Day #6: October 8, 2010

Let me encourage you to do your best to memorize our first verse this week. You can do it. Ephesians 3:20 (NCV) "With God's power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine."

Let’s turn this idea of living for God into being real practical. I believe there are some things we can do practically that will immediately make a difference. Three steps…

#1. DETERMINE TO LIVE WITH PASSION.

What is passion? A lot of people think it synonymous with excitement. It’s not. Excitement comes and goes. Yesterday I got a slurpy. I was really excited for that slurpy. That’s me. But it’s gone. That’s not passion. Passion is deeper. Passion bubbles up in your soul. It’s what you live for. It’s what you get up in the morning for. Passion recognizes that life is short.

Passion embraces a bigger picture of life. Passion appears when one’s close to God. Listen to how important passion is to God. Matthew 22:37-38, the Great Commandment, from the message Bible “Jesus said, " 'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important ...”

Do you get that? God wants you to love Him with all of your passion. He wants to be your life. He wants to be your passion. You’ve heard me say before, Greeks didn’t write obituaries for each other – They simply asked one question – did he/she live with passion? I dig that. Folks, today if you get nothing else get this – you must live a life of passion. Determine to do just that this morning. Not in your power, but in His.

The frustrating thing for me? I can’t coach you how to live with passion. I can’t give you a heart transplant . you can’t take a pill to get passion. I can’t say, “Get up in the morning and listen to Tony Robbins and walk on hot coals and greet people like you’re amped up on triple expresso - that’s passion.” No, that’s fake. Passion is the result of your pursuing what matters most.

Passion wakes up inside of you when you understand what matters most. Passion comes when you decide to give your life to something greater than yourself. So the question is: Am I living my life with passion and am I passionate about the right things? You’ve got to start there.

What matters most? God. His plans and purposes for your life. The Apostle Paul knew this. That's why he said in Acts 20:24 (NCV)- "I don't care about my own life. The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me--to tell people the Good News about God's grace."

Folks, that is flourishing. That is living in the spirit. That is life. I'm praying you make the choice today to make every moment count. Live with passion. Flourish. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE!