Being Passionate for Jesus.
KATH HENRY
It turns out my very passionate Soul Survivor friends consider me to be a passionate believer. This comment came with an invitation to write to you on remaining a passionate follower of Jesus. The unexpected gift for me has been that the comment alone has provided a huge encouragement to my own spirit as I seek to stay faithful to my first love for Jesus and share that love with others.
Remaining open hearted
1 John 4:19
I went to a wedding on the weekend, standing in a field I bore witness with others to the commitment of two beautiful young souls as they gave themselves in words of commitment to each other in marriage. I always find weddings a special reminder of the passionate love that two people can share. It also reminds me of the sacrificial, resurrection love Christ has for us and the church. When I open my heart again to the big love of God I find myself back at that first day when I discovered God loved ME.I was younger with fewer wrinkles by my eyes but the same big smile comes to my face as I think about how Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit have changed me with their passionate love to be a passionate believer.
Seeing the world the way Jesus does
John 5:19
I am sure you have friends, as I do, who have passionately pursued something for a time and then, well they just seem to lose interest. I find Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit to be consistently interesting, I have never once been bored. Reading the scriptures and continuing the long conversation I am having with God in prayer helps remind me that I have been invited to be a friend of Jesus and to see the world the way he does. That alone gives me a purpose that is worth being passionate about. Before I step into my day I ask God to show me what he is doing and how I can join in that big adventure. It looks different every day, however I have found there is one common gift that the Holy Spirit gives as I listen in to the heart of God and that is compassion. Compassion after all is a passion that is lived out in kind actions with others.
Let go and breathe out
Philippians 1:6
My passion is kept alive knowing that God will take the small offering of my life and do something beautiful with it as I keep giving it to him. We have an odd notion that life is about gaining and building something for ourselves. I am finding the mystery of what is gained in the spirit as I let everything slip from my hands into God’s hands. There is passion in a breath released into the atmosphere of the earth and a heart given over to heaven.
Enjoy you one beautiful passionate life with Jesus my friend.