SEARCHLIGHT
Can you truthfully say that you love Jesus Christ with everything within you and for all the right reasons?
SCRIPTURE
Yet all of the accomplishments that I once took credit for, I’ve now forsaken them, and I regard it all as nothing compared to the delight of experiencing Jesus Christ as my Lord! To truly know him meant letting go of everything from my past and throwing all my boasting on the garbage heap. It’s all like a pile of manure to me now, so that I may be enriched in the reality of knowing Jesus Christ and embrace him as Lord in all of his greatness. My passion is to be consumed with him… Philippians 3:7-9a, The Passion Translation
SPOTLIGHT
I was staying at home, by myself, to take a concentrated full day of prayer and Bible study. As I began praying, I asked God two questions: “What do You want to say to our church family? What do You want to do in our church?” I felt the Holy Spirit impressing me to ask different questions, namely, “What do You want to say to me, Lord? What do You want to do in me?” Then the Holy Spirit impressed some very personal questions upon my heart: “Are you serving me because you have to or because you want to? Are you ministering because you need to be a good example for others or because you love Me? Are you doing things for me because people are watching and counting on you or because you are close to Me? Are you
leading and pastoring because you do not want to let people down or because you want to honor Me? Are you working for Me because it is the right thing to do or because you long to, since I mean so much to you?” This was truly a clarifying moment concerning my passion and purity for Jesus Christ.
In the above Scripture text, Paul the Apostle had this unique clarifying moment concerning his relationship with Jesus. He realized his personal achievements meant nothing to his Savior. How could it be clear that Jesus meant everything to him? To truly love Jesus Christ required passion and purity.
During my prayer time, I told Jesus Christ that I was serving Him not out of obligation, necessity, or rightness but out of love. Jesus Christ had saved me from my sinful, selfish nature and given me a purpose and peace that only He, the Lord God, could give. I told Jesus He was my life, my completeness, my Savior, my Lord, and my Healer….my everything. Then I asked Jesus, “How can I show You that I serve You because I love You…because You are my all in all?” The Holy Spirit impressed me with a very unusual, unexpected answer. It wasn’t that I should give up something I own or go do something that I may be hesitant to do or even stop doing something I like to do. Instead, the Holy Spirit said, “Let me regularly ask you if you are serving me because you have to or because you want to?”
What God wanted to do was to keep this question before me. He did not want me to forget it. He was going to ask it often because He wanted it to penetrate my spirit. The Spirit of God wanted to be sure that my passion and purity for Jesus were the priority. Knowing the Bible, going to church, and going through spiritual motions were not what Jesus wanted. Had not Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God…” [Matthew 6:33] Do you remember that Jesus asked Peter three times if he truly loved Him? [John 21:15-23] Had not John, while writing Revelation, been inspired to challenge believers with the words, “Yet I hold this against you: you have forsaken the love you had at first.” [Revelation 2:4] What God wanted was for me to continually have a passion and pure heart for Him. Only then would the Holy Spirit empower me.
PASSION, PURITY, AND POWER. Passion breeds purity. Passion and purity produce Godly power. Passion for Jesus fuels purity which leads to holiness and creates divine power within you. Purity means cleanliness in words, deeds, and emotions. Choosing to be passionate and pure for Jesus is choosing Godliness. When you desire to be Godly, it results in you being empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Simply put, your longing for God results in experiencing God. Your passion and purity for Jesus lead to divine power.
SOMETHING TO DO
You will be greatly blessed when you take a concentrated period of time to spend with Jesus. Have your Bible, pen, and paper with you. Maybe go for a walk in the woods or find a secluded place to get alone with God.
SOUL TIME PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ, I want You to know that I love You and worship only You. You are my reason for living. Every day I would ask that You fill me with Your divine power. AMEN!