Mary Magdalene
1. Her Passion Gave Her Staying Power: Mary Magdalene, out of whom Christ cast seven evil spirits probably, came from the town of Magdala. She played some significant roles in the life of Christ during His crucifixion, burial and resurrection: Her passion kept her tarrying at the empty tomb when others had given up [John 20:10-11]. Though Mary was the one who first informed Peter and John about the resurrection, they only came, looked into the empty tomb and went back home. She however kept waiting there. How long are we prepared to wait for God to come through when all seems lost and we do not appear anywhere near achieving our goals and dreams? If God comes through for us, will He find us still waiting in faith? (Luke 18:8). Will He find us still expecting what He promised?
Mary Magdalene’s deep affection for her Lord kept her waiting when all others had given up. She was there during the last moments of the agony of Christ on the cross (John 19:25), she remained by the cross till all was over, and waited till the body was taken down and placed in the garden sepulchre of Joseph of Arimathaea (Matthew 27:61). Then she became the first to know of the resurrection of Christ and break the news to the apostles (John 20:2).
The lesson is that if there is delay in realizing your dreams, your passion will keep you holding on till you literally experience a resurrection of your dreams.
2. Passionate People are Front Liners: Mary Magdalene was the first to appear at Jesus’ tomb on that resurrection morning [John 20:1]. It was a dangerous period for the followers of Christ. All others were hiding for dear life; even the apostles did not risk all for the body of Christ. Mary Magdalene so much appreciated what Christ had done for her, and had developed such a deep affection for Him and His cause that she risked all for Him. Passionate people love to take the frontlines in service or battle. Their passion makes real danger look like child’s play, and because of that, they are able to tread where angels fear to tread. The level of motivation their passion gives them exceeds any external motivation someone may supply through encouragement or reward. Mary Magdalene was the first to appear at Jesus’ tomb on that resurrection morning [John 20:1].
It is my view that many Christians today are not yet all that passionate for the cause of Christ, and that is why we have so few people voluntarily offering themselves for the service of the church. This is true whether you look at the need for voluntary workers or full time workers for Christ. It will take a passionate bunch of believers who have a revelation of the Lord Jesus in their souls to overrun areas that are no-go areas for the gospel. Do we ever wonder why the mighty Soviet army with all their state-of-the-art weapons were defeated in Afghanistan by the rag-tag army of the Taliban and the Afghan mujahedeen (freedom fighters)? The answer is that those fighters were passionate ideologues who were ready to die for their beliefs.
3. Passion, Prayer and Worship -A Life-giving Combination: John 20:11 says Mary Magdalene stooped weeping; the others just stooped and looked inside the tomb. A posture of stooping [prayer, worship], with weeping [demonstrating her passion], resulted in angels being revealed to her. The apostles did not see the revelation of angels in the garden tomb. John the beloved stooped [John 20:3]; Peter also stooped and went in [John 20:6]. Mary however stooped with tears in her eyes [John 20:11]. Many may be praying and worshipping, but God has a special eye for the passionate of soul . This shows us that prayer and worship with passion are powerful attitudes in bringing down the glory of God. God seeks people who will worship Him in ‘spirit and in truth’ and with all their hearts.
The lesson here is that if you get passionate enough to look for the interests of Christ and His body, the church, God will appear to you and speak to you about the state of the body. This truth applies both in the local church or the body of Christ at large. If you spend time, praying for your church you will know the mind of God for the church. Indeed, it is a scriptural principle that if we are to find God, we must seek Him passionately with all our heart. “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jer 29:13).
4. Passion - An Essential Leadership Quality: After Mary Magdalene had told them about the missing body, Peter and the other disciple got there first but Jesus did not appear to any of them. The race is not to the swift …. Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene , whose passion had knocked any legitimate fears out of her life. In a sense, this made her a leader. She truly demonstrated what real passion is - staying at it till, if necessary, the last drop of blood drops from your body. No wonder Jesus chose to reveal Himself to her first. This story also demonstrates to us that your natural strength is not what makes you excel in your service to God. Passion can supersede all this. Peter and John had the natural ability and muscle power to outrun Mary Magdalene, but her passion won the day. Learn to be passionate for what you believe, because your passion can put into your hands what natural ability cannot lay hands on.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
PASSION POINTERS
PASSION POINTERS
1. What comes naturally? What flows out of you without effort? Do you find yourself engaging in discourses or practices in particular fields of endeavour, in which though not trained, you always come out on top? For instance, are you someone who designs your own clothes which always become the centre of attraction? You call it your hobby. Probably you find yourself always waking up with tunes, writing lyrics, poems, or stories in spite of the fact that you have no formal training in those fields. Your passion may just be calling your attention. Be wise. Heed to its voice. One interesting thing I realized about the sons of Lamech – Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-Cain [Genesis 4:19-22] is that all their names have a common root meaning to flow as a stream. Their gifts simply oozed out of them effortlessly. It came naturally to them. Probably by these names and the outcome of their lives, God may be teaching us the lesson of following the natural flow of our lives if we are to make significant impact in our endeavours. Shakti Gawain, a human potential teacher commented thus, “We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own or to other people’s models, learn to be ourselves, and allow our natural channel to open”. That “natural channel” is that of passion.
2. I just want to be where you are: which fields of endeavour irresistibly draws and holds your attention? In addition, do you always shine when you put your hands to do those things that put your soul on fire? Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong of the United States, after winning a record sixth consecutive title in 2004, said, “I am not in it for the money, fame... I am in it because I love it”.
3. Star struck: Do people look at you and treat you like one of the ‘stars’ when you participate in some activities? Remember a man’s gift will always make him shine or stand out of the crowd . However, the gift can only be fuelled or powered by passion if you are to excel.
4. Surprise, surprise! Is there something you love to do, that always amazes people? Do you do things, which sometimes surprise even the people close to you? Even in unfavourable environments, are you able to repeat those performances?
5. For better or for worse: Are you willing to live and die for this? Do you enjoy doing it even though it is difficult for others? Would you still do this if the payment you receive for it were reduced? At the end of the day, passion is primarily not about money and fame. Money may be a by-product of passion, but that is not what this book is about. It is a fiery love of something and the joys that go with it. It is about the sense of fulfilment that passion brings.
6. No drudgery here: Do you enjoy what others consider drudgery in that field of endeavour? American essayist Logan Pearsall Smith said, “The test of a vocation is the love of the drudgery it involves”. Every form of pursuit contains some amount of drudgery. If you enjoy the drudgery, you can live with it forever. In a sense, your passion is like your husband or wife. If you can live with each other’s shortcomings and faults, it can be forever.
7. Out of the abundance of the heart : What do you talk about most? It excites your heart, occupies your waking thoughts and imaginations, giving you pictures of what could be, and it is the first on your lips. It is a pointer to your passion. For those of us who are Christians, we need to find out what service or ministry in the church we love talking about. What are we so concerned and enthusiastic about in church? It could be the music, ushering, teaching, giving or praying. Move to that department in the church and begin to let your passion run. That is how to progress in Christian service.
8. Labour of love: You serve what you love. Jacob served seven years for Rachel. The Bible records that the seven years looked like a few days for Jacob . When you are in the company of someone dear to you, or doing something you enjoy, time really flies. Renowned scientist and inventor Thomas Edison spent thousands of hours experimenting before he made his discoveries. He never saw it as drudgery and so he worked for days on end, sometimes without food. To him it was service of love for the advancement of humanity.
The Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord, served humanity and in the course of service gave His life as a seed to God to multiply in us . In the course of service, you plant seeds that multiply and bring you prosperity and happiness. What you love to serve most may be your passion and your source of fulfilment.
9. Where did he learn this? As a parent, you may ask yourself “Do I find my child sometimes doing things that make me wonder where he learnt it from”? In addition, “Are those things she does constantly being inexplicably repeated”? Swiss philosopher and poet, Henri Frederic Amiel, once said “The fire which enlightens is the same fire which consumes”. For all you know the child may just be pointing to the ‘script’ he is carrying to play out in life - where his passion or his seed lies. Recognising and developing this would save the child a lot of misery in life.
10. What makes him tick? Do you or others sometimes comment that your child is ‘mad’ or ‘crazy’ about a particular thing? They could be crazy about playing the keyboard or guitar, kicking a football around half the day, or making little dresses for dolls at a very tender age. What you are seeing is comparable to a precious uncut and unpolished jewel such as a diamond attempting to shine through the surrounding mud. Your responsibility here is to guide gently your child to polish what God has put in him until he picks up a fire of his own.
Never make the mistake of suppressing what you do not understand. The child may forever be frustrated in life. I have heard a few stories like that and they are not pleasant. A few have even gone mental through the frustration of not being able to express what they feel within. French philosopher François Marie Arouet, a.k.a. Voltaire, said, “Anyone who seeks to destroy the passions instead of controlling them is trying to play the angel”.
11. Do you have a gift or talent in that discipline? Gifts and talents are the fuel for the fires of passion. Passion will give wings to your gifts and talents and cause you to excel. Noted author John Maxwell wrote; “Human beings are so made that whenever anything fires the soul, impossibilities vanish. A fire in your life lifts everything in your life. That’s why passionate leaders are so effective. A leader with great passion and few skills always outperforms a leader with great skills and no passion”. From this statement, we can adduce that if you cannot live with the drudgery of your occupation, it cannot light a fire in you, so you will not be passionate about it. Hence, you will not be able to perform creditably no matter the external motivation your employers try to give you.
A sense of duty, obligation or guilt is poor fuel for getting things done because they will not give you the requisite inner strength to surmount the challenges your projects present. It may be you do not have the gifts, talents and passion for it. Make a move. Begin to discover, develop and deploy your passion.
12. What sparks a fire in you and releases your latent energies? What you love to do will spark a fire in your soul. American psychologist and philosopher Professor William James said, “Fire is burning passion”. If that fire really burns in your life, it will set your wheels aflame and cause you to do something.
13. Enthusiasm – a sure sign of passion. The word enthusiasm comes from the Greek adjective ‘entheos’, meaning, “Having the god within”. Though of pagan roots, this explanation clearly helps us to locate our passion. It is formed from en-, “in, within,” and theos, “god.” Your enthusiasm is therefore an indicator of the passion God has deposited in you. You can know your passion by the level of enthusiasm you have for something. For a footballer like Pele of Brazil, we may say that God’s natural grace was in his feet. For others, God’s natural grace may be in their hands or voice. In an organizational or church setting, if you want to locate which vessels God will use to advance the work in various departments, look for those who are enthusiastic. With a little knowledge through targeted training, they will excel in what they do.
1. What comes naturally? What flows out of you without effort? Do you find yourself engaging in discourses or practices in particular fields of endeavour, in which though not trained, you always come out on top? For instance, are you someone who designs your own clothes which always become the centre of attraction? You call it your hobby. Probably you find yourself always waking up with tunes, writing lyrics, poems, or stories in spite of the fact that you have no formal training in those fields. Your passion may just be calling your attention. Be wise. Heed to its voice. One interesting thing I realized about the sons of Lamech – Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-Cain [Genesis 4:19-22] is that all their names have a common root meaning to flow as a stream. Their gifts simply oozed out of them effortlessly. It came naturally to them. Probably by these names and the outcome of their lives, God may be teaching us the lesson of following the natural flow of our lives if we are to make significant impact in our endeavours. Shakti Gawain, a human potential teacher commented thus, “We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own or to other people’s models, learn to be ourselves, and allow our natural channel to open”. That “natural channel” is that of passion.
2. I just want to be where you are: which fields of endeavour irresistibly draws and holds your attention? In addition, do you always shine when you put your hands to do those things that put your soul on fire? Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong of the United States, after winning a record sixth consecutive title in 2004, said, “I am not in it for the money, fame... I am in it because I love it”.
3. Star struck: Do people look at you and treat you like one of the ‘stars’ when you participate in some activities? Remember a man’s gift will always make him shine or stand out of the crowd . However, the gift can only be fuelled or powered by passion if you are to excel.
4. Surprise, surprise! Is there something you love to do, that always amazes people? Do you do things, which sometimes surprise even the people close to you? Even in unfavourable environments, are you able to repeat those performances?
5. For better or for worse: Are you willing to live and die for this? Do you enjoy doing it even though it is difficult for others? Would you still do this if the payment you receive for it were reduced? At the end of the day, passion is primarily not about money and fame. Money may be a by-product of passion, but that is not what this book is about. It is a fiery love of something and the joys that go with it. It is about the sense of fulfilment that passion brings.
6. No drudgery here: Do you enjoy what others consider drudgery in that field of endeavour? American essayist Logan Pearsall Smith said, “The test of a vocation is the love of the drudgery it involves”. Every form of pursuit contains some amount of drudgery. If you enjoy the drudgery, you can live with it forever. In a sense, your passion is like your husband or wife. If you can live with each other’s shortcomings and faults, it can be forever.
7. Out of the abundance of the heart : What do you talk about most? It excites your heart, occupies your waking thoughts and imaginations, giving you pictures of what could be, and it is the first on your lips. It is a pointer to your passion. For those of us who are Christians, we need to find out what service or ministry in the church we love talking about. What are we so concerned and enthusiastic about in church? It could be the music, ushering, teaching, giving or praying. Move to that department in the church and begin to let your passion run. That is how to progress in Christian service.
8. Labour of love: You serve what you love. Jacob served seven years for Rachel. The Bible records that the seven years looked like a few days for Jacob . When you are in the company of someone dear to you, or doing something you enjoy, time really flies. Renowned scientist and inventor Thomas Edison spent thousands of hours experimenting before he made his discoveries. He never saw it as drudgery and so he worked for days on end, sometimes without food. To him it was service of love for the advancement of humanity.
The Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord, served humanity and in the course of service gave His life as a seed to God to multiply in us . In the course of service, you plant seeds that multiply and bring you prosperity and happiness. What you love to serve most may be your passion and your source of fulfilment.
9. Where did he learn this? As a parent, you may ask yourself “Do I find my child sometimes doing things that make me wonder where he learnt it from”? In addition, “Are those things she does constantly being inexplicably repeated”? Swiss philosopher and poet, Henri Frederic Amiel, once said “The fire which enlightens is the same fire which consumes”. For all you know the child may just be pointing to the ‘script’ he is carrying to play out in life - where his passion or his seed lies. Recognising and developing this would save the child a lot of misery in life.
10. What makes him tick? Do you or others sometimes comment that your child is ‘mad’ or ‘crazy’ about a particular thing? They could be crazy about playing the keyboard or guitar, kicking a football around half the day, or making little dresses for dolls at a very tender age. What you are seeing is comparable to a precious uncut and unpolished jewel such as a diamond attempting to shine through the surrounding mud. Your responsibility here is to guide gently your child to polish what God has put in him until he picks up a fire of his own.
Never make the mistake of suppressing what you do not understand. The child may forever be frustrated in life. I have heard a few stories like that and they are not pleasant. A few have even gone mental through the frustration of not being able to express what they feel within. French philosopher François Marie Arouet, a.k.a. Voltaire, said, “Anyone who seeks to destroy the passions instead of controlling them is trying to play the angel”.
11. Do you have a gift or talent in that discipline? Gifts and talents are the fuel for the fires of passion. Passion will give wings to your gifts and talents and cause you to excel. Noted author John Maxwell wrote; “Human beings are so made that whenever anything fires the soul, impossibilities vanish. A fire in your life lifts everything in your life. That’s why passionate leaders are so effective. A leader with great passion and few skills always outperforms a leader with great skills and no passion”. From this statement, we can adduce that if you cannot live with the drudgery of your occupation, it cannot light a fire in you, so you will not be passionate about it. Hence, you will not be able to perform creditably no matter the external motivation your employers try to give you.
A sense of duty, obligation or guilt is poor fuel for getting things done because they will not give you the requisite inner strength to surmount the challenges your projects present. It may be you do not have the gifts, talents and passion for it. Make a move. Begin to discover, develop and deploy your passion.
12. What sparks a fire in you and releases your latent energies? What you love to do will spark a fire in your soul. American psychologist and philosopher Professor William James said, “Fire is burning passion”. If that fire really burns in your life, it will set your wheels aflame and cause you to do something.
13. Enthusiasm – a sure sign of passion. The word enthusiasm comes from the Greek adjective ‘entheos’, meaning, “Having the god within”. Though of pagan roots, this explanation clearly helps us to locate our passion. It is formed from en-, “in, within,” and theos, “god.” Your enthusiasm is therefore an indicator of the passion God has deposited in you. You can know your passion by the level of enthusiasm you have for something. For a footballer like Pele of Brazil, we may say that God’s natural grace was in his feet. For others, God’s natural grace may be in their hands or voice. In an organizational or church setting, if you want to locate which vessels God will use to advance the work in various departments, look for those who are enthusiastic. With a little knowledge through targeted training, they will excel in what they do.
Friday, June 5, 2009
DISCOVERING PASSION
This piece will hopefully help us to discover the passion God placed in each of us.
Discovering Passion
By the age of twenty, any young man should know whether or not he is to be a specialist and just where his tastes lie. By postponing the question, we have set on immaturity a premium which controls most American personality to its deathbed. - Robert S. Hillyer.
CHAPTER 3
Discovering your Passion
I read this commentary from a Christian devotional :
“Do you want to discover your God-given assignment? Listen to your heart! Though there are over six billion people on earth, nobody has a heartbeat exactly like yours. In the same way, God has given you an emotional heartbeat that races when you think about certain subjects and activities. You care more instinctively about certain things than others. These are clues to where you should be serving. Don’t ignore them.
God wants you to serve him passionately, not half-heartedly. “Serve Him with all your heart’’ (Deut. 11:13). We rarely excel at things we do not feel passionate about. Listening for your inner promptings can lead you to the ministry God intends you to have.
One telltale sign is enthusiasm. When you are doing what you love to do, nobody has to motivate you, check up on you, applaud you or reward you; you do it for sheer enjoyment. The highest achievers in any field are those who do it because of passion, not duty or profit.
Don’t waste your life doing something that does not express your heart. Meaning is far more important than money. Ultimately, money doesn’t satisfy. What’s the point of having a lot to live on, if you have nothing to live for”?
Passion has an Object
From the earlier definition of passion and the above quotation, we realize that there is usually an object of your passion. Passion always has some object as its focus. This object usually carries or points you to the ‘seed’ of your life. Your passion throws light on your seed. Scripture reveals that for multiplication and fruitfulness to take place in God’s creation, God placed a seed in the plants He made.
“And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good”. Gen. 1:11-12 [Emphasis added]
The same applies to us. We all have our seed within us. To benefit from it, you need to discover and invest time, effort and resources in that seed. To discover your passion and hence, your seed, you need to ask yourself a few questions:
Where Is Your Treasure?
Many of us spend all our lives trying to find out what will bring us prosperity and fulfilment. In the book of Matthew in the Bible Jesus gave us a pointer:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:21 [Emphasis added]
The word “treasure” means ‘deposit’ or ‘wealth’. So, the basic question we need to ask if we want to possess the deposits of God in our lives is “Where is my heart”? “What am I always dreaming of” or “what is it for which l love to spend my time and be spent”.
For instance, most people who become musicians often find themselves drawn to musical instruments and musical groups in their youth when their parents expect them to be studying some other subjects. They find themselves creating songs or writing poems without any formal training. They put their whole life into their music and get totally lost in it. Sometimes, they even escape the watchful eyes of disagreeable parents in order to pursue their passion. If you find yourself behaving like this in any endeavour, it is a pointer to where your heart may be. Surely, you will find “treasure” or God’s deposit in your life in that endeavour. You have treasure hidden in that field (Matt. 13:4). That field is your own life. Go ahead and buy it - follow your heart. Treasure may not necessarily mean a lot of money. It may be a fully satisfied life - that says, “I am doing what I love with my life, and I am fully satisfied with myself”.
What is God’s bounty in your life?
The poorest of people are still sitting by their “acres of diamonds”. All they need is the wisdom of God to tap into their seed and bring that seed to the place of multiplication. There is a linkage between that seed, their passion and purpose in this life. Their gifts and talents point to that seed. God is a just God. He is not partial in anyway . He gives every person born into this world the basic gifts and talents – tools needed to succeed in life. As in the parable of the pounds , God has given to each person something to work with in this life. We see an example of the bounty of God in the life of Lamech, the first polygamist in the Bible . This short summary of Lamech’s family shows us the variety of talent and ability God gives humans. With no recorded training of any sort, and in spite of the fact that he is the first person to violate monogamy in marriage, Lamech’s family was blessed with industrialists: they had a herdsman or ranch owner called Jabal; a musician and inventor called Jubal, and a metallurgist cum fabricator called Tubal-Cain. With their passion for their gifts and talents, there is no way misery and poverty could reign in their family. I believe that out of the bounty of God, every family has such a wealth of talent and even more waiting to be tapped. Once you recognize and use them, you and your family cannot be poor. Passion for your gifts and talents is the key. Another lesson from Lamech’s story is that being righteous does not automatically qualify you to be successful in all the issues of life. It depends on how you take advantage of God’s bounty in your life.
Discovering Passion
By the age of twenty, any young man should know whether or not he is to be a specialist and just where his tastes lie. By postponing the question, we have set on immaturity a premium which controls most American personality to its deathbed. - Robert S. Hillyer.
CHAPTER 3
Discovering your Passion
I read this commentary from a Christian devotional :
“Do you want to discover your God-given assignment? Listen to your heart! Though there are over six billion people on earth, nobody has a heartbeat exactly like yours. In the same way, God has given you an emotional heartbeat that races when you think about certain subjects and activities. You care more instinctively about certain things than others. These are clues to where you should be serving. Don’t ignore them.
God wants you to serve him passionately, not half-heartedly. “Serve Him with all your heart’’ (Deut. 11:13). We rarely excel at things we do not feel passionate about. Listening for your inner promptings can lead you to the ministry God intends you to have.
One telltale sign is enthusiasm. When you are doing what you love to do, nobody has to motivate you, check up on you, applaud you or reward you; you do it for sheer enjoyment. The highest achievers in any field are those who do it because of passion, not duty or profit.
Don’t waste your life doing something that does not express your heart. Meaning is far more important than money. Ultimately, money doesn’t satisfy. What’s the point of having a lot to live on, if you have nothing to live for”?
Passion has an Object
From the earlier definition of passion and the above quotation, we realize that there is usually an object of your passion. Passion always has some object as its focus. This object usually carries or points you to the ‘seed’ of your life. Your passion throws light on your seed. Scripture reveals that for multiplication and fruitfulness to take place in God’s creation, God placed a seed in the plants He made.
“And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good”. Gen. 1:11-12 [Emphasis added]
The same applies to us. We all have our seed within us. To benefit from it, you need to discover and invest time, effort and resources in that seed. To discover your passion and hence, your seed, you need to ask yourself a few questions:
Where Is Your Treasure?
Many of us spend all our lives trying to find out what will bring us prosperity and fulfilment. In the book of Matthew in the Bible Jesus gave us a pointer:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:21 [Emphasis added]
The word “treasure” means ‘deposit’ or ‘wealth’. So, the basic question we need to ask if we want to possess the deposits of God in our lives is “Where is my heart”? “What am I always dreaming of” or “what is it for which l love to spend my time and be spent”.
For instance, most people who become musicians often find themselves drawn to musical instruments and musical groups in their youth when their parents expect them to be studying some other subjects. They find themselves creating songs or writing poems without any formal training. They put their whole life into their music and get totally lost in it. Sometimes, they even escape the watchful eyes of disagreeable parents in order to pursue their passion. If you find yourself behaving like this in any endeavour, it is a pointer to where your heart may be. Surely, you will find “treasure” or God’s deposit in your life in that endeavour. You have treasure hidden in that field (Matt. 13:4). That field is your own life. Go ahead and buy it - follow your heart. Treasure may not necessarily mean a lot of money. It may be a fully satisfied life - that says, “I am doing what I love with my life, and I am fully satisfied with myself”.
What is God’s bounty in your life?
The poorest of people are still sitting by their “acres of diamonds”. All they need is the wisdom of God to tap into their seed and bring that seed to the place of multiplication. There is a linkage between that seed, their passion and purpose in this life. Their gifts and talents point to that seed. God is a just God. He is not partial in anyway . He gives every person born into this world the basic gifts and talents – tools needed to succeed in life. As in the parable of the pounds , God has given to each person something to work with in this life. We see an example of the bounty of God in the life of Lamech, the first polygamist in the Bible . This short summary of Lamech’s family shows us the variety of talent and ability God gives humans. With no recorded training of any sort, and in spite of the fact that he is the first person to violate monogamy in marriage, Lamech’s family was blessed with industrialists: they had a herdsman or ranch owner called Jabal; a musician and inventor called Jubal, and a metallurgist cum fabricator called Tubal-Cain. With their passion for their gifts and talents, there is no way misery and poverty could reign in their family. I believe that out of the bounty of God, every family has such a wealth of talent and even more waiting to be tapped. Once you recognize and use them, you and your family cannot be poor. Passion for your gifts and talents is the key. Another lesson from Lamech’s story is that being righteous does not automatically qualify you to be successful in all the issues of life. It depends on how you take advantage of God’s bounty in your life.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
RE-CHARGING YOUR PASSION
While taking time to go through this book stuff on passion, I want to communicate with those of who realize that you are losing your zest for life. It may be due to the fact that you have overworked yourself and you are paying the price. You may be seeing the beginnings of what we call burnout. There are a number of symptoms of burnout and I want to share some with you. These include;-
1. Physical. ( Apparent bodily ailments )
2. Mental. (Thoughts )
3. Emotional. ( Feelings )
4. Social. (Relationships )
5. Spiritual. (Our relationship with God )
1: PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS.
Constant tiredness - an almost total exhaustion.
a. This is the situation where you are constantly and inexplicably exhausted. You are totally depleted both emotionally and physically. Everything you do is a major task, even what you used to enjoy.
b. Apathy and indifference with a diminished sense of responsibility.
Apathy is basically a mental state of indifference and lack of interest. You are not bothered whether things are going well or not. You are insensitive and people wonder what has come over you - you just float through the days.
c. Loss of creativity and concentration = poor productivity.
Because you cannot concentrate, you leave jobs half done. There is therefore a loss of creativity. Your inventive and imaginative powers are diminished. Clearly in such a situation, you can achieve little.
OVERCOMING
One of the best ways to overcome this situation is to take a recreation. And one of the best ways of recreation is to travel. Take a break from all the hustle. You may be doing something good for God but for God's sake what will you achieve further if you become a wreck? Learn how to use travel agencies. They give you some peace of mind by helping you concentrate on what is absolutely enjoyable on your trips. More tips will follow so you can recharge your passion.
1. Physical. ( Apparent bodily ailments )
2. Mental. (Thoughts )
3. Emotional. ( Feelings )
4. Social. (Relationships )
5. Spiritual. (Our relationship with God )
1: PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS.
Constant tiredness - an almost total exhaustion.
a. This is the situation where you are constantly and inexplicably exhausted. You are totally depleted both emotionally and physically. Everything you do is a major task, even what you used to enjoy.
b. Apathy and indifference with a diminished sense of responsibility.
Apathy is basically a mental state of indifference and lack of interest. You are not bothered whether things are going well or not. You are insensitive and people wonder what has come over you - you just float through the days.
c. Loss of creativity and concentration = poor productivity.
Because you cannot concentrate, you leave jobs half done. There is therefore a loss of creativity. Your inventive and imaginative powers are diminished. Clearly in such a situation, you can achieve little.
OVERCOMING
One of the best ways to overcome this situation is to take a recreation. And one of the best ways of recreation is to travel. Take a break from all the hustle. You may be doing something good for God but for God's sake what will you achieve further if you become a wreck? Learn how to use travel agencies. They give you some peace of mind by helping you concentrate on what is absolutely enjoyable on your trips. More tips will follow so you can recharge your passion.
Friday, May 15, 2009
PASSION-THE SPARKPLUG OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT
PASSION – PART OF OUR MAKE UP
1. Passion -The Sparkplug of the Human Spirit
Sometimes we are prone to think that when Adam fell in the Garden of Eden and man lost his original estate, we actually lost everything we had from the image of God[i]. This is not so. The image of God is spiritual and man continues to be a spiritual being essentially. Romans 3:23 tells us “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”. The word ‘short’ here means ‘to be inferior in power, influence and rank’. Our spiritual power, rank and influence diminished because of sin. Sin cut us off from our Source of power and influence - God. It does not mean man ceased to have a nature akin to the spiritual nature of God. The point here is that while we lost our place with God through “The Fall”, we maintained some aspects of His nature. Among the things maintained are the natural gifts, talents and the accompanying passions that make us excel in those gifts. Even those who are not born again through the salvation offered in Christ have natural gifts, talents and their own unique passions. Many non-believers in the Christian faith still perform excellently in many fields of human endeavour. Passion is part of our human constitution - a unique, non-physical ‘deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fingerprint’, which is part of the image we bear from the Heavenly Father. This Divine image is expressed through us in this life.
If there is any so-called ‘spark of God’ in the natural man, I believe it shows through our individual passions. We may refer to our passion as natural grace – grace to perform and achieve in the affairs of this life. German physicist and psychologist Georg C. Lichtenberg puts it like this; “Man is to be found in reason, God in the passions”. We can therefore refer to our passion as our ‘divine sparkplug’ that moves us on our way to success and fulfilment. This is because any true passion will fire your soul and cause you to do something. Just like a car cannot move without the spark - plug, it is hard for a man to get going in life without igniting himself through passion. By tapping into your passion, you release and deploy the immense potential of the human spirit for great works. Living out your passion is like releasing or unfettering the human spirit. Once the resources and potential of the human spirit are deployed, you are able to do things that defy the reasoning power of other humans. It becomes evident to all that this is a gift or talent from God.
2. Your Passion should point you to God
Our passions as human beings should make us aware of the God who puts these marvellous gifts in each of us. When we come to this realization, we would cease to use our passions to please ourselves, the world and the devil. We would rather submit ourselves to the One who created us in His own image and put this passion in our lives. We would also harness those very passions that drive us as tools to direct people to the One who bled to death on a cruel cross on Calvary in an act of supreme Passion.
For instance, Michael Jackson’s passion is music. Through his musical talent, he along with the other top pop stars like Whitney Houston, etc., influences the lives of millions of people in this world who want to fashion their lives after them. Their passion for music governs their charisma or the magnetic pull they hold over masses of people. People are prepared to pay any price to watch them perform, scream themselves hoarse and even do unspeakable things in their excitement.
Can you imagine what would happen if such people realize the passion running through them as God’s deposit in their lives and start to use it to spread the gospel instead of satisfying the flesh? We must however, not make the mistake, of demonizing every musician who does not sing gospel. The gift and passion they have for music is similar to those who sing gospel music. The only difference is that, while one group has chosen to submit their lives, gifts and passions to God, the other group, by their words and deeds, show that they owe no such allegiance to God or His Christ, but rather to themselves. Passion is a fundamental emotional desire but it is must operate from a Biblical perspective.
THE UNSTOPPABLE INSTINCT OF PASSION
This is the second instalment from my book 'Powered by Passion'.
Unstoppable Instinct
There used to be a male dog in my house that was not castrated. The wall of our house was a bit low. My brother advised that we raise it else, the dog would jump over it when it grew up. Initially, I ignored it. However, later the wall was raised by two levels of block. One day, I learnt the dog had been jumping over the wall at night. This was hard to believe because this dog was not that big.
However, I had my biggest shock one morning while praying. I thought I heard the thump of something that had fallen into the yard. When I turned to see, the dog had just jumped in after a night’s duty in town.
There was nothing I could do to stop the dog from jumping over the wall no matter how hard I tried. So, the question is what was the driving force or motivation that kept the dog going out, and that gave it the ability to jump over every barrier placed in its path?
I believe what kept this dog going was the passion or drive to reproduce itself and multiply, a passion to be fruitful and let its seed continue on earth - one of the most primordial passions. Absolutely nothing could stop this dog until it went one day and never came back. Again, the lesson is clear: true passion stops at nothing in its drive to achieve the goal desired. No barrier is high enough to stop a man or woman of passion from achieving set goals. This brings to mind some words of the song “Something inside so strong[i]“.
The farther you take my rights away
The faster I will run
You can deny me
You can decide
To turn your face away (your face away)
No matter, ‘cause there’s
Something inside so strong
I know that I can make it …
The drive to succeed and be fruitful in all we do is a very natural instinct. I am yet to see a man who literally walks in the reverse mode. In the image of God, we are designed to move forward and progress. Abraham Lincoln expressed this crisply when he said, “I walk slowly, but I never walk backward”. God has put in every man and woman the desire to be fruitful and multiply - the desire to succeed and break barriers, the desire to move forward in life. The barrier-breaking, new – frontier - seeking, adventurous spirit is a part of what humanity received from the Creator and nothing should be done to stifle its power in our lives.
The Bible says:
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1:28 [Emphasis added]
The Trumpets of Passion: Our Lord Jesus Christ was a very passionate man and the most successful man in history. He was passionate about the mission God gave Him to fulfil. In fact, His sense of mission and passion for that mission manifested early in His life. It was like a mighty river in Him waiting to break its bounds to water and bless the barren places of humanity. In Luke 2:46-49, we read,
“And it came to pass, that after three days they found Him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. [47] And all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. [48] And when they saw Him, they were amazed: and His mother said unto Him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. [49] And He said unto them, how is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business”?
While His parents were going home, He was in the Temple asking and answering questions from the doctors of the law. The trumpets of passion for His mission were sounding in His soul, and He was beginning to take charge of His life. His answer shows that He knew the “Father’s business” for His life at the tender age of twelve and He was pursuing it.
Many of us never seem to know what the “Father’s business” is for our lives so we go round in circles. Even though the trumpets of passion do sound in our souls when we are young, it looks like few ever respond to the sound of those trumpets[ii]. Those who do respond to that sound however never regret. Others manage to hear and respond to the sound of this trumpet after seeking for satisfaction in so many areas. By the age of twenty-seven, Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh, who exemplified the idea of the artist as tortured genius, had been in turn a salesperson in an art gallery, a French tutor, a theological student, and an evangelist. Later, he found in art — through the charcoal drawings he made of the landscapes and people around him—the possibility of a new career[iii]. Like a homing pigeon, his artistic passion drew him until he settled as an artist and became the master of expressionism in art. Like Van Gogh, many of us spend many years as it were wondering in the ‘wilderness’ before turning to our true love. Interestingly, many of the world’s greatest stars and inventors discovered and pursued their passion when they were young.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
POWERED BY PASSION
Hi Friends,
My name is Abraham. I am a pastor, a lecturer in biochemistry and an author.
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