“Zealous with My Zeal”

By Ethan Tidwell

There is serving the Lord, and then there is serving the Lord with zeal. Zeal, from the Greek word zelos, means "intense enthusiasm" or "fervor of spirit." This kind of passion is what God desires from His followers—serving Him with all our heart, soul, and strength.

A powerful example of zeal is found in the story of Phinehas. In Numbers 25:11, the Lord spoke to Moses saying: "Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal."

Phinehas displayed great zeal for God when Israel fell into sexual immorality and idolatry with the Moabite women, worshipping Baal of Peor. His passionate desire to keep the people pure before the Lord stopped God's judgment. He acted with a heart for holiness, desiring the purity of God's people. As Christians, do we feel the same? Do we desire purity within the church and among our fellow believers? Are we willing to be zealous for the holiness of God's people?

When we come to worship, do we do it just to be present, going through the motions without engaging our hearts? If so, this is not true worship. John 4:24 tells us, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." True worship requires passion and sincerity. Without zeal, we are not truly worshipping God.

In Colossians 3:23, we are reminded: "And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men."

This verse encourages us to bring zeal, passion, and eagerness to everything we do, especially in worshiping the Lord. He deserves our best. If we can be fiery and passionate about our hobbies, daily tasks, or other worldly pursuits, yet fail to bring that same passion to our worship of God, there is a serious problem.

If you have lost your zeal, it is time to get it back. The world can be harsh and cold, slowly diminishing our fiery passion for the Lord. But remember, everything we do is for Him. Let that truth reignite your passion. Do not let the world steal your zeal for God. He deserves our fervent worship, wholehearted devotion, and unyielding passion.

Meditate on this:

John 16:5-11

⁵ “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ ⁶ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹ of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹ of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Joy and Christianity

By Jeff Curtis

Members of some religious groups talk about how happy they are in the Lord. They make life sound joyous and carefree. Certainly, the Lord wants us to be “blessed” (Matthew 5:3-11), which some have interpreted to mean “happy,” but that is stretching its meaning somewhat. It is a shallow and false religion which thinks one must always wear a smile, showing no indication of burdens, sorrow, or chastening in his life. Under the influence of such thinking, some churches have adopted the motto “We always have a celebration” in order to keep the congregation happy and attract more members. People can deceive themselves into acting happy when they are not.

True blessedness comes after acknowledging our poverty of spirit and mourning over it (Matthew 5:3-4). It comes after learning to bear our cross (Matthew 16:24). We are to mourn now: “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep” (Luke 6:25). At times there may be little to rejoice about, with all the chastening we receive by God’s permission. Of course, there is also to be a type of false morbidity. Some people think they look more pious by appearing sad, but that is not real Christianity either.

Since “discipleship… seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful” (Hebrews 12:11), we think we must appear joyful. If we could be perfectly righteous, this might be expected of us by God, but He knows the greatest spiritual benefits come from temporary times of suffering.

The highest joy comes from recognizing that our suffering brings benefits from God and knowing that it is temporary compared to our eternal joy (2Corinthians 4:16-17). First, we should dwell on the “utterly sinful” (“exceeding sinful,” ASV) deeds that may permeate our lives and the world around us (Romans 7:13). Without this step, further progress toward joyful salvation cannot be ours. No wonder Jesus put “mourning” before anything else in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:4).

We need not count it as a weakness to mourn over our sorrows and losses. We sorrow, but “not as do the rest who have no hope” (1Thessalonians 4:13). It is not a weakness to grow more as humble children. Joy follows for those who suffer and are trained by it to reap the fruit.

The problem is that things are not always as they seem. The author of the Hebrew letter didn’t say that our present suffering will turn into a life of laughter and jubilation, but that it will result in “peaceful fruit” (Hebrews 12:11). A calm assurance of peace will come from our tested and tried faith. What luscious fruit that is. Then, by faith, we will prevent our problems from interfering with that peace.

Meditate on this:

1 Kings 22:5

Also, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire for the word of the Lord today.”