Boasting...in the Lord?

July 15th, 2007 A.M.

But let him who boasts, boast in this. That he understands and knows me declares the Lord. That I am the Lord who exercises KINDNESS, JUSTICE, and RIGHTEOUSNESS! For in these I delight… - God (Jeremiah 9:23-ff)

God is all about our heart condition. Even as followers of Jesus Christ, God asks that our hearts are bent towards Jesus Christ and who he is. If it isn’t bent this way, we fail to recognize who God is. We fail to recognize the attributes of God and how we are to respond and live out those attributes. If we truly believe that we are “created in the image of the invisible God” wouldn’t we want to know who he is? Wouldn’t we want to understand him? Not so that we can be him, but so that we can respond to the God that would send his Son to take our sin in his own body on a tree!

In the verses following this short passage on pride, God indicts his people by saying that all of Israel is circumcised but there are still those that are uncircumcised in their heart condition. If we are not fully devoted to our Lord and Savior, we are “uncircumcised” in our hearts. We have broken a covenant with God. We are taking the death of Jesus Christ and making a mockery of it. Am I? Have I? Is there apathy and complacency? Sometimes. Should there be?

When we find that we are apathetic and complacent, we must remember the lack of complacency that Jesus had on the Christ. We must remember his passion as he cries out “Forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing!” or “Father DO NOT FORSAKE ME!” Those are passionate statements from a passionate God. If Jesus would have been apathetic or complacent or would have struggled with those things, we would have been in deep with our sin and guilt and death.

I am not arguing for a false passion. If there isn’t passion in my life, I must examine it. I cannot create that passion when it does not exist. It starts with my crying out to God to change my heart condition and sometimes that can be a painful process.

That God would change the heart condition of these students on this trip. God that you would take and break each of these students. Give them a burning passion for people. Give them a burning passion for your word and for each other and for your church and for those that are lost!!! God make me a leader that wouldn’t step around or in complacency or apathy but let me jump all in and be not lukewarm, but extreme! Show us today what it means to be passionate with kids. Challenge us to do so.