Do You Have Passion?

I preached for the first time in my life 32 years ago tonight, February 12th. Thirty-two years. I remember where I preached and what I preached. I still have the outline on a yellow and faded sheet of legal paper. It was at least a 12-point outline. Those poor folks!

It's been a great ride. I discovered quickly that preaching was my passion. It's more than a calling. It's a gifting for me. And because it is a gift, there is a level of passion that cannot be easily explained.

The passion a believer has to use his or her spiritual gifts has an underlying secret source of unfailing strength.

First, there is the understanding of just how much Christ paid to save you. Your sins placed Jesus on the cross. Your SIN (singular) placed him there, too. The difference is that your sins are what you did and sometimes do. Your SIN is your nature before knowing Christ. Sadly, too many believers do not understand how sinful sin (forgive the redundancy, please) really is. The one who understands just how much they have really been forgiven tends to have more passion about being with the Lord and serving him.

Then there is the fellowship and worship factor. To the measure a believer seeks the face of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, to that measure will his passion grow. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:14, "The Love of Christ compells me..." As you seek the Lord's face, you get lost in his love. As you get lost in his love, your passion increases.

Do you have passion for the Lord and those things that interest him? If so, unleash it! Life is good! Enjoy the ride.

Christianity, as We Know It

Tonight I read an opinion regarding the decline of Evangelical Christianity. The author, one who professes to be an evangelical, even describes his cyber world as a "post-evangelical wilderness."

Is the world to become more antagonistic towards Evangelical Christianity? If you believe Scripture, it will. Consider 2 Thes. 2: 3ff: Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin[b] is revealed, the son of perdition..., [emphasis added]

Apostasy is characteristic of the end times. Before Jesus returns, men will prefer doctrines of demons to sound doctrine. Men will see conservative Christianity as a detriment to "progress." We may even face a level of persecution that few of us in the West have ever seen.

So the question is, have we reached the end? I do not know. I cannot assume that my task is finished until the Lord's trumpets sound. In the meantime, I must continue to press forward, sharing the gospel, preaching righteousness, pointing lost men to the light, helping saved men to shine their lights more brightly.

If my support system collapses around me, I will have to do it however and wherever I can. This, because ultimately, my support is from God. He is my Rock, my Fortress.

Are You a Waiter?

There are tens of thousands of men and women, both young and old, that make your meal or other event a little more pleasant when you visit your favorite feed trough. That's what they are there for; they wait on you. They stand to one side (if not scurrying from table to table) and wait for your request so that they can serve you. Today they call themselves "servers" in many places. We once called this group "waiters." Because their single goal was to wait for your call and command and then fulfill it.

That concept is ancient now. The idea that someone would wait for another to give them direction has faded, perhaps due to the fast-food culture that permeates too many societies now. Not so, here. Even the fast-food places have people who will be your waiter. It's nice.

Gone with the concept of a waiter is the concept of waiting, too. Do you like to wait for that word from someone else? Do you find yourself frustrated with serving others? Moms once had to serve as waiters. Now with both parents working in so many places, there are exceptions to that way of life. [I did not say only moms should do that; it's just how things were.]

King David often spoke of waiting in the Psalms. He spoke of it as a privilege. He compared himself to a hand-servant waiting on his master. Our relationship with God should include such a concept. God is the King. We are the servants. He gives the orders; we wait on him to give them to us. And then we fulfill them in his strength and for his honor. It's not to be congratulated. Waiting is strictly for the honor of the one we serve.

Be a waiter for God today. Wait for him to speak and then do what he says.

Where Can We Serve?

That was the question posed to me yesterday. The young man asking it is from Colombia. He has been in Peru for two years. I had just preached a message on answering the call of God.

Miguel told me that he has been overwhelmed by the plight of the Peruvian people, especially the poor. He told me that he had seen poverty before; but that poverty did not compare to the destitution he has seen in parts of Lima. I would have to agree. I have stepped across open sewage, running down the middle of the dirt road. I have stepped in all kinds of nastiness, including human waste. (You never get back into your vehicle without first checking your shoes.) The strong smell of dirt and mold in some homes and even in some worship centers is stifling. And I have seen worse: young and old alike combing through mounds of garbage, hoping for something of value they might be able to sell for a few cents.

But Miguel and his wife are discerning people. They know that the physical poverty is nothing compared to the spiritual destitution. Sin is rampant. Souls perish, lost and separated from God. Religion replaces a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Praise God for men and women like Miguel and his wife, who have lifted their eyes and seen the harvest around them. Pray they will find that place God is speaking to them about. Pray their own economic conditions will not interfere or distract them from the calling God has placed upon them. And pray for more laborers for this vast harvest around us.