Passion: Catch It

My South Carolina Gamecocks (well, I say “my”, but I don’t own em or play for em) won the College World Series last night.

Living fairly close to Columbia SC, I’ve gotten a chance to experience the celebration first hand.

With the local sports radio station phone lines ringing off the hook from callers wanting to celebrate and talk about their Gamecocks and with what I’ve read online, I have come to a conclusion…

Passion is contagious.

No matter what you’re passionate about, passion breeds passion.

If people (myself included) can get excited and passionate about a sport, how much more should our passion be with the things that matter.

How much more passionate should we be about our faith?
How much more passionate should we be about eternal life?
How much more passionate should we be that God offers free grace?

If you’re passionate about something, let it show.
If you’re passionate, go at it with all you have.

Passion is contagious, who’s catching yours?

Come On Now

Last Friday, I went to get my eyes checked for the first time in…
too long!

As I was getting fitted for glasses and getting checked out, the lady at the front desk noticed my occupation.

She was asking me a little about it and then said something that’s been stirring in me since I heard it…

“I don’t go to church, I do believe in God. A pastor told me a few days ago that in order for me to know Jesus, I need to have a good understanding of the Bible and what was happening in history at the time it was written.”

WHAT?!

Are there really people out there that believe that?

Are there really people leading our churches and people that believe that Jesus is really that hard to accept?

After thinking through this a little, I’ve come to this conclusion…

The more I learn about the Bible and Jesus, the more simple I realize it really is.

Sure, studying scripture is always a good thing.
It helps you know your faith better and helps us glean wisdom that can only come for in-depth study.

But, to know Jesus, it only takes one thing…
FAITH.

That’s it.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.

Please don’t make following Christ about anything but what Jesus has done for you!

(Of course, I cleared this up with the lady that asked the question. No, she didn’t accept Jesus, but I think she got closer.)

Do What You Need to Do

We’ve all been there…

Times when we knew what we were supposed to do,
but had so much trouble actually doing it.

Times when we knew how we should handle a situation,
but also knew what would be more profitable for us.

Times when we knew that we were crossing a line,
but wanted what was on the other side so bad,
we decided it didn’t matter.

No matter how dedicated you are to your faith,
how old you are,
how many times you’ve been there,
it can still be difficult…

Very difficult!

It’s been a problem that’s been going on since the beginning of Creation…

Eve knew that she shouldn’t eat from the tree,
but what it offered looked so much better than what she had.

The Israelites knew that they were supposed to be dedicate to the True God,
but what the false “gods” offered looked more appealing.

David knew that the adultery that he was about to commit would hurt him big time,
but immediate satisfaction seemed more desirable at the time.

Peter knew that Jesus was the Messiah,
but the fear of what would happened if he admitted to following seemed too big for him to be faithful.

Paul even dealt with this problem…
Romans 7:15 says, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

I don’t mention all of these examples so that we’ll feel better the next time we cross an obvious line.

I make these mentions to show you that WE can be different.

We can make the right choice today.
We can choose the right over the easy.
We can choose the godly over immediate satisfaction.
We can choose faithfulness over selfishness.

Put Up or Shut Up

Here’s a question that I’ve been asking myself lately…

What does it mean to follow Christ?

Now, I know that there are some typical answers to this question,
but they’ve really become more “church talk” than an actual lifestyle.

Here are a few practical examples of what following Christ look like when put into action…

• Loving people that seem to not deserve and love.
• Reaching out to help even when it seems to be really inconvenient.
• Making Jesus a part of every part of our lives.
• Not being afraid to step out on faith.
• Really believing and LIVING as if nothing else matters.
• Keeping eternity at the forefront of our minds.
• Believing and LIVING like there is a literal hell.
• Giving it all in determination to show others that they are important.

Luke 9:23 “Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”‘

Your thoughts…

What’s it mean to be a Christ follower?