Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" took in $51.4 million in its second weekend and raced past the $200 million mark in just 12 days. The Friday-to-Sunday sum for “The Passion" beat the equivalent three-day haul for "The Return of the King" of $72.7 million. And on Easter weekend, “the Passion” earned over $16 million for the three days beginning on Friday, taking its seven-week haul to $354.9 million. The movie is expected to top the $400 million mark, said Bob Berney, president of New Market Films. There are many life-changing testimonies and many have accepted Christ because of this movie. This powerful film shows a graphic depiction of what our Savior had to endure for our sins.

Since the release of this movie, I have heard many Christians say, “I am going all out for Jesus now!” But why did it take for us to see this movie to bring that type of passion out? This type of passion is temporary; a flame on a short candle stick. Before you know it, many of us have now gone back to our regular Christian lives. You know, Church on Sunday, Bible Study on Wednesday, 2 minute prayers before bedtime, etc. Real passion is not developed from seeing a movie; it’s developed through faith and studying of God’s word.

What didn’t we know about the crucifixion that we know now? What was in the movie, that wasn’t in the Bible? Have we become a generation of Thomases?

“The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he (Thomas) said to them, Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” John 20:25

“…Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." – John 20:29

“We walk by faith, not by sight.” - 2 Corinthians 5:7

Sad to say, but many of us need sight to walk period, let alone by faith. Many believe there is a Hell because they see evil everyday. But also many don’t believe there is a Heaven because they rarely see evidence in us that there is one. This past month as I pondered all of this, the Holy Spirit challenged me with a deep question. How many of us truly have a passion for the Christ?

It’s obvious that His passion for us is inconceivable but does our passion for Him; make Him believable to the unsaved (John 17:21)? Would someone unsaved say to you, “Man, you have a passion for the Christ, there has to be a God! ” Or would they say you had a passion for…

• Church? (The building)
• Being deep? (Pharisee mentality)
• Getting paid? (Heaven on earth mentality)
• Being the best Christian Mc, Poet, Dj, etc? (Industry over Ministry)
• College or Seminary Degrees (?)

To get a better understand of what it means to have a passion for something, let’s first take a look at the word itself.

STRONGS EXHAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE 3958. Pascho / Patho / Pentho - used in only certain tenses for it: appar, a prim. verb; to experience a sensation or impression ( usually painful) – feel, passion, suffer, vex.

The word passion applies to an emotion that is deeply stirring or ungovernable. It’s only mentioned one time in the KJV of the bible (Acts 1:3). How many of us have a resilient love for Christ? A love that suffers long, a love that’s kind, a love that does not parade itself and is not puffed up.

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” – 1 Corinthians 13:1-2

Love is what covers a multitude of sins and loving one another also lets the unsaved know we’re Disciples of Christ (John 13:34). It takes that type of love to develop a true passion for the Christ. How many of us are trying to develop that type of love? How much time do we spend seeking Him? Do we pray for that type of love? Or are we more focused on ourselves? Do we still have ill feelings towards people who did us wrong or do we have the amount of love required to forgive them?

THE SHALLOW DEEP

“Jesus said love one another so that the world will know that the Father sent Him. So maybe we’re one of the reasons the world don’t know Him.. He commanded for us to love one another, not get deep with each other.” - Precise

So too often you catch people trying to be the theological, analytical, mystical-biblical, walk on water type of Christian. Jesus commanded us to love. I don’t care how much you know, if people don’t know that you care, your words will fall on unfertile ground. Besides Jesus being the Son of God, His love is what separated Him from the Pharisees. His message was grounded in love and in truth, and not trying to prove He was superior like most kings do. Knowledge puffs up but love builds up (1Corinthians 8:1). This is just one of Paul’s attacks on the self-righteous members of the church at Corinth. So many of us try to impress others with our knowledge of the Bible, but our lives show that we have poor comprehension skills.

Unsaved people don’t read the Bible, they read you! – Minister George Stewart

PASSIONLESS?

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” – Romans 10:17

How can we expect to grow in faith without growing closer to Him through His Word and prayer? This is why until the release of “the Passion” many Christians never knew how brutal the crucifixion was; but it’s right there in the bible.

“But he was WOUNDED for our transgressions, he was BRUISED for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
– Isaiah 53:5

“His appearance was so DISFIGURED beyond that of any man and his form marred BEYOND human likeness…” – Isaiah 52:14

I understand for years we have been shown a different picture but we must study for ourselves. Could you imagine the Christians who said their lives were changed because of this movie; had never seen this movie? Don't get me wrong, I praise God for using Mel Gibson to give us a reminder/awakening of what He did for all of us. I just want us to get to a place where ours lives our totally dependant on God like we need oxygen to breathe. The time the “average” Christian spends with God is alarming, but I pray this will wake us up.

QUALITY TIME

The time the “average” Christian spends with God is alarming, but I pray this will wake us up."

Note: This is just a personal study, by NO means am I saying this applies to every Christian’s passion for the Christ. But if this shoe fits, throw it away!

That’s only “16 days” a year with God!!!

“We want to please you our Father we know we have to pray, We want to give you 24 hours not half a day.” – Da T.R.U.T.H. / After My Heart

Only 16 days a year we spend with the God who wakes us up every morning, meets our needs, heals us when were sick, etc. I can go on and on and still we have the audacity to complain about the length of church service. Oh and don’t let the church ask us to do something extra, Oh Lawd, we’d have a heart attack and a plethora of excuses. “Uh, my dog is graduating from training school that day, I can’t do it”. Sadly to say, in the above study, I was being generous. How many Bible studies have you been to when the attendance is one half of what it is on Sunday morning? When was the last time you’ve seen more than a hundred people at Good Friday service? I understand many of us have to work but when a holiday comes like Memorial Day or Labor Day, we figure out ways to make that bad boy a four-day weekend. It’s heart wrenching, but many of us would rather read 3 best selling novels in 6 months, than to devote an hour a day to studying one book of the bible? How often are we late for church because we don’t like praise and worship? We’re just in time for the sermon and we leave before benediction. The lack of passion for the Christ is becoming more evident in the body. This really grieves my spirit, especially when I see it in Christian Hip Hop. Gossip disguised as prayers, hidden agendas, lack of compassion and forgiveness, especially the spirit of wanting to be greater than the other.

“Then a dispute arose among them (the Disciples) as to which of them would be greatest… Then He (Jesus) said to them, …For he who is least among you all - he is the greatest." – Luke 9:46-48

When have you seen a post on a Christian Hip Hop Message Board saying, “We’re here to serve all, BLAH!” More than too often you’ll read, “Such n’ Such is gonna blow up!” or “We’re going to take over…Look out BLAH!” Take over what?!? Christ is on the throne! He’s the only one that took over! And if He’s the head of you, what do you have to do with anything? To HIM be the glory and the power! We are supposed to use our gifts to serve others, not self!

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in it’s various forms.” – 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

Some of us need to re-examine our passion and be honest with ourselves on why we are in this Christian Hip Hop Ministry.

“Many people will parish because of our, Lack of passion.”

When The Passion of the Christ movie was over, I sat in my chair and cried until the ushers came to clean the theater. I couldn’t move! I kept repeating, ”Lord I love you, I am so sorry!” On the way home from the movies, my wife asked me, “What was it that made me cry so?” After seeing all that He went through for us and to know that we still cause Him grief with our lack of passion broke me down. I felt like Peter after he denied Christ 3 times. Basically, we do the same when we don’t step out and do what He’s asking of us.

Too often we complain about our situations and circumstances. Bottom line, it’s usually us before Him. How often do we put our cares before His? God can tell us over and over again to move on something, but we easily get distracted and end up being where we want to be, instead of where He told us to go. This is a result of walking by sight and really not believing what He’s promised us. God will never give us a responsibility without the resources to pull it off. Saints this is not a vacation; it’s a mission, the great commission. Let’s get it together, remember time is short but eternity is forever! Let’s stop waiting on spiritual alarm clocks to go off (movies, sermons, etc.) before we get on fire. Christ died and rose from the dead, that alone should burn an inferno inside of us! It maybe impossible for us to develop the type of passion that Christ had for us, "....but the sin is when we aren’t even trying."

Ya Brother in Christ – Maji