“Look, I’m standing at the door and knocking. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I’ll come in and we’ll eat together.”
Revelation 3:20 (GW) God gave you a heart, and he has placed in you passions, desires, and dreams. But unless they are under his control, they will be misused, they will be abused, they will be misapplied, they will be misdirected, and they will be wasted in your life. All around the world, there are millions of passionate people with interests and dreams and ambitions that are being misused and abused. And it breaks God’s heart. That’s why, in spite of their talent and their passion, those people are unhappy. When your passions are misused, it makes you miserable. Some of you might be thinking, “I’m not really passionate about anything right now.” You know what that means, don’t you? It means you are disconnected from God. You cannot be connected to God and dispassionate. When you are plugged in to God, it’s like plugging in to 220 volts. You get passionate! God is a passionate God; he’s emotional. The only reason you have emotions is because you’re made in his image. God has loved you with an everlasting love. And he gets jealous when he sees you ignoring him for something else. But no matter what you’ve done, he will always love you. That’s passion! When you spend time with God on a daily basis and you get plugged in to him, you can’t help but be passionate. You start to develop God’s heart for the world. You start to feel the way he does. That’s because you become like whoever you hang out with. Would you like to have more energy in life? More enthusiasm? More get-up-and-go? Here's where to get it. The word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek words en and theos--en meaning “in” and theos meaning “God.” When you get en theos, you’re going to be enthusiastic. The closer you get to God, the more energy, vitality, and passion you will have in life. The further away you get from God, the more bored and apathetic you become. But opening your heart to God is a choice. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, “Look, I’m standing at the door and knocking. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I’ll come in and we’ll eat together” (GW). Jesus Christ has been standing and knocking at the door of your life for a long time. But he’s a gentleman. He’s not going to bust the door down. You’ve got to open it up.
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“Do your best to improve your faith.”
2 Peter 1:5 (CEV) Admiral Hyman Rickover was the father of the U.S. nuclear Navy. He once interviewed a Naval Academy graduate and asked him a very direct question: “When you were in school and in all your life, did you always do your best?” The young man started to say “yes” but then realized it wasn’t truthful. “No,” he said, “I didn’t do my best all the time.” Admiral Rickover looked at him with piercing eyes and said, “Why not?” Why not? The question burned in the young man’s heart, and it was a turning point in his life. That young cadet, Jimmy Carter, became the 39th president of the U.S. and wrote a book called Why Not the Best? If you want to give your best to God, there are three things you must do that every soldier understands. 1. You must define what you would die for. Soldiers know there are some things more valuable than their own lives. Even Jesus talked about it: “The greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life for his friends” (John 15:13 TLB). You measure love not by what people tell you but by their willingness to sacrifice everything they have for something. 2. You must sacrifice your own comfort. Soldiers do this all the time. They serve in extreme circumstances and don’t make much money. They give up a lot of things. You don’t become a great man or woman of God by doing what’s easy or comfortable. You do it by committing to something greater than yourself and then being willing to sacrifice for it. The greater your sacrifice in life, the greater your character will be. “Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3 NLT). 3. You must eliminate distractions. “No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer” (2 Timothy 2:4 NIV). Soldiers know they can’t be distracted if they want to be ready to respond to a leader’s command. If you want to be great, if you want to be the best you can be, you must start spending more of your time, money, and energy on things that are going to last forever and less time, money, and energy on things that don’t really matter. If you want to give your best to God, why not start with these three steps? “Look, I’m standing at the door and knocking. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I’ll come in and we’ll eat together.”
Revelation 3:20 (GW) God gave you a heart, and in your heart he placed passions, desires, and dreams. But unless they are under his control, they will be misused, they will be abused, they will be misapplied, they will be misdirected, and they will be wasted in your life. All around the world, millions of passionate people have interests, dreams, and ambitions that are being misused and abused. And it breaks God’s heart. In spite of their talent and their passion, these people are unhappy—because when your passions are misused, it makes you miserable. Some of you might be thinking, “I’m not really passionate about anything right now.” You know what that means, right? It means you are disconnected from God. You cannot be connected to God and dispassionate. When you are plugged into God, it’s like plugging into 220 volts. You get passionate! God is a passionate God. The only reason you have emotions is because you’re made in his image. God is emotional. God gets jealous when he sees you ignoring him for something else. God has loved you with an everlasting love; no matter what you’ve done, he will always love you. That’s passion! When you spend time with God daily and you get plugged into him, you can’t help but be passionate. You start to develop God’s heart for the world. You start to feel the way he does. Who you hang out with really does make a difference. Take a look at any teenager. Put a teenage kid with a group of dispassionate kids who are apathetic about everything, and that kid will become apathetic within a matter of weeks. Why? It matters who you spend your time with. Would you like to have more energy in life? More enthusiasm? More get-up-and-go? Let me tell you where to get it. The word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek words en theos--en meaning “in” and theos meaning “God.” When you get en theos—“in God”—you’re going to be enthusiastic. The closer you get to God, the more energy, vitality, and passion you will have in life. The further away you get, the more bored and apathetic you’ll become. You’ve got to open your heart to Jesus. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, “Look, I’m standing at the door and knocking. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I’ll come in and we’ll eat together” (GW). If you’re not a believer—or if you’re a Christian who’s wandered away from God—Jesus Christ is standing and knocking at the door of your life. But he’s a gentleman. He’s not going to bust the door down. You’ve got to open it up. “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
John 13:17 (NIV) The uncontrollable winds of life—relational winds, financial winds, and spiritual winds—can overwhelm you and throw you off course. But God’s Word is filled with principles to help you withstand even the toughest winds. Today we’ll look at an antidote for destructive winds: Put into practice everything you learn. God doesn’t just want you just to hear his Word. He wants you to do it—to obey it, to practice it. The Bible says, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-25 NIV). Notice the three things that happen in a storm. The rain comes down, attacking the roof of your life. The streams rise, flooding the foundation of your life. And the winds blow, beating against the walls of your life. You’re getting it from the top, the bottom, and the side. And you have no control over any of it. What do you do with the uncontrollable things of life—that diagnosis you can’t control, a child you can’t control, or financial hardship you can’t control? You put into practice everything you have learned in Scripture. And when you do, you won’t fall down because the foundation of your house is built on the rock. What’s the rock? The rock is the Word of God. And the more you build your life on it, the more solid you’re going to be. The wind can come and cause enormous problems, but it won’t devastate your life when you’re doing what God says. John 13:17 says, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (NIV). That verse doesn’t say you’ll be blessed if you know these things. It says you’ll be blessed if you do them. Maybe you’re coming out of a stormy season right now—or maybe you’re about to go through one. It can't be stressed enough: Build your life on the unshakeable Word of God. It’s the only foundation you can trust. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
Hebrews 11:1 (NRSV) Dictionaries usually define “conviction” as a fixed or strong belief—but conviction is much more than that. In addition to your beliefs, your convictions include your values, commitments, and motivations. It's been said, “A belief is something you will argue about. A conviction is something you will die for.” Your convictions determine your conduct. They motivate you to take a stand and act according to your values. When you first become a Christian, you often do things simply because Christians around you suggest or model them. You may pray, read the Bible, and attend church services because of their example. This is fine for a new Christian; little children learn the same way. However, as you grow, you must eventually develop your own reasons for doing what you do. Those reasons become convictions. Biblical convictions are essential for spiritual growth and maturity. Ironically, many people today have strong convictions about minor issues, like football or fashion. At the same time, they have weak convictions about major issues—like what is right and what is wrong. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (NRSV). Developing strong, biblical convictions takes time and commitment. But it’s worth it. In the long run, they’ll help you live a consistent, faith-driven life. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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