Jan 22, 2013

Hot or Lukewarm Christians?



Be prepared:  Another doozy God has laid on my heart. I believed and therefore I speak+. 

 God is so faithful to speak to us.  But I've noticed that there are times when I am tuned into His frequency and times when I am not.  Gods voice is going out at all times but we have to be awake (spiritually)  and tuned in or we won't hear Him. I actually believe we are tuned into him OR tuned into the cares of the world (worries, anxieties,  fears, to do lists etc.....) Now I believe those things are important to God (at least some of them) , because He knows we have families to take care of but that is ALL the more reason why we need to tune into Him early in the morning... because there is no way we can properly prioritize without tuning in to the frequency of heaven.
This morning my brother Mark called me and during the conversation I was talking about something that is wrong with my van. The coolant is getting too hot and overheating the van.  It's all because of a screw that keeps loosening up therefore the coolant is leaking out.  With no coolant in the tank, the van is overheating, ANYWAYS, my brother said something that I immediately saw spiritual truth in. He said (from the mind of a mechanic), "extreme temperatures of hot or cold will find the weakest link, in man beast or machine"  The fluid is escaping through the weakness of the screw.   Immediately I thought of Revelation 3: 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.  God wants passion from His people (hot for him!) and coldness doesn't bother Him as much as lukewarmness  it seems, because God knows without Him we are all spiritually dead (can't get colder than that). But this lukewarmness is disturbing to God. So much so that He says I will spue you out of mouth!  That scares me.  I think this is speaking of those who claim His name and yet their hearts are far from Him...How can they be used of God to bring those who are cold (spiritually dead) into the kingdom unless they are hot with the fire of the Holy Spirit?  When we have no passion for holiness and oneness with the lover of our soul we are lukewarm. We have the Holy Spirit but we are not fanning the flames through obedience.. It's like an adulteress bride.. We have a husband to provide for us but are we willing to recieve correction from our husbands whom God has given care of our souls? And are we denying Him in the area of physical oneness?  I am married to an unsaved man who by all appearances couldn't care less about the things of God. But he can see my weakness clearly...I had to come to terms with the fact that it was in agreeing with my weaknesses no matter how nice or rude I percieved the messenger, that God blessed me.  God looks for our weakness and so does satan.  The difference is this.  God looks for acknowledgement of weakness so that He can become our strength for His glory.He exalts us in the acknowlegement of weakness and He is glorified.  It's a win- win situation.  Satan looks for denial of weakness so that he can exploit us for his purposes and glory.  And in the area of weakness concerning physical oneness with my husband, I handle that the same way.  I acknowledge to the Lord that I am weak in the area of loving my husband physically and in my acknowledgement of my weakness and offering it to God, HE BECOMES my strength. And we deny God when we won't acknowledge our utter weakness before Him by coming to Him daily and throughout the day as needed , and when we won't respond to Him in obedience which is our way of submitting to God or becoming "one " with Him in initimacy.
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 Psalm 116
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1I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
2Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
3The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
4Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
5Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
6The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.
7Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.
8For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
9I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
10I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:
11I said in my haste, All men are liars.
12What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
13I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.
14I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.
15Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
16O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
17I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.
18I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people,
19In the courts of the LORD'S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.

This whole Psalm is one that I consider to be my life VERSES!
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Jesus said in the garden , before He went to the cross, let this cup pass from me , nevertheless not my will but yours be done. And ultimately He drank from that cup of suffering , which was the cup of salvation for us! Are we willing to drink from that same cup of suffering so that others might be saved?
13I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.
  In my case it may be my husband I long to see saved first and foremost and then my children...neighbors, etc...  In your case (many of you) it might be your children that need salvation and to see a model of Christ in your marriage.  But we must be obedient( hot for God ) if we are to see the salvation of those we pray for.(cold to God OR lukewarm and in need of revival)
Paul says in Ephesians 3 :14-19
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,[a] 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
The term "the cross before , the world behind"  came to mind as I was finishing this writing today and I knew that was a line from a song so I googled it and this is the song the Holy Spirit  led me to....."Not to Us" by Christ Tomlin....    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m0LowihOXY



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WE HAVE THIS TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS THAT THE EXCELLENCY OF THE POWER MAY BE OF GOD. I am the wife Of Don and mother of two boys and a stay at home mom. My goal is to follow Jesus in all aspects of life but starting first and foremost in my own home.Titus 2:3-5 I stumble often and get discouraged, but am amazed as I go to my Lord in faith that he looks upon me with compassion, forgiveness and love each and every time. His love for me seems to increase as I keep going back to His throne of grace!! Of course I know His love never changes, but my ability to see His love increases each time He picks me up, dusts me off and says "keep on going Ruth.... I love you!" And because of His great love, I am falling more and more in love with Him each and every day.