A God whose heart is pounding with a passion for lost and dying souls
I was encouraged and challenged by some words written by Dave Black this morning (Friday, August 19, 2011 at 6:58 a.m.):
This morning I am sorrowing. I am sorrowing for my brothers and sisters living a life of conflict and confrontation because of the enemies of Christ. I am grieving for the hundreds of thousands of villages in the world that are without a Gospel witness. I grieve for the millions of Asians who work from dawn to dusk for a handful of rice while Americans go on diets to lose weight. The Lord is breaking my heart over the lostness, the brokenness of this world. I grieve over the thousands of unreached individuals, tribes, and people groups. I sorrow over my own callous indifference to the things of God. I grieve over the watered-down perversion of the Gospel that has pervaded our churches in America. I am grieved by those who think we’re not called to suffer, that suffering is a thing of the past, that it is an archaic notion to suppose that Christians should accept inconvenience, suffering, and uncertainty. I grieve over my own shallow spirituality and self-serving, wimpy religion.
Today, this day, I must remind myself that I belong to a Body that is the living presence of a God whose heart is pounding with a passion for lost and dying souls. “Mercy’s door is still ajar” — yes, but for how much longer?
How can a church that does not live for the Gospel be the Bride of Christ?
What is causing you to grieve this morning? How are you suffering with others who suffer, or are you suffering directly because of righteousness? How are you demonstrating the passion of God toward those who are lost and dying? Are you and he believers around you living for the Gospel of Christ?
This is so convicting. Your passion oozes from every pore. Full Armor!