“Lack of interest in mission is not fundamentally caused by an absence of compassion or commitment, nor by lack of information or exhortation. And lack of interest in mission is not remedied by more shocking statistics, more gruesome stories or more emotionally manipulative commands to obedience. It is best remedied by intensifying peoples’ passion for Christ, so that the passions of his heart become the passions that propel our hearts.”
― Tim A. Dearborn, Beyond Duty: A Passion For Christ, A Heart For Mission
ZECHARIAH 10-12
1Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;
it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain to all people,
and plants of the field to everyone.
2The idols speak deceitfully,
diviners see visions that lie;
they tell dreams that are false,
they give comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wander like sheep
oppressed for lack of a shepherd.(10:1-2)
REVELATION 20
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. Theya had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
JOURNAL
Scripture often can be confusing and troubling, especially if it is taken out of context. Reading through the Bible this past year has given me a greater sense of the mission and purpose of it from the perspective of the whole. Read in this way I see that God deeply loves us and desires for us to trust him and live our lives in service to him. By doing so he promises that our lives will be full of purpose and significance and that we will experience profound joy. Since God is the author and creator of all, we function best when we acknowledge that and seek to know him and accept his love for us. When we do this, we are saved from loneliness, fear, despair and evil...which is the absence of love.
Ultimately we are then given eternal life with God. Yet it is our obedience, and acceptance of his love that must precede our adoption as sons and daughters into his kingdom. This makes sense...just as a child must accept it's adoptive parents love in order to truly experience life as a son or daughter. So when we believe and accept we get everything God has to offer.
Living this way...wipes out fear and fills us with confidence and passion. No longer do we doubt ourselves, our purpose. For we can look to Christ and know God's passionate love and be filled with his spirit in order to overcome whatever challenge that comes our way. We can live a life that reflects the power and love of God. This is the gospel...Amazing Grace!
Ultimately we are then given eternal life with God. Yet it is our obedience, and acceptance of his love that must precede our adoption as sons and daughters into his kingdom. This makes sense...just as a child must accept it's adoptive parents love in order to truly experience life as a son or daughter. So when we believe and accept we get everything God has to offer.
Living this way...wipes out fear and fills us with confidence and passion. No longer do we doubt ourselves, our purpose. For we can look to Christ and know God's passionate love and be filled with his spirit in order to overcome whatever challenge that comes our way. We can live a life that reflects the power and love of God. This is the gospel...Amazing Grace!
We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,e 10so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified youf to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
COLOSSIANS 1:9-14
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