Friday December 31, 2010

Theme: Driven

Weekend Music links on iTunes: Cannons - Phil Wickham, All Over the World - Matt Redman, Today is the Day - Lincoln Brewster, The Stand - Hillsong

Read:  2 Corinthians 5:9-21

Think: There’s a website that I stumbled on that helps people discover what they’re passionate about so that they can live with greater significance. On the site, there’s a great quote from Mark Twain, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

What if we would pursue our passions with that kind of attitude and abandon? Scripture’s full of people who lived a lot like that – and from our Scripture passage today we read about one of the most passionate, the Apostle Paul. His passion in life was driven by his concern for the eternal destiny of others. When you look at today’s reading in 2 Corinthians 5, he names a few of the things that fueled his passion:

• First, he knew that he was accountable to Christ for his service and wanted to be in good standing at the day he would come face to face with Jesus at the judgment seat of Christ.
• Second, Paul was absolutely driven by Jesus’ love and a desire that others would know that love too. In verse 14 he wrote, “For the love of Christ compels us.”
• Finally, he understood that a lost and dying world needs a Savior. He knew that for all the questions, hurts and troubles, there really was a single answer… and Jesus was it.

Paul’s passion for people was fueled by his love for Christ—and that should be at the root of our passion as well. Don’t play it safe, don’t wait, and don’t be as Twain said, disappointed by what you didn’t do! Share the love of Christ with someone today.

Do: Get ready to share what the Lord has done in your life with someone who needs to hear it… someone who needs hope, help, truth, faith. Then watch and see who the Lord brings.

Pray:  God let my words be Your words.  Help me to tell others the truth of Your gospel, the depths of Your love and the power of Your name - But most of all, the saving grace You extend to anyone who calls on the Name of Jesus.  Amen.

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.