But the one who peers into the perfect law and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does.
In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; For stern as death is love, relentless as the nether world is devotion; its flames are a blazing fire. Deep waters cannot quench love, nor floods sweep it away.
Revelation 3:15-16, James 1:25, 1 Peter 1:6-7, and Song of Songs 8:6-7a
I was writing this blog, feeling a bit angry about how we have lost the sense of God's fiery and passionate love for us, when the Lord gave me a word in my heart. I was writing the title (Where is the Passion of the Church?) and He gently stopped me by saying "You are the Church."
It stunned me for a moment. I, Elizabeth, am the Church. I make up the body of Christ. If one part of the body is not functioning, I can't just bash on the problem! I am part of the problem! My community needs me. By persevering in my prayers and devotion to God and drawing closer to Him, I am inching the Church closer too. I do have an effect on the community and stepping out and bringing His Light wherever I go is an encouragement to others who don't have the courage to do that yet. Let us create an atmosphere around us that is beaming with the love of Christ. When we allow Him to root out the ugliness in our own hearts, part of the Church is being weeded. Thus, bringing the Church into a place of fiery and passionate love really isn't all that hard. It starts one heart at a time. Lord, let my heart be the first.
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