Responding to YOUR Passion for the Causes of Christ

God gives people who are devoted and committed to Him a passion to champion a cause. Whatever the cause may be, it wells up inside you like a storm, made of personal emotion and a desire to reach out to those you can relate to.   

Every life in Christ has experienced or will experience pain, suffering, tragedy and affliction to some degree.  Out of these experiences, we are able to relate to people suffering in ways we have personally experienced. 

Your cause will always relate to His Great Commission... to go, to seek, to save and to teach people who have experienced the ups and downs of life, how to live in harmony with the will of God.  (Matthew 28:19-20)

More than likely, your “cause” is a problem you have personally experienced or has touched someone in your family.  It’s something you have intimate knowledge and understanding of.  You understand how someone experiencing the same circumstances you’ve experienced feels... you’ve been there, done that, you’ve survived.

Life does cruel things to us.  Christians know very well the emotional pain of abuse, addiction, infertility, depression, a life-threatening disease or some natural disaster related difficulty. Sometimes God will inspire in people a passion to speak up for a group who can't speak for themselves: the unborn, the persecuted, the poor, the imprisoned, the mistreated, the disadvantaged and those who are denied justice. The Bible is filled with commands to defend the defenseless and care the needs of those who have little hope.  (James 1:27)

God uses passionate people to further His Kingdom interests. Don't be afraid to respond to your passions.  God gives us different passions, so everything He wants done in the world will get done.  You should not expect everyone around you to be as passionate about your cause as you are.  That’s okay.

Don’t be disheartened when others don’t respond to your cause as you want them to. Instead, appreciate the power of listening to others as their personal passions for a cause emerges.  Learn to honor and value each other's life message, because nobody can say all of what God want’s said and done in the world today. Never belittle someone else's Godly passion. The Bible says... it is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good... (Galatians 4:18)

Is there a catch?  Yes... a very important one.  Passion, will only emerge in a spiritually disciplined life.  It’s a result of God’s transformative power by the Holy Spirit working fully and actively “in you” that brings forth your cause.  God is trusting you to be passionate and consistent about an important cause that will reach the hearts of those seeking Him.  You need to be disciplined and “all in” to be an effective and useful instrument of God in any cause He plants in your heart.

When you are living in “step with the spirit” (Galatians 5:25) your “cause” for Christ, your personal passion, your intentional purpose, becomes so powerful that it controls virtually every thought and every ounce of energy in your life. 

Yield to God, join Him in the greatest adventure your life will ever experience, infused with passion, to seek and save the lost.  

The SIX Enemies of Personal and Institutional Growth

Working day–after–day with people, especially volunteers, those who make up the workers in God’s Church can be a challenge.  At times a daunting challenge  People are like an engine.  Engines as we know, need constant maintenance and periodic tune-ups to run smoothly. Its the same with organizations made up largely of “people volunteers.” 

Keeping a group of volunteer workers tuned and running smoothly can be one of the biggest challenges church leadership will ever face. 

How do you get the engine started, and keep it running smoothly?  A good question for leaders and shepherds of God’s flock.  Start... with the mindset that you are working with separate parts, much like assembling the parts of an engine.  Start with a vision, one always anchored in the Word of God. 

  

Time has to be spent with people... sharing the vision and what the church’s ministry is all about.  Share your passion for ministry and what the potential can be with input from the volunteers.  People are busy, but if they believe they can be part of something that matters, they will find the time to serve.  Communicate that what everyone is doing in working for the mission of the church is God’s work, following God’s master agenda and not to be done for personal gain or recognition.  

The key is to communicate, communicate and then communicate some more.  Consider the following “six” words that often trip up our efforts to facilitate a well lubricated engine of volunteers in administering the work of the church.  See if they don’t resonate with some of your experiences in working with volunteers within the church. 

1) Availability

We often settle for what or who’s available to fill a needed job or activity. What or who’s available isn’t always good or even acceptably sufficient for God’s work. Because it, or he or she was there or available, is an okay reason to maybe climb a mountain, but not a very good reason to put just anyone in charge of a job or task, especially in the Church... the body of Christ.  We must always balance the selection of volunteers on the standards of God, and not simply the expediency of getting the slots (jobs) filled.

2) Ignorance

If we don’t know how to make something work, we simply won’t, and we will fail through inaction.  If we don’t know how to do something, discerning that it is possible with the right people, we won’t bother attempting it.  All too often, we literally do not know any better than to sit on our hands and do nothing.  Afraid to fail, so let’s just do nothing and we won’t be seen as failing.  We manage in our minds to define and defend the “results” as “success” because we didn’t risk anything.  Remember, no risk – no reward, no gain, no progress, no achievement.  With God, all things are possible and our reluctance and ignorance are never acceptable excuses.

3) Committees

Nothing destroys a good idea faster than a mandatory consensus.   The mantra of... Get everyone onboard, get the “stakeholders” to buy-in and then we’ll be successful with our initiative, is almost always a flawed strategy that leads to inaction and failure.  The lowest common denominator is never a high standard, can never be equated to God’s standard and always one of the leading guideposts of mediocrity.  Plan with a few enthusiasts... execute with many.  Lead the way with enthusiasm and the naysayers will fall into line.

4) Comfort

Why pursue great things for God when you’ve already got 324 channels and a recliner? Isn’t He already satisfied with what we’ve accomplished?  Forget about any grand plans until God sends you an email with specific instructions on what to do and how to do it.  Relax, stay safe and comfortable while the world passes you by.  The “comfort-zone” acts like a set of blinders to what God is attempting to do through you for His Kingdom!

5) Momentum

If you’ve been doing what you’re doing for years and it’s not-so-great, and not much has changed, then you are in a real deep rut. Many people refer to these ruts as a career.  God does not expect leaders to seek comfort or hide out in a rut of mediocrity.

6) Passivity

There’s a difference between being agreeable and agreeing to everything. Trust the little internal voice that tells you, “this is a not so good idea.”  It just might be your wisdom  speaking, gained from a life of being in the Word and walking with the Lord.  Listen, pay attention to your inner thoughts, sharpened and honed over time by the Word of God.  God has never been “passive” nor can His people be that way.  It may sound like a cliche, you are either moving forward or shrinking back... there’s no standing still or sitting comfortably in the bleachers in serving the Lord.

Remember, it’s not about filling the needs with warm bodies, because someone raised their hand and volunteered.  Don’t misunderstand me, God designed HIS organization to be made up of a vast army of volunteers.  To be useful in God’s Kingdom we have to find the passion within ourselves, always augmented by the right skills for the right job. The leaders who guide us need to be able to draw that passion from us and guide it to effective use to fill the needs of the local congregation.

It’s about aspiring to organize by Godly standards that motivate a desire for excellence from the volunteers who do commit their resources and skills to serving the needs of God’s Church. 

It’s about preparing the volunteers to be used by God to do the most important thing in the world... attracting the lost to life giving message of the Gospel. Prepare and manage every aspect of His House of Worship, including all outreach initiatives, always bearing in mind that God wants the best in our efforts.  Help others to understand the significance of the mission, and the passion and enthusiasm will follow!

The Cure for Diminished Self-Esteem

There’s two sides to every story... well, maybe there’s actually three.  In the case of this thorny matter of self-esteem, there are three.  First and most important is the view that God has of us;  then there’s the opinions that others hold concerning us; and then the perception we have of ourselves.  Which “view” matters most?  Which one will you trust as the cornerstone of your life?

In marked contrast to the stagnant world of secularism, biblical revelation presents a thrilling reality, which, if embraced, can provide one with an exhilarating sense of individual excellence.  So, from the outset, it would seem that “the view God has of us” is the view that we need to build our life around.

Sadly, many people have a very meager appreciation of themselves... so much so that it hinders their effective service to God, and torments their lives with much unhappiness. The Scriptures tells a much different story, and offer hope to those who are unnecessarily down-hearted due to the malady of an impoverished self-esteem.

As the foundation of our self worth, we must recognize that all humanity possesses dignity by virtue of divine origin.  God made us!  He even blessed us as His crowning achievement of creation.  Though blemished by sin, God never abandoned man to waste away.  Man can firmly anchor his life and personal self-esteem through the process of spiritual regeneration and living in harmony with the will and purpose of God. 

Who We Are

Man was made in the very image of God himself. On the sixth day of the creation week, God said:  Let us make man in our image and after our likeness . . . . And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them (Genesis 1:26-27; 9:6).  Woman, having been fashioned from man (Genesis 2:20-23), also reflects the glory of God (1 Corinthians 11:7).  Wow!  You and I are a reflection in “image and likeness” of the God of the universe!  How cool is that?

This circumstance, of course, has no reference to our physical constitution, for God is a spirit Being (John 4:24), not a physical one (Luke 24:39; Matthew 16:17). That “image” then consists of spiritual qualities, in man’s mental and moral attributes as a self-conscious, rational, personal agent, capable of self-determination and obedience to moral law.  We are intellectual, self-conscious, volitional creatures—designed by our Maker for fellowship with him. Even the ancient pagans seem to have retained a vestige of this concept. Aratus, a Greek poet, affirmed: “We are also his offspring” (Acts 17:28). 

Can we actually fathom the unique honor that the Creator has bestowed upon us by endowing us with certain qualities that are intrinsic to His nature? The very contemplation of such is enough to both humble and thrill us.

God’s Unspeakable Gift

A second fact that breathtakingly crowns human beings with a wonderful feeling of value is the fact that God bestowed his Son as a gracious, free gift, so that every accountable person has the potential for redemption. All that is necessary to achieve such is to surrender to the Lord’s will (Hebrews 5:8-9; Acts 2:38).

That mankind has strayed from the Creator, and become so flawed religiously and morally, is an indisputable fact. If humanity were reprised according to what it deserves, eternal separation from God (a horror unimaginable) would be its dismal lot. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). There is, however, a way of escape (Hebrews 2:3-4).

Throughout the New Testament, there are repeated affirmations of the universal love of God for fallen man. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son in order to initiate a system of forgiveness (see John 3:16). The Lord would have all men to be saved by means of coming to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4).  Hear the testimony of John the apostle:  Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God; and such we are (1 John 3:1).

Do we really realize the value of this offer of a child-to-Father relationship with God, as a consequence of Christ’s mission (see Galatians 4:4-5)? Again:  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10).  Can anyone bask in that sort of love and not feel a sense of surpassing value?

It would be superfluous to pile up passages that announce Heaven’s concern for the teeming masses of sinful creatures. They are found in abundance. While we are profoundly grateful for those benevolent declarations, one is taken to a new level of gratitude when he reflects upon the fact that the Scriptures consistently assert the message of God’s love for the individual soul. In that trio of parables given by the Lord in Luke 15—the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost boy—the value of the individual person is underscored forcefully. 

God is not willing that anyone should perish (2 Peter 3:9). And why not? Because the value of a single soul is worth more than the entire world (Matthew 16:26). The apostle Paul, in discussing why we should respect the tender consciences of our kinsmen in Christ, spoke of “the brother for whose sake Christ died” (1 Corinthians 8:11). Had there been but one sinner in all the world’s history, Christ would have died for him. How can one savor these marvelous truths without feeling a sense of profound awe in the divine order of things? When this concept sinks in and takes root in ones heart, all of the negative influences in the world—which tend to generate self-deprecation—will fade, leaving us with an appreciation of how very special we are.

There is another factor in the divine plan for rescuing man from sin that bears review, for it relates to the ultimate divestiture of power and position, that by Jesus himself.  Prior to his coming to Earth, the eternal, personal Word, identified in the New Testament as Christ (John 1:1), was equal to the First Person of the Godhead (Philippians 2:6). However, as a component of implementing the divine plan, the Word became flesh (John 1:14), thus emptying himself of the “independent exercise” of the divine attributes. In this subordinated capacity, the Son could truthfully say: “The Father is greater than I” (John 14:28), and Paul could affirm: “The head of Christ is God” (1 Corinthians 11:3). The incarnation did not involve a forfeiture of Jesus’ deity, as some have suggested, but it did entail a subordination of role, and an identification with humanity.  This subordination did not diminish the divinity of Christ or his position and value in heaven.

This brings us to an important point. When Christ assumed his submission-role as God-man, was that a temporary status, or was the identity-connection with us permanent? 

There is clear biblical evidence, that somehow, the voluntary subordination of Christ had permanent ramifications. Consider the evidence revealed in New Testament Scripture...

• Even though the Lord had already ascended back into heaven, Paul was still proclaiming that he “is [present tense verb] the Son of God” (Acts 9:20).

• Again, thirty years or so after the Lord’s ascension, the apostle refers to the Savior, our Mediator before God, as the man, Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).
• The writer of Hebrews affirmed: “For both he [Christ] that sanctifies [present participle] and they that are sanctified [present participle] are all of one [nature]: for which cause he is not ashamed [present tense] to call them brothers” (Hebrews 2:11).
• Even in the final order of things, following “the end,” Christ will deliver all things back to God, and he himself be subject to the Father (see 1 Corinthians 15:24-28).

What is the significance of this? If it is the case that the mission of the Son of God involved an eternal surrender of certain privileges, all for our benefit, it reveals a depth of divine love for us that is utterly staggering, beyond our comprehension.  If all this does not enhance one’s appreciation for your self-image, your personal stature and worth, nothing will.  

Many people have diminished self-esteem due to what they perceive as deficiencies.  Things such as physical features and appearance; lack of education; tragic circumstances; physical and emotional abuse; materialism; substance abuse; secularism and many forms and types of sinful attitudes and practices.  The attitudes that dwell within the mind frequently are reflected in the conduct of a person.  An inspired writer affirmed that, “as one thinks within himself, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Jesus himself taught that the state of one’s mind is the fountain of his activity. “For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed” (Mark 7:21). If an individual harbors an unhealthy view of himself, such will be manifested in a variety of unhealthy physical and spiritual ways.

Living with the burden of a diminished self-image in not easy. I am not suggesting that the healing of such a personal perspective on oneself will be easy or immediate. 

However, you can trust the promises of God, found in the Bible as the solution to the feelings of despair and low self-esteem. Pour over the Sacred Writings and ponder the messages of joy and hope found therein. It can be a life-changing experience.

Want some good advice for winning the battle of low self-esteem?  Throw away your mirror, its not how you look, its the qualities of your heart; change your friends if need be;  read the Word of God everyday; pray, mediate, talk to God about “who you are” and “who you want to be;” hang around with people who are walking with the Lord; embrace God’s perfect TRUTHS as the foundation for living; commit your life to Him and obey Acts 2:38; live in lock-step with the Holy Spirit; and dream about a future that never ends... yours... eternal life in fellowship with God. Your worth, value and confidence will grow and grow and grow....   

You are one of God’s most treasured creations!  Live like the person He designed you to be!   

Aspects of Self-Esteem as found in the Bible

Biblical self esteem is seeing ourselves as God sees us, and accepting ourselves as God accepts us. This is founded on the humble acknowledgment that God is responsible for every positive attribute we possess. “Know that the Lord is God. It is He who has made us” (Psalm 100:3). See also 1 Corinthians 4:7.

This foundation for how we see ourselves enables us to enjoy and use every quality we have, without pride or false humility. Living our lives in humility before God allows him to receive all glory. A biblical perspective on our self esteem enables us to see ourselves realistically and accept ourselves as we are, both in our human condition and as we are in Christ... a new creation.

Self esteem touches many specific areas of our lives. We need to understand these things from a biblical perspective. There are ten listed here. The first five have been distorted by humanistic values. Every one of us at some time in life, struggles with self esteem to the degree that we accept society’s perceptions, definitions and values rather than God’s when looking at ourselves in the mirror and measuring ourselves against others. See Romans 12:3, Ephesians 2:10 and 2 Corinthians 10:12.

Appearance
“You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:13-15). See Psalm 119:73. “...man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). God values the inner beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit over physical attractiveness. See 1 Peter 3:3,4 and Proverbs 31:30.

Competence
“Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5). See Philippians 4:13 and Exodus 31:3. God gives true competence as we abide in Christ. See John 15:4,5. God values submission above competence. See Exodus 4:10-14 and John 15:9,10.

Intelligence
God made each of us with sufficient intelligence to accomplish His purposes through us. “Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isaiah 64:8). Mark 12:30 commands us to love God with all our mind. It is difficult to love him with a mind which we reject as created inferior by Him.

God does not value man’s intelligence when it is exalted apart from him. “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate” (1 Corinthians 1:19). God values wisdom, knowledge, insight, and understanding above intelligence. And he gives these to us as we seek and ask. See Proverbs 2:2-6 and James 1:5.

Personality
God is responsible for the basic foundation of our personality, and to reject it is to reject His creative ability. “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making’?” (Isaiah 45:9).

Paul readily acknowledges weaknesses in his personality. “I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:3,4). “I am unskilled in speaking” (2 Corinthians 11:6).

Even though Paul could admit personality problems, he didn’t reject himself because of them. God values the fruit of the Spirit in our lives above personality. And as each fruit becomes evident, our personality becomes more Christlike.

Success
God’s view of success totally contradicts the world’s view. In Philippians 3:4-6 Paul listed his successes and then counted them as rubbish in order to gain Christ. God promises two kinds of success through Christ: 1. Unconditional success, based solely on Christ’s work. See 2 Corinthians 2:14 and Romans 8:37. 2. Conditional success, based both on Christ’s work and on conditions which we must fulfill, i.e. meditation on the Word and obedience (Josh. 1:8, Psalm 1:2,3); and abiding in Christ (John 15:4,5). God values faithfulness above success (in the world’s terms). See Luke 16:10 and Revelation 2:10.

Unconditional Worth
As God’s beloved children, we are of inestimable worth to Him on an unconditional basis (Ephesians 5:1, 1 John 3:1,2). We were “bought at a very high price” (Corinthians 6:20), “chosen” (Ephesians 1:4), a “dwelling place in which God lives” (Ephesians 2:22), and much, much more. In fact, more than 200 descriptions of us in the New Testament attest to our unconditional worth because of Christ’s work. Let’s not deny his grace by giving in to untrue feelings of worthlessness or gauging ourselves by the flawed standards of a fallen world.

Self-Forgiveness
To forgive ourselves frees us to accept God’s forgiveness, to accept ourselves as he does, and it affirms the sufficiency of Christ’s blood. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Ephesians 1:7). Lack of self-forgiveness not only destroys healthy self esteem, it actually denies the power and effectiveness of God’s grace. See Psalm 103:12,13, Romans 8:1.

Acceptance of your Weakness 
Scripture never commands us to be critical of our weaknesses. In fact, we have a High Priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses (Heb. 4:15). Yet most of us can’t tolerate weakness, therefore we can’t accept ourselves as God does, with our weaknesses. The Lord said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul’s healthy response was, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses... For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9,10). This attitude centers our thoughts on Christ rather than on self, enabling his power to flow through our weaknesses. See 1 Corinthians 1:25-31.

Paul was not hobbled or limited by his natural human weaknesses. To the contrary, he was empowered and energized by depending on God for strength when under his own steam he might have been weak. God fills in the gaps in our strength and adds just the right measure of power for us to accomplish His will and purposes. But to get there, we have to accept who we are, accepting our weaknesses and then we can cast our total self on Him.

Self-Love
God expects us to love ourselves (as He does), with agape love. The only negative reference to self-love in Scripture is 2 Timothy 3:2, where philautos means to be selfish or self-centered. God’s view is, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39); “He who gets wisdom loves himself” (Proverbs 19:8); “He who loves his own wife loves himself” (Ephesians 5:28).

To love ourselves in a biblical way is to seek the ultimate, spiritual good for ourselves, and this motivates us to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). After that, His promise is to care for us in all our needs, but always according to His will and purposes.

Freedom from Guilt
Guilt can be Satan’s “flaming arrows” sent to wound our sense of self esteem. But God has already dealt with all our guilt; we only need to appropriate His solution to conquer it. To fail to do so is to fall into Satan’s traps.

True guilt is resolved only through Christ’s blood, according to 1 John 1:7,9. False guilt (feeling guilty when we aren’t) is very common among Christians. But it has no legitimate place in the Christian life, for in Christ we are described as holy, blameless, beyond reproach, consecrated, reconciled, righteous, justified, and more. Study and meditate on Colossians 1:22 and 3:12; Ephesians 1:4; John 17:19; Romans 5:9,10,19 and Romans 8:1,30.

Self-condemnation not only destroys healthy self esteem, it places our personal feelings and judgments above the “once for all” sacrifice of His Son. Meditate on 2 Corinthians 5:21.

A healthy perspective on self esteem depends on a heart-level integration of God’s Word in to every aspect of our lives. Depending on God’s Word in everything we think and do, corrects distorted worldly and cultural values. Living by the Word eliminates the internal judgments that we often fixate on... those views of ourselves that destroy a biblical sense of our value in God’s sight.

We are not worthy, but we are of great worth. God has said so much in his Word about our worth, that it must be very important to him that we integrate this truth into our hearts. It requires a changing of attitudes and fleeing from the values of the world. But you can do it and God will help you! You can consciously work on growing in your understanding and acceptance of who you are... as his creation and one of his beloved children.