Saw this quote today and it piqued my interest.  We should do more than just go to church.  We should be the church.  Living our faith where ever we go.

There has been a recurring word that is challenging my heart and mind.  It is the word passion.  In my daily walk with God, I feel God stirring my heart to be more passionate about Him and the Kingdom of God.  So often in our lives, we lose our passion or let it slip away without hardly noticing. 

God has been dealing with my heart about some areas that I/we must have passion for.

A Passion for what God has a passion for. The Lost (I shared this Sunday.  You can listen to it here.)

A Passion for God and His presence.

A Passion for His Kingdom’s Work (Ministry)

A Passion for His Church

A Passion for People

These are areas that we must focus on and be more passionate about.  In fact, if we lack passion in these areas, we will find ourselves in a spiritual rut or content with the status quo.  God desires for His people, Christ followers, to be passionate about the things of God. 

We must pursue Him and His presence.  We must be passionate for His church and the work of ministry.  We must be passionate for people and the lost.  If we lack passion in these areas, we need to spend more time in prayer and His Word and ask Him to relight our fire.  What are you most passionate about? Where do you lack passion ?

I saw this on Trevin Wax’s Blog.  It is a good way for us to pray.

“Father Almighty,

We trust that you desire to send revival and spiritual awakening to your people. We believe that you can revive and renew us. So we pray…

We pray that a hunger for revival would consume your people.
(Neh. 1:1-11)

We ask that you inspire our pastors with messages that will awaken your people.
(2 Tim. 4:2-5)

We pray that your people will have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
(Rev. 2:7)

Make the Church of today hot.
(Rev. 3:14-16)

We pray that those who have left their “first love” would return.
(Rev. 2:4-5)

We pray that those who have stopped gathering for worship would be convicted with a renewed sense of urgency to gather for worship.
(Heb. 10:25)

We ask you to call out an army of intercessors burdened for revival.
(Isaiah 62:6-7)

We desire to see evangelistic zeal consume your Church.
(James 5:19-20)

We cry out with the psalmist:
Will you not revive us again?
That your people may rejoice in you?
(Ps. 85:6)”

HT: Trevin Wax

Thursday nights always provide us with some drama because it is youth night at the library.  Last night, the crowd got out of hand and there were four police cars in the church parking lot.  A crowd of twenty youth gathered and there was some fighting going on. 

For a while, these things just frustrated me.  In fact, I was more than irritated.  After last night, my heart began to break for this generation of kids.  The future for this generation is not bright UNLESS Christ intervenes in their life.  The odds are stacked against many of today’s youth.  Broken homes, immorality running rampant, hostility, anger and hatred are a part of their every day life.  I have seen in the eyes of today’s youth, the hurt and pain of what they are enduring.  Beyond that I see a hopelessness in their eyes.

As I was praying for this generation of kids, I was reminded of when Jesus looked over the crowd in Matthew 9 and the Bible says He was moved with compassion for they were weary and scattered as sheep having no shepherd.  Jesus then called His disciples to touch their lives. 

We are called to reach the scattered sheep.  Young and old alike.  There are people who are hurting and desperate for love…unfailing love.  We are His disciples and Christ wants us to minister to this hurting generation.  Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 10, after He has called them, “Freely you have received, freely give.”  We have received so much from Christ, are we giving away His life, His hope to this world?”

It is interesting to me how He says this after He has given His disciples a list of things they have power over.  “Heal the sick, cleanse the leper, raise the dead, cast out demons.  Freely you have received, freely give.”  We have received the power to touch, we must give His power away.  I also, happen to think that many of these disciples might have been the recipient of these things Jesus described.

How many of us have been healed?  We must give it away.  How many have been touched by His power?  We must touch others because we have been touched.  The church, must not hoard the blessings of God, we must reach out and touch this generation.  They are not looking for us to be hip and cool.  They are looking for a church that embraces them with love, being genuine and walking in the power of God.  Freely you have received…freely give.

I have always been the type of guy who seeks wisdom from others.  In the multitude of counselors there is safety.  Throughout my 13 years of pastoral ministry, I have sought wisdom from many people.  I try to balance the types of people I seek wisdom from, so that I can get a good rounded answer.  I have been blessed to have mentors and friends who have been very helpful to me through these years of ministry.

Today I read an article that talked about seeking wisdom.  Here is some great insight from Ron Edmonson:

“The Bible is full of encouragement to seek wisdom.

Make plans by seeking advice; if you wage war, obtain guidance. Proverbs 20:18

Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. Proverbs 4:5

Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. Proverbs 4:7

I highly encourage you to seek wisdom.

The teachings on wisdom are like all other teachings within the Bible.  They should be understood within the context of the rest of Scripture.  Recently I was reading in the book of Isaiah and came across a verse that adds a spin to the issue of seeking wisdom:

You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you. Isaiah 47:13

I was reminded of three important principles regarding wisdom:

1. Gaining wisdom is invaluable, but we need to make sure we are listening to the right words of wisdom.
2. After we have sought wisdom from reliable advisors and we are left to make a decision, ultimately the responsibility to move forward in action is ours.
3. The wisdom we should seek first and foremost is from God.  Learning to know and hear His voice should be our number one goal in attaining wisdom.

Are you in need of wisdom?  Besides God, who do you go to when you need a word of wisdom?” –Ron Edmonson-

We just uploaded Sunday’s message HOSTAGE:Bitterness.  You can check it out online here.  Be careful, this message may change your life and relationships.

Yesterday, we concluded our Hostage series and I believe this has been a transforming series.  Our last message was looking at Bitterness.  Many people in today’s world are held captive by Bitterness and Unforgiveness.  It is something that will affect all of our relationships.  Because of bitterness we place walls in our lives to ensure that we will never get hurt again.  The truth is, however, that the Bible does not give us the permission to hold a grudge or to be bitter.

In our message we discussed how Jesus taught us how to handle our enemies.  What we found in His teaching is completely contrary to what this world tells us.  In fact, we can be sure that if Jesus tells us to do these things, they are indeed possible to do.  We must follow His steps and instructions:

1.  Love Your Enemies
2.  Do Good To Those Who Hate You
3.  Bless Those Who Curse You
4.  Pray For Those Who Spitefully Use You
5.  Turn The Other Cheek

None of these are easy.  In fact, these responses to our enemy are the most difficult thing a believer must do but that is what Jesus did.  He was beaten, mocked, accused, spit upon and crucified, yet He chose to forgive and love His enemies.  Christ exemplified these things and that is how we must respond as well.  No it is not easy, but God will help us.

In the Cheney Household, we recently upgraded from a crib to a toddler bed for Hannah.  Somewhere in the mix, Hannah forgot that the purpose of a crib or toddler bed was to sleep in it.  It seems that she considers sleeping in our room as the best thing going.  Honestly, the only time she uses her bed is at night, when I read her a bedtime story, and then she gets up and goes to our bed. 

Last night, Hannah and I went to her room for the bedtime story and she was a little upset.  Sonya had made Hannah’s bed and placed one of her baby dolls up by the pillows.  Hannah grabs the doll by the hair, throws her off the bed and proceeds to say, “Hey, that’s my bed, get off of here!”  Talk about territorial!

I wonder how many times that is our way of doing church.  As pastors we are guilty of saying, “That’s my neighborhood, that’s my church, that’s my people.”  We as pastors are often territorial!  As congregants, are we guilty of similar attitudes.  “That’s my seat, that’s my class, that’s my job.”

I am thankful for our church and the wonderful people who serve and worship together.  My prayer is that we will continue to be welcoming and fulfilling God’s heart for our church and community.  As pastors, we must guard ourselves from being more concerned with our church than God’s Kingdom.  We must work together to reach people for Christ!