Lesson 382: "Keep Fired Up For the Lord"
Do you ever wonder how to get a passion for the Lord and keep that passion for Him burning? “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Rom. 12:11). True zeal/passion for the Lord is based on the knowledge of God and His Word so the best way to keep fired up is to study the Bible on a daily basis. Get to know God and what He has done for you. We are commanded to love God with all our being (Deut. 6:4-5) but how can you love someone with all your heart and mind and soul if you do not know Him well? Read the Bible as personal letters to you of God’s love and compassion. Follow Jesus’ example of praying constantly and consistently. Can you imagine a man and woman, mother and child, friend and friend growing in love without communicating? Prayer cannot be neglected without expecting one’s love for God to grow cold and of course prayer keeps the enemy (s) off our doorsteps (Eph. 6:18).
In order to ensure that we will be passionate for God down the line in life, we need to walk with Him now and begin to obey Him in the smallest of situations. Peter learned this the hard way by following God ‘at a distance’ rather than identifying himself more closely with Christ before his temptation to deny Him (Luke 22:54-62). Eliminate the competition. Jesus said it is impossible to have two masters (Matt. 6:24). We are tempted to love the world; those things which please our eyes, make us feel good about ourselves and gratify our fleshly desires (1 John 2:15-17). James says that to seek to embrace the world and its friendship is enmity toward God and spiritual adultery (James 4:4). We need to get rid of those things in our lives (including so-called friends) who would lead us the wrong way. If these things or people take your time and energy from God and prevent you from serving Him to the fullest then you need to rid yourself of them. “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be (Gal. 5:7-10).
If you feel yourself straying from prayer, bible study and etc., begin to do what helped you grow in love with God in the first place. It is not uncommon to have “slips” in a relationship and this will happen in your relationship with God as well. Peter slipped (Luke 22:54) and David slipped (2 Sam. 11) but they got up and pursued after God once again. Revelation 2:4 states it is not a case of “losing” one’s love but “leaving” one’s love. Max Lucado says it this way; “you do not ‘fall out of love’ but rather you choose to stop loving”! “God has said; ‘never will I leave you nor forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5, Deut. 31:6)! If you find yourself growing lukewarm, ask God to renew you but never, never CHOOSE to stop loving God and do your very best to stay fired up for the love of Christ.