Click on the links to navigate through this page. Chapter Eight Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Hi Ladies. The Lord really spoke to me/challenged me through this chapter. I've been saying all along that I'm just not a passionate person. However, God doesn't like apathy, indifference, and stoicism-----marks of non-passion. He sure denounced the church at Ephesus for their lack of passion for Jesus. They had dedication, determination, discipline and discernment. It would look to me that that should be good, should be enough. I'd be happy with me if I had all those qualities. Page 87 says of the church at Laodicea: "when Jesus does come near, they won't let Him warm their tepid hearts". So maybe my lack of passion is really a refusal to let God do a work in my heart? p. 89 "the key to unlocking the door to passion in your life.......is throwing open the door of your life to Jesus and inviting Him to enter." And, as he notes, that's not just for non-Christians. So I'm going to ask God to help me be more passionate for Him. How will a life that is wishy-washy attract anyone to the Lord? And that's what I want: to be attractive to the Lord, and to attract others to Him. So I will "keep my feet on the ground" (that's my nature) but "let my heart soar as high as it will" (that's my desire, and I believe it is God's desire for me). I'm excited to see how this will play out in my Christian life. Please pray for me. Some thoughts to ponder....on pg. 83...he talks about laboring to the point of exhaustion....have you ever been there yourself?? Yes, especially before a big production. Also when "forced" to take on more jobs than I wanted to. pg. 85....has busyness ever robbed you of your passion for Christ? Yes!! Usually during the above times, and also when I get overwhelmed with being a mom, homeschooling, life, etc. Hmmm, I get overwhelmed easily, it seems. Having an impact...do you feel your church is having the impact for Christ, as it should? Yes! The church is about 2 1/2 years old & already has over 500 people. They do outreaches to the community all the time and have seen fruit from them. How about yourself? Do you feel you are having the impact for Christ as you should? I don't always participate in the outreaches & I know there are times when talking to a neighbor that I could speak up more about Christ but don't. This is an area in which I need more work. What are the vines of passivity in your own life? busyness, being comfortable, wanting more materially What holds you back from opening the door, to make Christ your SOLE passion?? first answer: I don't know. second answer: fear Pg. 83-85...laboring to the point of exhaustion...robbing me of my passion for Christ. Reading of the church at Ephesus reminds me of Mary and Martha being with Jesus. Martha was so "busy" she lost sight of what was important-- spending time with Jesus. I have been there!! I am there often. It is actually something God has been teaching me. I need to spend more time with Him and represent His love to others more and not let the business of life get in the way. Having an impact...My church here is having an impact more now than it was. A while back, there was a lack of unity and no sense of love as it should--this robbed people of being fervent in spirit!. We prayed long and hard for this to change. Praise the Lord--He has been working and moving here in the church. Personally, I could be having an impact more for Christ. I do get tired and that sometimes gets in the way--not focused on myself so much, but rather too focused on everything and everyone else that I loose the passion God has given me. This is one of the "vines of passivity" in my life, which causes me to focus on carrying out the agenda and neglect Christ. I am thankful that Christ doesn't leave us nor forsake us, but rather He stands ant the door and knocks-- waiting with His arms WIDE OPEN! Lots and lots in this chapter to comment on! Summing up the chapter...as a Christian, we miss the mark big time, when we have a passion for something less than Christ! The surfer had a passion for surfing, and as the author points out....the church in Ephesus had many good points about it... Dedication, determination, discipline and descernment. These are qualities we would certainly equate with hitting the mark, being passionate...but the bottom line is, we can have these character traits but if we have left our first love, we aren't even close to what God created us for! And as Dr. Jeremiah points out, even having all these traits towards good things, even God honoring things...if it isn't driven by our love for His Son, we have missed the mark. Then, we can labor to the point of exhaustion. Can we labor for Christ when He is our first love and be exhausted? Hmmmm, I would say not, but I can't say I hold Christ as my first love enough to testify it, but I would say scripture would support the answer that no, when we have Christ as our first love, ABOVE ALL ELSE, He will always provide what we need. PG. 85...."Losing our first love is another way of saying we have lost our passion". If Jesus prayed to the Father in John, that we would experience the oneness with Him as He has with the Father...I would say if we are not walking in an intimate relationship with Christ, not seeking to be one with Him, as the Father is one...how can we know how to walk in His will....let alone be passionate about Him. Bottom line....do I have a living, intimate relationship with Chirst, continually? Am I doing this? If I am not effective, as I should be, then that is the root of my problem, my relationship, my love relationship with Christ has grown cold. What causes the flame of passion for Christ to dwindle within me? I would say, my biggest enemy is discouragement. I become so very discouraged when there seems to be so little or no fruit in prayer and labors. God tells us we should pray that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers into the fields white with harvest. Indeed, the fields are ready for harvest, there are so many hurting, needy souls with no hope because they do not know the God of hope...I get so discouraged, and my passion for the lost and even for God dwindles, because it seems it is so rare to hear that someone has come to Christ. My flame dwindles when I see lost people and there seems to be no evidence of God at work in their lives. The more sweeter a relationship grows in my heart with Christ, the more my heart is torn and aching because there are so many who know nothing about such a thing. :( This chapter really made me stop and think. I’m a very laid back person. I don’t get “all fired up” too often. I don’t often take risks. I mainly work quietly in the background. I look at the church at Ephesus as described in Revelation 2: they were busy, and working hard for the Lord. But at this point, were they really “working for the Lord?” Or were they working for themselves, in their own strength, to accomplish something to give to the Lord? I decided to go back and read Ephesians, to see where they were when Paul wrote to them, to figure out where they went wrong. Paul starts out in Chapter 1 calling the Ephesians “faithful” (1:1). He praises them for their faith and prays that they will gain in wisdom and knowledge of the Lord (1:15-18). In Chapter 2, he emphasizes that it’s faith that brought them into fellowship, and that the faith they have is a gift from God. (2:8). In Chapter 3, he is pointing them toward Christ, that they may know Him more fully (3:16-19). Chapters 4, 5 and the first part of 6 talk about how they should act, but Paul is constantly pointing them toward Christ. The book ends with the description of the armor of God. We need to be strong, but it’s not our own strength, but God’s strength (6:10). Our God, who knows the end from the beginning, knew that the Ephesians would lose their first love and take their eyes off Christ by the time Revelation 2 was written. He knows that I get busy doing things (sometimes very good and worthy things), and take my eyes off the One in whose strength I should be working. He is also ready and waiting for me to confess and repent (Revelation 2:5). I praise God that he knows my weaknesses and is ready to forgive me when I repent! We are to uphold the saints in prayer (Ephesians 6:18). I will pray for each of you this week. Please remember me in your prayers. I think we all get busy doing things and then that becomes more prevalent than The Lord, which is unfortunate. I too praise the Lord for his forgiveness and strength. I like the statement on page 82 that "the passionate life is about playing to our potential, giving it our best shot even against the odds, even when we are weary and no one else advises it." It is wonderful that God gives us the ability to fulfill the potential He has for us. I also like the quote from Tozer "keep your feet on the ground, but let your heart soar as high as it will. Refuse to be average or to surrender to the chill of your spiritual environment." Passion, Passion, Passion. Boy this book makes you think! Bottom of page 85. It sure is soooo true. I can get so busy doing things for God and not being with God. Oh how I long to find the balance. I do praise Him for the difficult times because that is when I cling to Him. My desire is to cling all the time to Him. My prayer is that us women, would be fully enthralled in our Savior and from that will flow service for Him. Well, as I read all of these things about the church in Ephesus, I could really see myself there. The strengths that David Jeremiah pointed out in that church are things that I can often see in myself as well, however, unfortunately, I also recognize a tendency in myself that was also present in them. I often get sidetracked, focusing on an intermediate goal (which may be good in itself) rather than on Jesus. How easily I seem to slip away from my "first love" for Him. I need to constantly refocus on Christ. Chapter Nine Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Relating to God's sense of humour: I had an idea earlier this afternoon, an open door of opportunity. Then I thought, "no, that won't work", then dismissed the thought. An hour later I decided to read chapter 9 and there it was: God telling me to step through this door! So I'm thankful for His reminder not to turn my back on the opportunities He gives. I was so close! Yes it will cost me. But my "faithful response will pay dividends in time and eternity". We don't always see the results, but I'm willing to trust God here. Page 98 says that "we will more readily act upon our passion when we surround ourselves with people of like passion". I'm so thankful for all of you who are participating in this study. Thanks for your encouragement to me, and I pray that my words and walk will be an encouragement to you. It's scary to know that "walking through God's open door will serve as an example to others". But it doesn't really matter whether or not we want people to watch us-----they are! So what open door is God placing in front of you today, this week? This chapter made me think (so far, all of these chapters have made me think!). I wonder how many opportunities I’ve missed over the years. I am by nature a cautious person, and Bill has had to drag me kicking and screaming (figuratively, of course) into some opportunities over the years. He really fits the picture of the supportive spouse that we read about on page 98. I’ve gotten better at recognizing and taking such opportunities as I’ve gotten older, but I still have a long way to go. Dr. Jeremiah’s comments about how other people are watching us when opportunities arise really made me think. I want to be a good example to my daughters, so they also take advantage of opportunities that come their way. I hope that I’m a supportive spouse when Bill has decisions to make, even though I tend to want to wait and do some analysis, where he’s ready to spring. We balance each other out pretty well. God has been very gracious in bringing us together! I can see how our lives are different than they may have been, because of decisions we made early in our married lives. Are our lives better or worse than they could have been? I may never know. I do know that God is using us right here and now. I pray that He’ll continue to use us, and that he’ll continue to put opportunities in front of us. I pray also that he’ll give us wisdom to counsel our daughters as they begin to make their way in the world. How is God using you right now? What does He have in store for you? Hi Everyone...I said I wasn't even going to comment on this chapter, but I guess I should at least write something, in case people think I've left the country. Not much to say about it. Just been struggling last few weeks I guess not seeing much if any fruit to prayer requests. Yes, I do believe God is always opening doors of opportunity for us. I am just confused right now, as it seems that often times doors open, we go through them, and then after awhile I wonder if God is still in it with me. I know in my head I am wrong, but just struggling with lack of answer to prayer in my heart. So many people we pray for, and so little results are seen, and even with people we invest time in. Sorry this is late - I don't even have a good excuse! Anyway, when I read the chapter, I felt thoroughly chastised! I am often afraid when faced with doors of opportunity. Sometimes I feel like I've stepped through the wrong doors, but they looked right at the time. Guess that is one of the big questions for me: how do we know if an opportunity is from God or not? I'm not talking about the obvious ones (which I am still somewhat reluctant to enter, shame on me!). I'm talking about the ones that seem good, for instance teaching at a Christian school where my kids attended. It turned out to be the second worst experience in my life!! I'm not sure what else to add, but I do feel I need to take more advantage of the obvious opportunities that present themselves - in our church, in our neighborhood, with my kids' friends. As I read this chapter, I realized how "feeble" my faith really is! It is easier to say you have faith, but when you need to step up and act upon it--or walk through that "open door" it is really difficult! So I thank Dr. Jeremiah for his encouraging words and the Lord for His unfailing love, mercy, and grace. I liked what was said on pg 100 " Be a person of passion who not only sees God's opportunities, but charges through them with faith in His provision." Also, I thought of all the doors of opportunity in my life. I wondered if some were really open doors--were they from God? Sometimes, we may step through the wrong door, but need to pray for God's guidance. I know w/o a doubt I am where the Lord has called me. If I walked through some of those doors I THOUGHT I needed to--where would I be? One door in particular, I almost walked through. At the time, I was fighting my "lack of faith." Now I see that if I did take that step, it would have been a bad move. I am thankful that God pulled me back and didn't allow me to walk through. Phil. 4:6-9 tells us, "6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you." So instead of looking back or looking through future doors with fear and dwelling on the "what ifs", I am reminded to walk with faith-- and as I pray and feel led to take the next step through open doors in my life, God will be with me to open or close those doors. Chapter 9 was interesting. I admit I am often guilty of being frozen by feeble faith or ferocious fear. However, I am also a bit confused sometimes in determining what opportunities God really wants me to take. Sometimes it's obvious (clearly a matter of obedience or wide open doors), but sometimes there are myriads of opportunities to do good things, and I'm not sure whether God wants me to act on them or not. David Jeremiah's example of Walt Disney and Art Linkletter could be an example of one of these situations (although I certainly have not had to deal with the question of making huge real estate investments). I really liked what this chapter had to say. It is so difficult for me to step into an opportunity when I have no idea how it's going to turn out or what to expect. I am one of those people that likes to have a moment by moment agenda of what's going to happen, and it's always been difficult for me to step into something without a good idea of what to expect. This chapter showed me that it is a lack of faith and overabundance of fear that causes this, and both of those will make it difficult to effectively serve in the Kingdom. I have had some challenges lately with a client who is not paying me and I was letting it get the best of me. I was mad and disgruntled and having a daily headache. I finally realized the devil was using this to keep me from my relationship with God. So I gave the matter to God and I feel much better even though I have not received my money. I realize that I still have a ways to go to completely trust God all the time. I try to trust him and then something goes wrong and I forget he will take care of it if I let him. pg 101 The secret is to jump at every opportunity. If I can't trust God with the small things on a daily basis I will never be able to jump at an opportunity and know that I can trust him to make it work. I guess he is in the process of teaching me this and I just have to keep trying to learn it. I want to do what God requires of me, but I have spent most of my life giving reasons why I can't do something - I need to take care of the house, my job, the cats, the yard etc. etc. So I only jump when I have time and that is seldom, but I do see changes taking place since I started coming to Grace. God is changing me slowly but surely and I hope someday I will no longer doubt him in anything that is happening in my life and I hope when he puts the opportunity out there I will be able to make the JUMP. Hi Sisters in Christ, OK, I understand but I don't understand. It makes sense to walk through every door that God has opened for you. He as opened amazing ones of me. BUT if I walked through every door my life would be chaotic! My relationship with God, my husband and my children would be at stake. So how do you know for sure which door is of the Lord? This may seem like an elementary question but it's where I am at. Any ideas, any scripture? Chapter Ten Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Hi everyone. Another good chapter in Life Wide Open. I especially identified with this chapter. As most of you know, Pastor and I both attended Moody Bible Institute, so we owe a lot to Ed Kimball. In fact, it is at Moody that we met our missionaries Wayne and Melody Nelson. Melody was the first one to speak to me and befriend me after I moved into the girl's dorm. Even more important, it was at Moody that I met my husband! In addition to the verse in I Corinthians 1:27-28, I identify with II Corinthians 4:7. "We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves". I really learned that verse to be true on our last trip to Russia. I am not one who can stand up in front and speak to others, but that's what God called me to do. Seven times, to seven different groups!!! It was hard, but it sure made me realize that I did it through the greatness of God's power, not my own. I was just an earthen vessel, allowing God to use me to encourage others. So I'd encourage each of you to let God use you this week. Don't say "I can't do this". Ask Him what He wants you to do, and what He will help you to do for His glory. Have a great week. Hello Ladies! I can identify with Edward Kimball. I’m not going to be a person who stands in front of large crowds, but perhaps I’ve been instrumental in someone’s life who will (maybe one of MY Sunday school students!). I may never know on this side of eternity. My goal is to do what the Lord wants me to do, plant the seeds, and let Him give the increase. I take comfort in the fact that God uses weak people. It means that I don’t have to build myself up in my own strength in order to be used in God’s kingdom. It also means that I don’t have to depend on seeing results in my lifetime. God has his own timetable. I’ve learned over the years that I tend to want things done a lot faster than God seems to plan for me. Learning patience is a humbling experience. I really like Josh McDowell’s 3 pillars to our true identity: 1. You are lovable 2. You are valuable 3. You are competent. Now, I just have to remember them when I’m not feeling very lovable, valuable or competent. Something new to put up on my cubicle wall at work! Have a great week! Since we started this book, I've been asking God to fill me with His Holy Spirit each day. It's really made a difference! I'll be praying for you. "Me? No Way!" Is often a phrase I hear in my head. Many times, I feel like I have nothing to offer, and I find myself comparing my "lack of talents" to many others who are talented in some way. This chapter was a good encouragement. As I read, Jeremiah 1:5 and Psalm 139 both came to my mind. I was reminded that God created me and wants to use me--I just need to be willing and open to His will. as I read. God knew us before we were formed in the womb and knows every detail of us now--yet He still loves us and has a perfect plan for our lives. Like Moses, I ask God, "Who am I?--I am so inadequate" and God's response, "I AM--I will certainly be with you (Ex 3:11)" Without Christ, we are nothing, but PRAISE the Lord for His unfailing love, His guidance, and His desire to use us just as we are. What an honor it is to share His love to the lost and glorify His name! pg 110 I can't, but God can pg 113 Its the person who never gets started That is destined forever to lose. I am not a self doubter, I always have felt I could learn to do what I wanted to do. I have spent alot of time failing to learn how to do something right. But I am persistant, I will keep trying till I get it right. But when it comes to talking to people about God and Jesus, I know I have missed countless opportunities. I will never be a PASTOR or a Billy Graham etc. as talking in front of large groups of people is not a gift God gave me. But I do want to learn how to talk to people about God when the situtation arises. I know how blessed my life is because of God saving me and I want that for other people too. So I am hoping that God will help me to do better in the future when it comes to telling people about him. I find this book really makes you look at your life and evaluate where you are in your daily walk with God. It is showing me where I need to improve myself and what areas I need to work on. It is not always easy for me to look at my shortcomings, because we as people do not like to admit that we need to make changes in our lives to glorify God. But God can make the changes for us once we know where we need help. Have a good week girls Take care And may god bless all of you as we walk together in our Life Wide Open What a touching story about Ed Kimball, a nobody who was obedient to share Christ with the nobody at the time D.L. Moody. It is amazing to see how that touched so many lives in years to come. Would Mr. Kimball have ever guessed? Sometimes that is the best we can hope for, that there are more impacts being made for Christ than we can ever imagine. Sometimes, it sure seems that there is nothing happening, for sure! I used to struggle as to whether or not I was making an impact to others for Christ. As I get older (and grayer) though, I see it does not matter so much if I am making an impact, but what REALLY matters is that Christ is impacting peoples lives...for it is He and He alone that can change a persons life, make the blind see and make the lame leap for joy! There can be nothing more exciting and honorable to be a part of that, but that should not be our MAJOR want. What our MAJOR want should be is simply that JESUS CHRIST IS LIFTED UP, HONORED AND GLORIFIED IN THE LIVES OF BELIEVERS and that His present enemies (unbelievers) will be changed to also honor and glorify God. How I long to see Christ's enemies become Christ's believers. The personal challenge that I struggle with is, how do I continue (or even want to, sometimes) to be out in the "fields" where the soil seems so rocky, and hardened with the pride of men? Sometimes it seems like no one is coming to Christ...it truly is a privilege to be out there sowing seed, where I can become paralyzed in discouragement is that there seems to be not even a little sign of a little seedling coming up from the seeds that have been sowed. I've heard the story before about Edward Kimball, the Sunday School teacher who shared Christ with D. L. Moody. It was interesting, though, to think through the effects of that action. I wonder, though, if E. Kimball truly had the self-doubt and fear that the book mentioned, whether he saw himself as a passionate person. Perhaps not - perhaps he was just trying to be obedient. In any event, it had the same affect. Being passionate sounds great, but maybe it boils down to old-fashioned obedience coming from a true love for the Lord. "Me? No Way!" For a minute there, I thought I was seeing my own thoughts instead of the chapter title! I've learned (at least at the head level) not to tell God that I "won't" do something, because next thing you know, there I am doing it. However, in my heart, I often feel like, "You've got to be kidding, God! You don't really mean that you want me to be a youth pastor's wife or to live in New Jersey or to move south or to give up my 'dream' job to return to home schooling, do You???!!!" Yet, He does usually mean exactly that! He wants to move me out of my comfort zone so I can learn to rely on Him and learn to do what He wants me to do when He wants me to do it. Like so many people, I feel like I have nothing to offer, or that what I do have to offer, no one wants, but God isn't buying my excuses. When I give up my excuses and let God have control of my life (which is really easy to type here to a bunch of people I don't know well, but REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HARD to do in life), then maybe God will use what I have for His glory. Wow, what a sermon! Self, listen up!! Hey Everyone! I hope you all are having a great week! I liked chapter ten, the example about the Sunday School teacher really showed me how important it is to follow the prompting of the Spirit and to always be listening to Him. It makes me wonder how many more evangelists and preachers and teachers we would have if everyone witnessed every time the Holy Spirit showed them an opportunity. Hi Ladies, Page 105 is covered with stars and underlined in my book! I think the largest enemy in my life towards my passion is self-doubt. In a sense self doubt is pride cause you are always thinking of yourself! I think the best verse is "Christ in me, the hope of Glory" Once our eyes are on Him, anything is possible. Our minds need to be renewed by His word, Romans 12. Praise the Lord He has shown me time and time again he can use me. I am so thankful for this He is doing things through me I never thought possible. With His, nothing is impossible! I found it difficult to get through the last 2 chapters of this book. It is hard to focus on being passionate about serving god when you don't have the money to pay your bills { my husband was out of work for 2 weeks}. I feel as though I should look for a different job but I do not know if that is from me or from God. Right now I take care of people in their homes and do not feel as though I have a great deal of opportunity to openly witness. It would also mean that I would not be there for my husband if I worked more hours since he is a truck driver and isn't home regularly. So to sum it all up I need wisdom to see the doors that open {and maybe a large sign}. This book has been a comfort in reminding me how much God loves, cares and has a plan for us.