Dear Church families and Friends of Heritage,
I have this on my heart as I write my weekly letter to you.
SPEAK TO GOD ABOUT SOMEBODY AND THEN SPEAK TO THAT SOMEBODY ABOUT GOD!
EVANGELISM 101, is what the church is constantly teaching if it truly is New Testament Church.
• This past weekend, Rick Curry was used of God to set the tone for our Summer Passion Conference which begins this coming Sunday the 19th Father's Day and continues each day through Sunday the 26th. Our Special Guest for the week will
be Lenny Hernandez, Nick Chanda, Scott Willis, Randy Lee, Billy Price, Dave Jones and others. "Jesus showed Himself alive after His Passion" is a verse which has chased me all my Christian life.
You can find this verse in Acts 1:3:
"To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."
What was His Passion?
The simple answer is that the English word passion referred to Jesus' suffering long before it evolved other, more sultry meanings. Today, the word still refers to Jesus' torments, as well as to retellings of the crucifixion in the Gospels and elsewhere, even in pieces of music. Looking into the word passion you will find this:
Passion means sacrificial suffering as well as strong desire. Referring to both sex and death, passion encompasses the cycle of life in one word. The Latin origin of passion is “pati,” meaning “suffer,” and the word gained popularity in Christian theology referring to the sacrificial suffering of martyrs. What robs a person's passion for God should be put to death according to the scripture.
"They that are Christ have crucified the flesh with its affection and lust. If we live in the Spirit let us also walk after the Spirit." Galatians 5
The spirit of the world has a way of crucifying our passion for God and the things God cares about. The Believer is one who cares but is caring enough? Just as Jesus shred Himself alive after His death, burial and resurrection, we should show ourselves alive to God and men. I read a story about a Bible translation that described the love of God in their own special way, "God hurts in His heart for us."
Aren't you glad that Jesus was moved with compassion for the multitudes? He shewed Himself alive and we should do the same, that would be the full exposure of our heart for the lost. My prayer today is give me a Passionate Passion for souls.
I believe in you and so does the Lord. He gave us a job to do and He trust us to Take Care of Business.
Yours for Souls.
Pastor Cleddie