1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from GOD, and whoever loves has been born of GOD and knows GOD.”
With Faith into The Wind…
Initial petitions; by those who do pray are those “Ready!” found…in all seasons.
Not waiting for something nor someone to move…so they press in with Zeal’s highest praise.
Thus! Such are “the zealots” defined by HIS WORD:Ever pressing with Love AND found serving…each day!
As HIServant RE-reminding self to be wholly RE-engaged in your service,
Whitney
Devotional: James 1:6 “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”
Ephesians 4:14 “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.”
An oldie but a goodie” is again, “It is the depth of HIS footprints which restrain us from slipping! “
When the relentless winds of adversity tear through the air around us, those who are grounded in HIS WORD will stand fast and face forward into every oppressive cyclone.
BUT!! Facts alone won’t bolster our Zeal nor our Boldness or spark the flames of transformation within a wearied soul.
It was as in the movie “A case for CHRIST”, when the author Lee Strobel asked why would CHRIST die on the cross for us. The answer he received was very simple yet profound.
“LOVE!”
As Faith without works is dead so too are the repetitions of facts without Zeal’s fullness.
For how do we engage the Lost? Spoken most of all to myself, “What compels their hearts to be broken and their knees to fall quickly into the sand?”
Isn’t it because GOD’s love…overwhelms us? To preach or teach to share facts without zeal doesn’t give them the wondrous gift of “Why?”
Yes, the facts of the Bible must be carefully weighed as wise stewards and shared humbly to be accurate. Absolutely and without question.
But also as we dispense HIS holy Manna, our words must fade and show greater focus on HIS face…and not the details about HIS face.
For example, a church I used to attend delved deeply into the Hebrew and Greek. Studying words with a great fervency and a zealous focus on content.
But when the senior pastor stepped down and a new pastor was installed, the TYPE of zeal and study shown was going to be different…but ultimately few were truly open to accepting the change.
So what happened was instead of embracing the new pastor and giving him the needed guidance and encouragement, the elders shared they hadn’t supported him.
Some church members I was told went to his wife and essentially said, “Doesn’t your husband know he’s doing it wrong?” Meaning teaching / studying wrong which meant, “Not like were used to which meant “Not like we want”.
As such and very sadly, their focus became “You don’t study the right way in our opinion” versus humbly admitting “I can see your zeal for the LORD and we’re going to support you too.”
So Romans 16:17 comes to mind. “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.”
Be then HIS zealots displaying HIS love for the building up of the saints who are different and delivery HIS WORD different than what we’re used to. Look for the heart in the truth’s that they share.
Yes, emotional responses can take their own misguided paths but! Err, oh Self, err on the side of Love!
Lead with Love’s voice…and teach the WORD with HIS heart!
Be transparent then, so that only HIS face is seen…and only HIS speech is heard and solely HIS NAME is given credit and exalted.
Amen and amen.
2CJC 