"Our Spiritual Passion"

"Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head." (John 13:9 KJV)

  "Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. So he went and preached to the spirits in prison - those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 3:18-21 NLT)

 A little bit much, but earnest and sincere, having realized that he was wrong for questioning the Lord's purpose and compassion in washing his feet. This is really not that hard to do; as a matter of fact, it is probably something we all do from time to time, and we don't even realize it; and when we do, we tend to write it off, as if it wasn't meant to happen today. 

 I can recall my early days as a new baby in Christ, how often I went forward when an invitation was given. It was as if I needed to be renewed, having been convicted from the message, I needed to be washed from my sin, again and again. Then I began looking for every opportunity to get more of God's Spirit; whether it was by having hands laid on me, to practicing speaking in tongues. Whatever I could do, I felt as though I still had a need for more passion, more love, more desire to obey. 

 Then I learned to adjust! Call it whatever you want, but it is the realization that you are never going to get sinless, you can only learn how to sin less! I heard it said, "You only hold onto the sins that you like!" As true as that sounds, we must love God more than we like ourselves, then we can start not liking any sin! Easier said than done! There is only One who was sinless, and He took on all our sin, even those that we like. 

 Let that sink in, because the more you put that into perspective, the less you will like yourself, and the more you will love God. Keep it simple, stupid...

"Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil. Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful." (1 Thessalonians 5:14-24 NLT)