IMPACT BY PASSION (3)

“…Love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” – Mark 12:30b

John Bevere’s “A Heart Ablaze,” is focused on IMPACT by PASSION ignited for God: “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mk.12:30). Here, the Lord referred to Deuteronomy 30: 15-20, stating His expectations for those who claim to follow Him, and for His people, Israel, on the threshold of the Promised Land. Similarly, Bevere describes “a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filthiness” (Pro.30:12); one that lacks passion for God despite huge investments in media, buildings, and advertisements.

PASSION is an ardent affection for or devotion to an activity, object, or person. APATHY is the absence or suppression of emotion or excitement; a dullness of heart that affects perception. Spiritual apathy might appear as a subtly decreasing interest in God and the things of God: a dullness of hearing when it comes to reading His Word and hearing about His work; a lethargic or sluggish feeling toward anything divine. Where the love for Jesus once burned brightly, and He was the highest priority in life, the coals are barely glowing and the heart seems to be growing colder! Rather than seek the latest quick-fix motivational message, what is needed is an ignition of divine fire that propels towards a deeper, more meaningful understanding of God.

Hearts can either be impassioned for God or drawn away when anything or anyone else is preferred over Him: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt.6:21). The Lord warned the Church at Ephesus in which the flame of passion was dwindling: “you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works” (Rev.2:4-5). God is a jealous God! He must be first (Mt.6:33). He warned Israel’s kings against multiplying “idols” – of horses and wives (Deut.17: 14-20). Passion is the catalyst of pursuit. A casual living is an invitation to calamity or being a casualty.

Bevere writes: “Why do more than 80 percent of our converts wander back into a world of darkness? How can sinners claim a new birth experience yet remain unchanged? --- What gave Moses the desire to pursue God when it cost him a lifetime of achievements? Why did Jeremiah, Isaiah, and others continue to proclaim the very words that brought them persecution and hardship? Why were people in the early church able to forsake their possessions, comfort, and very lives for the gospel? What strength did the early church possess that enabled them to boldly preach under the threat of torture and death?” The answer is the Fire of God! Ignited Passion produces Impactful passion – for God’s Word, Worship, Prayer, and Sharing the Gospel.