Impact!
The One Month To Live series is just awesome. And week #2 this past Sunday was a Smack-Down event for me. Pastor Rob’s message “Live Passionately” (available for FREE here as soon as it gets uploaded by our techno-genius’s… who have been doing an awesome job by the way…) was one of those Slammin’ bounce ya off the floor messages for me. Get this…. In Mark 12:30 (Msg) it says, “so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.” Rob said that your heart and soul - as it says in other translations - Equals your passion. Wow. That’s like gave me total soupped up energy to go in the ring and get ready to rumble.
But wait … my opponent is also all revved up and had 5 XS Energy drinks. Luke 5:18-20 gives you a preview of what they are up to…”because of the crowd, they went up on the roof…” Did ya catch it? The crowd… THAT’S my (your's too) opponent. A crowded life keeps me and you from getting closer to God, from getting closer to Christ. That’s a huge opponent.
Klunk!
When Rob said that, I realized that I have been sooooo busy going and going and going; Monday meetings, Tuesday fly all day, Tuesday night Theology class at 10pm, Wednesday flying all day, studying all Wednesday night, Thursday flying all day, Thursday night Theology class again at 10pm, Friday meetings, OMTL class prep, Saturday writing papers to finish my Trinitarianism semester, Sunday at church from early am till 6pm… get the picture? A crowded life.
My life was soooo busy, even though I was “doing” Godly work… I wasn’t spending hardly any time in His Word.
Slam! Bam! Doink! Ouch!
Sure I was reading plenty of Bible verses in my studies for class (doesn’t that qualify?) But I was feeling empty, crowded, jammed.
Rob said we need to “create God’s space.” Be more like Jesus and get up early in the morning, find a solitary place and read His Word and pray. You can read about it here in Mark 1:35-38.
Man, I needed that pounding. What a great weekend. Thanks Rob. Thank you Jesus for giving Rob that message to give to us, and for loving me soooo much that YOU gave it all up for me on the cross.
