Topic: A Passion that is More Than Life [Archbishop Margaret E. Benson Idahosa] Above Only Daily Devotional 3 May 2020
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A Passion that is More Than Life
Acts 20:22-24 (NLT) “And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus – the work of telling others the good news about the wonderful grace of God
Philippians 1:20-21 (NIV) … I will in no way be ashamed, .. so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
What is your greatest passion as a believer? Is it the same as the passion of Christ? You are one with Christ and everything about your life is supposed to be the same as that of Christ’s. When Jesus was on the earth, His greatest passion was to do the will of the Father and to finish the Father’s work, John 4:34. He took responsibility for doing the Father’s work and He went about it with a great sense of urgency, John 9:4-5. It is the will of God the Father that all men be saved, 2 Pet. 3:9. Just like Jesus, this must be our greatest passion too. Everything that we do and give ourselves to must be directed at this.
The same mind that was in Christ needs to be in you. After giving up everything to become a man like us, He was willing to obey God and humble Himself to suffer and die a shameful death on the cross for the salvation of all men, Phi. 2:5-8. Right now, the sins of the whole world have been forgiven and taken away, but until people hear the gospel of what Jesus has done for them, they cannot be saved, Rom. 10:13-15. We must not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is God’s power to save all who believe, Rom. 1:16. We must be more passionate about preaching the gospel than every other thing in our life. We must be ready to use every means possible an do it no matter what it will cost us. Jesus gave up His all for us. He wants us to give up our all for Him. In 2 Cor. 5:14-15 (AMP), Apostle Paul said, “for the love of Christ controls and urges and impels us, because we are of the opinion and conviction that [if] One died for all, then all died; And He died for all, so that all those who live might live no longer to and for themselves, but to and for Him who died and was raised again for their sake.” Commit your life to the spreading of the gospel.
Prayer:
Dear Father, may passion for preaching the gospel burn in my heart more than ever before. Use me to touch lives with your love and saving grace.
Bible in one year reading plan:
- 1 Kings 16-18
- Luke 22:47-71