Igniting Your Passion for God | April 6th, 2017

The color red makes a very bold statement whether you are dressing in it from head to toe or simply adding a red accessory as a pop of color to your outfit. Over the past few years of antiquing for vintage jewelry, I have found a few intensely striking red pieces from the early to mid-1900s I repurposed into rings that most definitely make a statement!

The Meaning of Red

Red is the most emotionally-charged color of the entire color spectrum. Studies show that the color red can actually impact a person physically when they see it. Blood pressure and respiratory rates may increase or, on a more positive note, it can give a person a boost of energy!

In the Russian language, the word for red (krasniy) has the same Slavic root as the word for beautiful (krasiviy). Moscow’s Red Square, which was named long before the Russian Revolution, meant “Beautiful Square.”

Red is also the color of fire and blood, commonly associated with passion which can range from intense burning love to fury and anger. Passion is a powerful desire or enthusiasm for something. When you stop to think about what it is you have a passion for, what comes to your mind? A passion is often what you are naturally gifted to do.

Share Your Passion Through Your Gifts

I am extremely passionate about writing. I look forward with eagerness to the few hours of time I have during the week to sit quietly at the keyboard and let the words freely flow from my mind to my fingertips, resulting in a new blog post or another chapter of my book.

I have a friend who has a deep passion for cooking and sharing the meals she makes with others. She is energized when she hosts people in her home each week, providing nutritious food for them that she has beautifully garnished with color and flavor. She has a true gift and is passionate about using it to serve others.

Another friend Neil Powell is passionate about photography. He seeks out the beauty in nature through the lens of his camera wherever he travels, artistically photographing the incredible detail of living species. It is his gift which has created his passion:

Demonstrate Your Passion for God 

God wants us to have that same, intense passion in the way we live for Him. Here are three ways you can demonstrate your passion for Him…

Spend Time with Him

If you are passionate about a friend, you deeply desire to spend time with them so you can get to know them intimately, not just superficially. You are showing your passion for God when you take the time to consistently read His Word so you can learn about Him and allow the Holy Spirit to teach you and speak to your heart.

Spending time communicating with Him in prayer by telling Him about your needs and your burden for others while thanking Him for His answers and blessings is another way to show your passion for God with a desire to be close to Him.

Include Him

If you are passionate about your spouse, you naturally want to include them in any major decisions you are facing. You would never make them on your own without first inquiring about their thoughts and feelings on the matter. When you are passionate about God, it is only natural for you to want to include Him in your decision-making process, asking for discernment and wisdom so you stay within His perfect will for your life.

Serve Others

If you are passionate about God, you will have a desire to please Him. When you serve others with your gifts, you are serving God and bringing glory to Him. He wants others to experience His love for them, so when you serve you are demonstrating His love to others which greatly pleases Him!

Do Not Be Lukewarm

As followers of Christ, God calls us to live zealously with an intense passion for Him. It is easy to feel self-sufficient, without any need for God, when we are doing well financially, living in prosperity as so many of us do. Our relationship with Him can become lukewarm which is downright nauseating to God.

The city of Laodicea was known for its great wealth as a strategic banking center and manufacturer of black wool and eye salve. In 60 A.D., the city was devastated by an earthquake. However, they refused any help and rebuilt the city themselves using their own abundant resources.

Although they were well-off financially, the church at Laodicea had great spiritual needs. Their self-sufficient attitude had created a lukewarm faith among the people. Through the Apostle John, Jesus warned them in a letter about the dangers of self-sufficiency, using an analogy they could easily relate to.

Laodicea had no water supply of its own and had to have it piped in through aqueducts six miles south of them. By the time it got to their city, the water was lukewarm and full of sediment.

Cold water, which the nearby mountain towns had from their clean flowing streams, is refreshing and good for drinking. The other towns had access to hot springs which have cleansing, healing properties. But lukewarm water filled with sediment neither refreshes nor heals. It is repulsive and nauseating to drink.

Jesus tells the church at Laodicea that they are just like their water:

“I know you well—you are neither hot nor cold; I wish you were one or the other! But since you are merely lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth! Revelation 3:15-16

Jesus explains to them what He means by being “lukewarm” in the next verse:

“You say, ‘I am rich, with everything I want; I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that spiritually you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” Revelation 3:17

These people are not even mildly passionate about God. In their arrogance, they lost their dependence on God and believed they had no need of Him. Jesus finds this spiritual pride of theirs so offensive that it sickens Him to the point that he would “spit them out” just as the Laodiceans would spit out their nasty tasting lukewarm water.

We can end up the same complacent way if we are not careful and begin to see ourselves as materially prosperous and self-sufficient with no need for God. I find it rather ironic that Laodicea was known for manufacturing eye salve yet their people were so spiritually blind!

Keep Your Passion Strong for God

God gives us plenty of instruction in His Word about where we need to direct our passion…

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 1 John 2:15-17

In a few days, we will be approaching Passion Week also known as Holy Week. It is the time period that begins on Palm Sunday and ends on Easter (Resurrection) Sunday. It is called “Passion Week” because of the passion Jesus had for us when he willingly went to the cross to suffer and die for our sins on our behalf.

He paid the price with his very own shed blood – His beautiful, red blood, filled with incredible passion for us so we could one day be with Him forever in eternity. May your passion for God be ignited by His intense, burning love for you and demonstrated in the way you live your life boldly for Him!

Spiritual Sparklers

Sparkler #1: Prayer

If you find your passion for God has become “lukewarm” ask Him to help you remove your cravings for the things of the world and replace them with what pleases God…spending time with Him, including Him in your decisions, and serving others.

Sparkler #2: Action

Demonstrate God’s love to someone this week by serving them, using one of your gifts that you are passionate about and comes naturally to you.

Sparkler #3: Challenge

Keep a watch on the passions of your heart, mind, and spirit so they will remain focused, not on what the world offers which will fade away but on that which pleases Christ and truly matters for all of eternity.

* Monkey / blossoms – photo credit: Neil Powell

Kimberly Moore is a blogger, speaker, and author of Beauty in a Life Repurposed and Kingdom Sparkle. To learn more, visit her website at kingdomsparkle.com.

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