Leadership AwakeningSample

Maintaining your Passion

In our fast-paced generation, we are tempted to get busy with many different things. These things may not necessarily be bad things. But just like us, the early Christians almost lost sight of the basics when they were confronted with a specific need of the society of their time—the daily distribution of food for widows. 

The apostles understood that they needed to turn this responsibility over to men full of the Spirit and wisdom so that they as leaders could give their full attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word—they went back to the basics. The result was a time of breakthrough for the church in Jerusalem: “Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly” (Acts 6:7). 

In spite of this, when we read the book of Revelation, we find out that some of the churches that began with great power and authority were in danger of not finishing well. The believers in Ephesus were full of admirable works, but they had lost their “first love” (Revelation 2:4) for the Lord. Jesus said the church in Sardis was spiritually “dead” (Revelation 3:1). And the Christians in Laodicea were so lukewarm that Jesus said He was going to spit them out of His mouth. (See Revelation 3:15–16.) 

As kingdom leaders, this should speak volumes to us! If we want to finish the race well, we must maintain our passion. In the apostle Paul’s words to Timothy, “Stir up the gift of God which is in you” (2 Timothy 1:6). In other translations, we see that Paul compares us to waning embers of fire that must be continually fanned into flame, or rekindled. 

In words that now sound prophetic, Salvation Army founder William Booth once warned, “I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.”

Dead religion and empty theology will never change the world. What the world needs and is desperately asking for are Christians whose hearts are aflame with passion for Jesus. Transformation will not come from gifted orators or well-trained communicators. We need much more than that. We need men and women who spend time in the presence of the Lord, who hear from God and communicate His heart. People who love the Lord and love His people more than their career, ministry, and even their own lives. 

Provoke-A-Thought:

We cannot change our past, but the choices we make each day determine our future. Which choices can you make today that will maintain the passion and the flame of your faith?