May 4, 2022
I’m here in my living room reclined in my favorite chair. It’s been a long but great day! As I unwind, I’m between glancing at what’s on the TV and listening to my daughter sing Justin Bieber’s “Baby” song upstairs. She’s in pretend mode, and I love it. In her mind she’s singing that song in front of a sold-out auditorium with all the confidence of a professional entertainer. It speaks of one who dreams of big things one day. She’s not been tainted with the word “can’t” or “don’t” yet. I hope it will always stay that way. Not so she’ll become a pop star necessarily, but because in my heart and mind, I know that God has placed within her a passion to do something special and unique in the world for His name’s sake. In fact, I believe that God has placed a passion within all of us to discover and express. The only way to be “Fully Alive” is to know your passion and live into it.
I know. I know. Finding your passion isn’t as easy as just singing a Justin Bieber song. So where to begin? I believe it’s vitally important to start with your relationship with Jesus Christ. After all, He was there when we were created and knows a thing or two about what makes us feel fully alive. It makes sense then to trust Him in our search of our passion. The best way to express that trust is through the act of obedience to His teachings. If you would like a recap of those, I encourage you to review Matthew 5 – 7 as Jesus clearly outlines the life of a disciple in The Sermon on The Mount. It’s interesting what happens when you live as Jesus asks. You’ll find yourself doing something for His kingdom that you do for no other reason than the fact that it gives you ultimate fulfillment. It’s not about money. It’s not about prestige. It’s something you would do if you never made a dime, or nobody ever knew about it. That’s what passion is.
Passion is different for each person. I remember when I discovered that my passion was helping others in Jesus’s name. It happened on a mission trip to Brazil when I was sixteen. Each time I served someone or taught a Bible lesson, I felt fully alive. It was a pivotal moment of my life because I just wanted more of that feeling. I fed that passion off and on through various stages of my life. Then at the age of twenty eight, I accepted the call to be a full time Christian minister. It was at that time I understood that my passion was best expressed within the church as a minister. Now as a senior pastor, I’m proud to say that this passion only continues to grow. I still want more!
How about you? What is the passion that you believe God has placed within you? As we look into the book of Acts again on Sunday for our series, “Fully Alive,” we will give special attention to a lady named Tabitha whose passion still speaks to us today. You can find those verses in Chapter 9:36-42 if you want to read ahead. So strong was her passion that she left a legacy for the generations that followed. I believe that through Jesus Christ that such a promise can be true for all who will boldly live for Him. What would it mean to you for people to one day say you left a legacy of being fully alive? Join us on Sunday and let’s explore this further!
Sincerely,
Pastor David
