Skip to main content

“The wide-open life is about waking up every morning and knowing that you were born for this day.”

A thought by Christine Caine from her book, Unstoppable: Running the Race You Were Born To Win (p. 126). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Do you have trouble getting out of bed each morning?  Maybe you feel like your life is a closed-door?  Do you?

Christine says, “When I look into the eyes of my husband and children, when I see lives transformed through ministry and love, when I see God multiply what we offer him and make our ‘not enough’ into more than enough, I taste this wide-open, expansive kind of life, and my passion to keep running the race grows.”

She goes on, “What is it that drives Olympic athletes to get up early, push through pain, set aside distractions to keep their focus, and maintain their commitment — for years? Passion.

“What keeps Kalli and all the rest of our A21 staff at locations around the world going day after day, year after year, even though they must repeatedly face the discouragement and emotional pain of seeing bruised and battered young women trapped in slavery? Passion.

“What keeps Katja and Favour, once brutalized slaves themselves, from descending into bitterness and instead, moving toward recovery and forgiveness? Passion.

“What kept the early Christians hard at work spreading the gospel, even though they saw their fellow believers imprisoned and tortured and knew that they themselves could be thrown into stadiums, where they would be torn to pieces by wild animals before a crowd fired by bloodlust? Passion.”

She continues, “Passion fuels the mother to stay up all night caring for her feverish child. Passion fuels a father to work two jobs to put his kids through college. Passion fuels a woman to care for her elderly, disabled father. Passion fuels a grandmother to set aside her dreams to care for her fatherless grandchildren. Passion drives the human heart to persevere through hardship when nothing else will keep us going.

“Jesus’ life on this earth was the ultimate picture of the passionate life. He embraced children, delighted in doing the will of the Father, healed the sick, loved the lost, helped the marginalized, dined with friends and neighbors, and gave his all to run his race. When I see Jesus and his cause, I glimpse the wide-open, spacious life he wants you and me to enjoy.”

Let him have your life.  Let him fill you with his Spirit, let him fill you with his passion.  So will you let him split open your closed-door self-focussed life into a wide-open one?  Will you?

Yes, yes!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“Hurry and love are incompatible.”

A thought by John Mark Comer from his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (p. 23). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Wow, pretty strong thought isn’t it? John says, “All my worst moments as a father, a husband, and a pastor, even as a human being, are when I’m in a hurry—late for an appointment, behind on my unrealistic to-do list, trying to cram too much into my day. I ooze anger, tension, a critical nagging—the antitheses of love. If you don’t believe me, next time you’re trying to get your type B wife and three young, easily distracted children out of the house and you’re running late (a subject on which I have a wealth of experience), just pay attention to how you relate to them. Does it look and feel like love? Or is it far more in the vein of agitation, anger, a biting comment, a rough glare? Hurry and love are oil and water: they simply do not mix.” He goes on, “Hence, in the apostle P...
Post a Comment
Read more

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...
Post a Comment
Read more

“The gospel is good news, not good advice.”

A thought by Timothy Keller (2016-10-25) from his book, Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ (p. 21). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I’m glad you stopped to catch a glimpse of what this thought really means. Tim says, “Advice is counsel about what you must do. News is a report about what has already been done. Advice urges you to make something happen. News urges you to recognize something that has already happened and to respond to it. Advice says it is all up to you to act. News says someone else has acted.” He then gives an illustration, “Let’s say there is an invading army coming toward a town. What that town needs is military advisers; it needs advice. Someone should explain that the earthworks and trenches should go over there, the marksmen go up there, and the tanks must go down there.”   That’s advice He goes on, “However, if a great king has intercepted and ...
Post a Comment
Read more