Passion

My Mom got me a one-year devotional called “Mission Possible” by Tim Tebow. I asked Liam if he knew who Tim Tebow was. I thought everyone knows who Tim Tebow was, and then I realized Tim is a historical figure if you were born in 2012. For those who do not know, here are some pics of Tim. Tim led his Florida college team as a quarterback to two championships in 2007 and 2009. He played professional football and baseball.

His devotional had a one-day study on Passion. He explained we got the word passion from a Latin root word that meant to suffer. In greek, it means to be afflicted or undergo suffering. He states, “passion is not so much about getting hyped or professing our love, but at its core, true passion is our willingness to suffer. When you say you're passionate about something, what you are really saying is you are willing to suffer for it.

When you look at these pictures of Tim, you can see what he is passionate about. He is willing to suffer to make his body strong. He also stands up for his faith. He uses his athletic success as a platform to preach the gospel. 

His eye stickers state Eph 2:8-10: For it is by grace you have been saved. He prayed so much on the field that people would call kneeling to pray Tebowing! That took guts. You can bet he was anxious standing up to do what is right.

Here is someone else who used sports as a way to share his faith. On national and international TV he works through his fear. “Maybe this is not the right thing to do, but I am going to do it right now. We believe you are God.” shared his spiritual heart on TV. Passionate. Dan Orlovsky was an international quarterback. (Prayer for Damar Hamlin)

What if Tim messes up or makes mistakes? Should fear of failure keep him from his mission? 

What is Dan Orlovsky passionate about? Should his fear keep him from his mission?

Should your fear keep you from your mission? How about our church? Should fear keep us from accomplishing our church’s mission? Before Jesus died on the cross, we know he was so stressed that he sweat blood. What if Jesus had allowed fear to keep him from his mission?

Back to the Tim Tebow Devotional. “A mission mindset embraces suffering. I am not saying to be masochistic, but it’s a mentality with which you are willing to make sacrifices, push through pain, and fight for what truly matters because the mission is worth it. Jesus was passionate about dying for us so that we could have spiritual freedom. Is there a spiritual passion that you have but are not pursuing it for fear of messing up? Confess that now. Let’s pray. 

1 Peter 5:10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.