He loves me? He loves me not?

We lift our hands in worship. We sing, "He loves us! Oh how He loves us!" .... We feel God, We feel His love. But so often, we think that we have "deserved" for His love to become manifest to us because we have lived a "clean" and "pure" life constantly seeking God and living right. Why wouldn't God's love become manifest in our life? (I agree, it says that the Pure in heart shall see God.) But, I got to thinking, what about those that aren't pure in heart?  ...

We often think God shows Hisself to us based on how good we have been, or how faithfully and dilligently we have been seeking Him. Maybe, how well we have worshipped Him, How much we really press into Him, How much we fast, pray and read the Word. But if God poured out His love and made Hisself manifest to us based on the "right" things that we do, then... wouldn't that be works? Wouldn't we be "working" to get God to show us His love? (Which, doesn't that totally nullify His grace?)
 ...What about those that are deceiving, lying, manipulating theives? Does that mean that they will never see God's love manifest because they aren't "living right"?
Why do we so often convince ourselves that God's love for us, is based on how much we search Him out? It isn't! It's soley based on HIS love for US. We can't DO anything to get Him to love us anymore then He already does. True, you might be living a "right" life, which I'm not at ALL condoning, that is absolutely AWESOME and how this world will change. I'm simply saying, God loves You just as much as He does the person that is struggling with pornography, smoking pot and drinking. The difference? You are deciding to LET Him show you that He loves you, they aren't. (God is always trying to show us His love, but we're just to stubborn to actually let Him sometimes).. So, when something happens in your life, you slip up, mess up or just plain fall into the same sin over and over, realize God loves you just as much now as He did when He first started to form you in your Mommy's belly :)
When you worship God, realize, He loves you! Regardless! Not because you haven't (majorly) sinned this week, or done anything wrong. (Cause really, what are we defining as "sin" here? Where are we drawing the "sin" lines? ... a small sin is just as wrong as a "big" sin...)

Basically, I just want you to know and realize that you can do absolutely NOTHING to "get" God to love you more than He already does. Nor can you do anything to make Him stop, or delute His crazy, passionate, burning love for You.

Face it! You're stuck with the Creator of everything,(even you!) being sooooo madly in love with you, forever and ever.Wether you accept that or not is completely up to you. You just can't do anything to get Him to stop loving you ;)

God doesn't love me because...

If I'm going to write a blog about my life, and what God has been doing in my life, I'm going to be flat out honest about things, not hiding anything or going to try to make it look I've been living a perfect life. I'm giving you an honest me, this is raw from my heart, at times, you might think "she knows better than to think that"... but I'm writing how I honestly felt, so consider yourself warned. :)

I hadn't been focused. Somewhere along the lines... I got slowly distracted with everything that was going on in my life. I had so much going on, between two vacations right in a row, applying for college, and trying to savor every moment I have left with my family/friends before I go off to college in January. Somewhere in the midst, I slowly let go of what really mattered (not intentionally either). I didn't desire God like I did before, and I didn't want to worship or read His word like I so craved to before. I knew I had "drifted" from what had been my number one focus and passion in life (Jesus).
 In result, I spent extra time, trying to get back to that "place" where I had been, to get back to that place of passion and fire, to that place of insane dedication like I'd once been just a few weeks prior. I kept trying to "prove" myself to God. I guess, I was doing things for Him, hoping He would accept me back, and still somehow love me... Until one night, I was in my room, and I was sick and tired of feeling like I wasn't doing enough for God, I just started crying... I told God that I just needed Him to love me even if I don't worship Him or read His word or reflect Him with my life,I got kinda mad, I kinda just said to Him... "if you love me, prove it! I'm not going to worship you, or read your word, and if you still love ME for ME and not for what I can do for you, then prove it!" ... so... I stopped "trying" to "earn" God's love... (and...I realize that what I said probablly wasn't really the "polite" thing to say... nor the "strong Christian" thing to say to God..but like I said in the beginning, I'm being real, not hiding anything..and this is just how I felt, so it's what I said (Why hide things from God, He already knows what I'm thinking and how I'm feeling, I just was public with Him about it) )
... so... for a few days...I just completly stopped attempting to "get God to love me", and I can honestly say, that EVERY day after then, probablly for about... a week or two straight... ANYthing that I even remotely thought of... any desires or anything like that... EVERY one of them came to pass and got answered, I wasn't even praying for them to happen and they would! I would just THINK about them and it would happen!. Small, dumb things that I didn't even think mattered, but mattered to me, whatever it was, every single time, it happened. I felt like I was living a fake life, until I realized what God was doing, He was doing exactly what I told/asked Him to do... He was "proving" to me that He loved me despite wether I was "on fire" for Him or not, despite if I read His word or not. He was showing me that He would bless me no matter what. When I finally realized this, I just broke down. It was then when He told me, that He loved me regardless... like truely unconditional ... He said to me: "Karissa, I will still love you, just as much as I did when I first created you, even if you NEVER picked up My word again, or ever said "I Love You" to me again. My love for you remains the same, it won't change, it can't change, My love for you isn't based on what you do for Me, but soley and only on my love for you, you can't do anything to make me love you more or less." .... ya.. it was pretty much over from there. haha. It was then that I realized, God doesn't love me because of what I can do for Him. But His love was completly based on His love for me (first).  I don't have to try to prove anything to God, (nor does He have to prove anything to me) He is God. He is Love (1 John 4:15). I am not God, I am not love( however I have God IN me, so I have Love IN me too).
The whole time, it was like..I was being like Martha, trying to work for Jesus and impress Him with what I could "offer" Him, and I wasn't being like Mary, and just simply sitting at His feet, receiving everything that I needed from Him. I understand now that Love is like a river... it's flowing... I don't have to "try" to make it flow... I just simply stop. realize it's there, and drink from it's pure, real, unending supply.
...Realizing how crazy God is about me, had only naturally caused me to love Him more, naturally desiring Him and His love, and to worship Him and read His word. I don't read His word now because I feel obligated too, or because I'm trying to "earn" God's love, I read His word, because it holds the depth of God's heart, it's like an unending treasure chest. I don't worship God cause I feel like He won't love me if I don't, I worship Him, because He loves me SO much, more than I'll ever be able to understand or explain. I worship Him, because I'm in awe by Him. I worship Him as a natural reaction of Him loving me first.
... I don't have to prove to God that I love Him, and neither do you.. just realize He does, regardless if you do anything for Him or not. When you realize how much God really does love you unconidtionally, you will have no other desire then to live your life dedicated to His love (Him).
Realize, you are: not obligated, You're priviledged. You're not lacking. You're overflowing with overwhelming blessings and Love. 
....always remember.. God doesn't love you because of what you do, He loves you for You! ... Stop trying. Like one song says... "Let go of your heart... let go of your head... and feel Him now." :)
...sorry for the horrible grammar and what not, it's late and the grammar part of my brain fell asleep. haha...

My Sky...My Jesus...

I look at the sky, and I'm always in constant awe. I always have been since I was little, and will always be. To me, it's so incomprehendable. It's so big and beautiful, and different but yet the same every time. I love everything about the sky. I understand the sky, like I understand Christ, I'm always in wonder and awe of it/Him, despite of how long I've known Him. Every time I see Him, I see Him in a new view, and He's just so big and beautiful. I comprehend the sky of what I can see of it, but yet, I know it's far bigger and greater then beyond what I can see or understand with my mind. I comprehend Christ of what I have discovered of who He is, but I know that He is far bigger, greater, and more incredible then beyond what I could ever comprehend. No matter what the weather is, I know the sun is always shining, even if there are clouds blocking me from seeing the sun, I know it's always there and always shining. It's there when it's raining, storming, even when there are hurricanes and tornadoes! I know that Jesus (and His Love) is always there for me, even when my life seems like it's spinning out of control, even when it seems like He isn't there, and the cares of life seems to block my view of Him and His Love, He is always there, regardless of what my life looks like. He is always good, and shining brighter than ever. This quote: "I believe in the sun, even when it's not shining, I believe in love even when I don't feel it, and I believe in God even when He is silent" ..was found on a wall in a Nazi concentration camp, it was written by a Jewish man that was held as a prisoner in that camp. If a man, in unimagineable circumstances could still have such a faith in God, even when everything in his life couldn't possibly be worse then how are we so quick to doubt God the moment something in our life doesn't go our way? As soon as something goes wrong it feels like our lives are falling apart and that God is so distant. When really, we have to take our eyes off ourself and realize He is right there. If anyone had the right to have a pity party and feel bad for himself because it just seemed like God was so distant and that God had forsaken him it would be that man in that concentration camp. But yet, He still trusted God, and knew that He was with Him, even when his life was bound to end in being horrificly murdered. He knew, that God was still with him, regardless of his circumstance. I encourage you, to realize the same, God has never left you, and never will, He is still with you, even in your mess, in your life that feels like it is falling apart, wether it is physically, emotionally or even spiritually. God has got your back. God is like the sky, the sun better yet, He's always there, even when you can't see Him. Believe He is there, because He is, know He cares, cause He does, cry to Him, cause He always hears you, don't be embarrassed of your short comings or failures, cause He isn't embarrassed to show the world His love for you (after all, that is why He died for you) ;) Never forget, and always realize and know, that no matter what, Jesus is so madly in love with YOU! =)

I'm not Beautiful because...

About a month and a half ago I went to the doctors, turned out I had strep throat. No problem, just prescribed me to some medicine (Penicillin) and it'd be "gone in about 10 days!". So, I got the medicine, took it for 6 days before I broke out into a major allergic reaction ALL over my entire body! I had never taken Penicillin before then so I didn't know if I was allergic to it or not (My older brother is allergic to it though). In one night it seemed like all of hell itself came up and visited me and attacked my body. I was absolutely miserable and hideous looking. I would laugh everytime I saw myself in the mirror, cause I just looked plain funny, and I knew if I didn't laugh about it, I would cry. I itched, all over my body, I ached, I hurt, I didn't sleep for a few nights at ALL. I was in so much pain and itching to much to rest. My parents took me to the E.R, they rushed me immediately back and put me on oxygen (my throat was closing up and I was having a difficult time breathing)..and gave me an IV in my hand. When I broke out... I BROKE OUT. My ENTIRE body was COVERED (I like using Caps lock ... haha) in red dots which turned into purple bruises... all over my face, arms, stomache, back, legs, even the bottom of my feet! (Remember, I had been taking the medicine for 6 days before I broke out, so it was well in my system). I would laugh and laugh, cause it was just so funny looking...and so people wouldn't feel bad or sorry for me. It seemed to lighten the situation up. But inside, every time I would look in the mirror, I would say to myself  "You're so ugly! Look how gross you look! No one is gonna like you!" ...those were my flat out thoughts... When I was in the hospital room, all by myself, I looked down at my body, and just began to cry, I was afraid my skin would never look good and go back to normal again. No one would like me, People would always be looking at me, and kids would be scared of me! ..., I  was released from the hospital the same day... still just looking terrible. That night, I was watchin tv with my Dad and this music video, by Nicole Nordeman started to play called "Beautiful for Me", I'd never heard the song before, but it was perfect timing and just what I needed... God seems to be pretty good at the timing thing.. haha... A few of the Chorus Lyrics went like this:

Has anybody told you you’re beautiful?

You might agree if you could see what I see
Oh‘Cuz everything about you is incredible
You should have seen me smile the day that I made you beautiful for me

...as I heard this... I knew it was like Jesus singing to me directly...He began to speak to me and tell me, that He still and always will think I'm the most beautiful girl ever, not because of what my skin looks like, but because of what my heart does. and He reminded me that He only makes GOOD Creation, and when He said it Genesis 1 that "it is Good" He meant everything, and everyone, all of the created and un-created, (that included me!) and that He loves me the same, no matter what ... I was/am His forever. and that NOTHING could separate His love from me.... (Romans 8:38-39)... that night I found this verse I never new exsisted till I happened to stumble upon it... it says...Don't be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. (4)You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. (1Peter 3:3-4) (NLT)

...How simple... Beauty is not what one looks like, which I understood to a point before this whole thing, but I just realized it more afterwards... Our bodies are mere households for our spirit to live in... like a quote I once heard... don't remember who it's by...but it said... "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but rather, spirit beings having a human experience" ... Skin doesn't matter, to the world, maybe yes, bt the world didn't die for you, and give you everything you would ever need before you were ever born, Jesus did! ...We hear about Martyrs in the Bible and even in today's world in over sea countries...I used to wonder....God... I don't know if I could handle that... then I realized.... those people live Mark 8:36..".And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?" ...They understand that it is better for them to endure a small time suffering hear on earth, then eternity in hell...either way there will be suffering. But they are suffering for a good cause. A beautiful one.
So, to wrap this long post up, I'd like to just say, I'm not beautiful because of the design of the skin God gave me to live in, but because of the Beautiful God who lives within me and He died to make me beautiful. When people see me I want them to be attracted to the God in me, so they may know who He is and discover that the same Beautiful Jesus is longing to live in and show them His infathomable love He has for them too. =) If you are someone that isn't convinced they aren't beautiful, be assured, you are GORGEOUS! Despite what any one says or doesn't say, Jesus doesn't make ugly creation! =)

oh.. I added some picture of my body when I had the allergic reaction btw! ... lol

and P.s... My skin is completly cleared up now!! =) Thank Jesus! =)

M legs...

 My forearm...

 This was the first day...the rash moved down my body from head to toe, thats why my arm and chest don't look as bad...but...this is my face... (obvioulsy right, haha)

and in case any of you wanted to hear the song/watch the video of that dong "beautiful for Me" by Nicole Nordeman... here is the link.. =) and Yes, it was a song on a veggie tales movie.... #veggietalesrock lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orc4TuIO56s

Love and Life

In this blog, anywhere I use the word "love" mentally, replace it with "God" and vice versa... it will put things in a different perspective. For the most part I put ('love') or ('God") next to the vice word, but I missed a few... enjoy! leave a comment! =

Life and Love!

Life is beautiful! Love is beautiful! but which is better? Is there one more superior than the other? We humans, put so much emphasis on life and living... and material things to make us "happy" in this life. We have to have the right look, right body, lots of money, be popular, and all these things, although none of them bad, but all of them.... petty, and meaningless. We fill our lives with things, and electronics... cell phones..ipods...ipads...laptops...camera's...movies... and especially people and friends...anything and anyone to distract us and waste our time and life. As we get older, those things eventually fade, they are nothing but a memory, that have done nothing to benefit our future, or benefit those around us, they have only wasted precious time we can't get back.

Eventually, those things will die out, and we've spent our lives investing in things like facebook and twitter, we are all guilty of it. I'm not excluded. Eventually, life will end, it's inevitable, it just will happen, it's something we can promise.
When we die, and are in heaven, what will we have invested in our eternity by our iPads,iPod's, luke-warm friends? Nothing. True life, isn't the one we are now living, the one we think we know oh-so-well, it's the one we have yet to come upon. Is there something greater than life itself? Yes there is! Love!... Love is the most powerful thing ever. the world revolves around it, living depends on it. "How could you say Love is better than Life?!" you might say...but...you must remember... God is love, and LOVE created life...therefore Love is better than life! (God is better than life!) without love (or God) we would have no life! Without love, we cannot live. We die first, inside, then eventually, it overtakes our bodies and kills us. Love is essential to living. Love IS greater than life itself. Remember that game ..."rock-paper-scissors" when you were a kid? and each one over took a different element? ...think of love as the one that tops all of them...Love is better than life. Love always wins. Love is greater than life itself. People everywhere, die for Love's sake (but usually the perverted love seen through the world's eyes) nevertheless people die for Christ sake also (love).

Christ came to demonstrate this to us Himself.  God is love...when He came down in human form... to DIE for us... He didn't just die... but he showed us, that Love is more important then life could ever be. Although it seems like he was defeated, things are not always as they seem, He won the devil's "rock-paper-scissors" game... He won with love. Love is better than life. We know that 3 days after He died, He was raised from the dead. He didn't just rise to conquer death, but he conquered life. He conquered life with Love. Love is what rose Him from the dead. Love changed the course of life, and still continues to do so today. Once we know, and accept this love, we are given real life, forever. Life is beautiful. Love is beautiful. without life we wouldn't know love (God) and with out God we couldn't know life! So, I've said all this to simply say this, invest in things that matter, invest in heaven, invest in God (love), those things will last forever, use your life to show love. Love lasts. (human) life doesn't.

Another Journal Entry...

Found this as I was randomly reading through some of my old journals, thought it was pretty, so I wanted to share it, hope it blesses you, like it did me =)

I hear you beckon me to come to you, to come closer, so you can pour your love on me, I'm afraid of this love I don't know.
But I give you my hand and I let go.
I find this love, so beautiful, so peaceful, so true.
Now I find myself giving in, just in awe of you.
 When I gave you my heart, holding it out as the only gift I knew to give, I cried, "hear is my heart, it's all yours, I give it to you, I give it to beauty, I give it to peace, I give it to truth.
I give you my heart, wanting nothing back, because my reward is to love you.
But just then, you gave me your heart to, holding it out, crying "take it! I love you!".
Your heart is more than I can obtain, more than I could hold, holding your heart, tears stream my face,
I look up to see its height, it was then when I realized, it was bleeding, "What is this blood?" I asked
You cried, "this is the blood I shed, this is the price I paid to show you I love you."
I stand holding this massive, bleeding, pumping heart you've given m, it's beating for me.
With this heart I know peace!
With this heart I know truth, with this heart I have unthinkable joy!
~With this heart, I know real love.~
This is the heart He died for me to see.
He died so I could get a glimpse of true beauty.
This heart is so much, past it, I cannot see.
So beautiful, so lovely.
This heart of joy, this heart of peace,
This very same heart is the one He's given to me!
This heart is so pure, this heart is so complete.
This is the heart He died for me to see.
Now I know that although I'm free, The Lord Jesus Christ, has married Me!
For we are one, holding nothing back,
He has my heart and I have His <3




.

Radiate!!

 We as Christians, are called to do two things specifically. Love God, and Love People! ... most of us know this..."but it can be so easy to Love God and so hard to love people sometimes!", we may think. We must realize, God has called every Christian to radiate, illuminate, and resonate Him! ...Nothing more, Nothing less, and Nothing else! These words all have very similar meanings, with little differences.

radiate:

/v. ˈreɪdiˌeɪt; adj. ˈreɪdiɪt, -ˌeɪt/ Show Spelled [v. rey-dee-eyt; adj. rey-dee-it, -eyt]  verb, -at·ed, -at·ing, adjective

–verb (used without object)

1.

to extend, spread, or move like rays or radii from a center.

2.

to emit rays, as of light or heat; irradiate.

3.

to issue or proceed in rays.

....we must radiate Christ!... if Christ is our center (which He is)...we have to let Him shine through us! When we think of the word radiate...we think of.. something that is...coming from an inside source, and when you get close to it, you can feel the heat from it usually. When people come near us, they should be able to feel the love of Christ just steaming off of us, they should be effected by just being around us. What is inside of us (or Who rather) should be radiating off of us...! When something is radiating, it is evident, you never have to tell someone that it is, When YOU are radiating Christ it will be evident, you won't have to tell people you are radiating Him, they will just know. Whenever people come around you, they should feel Christ, not because of what you are SAYING but just by how you live. ..you know that old saying... "Actions speak louder than words"?...I've found that to be one of the most truest statements ever. People will believe about 10% of what you say, and not even all of what you do, but still, they believe what you do and how you act way more than what you say!..one of my favorite quotes is by Mother Teresa...and it is one I believe we should all live by, and I believe it explains how we should radiate Christ... 

 “Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile." ...When we are radiating Christ it's not something we will have to work up or try to always remember to do, it's something that naturally happens. 

We radiate Christ, when we spend time with Him in private, when no one is around and no one knows what is going on. Our lives, should SCREAM to others the love of Christ! Without even saying a word!

....Love wins!.... =)

You don't have to tell people you spend time with Jesus in private and love Jesus, when you do, it'll naturally show. We will naturally radiate when we learn to fall in love with the secret place. 

When Moses came down from the mountain the Word says he was literally glowing, the people could tell he had been in the presence of God, Moses didn't have to tell them, it was evident! 

When someone has been in the presence of God, you can tell!, You can see it, feel it, and just sense it altogether!

Radiating is simply an outward expression or something that naturally happens when the outward is abiding in the inward.

When you are radiating, you naturally will love people, because it's the love of God that will be coming out of you! 

When you radiate Christ, people will love being around you, not because of you but because of Christ IN you and the love of Christ radiating from you! Radiate Him and His love, so people will come to know Him! Never radiate for the sake of yourself or having a good name or good rep. As soon as you do that. You've totally missed it. Radiate ONLY to glorify God, and to direct others to Him... this being said... actions speak louder than words! DON'T speak! Just LIVE! =)

 

btw... who you are is always radiating no matter what... why not radiate love? =)

..............Christians! We MUST radiate!...............

the sound of life...~

Recently, I was spending time with the Lord, and I'd been thinking about my past, and things that went on, good and bad, things I wish never would have happened, but I knew I couldn't fix cause it was in the past. I was beating myself up over things that I've should've forgotten, and that no longer mattered. Just as I was thinking about all of this... I had a vision of an old tape player, and the tape that was in it was the tape of my past, (they tape I had been listening to at the very moment) playing over and over in my mind, when suddenly, I saw Jesus hit "eject" He took it out, and smashed it... "Stop playing that old tape! Stop listening to the song of your past!" He beckoned, just then.... I saw a "play button" as on a cd player... and a new cd was placed in the cd player... (the tape player represented things that were old and out dated, cd player was to represent, the newer and to come) ... so anyways... I then realized what the Lord was trying to say, (God always speaks in away that is relative to us, and in a way that we will understand the most...I love music, and singing...so I believe this is why He used this analogy...)... Our lives are like songs... I came up with this quote (if you know me, I love quotes, and I wrote this quote in relation to my last sentence...) ~We dance along and go with the beats, at times it can be sad, othertimes it's upbeat, but we'll never know what the end of the song sounds like until we've first listened to the length of it..~  in other words... life is fun at times, other times it's hard, things will happen you wish never did, but no matter what, live it to the fullest, and dance even when you can't. We won't know what our lives hold at the end until we've first lived, not just the length of our lives, but also it's width... We only know what the song sounds like after we've listened to the whole thing... Your life is a song, live every beat it has to offer, don't wonder what the end of it will sound like, nor try to predict it, music is unpredictable, and so are our lives, live it well, so that one day when you die others can hear the beautiful song you've left behind. If you live for Christ, the song is always going to result with a high note. =)

Curves in life...

Sometimes, life throws curve balls...... But you just gotta learn to predict them, and hit them outta the park when they come your way! ...I once heard a saying, it said... A curve in the road is not the end of the road, of course unless you fail to make the turn. You always gotta keep you head up, even with all the horrible things life throws at ya! Throw it back! Always smile, even when you can't. No matter what, always give God the glory, He'll work things out if you ask Him to, alot of times things in our life come up and we often forget about God, how silly! He should be our first resource! Never give up! Hope always seems hidden when fate arises! Nevertheless, Hope is still there! We just have to stop looking through the eyes of fate to see it. =)

Passion...How we have it...How we lose it...How to get it back stronger...

Passion...having strong feelings or a desire for another.
Passion must be our foundation when we are chasing after God's heart....but often... we sometimes find ourselves losing or that we have lost passion for God...not at all meaning too...or not really sure how it happens. But we'll find that we were once on fire for God, wanting nothing but Him, and being totally in love with Him...seeking Him, reading our Bible.. anxious to know what else is in His word, worshiping Him with a desperate heart, and only desiring Him... and then we're at a place... where... we still love God... we still worship Him and read our Bible but not as much, and we're not as excited about God as we were before... safe to say our passion has "died out". We wonder how and why this has happened, we think we need another "God Moment" or to go to another amazing service and get prophesied over to get it back...and to have that moment again where we really "feel God" when really..while all those things are great...the problem is ...ourselves. Let me explain...when we become passionate about someone or something... we become dedicated and completely focused and consumed with it.
Lets use football for an example (nothing against football... I love football! =) ) (GO PATS! haha) .. anyways... in football... people can be very passionate about it... to the point where they aren't afraid to show how dedicated to their team they are... I mean... only really dedicated, passionate,radical fans would paint there entire face... or body even just to show support or cheer on their favorite football team in freezing cold weather! These fans are dedicated, passionate, radical, and focused on their teams' victory! They're not letting any circumstances stop them from supporting their team and being passionate!
We all as Christians must be like a crazy football fan... but instead of being crazy and passionate about football.. we have to be passionate about Jesus, and seeing His heart!
Passion fades when we are not focused.... passion fades by distractions that we allow!! Most of the time... we don't realize we "allow" distractions into our lives... but we do... ANYthing that distracts us from God (wether it be a bestfriend, guy,girl, family/friend circumstance, finances,etc) will delute our passion for Him, simply beacuse it's taking our focus off of Him.
How do we get that passion back that we once had and get it even stronger?
We focus!...I know, I know, easier said then done... a LOT easier said then done... make a commitment to yourself...that you're not gonna allow even the smallest things over take your mind and separate you from God (we may not realize it, but that's exactly what happens when we focus on other things besides Him) Yes! Distractions separate us from God....cause when we are being distracted even the littlest bit... we are not being focused... we start to lose focus...and it abducts our passion without us even realizing it...cause after all .... another word for passion is being focused or dedicated, when we become distracted we are no longer 100% dedicated to God. We stay passionate about God....by staying focused on Him... we stay focused on Him by putting down any distractions that try to come in our life, as soon as a distraction comes, im recognize it and say to yourself "No, I refuse to let anything (even small things) distract me, I must stay focused on God!". Everyday...spend at least a few minutes in prayer...(although when you become really passionate you'll crave to be with God and want to spend as much time in prayer and worship as your time allows...) When we aren't distracted and stay focused on God completely... We will desire nothing but Him. Guess what! We can have all of Him that we want and are willing too pursue! He is not holding Himself back from us... it's us holding back from Him.
If people can go nuts and all out crazy, and be so passionate for a football team... for a game.. then we as Christians should be so much more passionate about a real, alive God, the One that made the very eyes you're reading this with... the One who made the very family you have, the One that made your city, your state, your country, and all the countries of the earth, the One that has made the world and everything that there ever was and is! The One that was so madly, head-over-heals in love with you that He sent the only son He had to die for You, so you could be re united with Him, cause sin separated you from Him....That very same God! The One that lives inside of you, and can absolutely never leave you, the One who is THE best friend...the comforter when no one is around...the One that is always speaking peace over you and declaring His love for you....the One that is continually screaming "I love you!!" to you..... THAT ONE!
Shouldn't we be so much more passionate, and radical, and madly in love with Hum, and focused and dedicated to Him, then a football fan, who is dedicated to something... entertaining... We have a relationship with Jesus... with God! He loves us! He wants to show us all of Him! When we are passionate, we will naturally be radical, not letting any circumstances, anyONE, anyTHING, stop us from being an all out crazy, radical, passionate, focused, dedicated fan of God!

~Be focused, Be dedicated, Be Passionate!~