1. Valentine's Day is fast approaching ... now just two days away. So, as always at this time of year, I start to contemplate what I can give my wife. In the past I have given her chocolate, flowers, jewelry, dinner out, etc. No matter how I have chosen to express my love for her, she has always shown appreciation for my efforts. But what we all must consider is this ... not how we show our love for our significant other on Valentine's Day ... but rather how we demonstrate our love on EVERYDAY! Putting our sweetheart's needs and interests above our own on a regular basis is the best gift you can give one another! Take a moment and read Philippians 2:3-4 and then live these verses out in your day to day relationship! You will be better for it!
2. Cold weather is coming! The forecast for Sunday is calling for early morning temperatures near zero and wind chills well below that! Brrr .... frigid indeed! I will be sure to bundle up before I head for the church in the predawn hours of Sunday. And anyone who would see me with a ski cap on my head, scarf around my neck. wearing a heavy winter coat and gloves, would not give me a second thought. In fact, I am guessing that even those who insist on wearing shorts all year round (yes, even outdoors) will think twice about doing so on Sunday! None of us like to be cold ... and so we do all we can to stay warm. Hmmm. When it comes to our faith in Christ, far too often our hearts grow cold. The fire of passion and enthusiasm for Jesus begins to die out (if you are anything like me, you know exactly what I am talking about!). So ... when this happens, what can we do? How can we keep our hearts warm with love for Jesus when the world around us can be so cold? Here are a few thoughts:
- Preach the gospel to yourself! As you remind yourself of God's love for you. . . a love that led him to send his one and only son to die in your place even as you were shaking your fist in his face ... your heart cannot remain cold toward him! For starters check out Isaiah 53:1-12 from the Old Testament and Ephesians 2:1-10 from the New Testament.
- Count your many blessings! When Satan went on the attack against our first parents, he successfully got Eve to focus on the ONE (and only one!) prohibition God had set before her and Adam. EVERYTHING in the garden was theirs for the having ... except for the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan convinced them that they would not be happy as long as they could not have it all! Well just as he did with Adam and Eve, Satan does the same with us. He tempts us to be discontented because we don't have this or that ... even though we should be contented because we have the basic necessities of life and much more (especially compared to so many billions on this planet who number among the "have-nots"). Please take a moment and reflect on 1 Timothy 6:6-10.
There are certainly other things you can do ... but these two will, I believe, go a long way toward restoring any lost spiritual passion!
Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj
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