Friday, January 27, 2012

Taking Our Temperature-1/27/2012 (rp)

"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot: I would that you were cold or hot."
Rev 3:15

In his letter to the church at Laodecia, the Lord was dealing with a problem of people being lukewarm. They were so prosperous that their relationship with the him had cooled to a nodding acknowledgement of his existence, but little more.

Beloved, sometimes we are too blessed. God has been so good to us that we have forgotten what it is like to truly need and depend upon him. When we are in "the valley of the shadow of death" we know exactly who He is and where to find Him. We cry out to Him. We beg Him. We plead to Him to deliver us from our circumstances. When He does, however, we forget the pain and the deliverance and busy ourselves enjoying the goodness of life He provides. Prayer, study, worship attendance and ministering to others all start to slip and the lessons are lost...until we find ourselves in another valley.

We must continue to stoke the fire the Lord within ourselves. The same God that made us and saved us is still with us and still loves us as much as He did when He did those things. We must remember our first love (for Him) and constantly live in it. Yes we get distracted from time to time, but we must always come back to what brought us to Him in the first place.

One last thought: in your mind, what does being "on fire" for the Lord look like? Do you have that picture in your mind? Now ask yourself what the difference is between that ideal and where you are in your walk right now. If there is any difference at all, add fuel, stoke the fire, fan the flames or do whatever it is necessary to do to heat up your love for the Lord, then "let your light so shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" Matt 5:16

Rejoicing in the Lord,

Lee

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