Master Jesus does through my obedience. Can’t you see that?

Acts 21:10-13

 

Wow right…..Paul had an understanding of obedience. He knew

being obedient allowed Jesus to work through him. And because

Paul was obedient, Jesus did a mighty work in him and through

him!

 

Let’s bring this principle home. God has a plan for each and

everyone of us but we can only walk in that plan when we are

obedient! That revelation hit me hard! I am in a situation where

I have a decision to make. I can either be obedient even though

it’s difficult and uncomfortable or disobey! But the word is very

clear, Jesus works through our obedience!

He has this amazing, uncomprehendible (if there is such a word)

plan for us. It’s just to big to fathom. I don’t think Paul knew all

that God had in store for Him but he simply obeyed, and

trusted! We need to do the same……

I want to live a life of obedience to God and I ask Him to

help me. I rebel a lot and I fight and push back but He wants

me to obey. He wants us to obey!

Will you learn a lesson from the man who lived a life of obedience?

Rolain

 

 

Naked and barefoot…

THOUGHT OF THE DAY.

In the year the field commander, sent by king Sargon of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought and took it, God told Isaiah Son of Amoz,’Go, take off your clothes and sandals, and Isaiah did it. going about naked and barefoot. 

Then God said, Just as my servant Isaiah has walked around town naked and barefooted for three years as a warning sign to Egypt and Ethiopia..Isaiah 20:1-3

This is one of the craziest stories I have read for sure!

Firstly, Isaiah is told to take off his clothes and sandals. We don’t read of any explanation being given by God. He simply tells Isaiah to take off his clothes.

The second craziest thing about this story is, Isaiah just obeys!!!! He never complained, dragged his feet, murmur, or sulk, he just obeyed! How amazing is that??

The third craziest thing about this story is Isaiah was naked for THREE YEARS!!!! Not three hours. But THREE YEARS……How crazy is that? Isaiah didn’t care what people would say. Was he uncomfortable?? I would like to think so, but what God wanted was Isaiah’s highest priority. Everything else came second to that….wow!

What an example of obedience we have. I was so challenged as I read this story. Am I obedient as Isaiah? Does my personal comfort affect my obedience to God? Will I obey God even if I don’t like it or if it feels uncomfortable? Will I be obedient to Him even if it means being ridiculed by people?

How obedient are you to God???

Rolain