Today I was thinking about passion. This song immediately came to mind. When we are passionate about someone we are willing to chase after them, to spend our every moment with them. When I first met my husband I was always anxious for him to get home from work just so I could see him. When I was away from him I awaited his call so I could hear his voice. I dropped everything to be with him. I laid aside any plans I might have had. And I would do just about anything to please him. As I type the words, I think of Paul and the passion he had to fulfill his call. It wasn't just about doing something and checking it off of the Christian to do list, however. His passion to fulfill his call stemmed from a deep abiding love for the Father. His primary concern was to do the will of the God. And this is where all of our passions should emerge-a love for Christ and seeking to do whatever He'd have us do. Paul laid down his life to pursue the things of God. He didn't care if it might cost him everything, including his life. He placed that much value on Him. That, my friend, is true worship.

This song also reminds me of that longing for an encounter with God. We should desperately seek to be in His presence, not just to ask for something, but to love on Him, and to have Him love on us. Communication with God is essential in knowing His plans and purposes for our lives. How many of you have ever asked the question, "What is my purpose in life?" Probably a vast majority of us have. And the older we get, the more we may question our purpose. Maybe we're looking back over our lives and we have regrets for the things we never did.Or perhaps those things we did seem trivial in light of eternity. Spending time with God can help us to steer our course.

As Christians our primary purpose in all we do should be to bring glory and honor to God while building His kingdom. Now you may be thinking, "Well, I know that much." The problem is, we often don't know how this ties into what we are supposed to be doing with our lives. God has gifted each of us and placed dreams and desires within us. Those passions to do things can be used in some way to honor God.  Does that mean everything we do has to be done within the church setting? No, it doesn't. But it's nice to use those gifts in the church, to help build up and encourage the body. Churches are made up of more than just pastors and teachers. They need people with technical skills, photographers, those with electrical skills, mechanical skills, crafty ideas, love for teenagers or children, people who are sociable and not afraid to greet others and welcome them, people who have a gift of helps, singers, musicians, prayer warriors, writers, people who can clean and organize, cooks, those who are interested in helping those less fortunate, whether in a foreign country or our own cities, builders, etc. Anything we can think or imagine to do can be used in a way that will show the love of Christ within the church walls, and also outside of those walls. We cannot limit ourselves.