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  • Be Passionate

    Posted on June 9th, 2012 rhonda No comments

    I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish you were either one or the other!

    Revelation 3:15

     

    I like to read.  My favorite section of Barnes & Noble is its Bargain Books.  There are some good reads there.

    One such good read is The Unlikely Disciple, by Kevin Roose.  While an undergraduate student at Brown University, Kevin decided that, rather than doing a semester abroad to have a cross-cultural experience, he would just spend a semester at a Christian University.  He chose Liberty University, founded by Jerry Falwell.

    The book was entertaining, and I had a few good laughs.  It was also a challenge to my faith.  Kevin was raised in a fairly secular environment, although he did profess a faith.  His family rarely went to church.  As a person who was raised in church, I realized that I assumed that everyone knew a little something about Christianity.  Who doesn’t know the Adam & Eve story?  His lack of familiarity with things I consider basic was a surprise to me.

    I also saw the Liberty students through Kevin’s eyes.   They did not know Kevin was “undercover” and planning to write a book about his experience, so they had no reason to “perform” for him.  They spent so much of their time praying, reading the Bible, and talking about Jesus that I started to think, “These people are too holy”.

    Too holy?  Is there such a thing?  My word of wisdom for today is passion.  The letter to the church of Laodicea might have been written to me.  Whatever we do, let’s be passionate about it.  Despite being a fun read, Kevin & his classmates discussed & struggled with some heavy contemporary issues.  Whether I agree or not, there’s something about people who stand up – and stand out – for what they believe in that commands respect. ____________________________________________________________

    The purpose of If I Knew Then What I Know Now is to share some insights that I wish someone had told me about when I was younger.  There’s a fuller explanation on my first post, written on May 14, 2012.

     

     

    1 responses to “Be Passionate” RSS icon

    • I enjoyed reading your post this morning! I, too, am an avid book reader — anything and everything I can get my hands on — that God would approve of.

      It’s interesting that you should mention people standing up for what they believe in. I just happen to have the very same thought this morning as I did my morning Bible reading.

      I was reading in I Kings 18 — the account of Elijah on Mt. Carmel, where he has a stand-off with the prophets of Baal and King Ahab. Before the event takes place, Ahab summons all the people of Israel to Mount Carmel to watch. Elijah stands in front of them and says,

      “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent.”

      Think of those last few words and your post. “But the people were completely silent.” Can you imagine? What a devastately quiet moment that must have been. Won’t anyone stand up for God?!!

      In Luke 19:37-40, a crowd of Jesus’ disciples were joyfully praising God during His entry into Jerusalem. The Pharisees were upset and told Jesus to quiet them. Jesus response? —

      “I tell you — if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

      You’re so right! It’s an exhilarately thing to hear Christians stand up for their God in the face of opposition! Let the people cry out! If they don’t — the rocks will!!! 🙂 KK


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