Intro
Thank you for having my back this year, Lord. When you're on the Winning Side, everything, I mean EVERYTHING, is just RIGHT. It has never been so clear to me... Being a lukewarm Christian is absolutely incomparable to making Jesus Christ the LORD of your life. It's SO different, there's no point to even trying to be lukewarm about it. It's sad to see how seemingly GOOD things of the world, things that even God desires for us to have, can cloud our vision -- that is, when we're NOT ready. Only God's timing is perfect - not yours, not mine. Give Him YOUR time of day FIRST (not second, not third...), and only then will He prepare and equip you for those seemingly GOOD things in life...
Blog to follow? Ready when You are, Lord.
Life of a Lukewarm Christian
Life will always throw you curve balls -- HOW you handle them determines whether or not you're an all-star player or a rookie who needs more training and "equipping." Lukewarm Christians tend not to handle these curve balls very well... they've got one foot in and one foot out, so with every ball that's swung their way, their responses are inconsistent -- they hit a few, they miss a few, and they wonder why they're stuck where they are...
There are many things God wants us to have and experience. He promises us a plethora of treasures mentioned in the Bible. But we have to understand that God isn't a careless giver and He doesn't just throw out all His precious gifts to people who may not know how to handle these gifts. Would you want to give your dog away to someone who has had a history of mistreating animals? Or do you think God would set you up with one of His choice sons/daughters if He knew you weren't ready for a relationship? The beauty of God is that He doesn't expect us to become "experts" in these areas alone. He only asks ONE thing of us -- to love HIM first -- and He'll take care of the rest. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." - Matthew 6:33.
Perhaps being a lukewarm Christian is desirable because of the "convenience." But if you ask me, what convenience is there in partying until two in the morning, only to find yourself struggling to wake up for 9 o'clock service the next morning? What convenience is there in being physically intimate with your partner one night, only to wake up the next morning, convicted by your Spirit, and having a heavy heart until you get to the altar and repent? Is all this really convenient? In my own lukewarm days, because I had "one foot in" and granted God authority over my life, I would constantly be convicted by my Spirit, and I would find myself digging and digging to find things to justify my sins, or even seek solace in my own partner, who sinned along with me. The only thing I can say to this is LISTEN to your Spirit. This is the very reason the Holy Spirit dwells within us -- to guide us in righteousness... NOT to be ignored and tossed to the side. In the end, "convenience" is probably one of the last legitimate reasons I could find for being a lukewarm Christian. Looking back, I worked HARDER to try to fit into both worlds of sin and righteousness, only to end up in a fruitless and confused state a year later, and winding up back at square one. Talk about counter-productivity, eh?
More to come...
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Tuesday, December 15, 2009
QT: Counter-productivity of Lukewarm Christians
Intro
Thank you for having my back this year, Lord. When you're on the Winning Side, everything, I mean EVERYTHING, is just RIGHT. It has never been so clear to me... Being a lukewarm Christian is absolutely incomparable to making Jesus Christ the LORD of your life. It's SO different, there's no point to even trying to be lukewarm about it. It's sad to see how seemingly GOOD things of the world, things that even God desires for us to have, can cloud our vision -- that is, when we're NOT ready. Only God's timing is perfect - not yours, not mine. Give Him YOUR time of day FIRST (not second, not third...), and only then will He prepare and equip you for those seemingly GOOD things in life...
Blog to follow? Ready when You are, Lord.
Life of a Lukewarm Christian
Life will always throw you curve balls -- HOW you handle them determines whether or not you're an all-star player or a rookie who needs more training and "equipping." Lukewarm Christians tend not to handle these curve balls very well... they've got one foot in and one foot out, so with every ball that's swung their way, their responses are inconsistent -- they hit a few, they miss a few, and they wonder why they're stuck where they are...
There are many things God wants us to have and experience. He promises us a plethora of treasures mentioned in the Bible. But we have to understand that God isn't a careless giver and He doesn't just throw out all His precious gifts to people who may not know how to handle these gifts. Would you want to give your dog away to someone who has had a history of mistreating animals? Or do you think God would set you up with one of His choice sons/daughters if He knew you weren't ready for a relationship? The beauty of God is that He doesn't expect us to become "experts" in these areas alone. He only asks ONE thing of us -- to love HIM first -- and He'll take care of the rest. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." - Matthew 6:33.
Perhaps being a lukewarm Christian is desirable because of the "convenience." But if you ask me, what convenience is there in partying until two in the morning, only to find yourself struggling to wake up for 9 o'clock service the next morning? What convenience is there in being physically intimate with your partner one night, only to wake up the next morning, convicted by your Spirit, and having a heavy heart until you get to the altar and repent? Is all this really convenient? In my own lukewarm days, because I had "one foot in" and granted God authority over my life, I would constantly be convicted by my Spirit, and I would find myself digging and digging to find things to justify my sins, or even seek solace in my own partner, who sinned along with me. The only thing I can say to this is LISTEN to your Spirit. This is the very reason the Holy Spirit dwells within us -- to guide us in righteousness... NOT to be ignored and tossed to the side. In the end, "convenience" is probably one of the last legitimate reasons I could find for being a lukewarm Christian. Looking back, I worked HARDER to try to fit into both worlds of sin and righteousness, only to end up in a fruitless and confused state a year later, and winding up back at square one. Talk about counter-productivity, eh?
More to come...
Thank you for having my back this year, Lord. When you're on the Winning Side, everything, I mean EVERYTHING, is just RIGHT. It has never been so clear to me... Being a lukewarm Christian is absolutely incomparable to making Jesus Christ the LORD of your life. It's SO different, there's no point to even trying to be lukewarm about it. It's sad to see how seemingly GOOD things of the world, things that even God desires for us to have, can cloud our vision -- that is, when we're NOT ready. Only God's timing is perfect - not yours, not mine. Give Him YOUR time of day FIRST (not second, not third...), and only then will He prepare and equip you for those seemingly GOOD things in life...
Blog to follow? Ready when You are, Lord.
Life of a Lukewarm Christian
Life will always throw you curve balls -- HOW you handle them determines whether or not you're an all-star player or a rookie who needs more training and "equipping." Lukewarm Christians tend not to handle these curve balls very well... they've got one foot in and one foot out, so with every ball that's swung their way, their responses are inconsistent -- they hit a few, they miss a few, and they wonder why they're stuck where they are...
There are many things God wants us to have and experience. He promises us a plethora of treasures mentioned in the Bible. But we have to understand that God isn't a careless giver and He doesn't just throw out all His precious gifts to people who may not know how to handle these gifts. Would you want to give your dog away to someone who has had a history of mistreating animals? Or do you think God would set you up with one of His choice sons/daughters if He knew you weren't ready for a relationship? The beauty of God is that He doesn't expect us to become "experts" in these areas alone. He only asks ONE thing of us -- to love HIM first -- and He'll take care of the rest. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." - Matthew 6:33.
Perhaps being a lukewarm Christian is desirable because of the "convenience." But if you ask me, what convenience is there in partying until two in the morning, only to find yourself struggling to wake up for 9 o'clock service the next morning? What convenience is there in being physically intimate with your partner one night, only to wake up the next morning, convicted by your Spirit, and having a heavy heart until you get to the altar and repent? Is all this really convenient? In my own lukewarm days, because I had "one foot in" and granted God authority over my life, I would constantly be convicted by my Spirit, and I would find myself digging and digging to find things to justify my sins, or even seek solace in my own partner, who sinned along with me. The only thing I can say to this is LISTEN to your Spirit. This is the very reason the Holy Spirit dwells within us -- to guide us in righteousness... NOT to be ignored and tossed to the side. In the end, "convenience" is probably one of the last legitimate reasons I could find for being a lukewarm Christian. Looking back, I worked HARDER to try to fit into both worlds of sin and righteousness, only to end up in a fruitless and confused state a year later, and winding up back at square one. Talk about counter-productivity, eh?
More to come...
1 comment:
This entry is so true Yvonne...when I felt the same way when I was a lukewarm Christian, always justifying my sins trying to fit into both worlds. It wasn't until I listened to God speaking to me that I let go of my wayward ways and began to stay true to His word. Take all you've been through and use it as a reminder/warning to keep you from falling back into old habits. Old habits die hard but with God anything is possible. Keep blogging girl...you never know whose reading!!!!
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This entry is so true Yvonne...when I felt the same way when I was a lukewarm Christian, always justifying my sins trying to fit into both worlds. It wasn't until I listened to God speaking to me that I let go of my wayward ways and began to stay true to His word. Take all you've been through and use it as a reminder/warning to keep you from falling back into old habits. Old habits die hard but with God anything is possible. Keep blogging girl...you never know whose reading!!!!
ReplyDelete