Passion for Jesus

"Passion for Jesus is not some phrase to be used lightly, or because it's popular. Phrases like this one can create a spiritual smoke screen which can fool us and others into thinking we are really spiritual people. But only God knows. He is not interested in what is popular or what has a good ring to it. He is, always was, and always will be, most interested in one thing -- that our entire lives be given over to Him. He doesn't just want our passion. He wants our ALL."

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Have you ever heard the phrase "Passion for Jesus?" The first time I heard this it really stopped me right in my tracks. 'What does that mean?' I thought. Well, there are lots of "sayings" out there but there is only one Truth. That is Christ. Truth is Christ. My experience is you can say "Jesus" and you can say "Christ," and those two can mean something quite different. But that's a topic for another post.

Right now, I just want to address this "passion" for Jesus. Quite honestly I never thought of passion outside of a passion for my wife. I desire her presence and her person in every way; I am one with her and continue to grow in this one-ness the more we grow to know one another. When I think of “passion” I think of all four kinds of love – eros, storge, philoeo, and especially, agape. It’s a whole and complete love which is deep and full. This is the sort of love I long to have for my first love, God the Father, whom I often call Abba. I call Him Abba sometimes in prayer because His son and my Messiah also called Him Abba. By His example He showed me I too can know the creator of the universe with the same intimacy. 

That's pretty passionate.

Passion for Jesus is not some phrase to be used lightly, or because it's popular. Phrases like this one can create a spiritual smoke screen which can fool us and others into thinking we are really spiritual people. But only God knows. He is not interested in what is popular or what has a good ring to it. He is, always was, and always will be, most interested in one thing -- that our entire lives be given over to Him. He doesn't want our passion. He wants our ALL. If I only give my feelings of love and passion to my wife our marriage still falls short of its true potential. But when I seek to die for my spouse, giving up everything in my life to make her happy, willing to change for her, lay down my dreams for her, and give her everything within me, my marriage goes deeper than mere passion.

The same is true of our relationship with God. Honestly, I don't even think we can have a passion for Jesus. I think it's impossible. "I" cannot have a passion for Jesus because "I" am a fleshly, weak, and fallen creature. If there is to be any passion within me that passion must come from God's Spirit, not from my own. There is only one job truly before me, that is, "I" must die. I need a "Passion for Death to Self." Then maybe there will be some shred of hope for love toward God.

We must die to our dreams, our desires for our own lives, or pursuits and ideas of what it means to be a Christian. We must truly surrender all, not just say it. Really, we must have a passion to die for Jesus, and to die for our brothers, to become a life dead to self but alive to God. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. Then the passion for Jesus is not really my own but that of the Spirit of God within me, teaching me to love Abba Father.

I do not carry the capacity for such a deep love as this divine love. I only carry the flesh. So my flesh must die so that I might live a new life in Christ my Lord; that He might receive the glory and praise for the passion within me for it comes from His Spirit. The passion for Jesus is a new life, once distant and unknown to me, but now made real by the Spirit, and by the Church, which possesses His Spirit, and calls me even deeper into a love which goes beyond mere passion for Jesus. It goes to my very core; to the fabric of my being and it calls me to complete desolation of self. Then.....Once dead, now made alive.

That's pretty passionate.

A Fun Day at the Lake

Summer, 2008. After a terrific passage weekend the moms and kiddos came out to Chickasaw State Park. The result was a fun little video of some dangerous stunts. Well, it wasn't dangerous for everyone, just for my own Zachary, whom we like to call Zack-Attack. Watch closely at the end as he looses his footing and flips upside down, just missing the edge of the dock. That's my Zack.

Making Birthday Fun of Gabe and Annie

Mala whipped together a song, then Dave &
Shalom came dressed to the party as yuppies, followed by Ken & Tina
as hicks. Perfect! Mala worked them in 10 min. before the surprise and
...well, there you go.

"I pledge allegiance to the…”

“ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ”- Philippians 3:20

"I pledge allegiance to the…”

We did it growing up, put our right hand over our heart and pledged allegiance to the flag. Many died to secure what freedoms we have in America. And I am very thankful. But there is a much greater death, and a much greater cause.

There has been much in the news lately about American citizenship. Immigration has become a problem, with so many crossing the boarder but never becoming a legal resident. I think the same problem exists in the church today. There are so many who have crossed the boarder and “attend” church each Sunday, but have never truly become “citizens of heaven.” They are illegal immigrants, taking advantage of the many benefits in this country but never becoming a resident of heaven.

Think about it: An immigrant does not speak the language. A resident of heaven speaks the language of heaven. An immigrant feels distant from the history of the land. A resident of heaven knows and owns the history of God’s people. An immigrant stays at arms length from the people who live nearby. But a resident of heaven comes to know the people of God and be known by them, thus becoming one body – the body of Christ.

As citizens of heaven we put no confidence in the flesh, in earthly things. Nations rise and fall, but the Kingdom of God is eternal. We pledge allegiance to Christ! We do so because our citizenship is in heaven! "I pledge allegiance to the…Christ, the Messiah, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who is Light and Life eternal."