John 18:25
"And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not."
When God created us, He created us with the emotion of excitement. This excitement that God gave us can be stirred or warmed by different things or people. Though God gives us a choice as to what we allow to stir or warm us, He wanted us to let Him be the One Who warms our hearts. God would like to be the One about Whom we get excited.
In the verse above, we have the story of the Apostle Peter standing at a distance as Jesus was being tried before Caiaphas, the high priest. Apparently, it was a cool night and the people started a fire to keep warm. Peter, seeing the fire, went over and warmed himself at the same fire as those who were trying to have Jesus killed. Even though Peter needed to keep himself warm, he had no business trying to stay warm with people who were against Jesus.
In our lives, it is either a who or a what that will warm our hearts. For some people, it is a thing that stirs their heart. For other people it is a person who warms their heart. What I mean by this statement is there is a hot button that gets people excited. That is that thing or person that when you begin to talk about it or them, this person lights up and gets passionate in the conversation. Normally it won't take you real long to find out what that hot button is with most people.
I ask you, what is it that you get passionate about? Who is it that when you talk about them you become passionate because the thought of being around them excites you? In other words, who or what warms your heart? Though there is nothing wrong with being passionate about things you have in life or people you enjoy being around, nothing should warm your heart more than Jesus Christ.
When you start talking about Jesus and the truths of the Scriptures, is your heart warmed and your feelings excited? I watch Christians get bored when you preach the Word of God, but when you talk about their hobby or some money making project, they light up and will talk with you for hours.
There is only one thing that will cause something other than Christ to warm your heart; it is the crowd with whom you run. Peter warmed himself with the wrong crowd, and it is the crowd with whom you run who will determine what warms your heart. Be careful whom you choose to be around. Purposely get around those who are on fire for God, and you will find that your heart will start warming towards the things of Christ. Your goal should be that nothing warms your heart more than the things and name of Jesus Christ.
Allen Domelle Ministries | PO Box 19 | Inwood | WV | 25428
