Saturday Scripture Gold with Bibi: Is Your Passion for God Sizzling, or Fizzling?

"Heart is used in Scripture as the most comprehensive term for the authentic person. It is the part of our being where we desire, deliberate, and decide. It has been described as ‘the place of conscious and decisive spiritual activity,’ ‘the comprehensive term for a person as a whole; his feelings, desires, passions, thought, understanding and will,’ and ‘the center of a person. The place to which God turns.’"    -(Fan the Flame, J. Stowell, Moody, 1986, p.13)

Have you ever noticed that many times, when people first come to the Lord (i.e., when they are a new Christian), they have a burning passion for God. But, after a while the fire kind of fizzles out? Or, maybe they simply lose their desire to serve God; and aren't as dedicated to God as they used to be? Does this sound a little familiar?

For us to love God  means that our love for God should be full of passion. After all, we are all people of passion. Right? Some people are passionate about sports, or passionate about their work. Some people are passionate about hobbies, like art, or music. Certainly, people are passionate about all sorts of things. But, how many of us have the same passion for God that we have for these other things?

We simply cannot afford to be apathetic about our love for God. We must be excited about our relationship with Jesus. We must be passionate! Our love for the Lord should be real and passionate. In other other words, we must be involved with all our emotions in our relationship to Him.

Look at it this way. When you love someone with all of your heart, you think about them almost all of the time. You long to be with them. They’re the priority in your life. To love God with all your heart is the same thing. It means that your heart is devoted to Him. It means that you are faithful to Him. He becomes the most important thing in your life. Plain and simple.

Loving God is not an emotional expression that bypasses the mind. It's true that when people rely on their own intellectual capacity to figure out God, they always come up short. Why? Because God is too big to be totally figured out by human minds. Fortunately, we can learn and know what God has revealed to us. It's clear from Scripture that God fully intends for our minds to be involved in our love for Him.

Additionally, Christianity is not just a heart dedicated to God. It's so much more. It's also a soul full of passionate love for Jesus, and a mind committed to studying the Word of God. To love God with all our strength means to love God in all that we do. You see, Christianity that's just in the heart, or in the head, may be either emotionalism, or intellectualism. For Christianity to be alive, it must be lived out. This is what makes the Christian faith the most powerful force in the world.

God’s Word is the cure to all of our faults, and flaws, but when we don’t apply it, we will just continue in them. If you’re a Christian and you have a passion for God, then you need to keep that fire burning. You have to abide in Christ and walk with Him daily. You have to make sure that your love affair with the Lord doesn’t grow cold. And if you’re a Christian and you don’t have a passion for God, then there’s something wrong. That’s not the norm, and you shouldn’t accept it as such. If you don’t have that passion for God then you need to examine yourself, find out what’s wrong, and then make it right.

Because we are sinners, we have to look at ourselves and examine who we are. Our own sinful nature will deceive us if we aren't vigilant. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves…” What is it that’s keeping you from loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Are you focusing on Christ, or the things of this world? Are you holding on to the things that are temporal, while letting the things that are eternal slip by you?

Hebrews 12:1-2  tells us not to focus on the things of this world; but focus on Jesus. The things of this world are temporary. The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. Focus on Jesus because He’s the author and finisher of your faith. No matter what, He’s going to see you through it.

Always remember that Jesus endured the cross, knowing that by doing so, you would come to receive Him as Lord and Savior. Jesus went to the cross with joy, knowing that when He died on that cross, it would satisfy God’s justice; that He would be paying the penalty that man owed. Jesus knew that by the shedding of His blood there would be forgiveness, redemption, and salvation, for all who would come to believe, and that gave Him great joy.

So what about you? Do you have a passion for God? Is that fire burning within you today? If so, will it be there tomorrow? The choice is yours.

Scripture: Colossians 3:23; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Galatians 2:20; Ezekiel 36:26; Jeremiah 17:10; Proverbs 4:23; Proverbs 21:2; 1 Timothy 1:5 

Now, let's pray...

O Father, give us the humility which realizes its ignorance, admits its mistakes, recognizes its need, welcomes advice, accepts rebuke. Help us always to praise rather than to criticize, to sympathize rather than to discourage, to build rather than to destroy, and to think of people at their best rather than at their worst. This we ask for in thy name's sake. Amen

Until next time...

Have a blessed week!

Bibi