Real Zeal
Last year while street evangelizing in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, I got to know a man who was one of the most “on fire” believers I ever met. Surprisingly, this man insisted he wasn’t zealous enough. Many times when I talked to him on the phone, he asked me to pray that he would have more zeal. Personally I thought he was more zealous for God than me! One dictionary defines zeal as “great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective.” Worldly people think it’s wrong to be zealous or fanatical about the things of God (I’ve often been labeled a “religious fanatic” when taking a public stand against sinful activities). Yet many of these individuals have no problem acting fanatical at a sporting event. Keep in mind the word “fan” is short for fanatic. Charles Spurgeon once said, “Be ye still men of might and vigour, men who serve their God with diligence and zeal.” Several verses in the Bible encourage zealous...