Here is a great reminder from Dallas Willard about the power of contentment. ******************** The moral failures of ministers usually are over one of three things: sex, money, or power. That always comes out of dissatisfaction. Ministers are reaching for something, and they begin to feel, I deserve something better. I sacrifice so much and get so little. And so I’ll do this. The surest guarantee against failure is to be so at peace and satisfied with God that when wrongdoing presents itself it isn’t even interesting. That is how we stay out of temptation. Read the entire article.
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Loved this story from Greg Stier: The great revivalist Gypsy Smith was once asked by a young pastor how he could start a revival at his church. The evangelist simply told him to go home, draw a circle on the floor with a piece of chalk, and kneel within that circle. He then instructed him to pray for revival for everyone on the inside of that circle and, after that, he would start to see revival on the outside of that circle. Read the whole article.
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Passion wanes in the absence of purpose. This isn't to say that every detail of every day must be done in accordance with some larger purpose. If you can, that's great. There are things we must do simply because they must be done. But if we operate for too long outside of our purpose, our passion will suffer. God designed each of us to live for something larger than ourselves. Your purpose might be educating young children in a classroom. It might be feeding the hungry or working with battered women. When you discover what that purpose is, you know it. You feel it. And when you are doing tangible things towards the accomplishment of that purpose, it feeds your passion. If you find yourself having a hard time getting motivated, that may be a warning sign to check if you are operating within your purpose.
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Looking to regain lost passion? Here's the best piece of advice I could give you: Start Today There’s no better time than now. What happens, however, is that our “but” gets in the way. Everyone single one of us has a “but.” Some buts are bigger than others. I would start today BUT I have a deadline to meet at work. I would start today BUT I can’t miss the next episode of CSI. If you find yourself saying "but" more than once or twice, you may have a "but" problem. It's likely you're also putting off things you know you should be doing. What to do? Anything. Something. Passion will not be reclaimed without a choice.
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Do you find yourself not having as much passion for life that you once did? Is it harder to get fired up about your marriage, your job, or your relationship with God? Life is seasonal. Leaves changes. Snow arrives. Snow leaves (hopefully!). In the same, our passion may pass through seasons where it burns brighter than at other times. What causes passion to lose it's flame? For one thing, I believe it's harder for people to be impressed nowadays. We expect technology to advance. We aren't surprised when the new smartphone is smarter than the last smartphone. Every day we are bombarded with things that are latest, greatest, or improved. We build up a tolerance for things that are truly amazing. When a beautiful sunset only generates a "ho-hum" from us, we're in danger of losing our ability to be passionate. Our passion may wane because we are starving it…
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