Passion

I want to be chased. Not seen as already won, but worth winning every day. It's this innate, unavoidable and insuppressible desire in which my very being can never be severed. Desire is not even a strong enough word... it is more like an excruciating pang of longing to be truly and passionately loved by one man and to yearn for only him for my entire existence. Maybe this sounds too similar to a sappy romance novel for some, but in complete honesty, God made woman this way. He made us to desire being chased and he made man to desire the chase.

The problem is, in my not-so-educated opinion, that we have been told passion is bad. Passion makes us do wrong; therefore, in our finite minds, if we eliminate passion, we eliminate sin.

Dead wrong.

God made us to be passionate beings. Not controlled by our passions, but allowing God to be the reign-holder and steer our passions. The fall of man in the garden has made us desire satisfaction of God-made passions immediately. Example 1: Passion for sex is good. God gave us a sex-drive and a desire for sex (1. as a way to procreate, 2. as a way to share our life with someone emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually, and 3. as a way to illustrate the complete oneness of the Father Son and Spirit). The problem is not that we are passionate about sex, the problem is that we are not patient. God gave us this passion and when we use that passion in the manner in which God intended, we are safe, we are completely fulfilled, and we are brought closer to Him. When we use our passion in a way that God did not intend, we are harmed (physically, spiritually, mentally, or emotionally), we are unsatisfied, and we are separated from Him.

Example 2: Passion for good food is not a bad thing at all. God gave us an unbelievable plethora of plants and animals (sorry vegans!) to explore taste. He gave us taste buds and He made incredibly tasty things and the creativity to create our OWN tasty concoctions. Not a bad thing at all! God created us to enjoy this life and live it to the full, but if we use our passion for food in a manner in which God never intended, we become unhealthy, and in turn, unhappy. If we use our passion for food in the manner in which God did intend, we are healthy people which (usually) makes us happier people and better able to enjoy this world God has created, help others around us, etc.

You see, the problem is not our passion... the problem is that we were made to have our Creator guide us, but so many of us don't let Him take the reigns in our lives and we are left to our own spiritual demise.

So, by eliminating passion in order to eliminate sin (unsuccessfully, I might add), we are denying ourselves the life that God designed for us to live. God has a beautiful, healthy, enjoyable, adventurous journey for us full of passion and love and excitement. Because of sin (and not just yours), chances are it will involve pain too.

All I'm getting at is... people, be PASSIONATE! Let yourself experience an ardent love for one another. Men, experience the chase of winning the heart of the love of your life every day. Women, passionately love and support and encourage the love of your life every day. People, fervently pursue your dreams and passions, but allow God to be the reign-holder and direct your passions, not to limit you, but to keep you from being limited! We serve a LIMITLESS God just waiting to pour out his blessings on your life! Let us not miss out on those blessings because we are not letting him direct our paths.

God is passionate for us. Let us be passionate for him.

Spiritual Gifts

1 Corinthians 14... Paul speaks to the church in Corinth about using their spiritual gifts in ways that edify the church.

I have not been given the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues. I do believe it still exists, but that isn't my gift. I have not been given the gift of prophecy. I do believe it still exists, but again that isn't my gift. However, I have met people who have been given those gifts and many of those people have taken time to understand their gift and the ways God has commanded them to be used... or not used. I so appreciate when people recognize their spiritual gifts and then remember they are to be used to glorify our Lord and not bring attention or glory or "spiritual status" to ourselves.

As Beth Moore has stated before, ALL believers are baptized in the Holy Spirit whether they speak in tongues or not. Its clear in the epistles that not all believers spoke in tongues and not all believers prophesied. BUT every believer is given a spiritual gift.

Our God is a God of order, not disorder; he is a God of clarity, not confusion.

"²⁷If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. ²⁸If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.

²⁹Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. ³⁰And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. ³¹For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. ³²The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. ³³For God is not a God of disorder but of peace...³⁷If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command. ³⁸If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored.

³⁹Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. ⁴⁰ But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way." 1 Corinthians 14:27-33, 37-40

It doesn't sit right with my spirit when I'm in a place where spiritual gifts are not being used in accordance with God's Word. Tongues and prophecy are used as a sign of the Holy Spirit and if you don't possess those gifts, then you aren't a true believer or you haven't yet been filled with the Spirit. Our God is in complete unity with the Spirit and the Son and he wants complete unity with his people. I don't believe God has his people separated into "Spirit-filled followers" and "Non-spirit-filled followers". We are ALL his children. All who claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are filled with his spirit and his power. True, some believers allow themselves to experience the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives more than others, but tongues is not THE sign of being filled with the Spirit. We all have different functions in his body and each is equally important.

My only point is that when we know our spiritual gifts, as leaders in the body of Christ, we are responsible to study what God's Word has to say about these gifts and the capacity in which we can and should use them to glorify God and edify the church. As teachers and leaders in the church, we will be held accountable by God for how we lead others and what we teach others. That honestly puts the fear of God in me knowing that if I don't take time to fully understand God's Word to the best of my abilities and I mislead or mis-"teach" others, God will hold me accountable. With leadership comes great responsibility.

Lord, give me more passion each day to study and know your Word. Give me YOUR understanding and perspective. Help me not to lead anyone into a wrong understanding of your Word and surround me with those who will hold me accountable for what I say, what I teach, and how I lead. I love you Lord.