What Are You Questioning?

 

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Seldom, but sometimes I sit down at my keyboard and ponder what to write. Usually, something is already itching at my fingertips and words come out without effort. Today, I pondered.

I consider myself a follower. Yes, I follow Jesus – and I love that I love my Leader!

But I’m a follower with leadership skills and abilities, so sometimes, when I’m following, I want to tell my leader(s) “better ways” to get the tasks done. Some call it being bossy.

Being a follower, one who can follow instructions – I crave instructions for the most complicated things in life. Don’t tell me how to better make a pan of lasagna, though I’m open to suggestions. But those complex things, like how does a person resolve anger issues or put their past to bed – those need step by step directions! Maybe implausible, because we’ll heal somewhat differently, even if there are basic principles that would help us all.

(clipartlibrary)

Sometimes I get frustrated with self-help books and want to scream at the author, “Just tell me what to do!”

Life doesn’t always work that way.

Even here with my blog posts, some readers may want answers to life’s great questions. I can share with you the answers I’ve personally discovered, but they may not be YOUR answers. The only One with all the answers is the One I hope to point you to with every post I share.

“It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.”

-         Proverbs 25:2 KJV

And in case you didn’t know, you ARE a king.

Revelation 1:5-6 tell us that Jesus “loves us and washed us from our sins in His own blood and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

(newspring .cc)

God wants you to have all the answers, and He uses us to help each other. But the most important thing He wants from you is your heart and He longs to give you His. He wants to talk WITH you, He wants to do life with you. He wants to give you the best life possible, He wants to heal all your hurts. He wants to set you free. He wants to live in you – and He wants you to live in Him. He wants you to put Him first because He put YOU first. Yep – there’s that intimacy thing again.

I can point you to Him all I want.

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But till you sit down with Him and have those conversations you’ve been avoiding, you’ll still ache. You’re not hiding. Not really.

Is it time yet? Are you TIRED ENOUGH YET of carrying the weight of your troubles?

God isn’t mad at you. Not at all. Run to Him. Be healed. Get alone with Him.

Psalm 139 describes the God’s perfect knowledge of everything about you. Read it here:  Psalm 139

Comfort - able?

 

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“I am filled with comfort…”  - 2 Corinthians 7:4 NKJV

Who doesn’t want to be comfortable? Our society has gone from wearing jeans to wearing spandex leggings, and even wearing pjs in public. On Thanksgiving, some of us are sure to wear our “big girl pants” so we can remain comfy even after overindulging.

Yet, we often push away comfort for our minds and our hearts. Why? Do we not deserve to be comforted? Do we somehow deserve discomfort or suffering or agony? We probably don’t hide it as well as we think we do, and it can come out as anger or disinterest, or rudeness and we can offend people without even realizing it.

How do you define comfort? Not that “from the comfort of your own living room” kind of comfort, but the comfort we need when we’re challenged in some way. Whether by grief, a loss or bad news of any kind, too many of us refuse to be comforted in the moment, as if putting it off till later will make it easier or more quickly resolved.

(from pinterest)

The internet tells me that comfort means: 1. A state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint or 2. The easing or alleviation of a person’s feelings of grief or distress. It goes on to say that the meaning of “true comfort” is “to give strength and hope to; to cheer; to console. And further, a biblical understanding of comfort encompasses solace, encouragement, and strengthening in times of hardship, often signifying God’s presence and support.

To comfort someone, we need to listen to them, to show empathy and sympathy, be kind and supportive and offer help, we need to let them know we’re there for them, we need to give them hope and strength.

Interestingly, the all-knowing internet also tells us that comfort isn’t just a feel-good word; it’s a complex psychological state. Researchers define comfort as a sense of physical or psychological ease, often characterized by feelings of relaxation and tranquility.

But enough of what others have to say on the matter. What do you think?

(from praisecharts .com)

We’ll need comfort over big hurts and little offenses. We need comfort more often than we realize We tend to tuck our offenses into the far-reaching recesses of our minds where they’ll pile up without much notice until we stumble from the weight of it all.

Does it make us stronger than our friends or the general public when we “buck up” and keep pushing through with everyday life even though we’re wounded? Or does it make us less effective in our everyday lives than we could be? Carrying grief and wounds takes tremendous strength and saps us of the energy we need to live extraordinary and successful lives.

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Just as there are different love languages, there are differing ways of giving and receiving comfort.

When I hear you’ve received bad news of any sort, my first impulse is to buy you a gift (probably a bouquet of flowers) to lift your spirit. But those flowers may be a waste of money in your opinion. When I need consoling you may feel the need to give me a hug, but that might not be so well received in the moment.

There’s a title given to the One Who knows how to comfort all of us in exactly the right way: the God of All Comfort. He wraps our hearts in their "comfy clothes".

His love can be the comfort we run from most, denying that we even need it. Maybe we think it will be too messy or that we don’t have time for comfort right now. You know, stuff needs doing, decisions need to be made, and others need our comfort…

So, it’s actually a choice on our part to walk around with the weight of all of our wounds. If you don’t feel comfortable accepting comfort right now – schedule time for it. God will meet you wherever and whenever you’re available. He longs for your company, alone time – with you!

(from delightindisorder .org)

Are you comfort - able? 

But what will His comfort LOOK like, what will it FEEL like

Let Him show you. 

       I hear He’s found of the phrase, “Come and see…”

 

“God, You hear the quiet parts of our hearts that cry, even as we wail through grief we hide from everyone else.

You tenderly treasure our tears because they're tokens of our vulnerability; our need for You. Cover us with Your holy comfort, fill us with Your peace, quench the torment that seeks us night and day.

You see the anxious trembling that grief and fear try to smother us with, suddenly and without warning.

We know that You've not filled us with a spirit of fear.

You flood us with Your Spirit of love and power and a peace-filled mind.

Move in and remodel my heart until You're completely comfortable here and free to do whatever You'd like.”

 

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“Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

-         Romans 15:5-6 NKJV

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

-         2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NKJV

“Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

-         1 Thessalonians 4:18 NKJV

One Big Step

 

(from homedepot .com)

Have you seen those baskets designed to be placed at the top or bottom of your stairs? They’re pretty clever and helpful to those of us who suffer from problems with forgetfulness. I no longer have any of these baskets. But, placed on the bottom step, you drop things in it to “remember to take upstairs when you make the trip…” And placed at the top step to easily take the contents downstairs. In theory, it should work. Unless, like me, you forget to grab the basket – SITTING THERE IN PLAIN SIGHT – and think of it when you’re already upstairs without the items you meant to bring up with you.

How often do we find ourselves lying in our bed at night, thinking [always thinking] of the concerns of the day? The very same things we knew we should turn over to God but didn’t. Maybe we started to, we “put them in the basket” but didn’t get around to taking the basket upstairs and handing it over to God. Maybe we didn’t even get around to dropping them in the basket! Perhaps we simply stuffed them in the pocket of our mind thinking we’d drop them in the basket the next time we passed by.

(from Amazon .com)

And there we are, lying there in bed when the rest of the house is quiet, and our mind is outrageously noisy.

Remembering to take my books upstairs or to bring my teacup from last night down the stairs is one thing. But taking the troubles of the day, or even worse, the troubles of tomorrow to bed with me can bring no good. They cause my mattress to feel lumpy and my pillow to look flat and the room temperature to seem too hot or too cold. Trouble begets trouble.

Tossing and turning as the troubles roll over in my mind never brings solutions. Surely if it did, I’d forget that solution before my first dream was over.

There is a perfect place for those troubles, in the safe keeping of our Lord. Yet we either forget to drop them there, or we put off doing so. We somehow instantly get busier and other concerns get in our way and we don’t notice until bedtime.

Sometimes, we’re even hesitant to leave them there because secretly, we’re afraid He won’t do anything constructive with them. In that case, it’s simply that we don’t trust Him.

Admitting that can be hard. We WANT to trust Him. We know that He’s trustworthy. Yet we hold back. Giving these troubles or burdens to God immediately will go a long way in helping us to sleep better every night.

(from Amazon .com)

We have stepdaughters, stepfathers, and step stools, so maybe it’s time to grab a step-basket, in our minds if nowhere else.

Then, of course, remember to use it and use it quickly!

The more quickly we give our troubles to God, the more likely we’ll see what He does with them, which will help us to trust Him better with each next burden.

Building trust is key.

When we give our trust too freely, too quickly, we’re often disappointed and lose that trust. Watching what someone does with the things we entrust to them, whether secrets or possessions, we learn whether we can truly trust them or not.

Your step-basket may look more like a journal. If you’re like me, you have more notebooks and journals than you’ll admit to, and the one you need is never handy. So, I’ve begun taking notes on the notepad app on my phone. Try it!

Write down your troubles the moment they come to mind and hand them over to God quickly, where they can be dealt with best! If you’re “too busy” which, let’s face it, we all are from time to time, keep that journal on your bedstand. Better to give it to God quickly but later is better than never. Eventually you can read back over that journal and see all the wonderful things God did with your “problems”.

(from Pinterest .com)

Do you have a story for me about giving something to God quickly vs not giving it to Him at all?

Exploring My Discoveries

(picture from fity .club)

I know I’m not even sure where to begin writing today. It seems like there’s so much to put together and make sense of that it’s a bit overwhelming. The fact that maybe it WON’T make logical sense to me looms on the horizon of my mind, as well.

One thing is clear, God is in this with me. I recently wrote about breakthroughs not yet wrapping my head around the reality of my own pending breakthroughs. Breaking through to what’s on the other side of the wall I’m standing in front of should not be a scary or intimidating thing, yet I find myself trembling at the thought of what I don’t yet see. In theory, the very next thing I see at any given moment could be something I’ve never seen before. Or – it could be something I see every day but, in a brand-new light, a light that will change my perspective and the course of my daily life. Am I ready for that change? Whether it’s a baby step or a leap of faith, I’m not as good with change as I used to be. I’m rather settled in my ways now. I’m comfortable. While that might mean wearing sweatpants more than dress slacks these days, it might also be a place where I’ve become far too complacent. Life shouldn’t just be endured, but lived fully every day. Every day should include some exploration, acquiring new knowledge and wisdom, operating in new understanding of the mysteries of God. One of my favorite Bible verses reads:

“And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” – 1 Timothy 3:16 KJV

God wants us constantly exploring Who He is – and Who He is to us!

(picture from ncte .org)

While talking with a few people of another denomination (religion, actually), they insisted they were right about all things biblical, and that the Bible could be understood with logic. Well, the Bible itself states that’s not correct.

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” – 1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV

These “friends” came by weekly to share their convictions and beliefs with me. I was a new Christian and didn’t know the Word well yet, but God brought my attention to the verse in Timothy, and I loved it immediately. I wrote it out in fancy print on a piece of cardboard and taped it on the inside of the front window where anyone approaching my front door could see it. When my friends came by the next week, I watched from my living room as they stopped in front of the homemade sign and read it. They didn’t even bother coming to my door, they turned around and walked away, never to be seen again. I knew I couldn’t “argue scripture” with them, I didn’t know it well yet myself. God in His great love for me surely didn’t want to see me drawn away from His incredible Truth so quickly after coming into relationship with Him, and with a simple poster protected me from the lies of the enemy. Now I can hold my own, but then I was just a babe in Christ.

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God’s knowledge and our logic come from opposing starting points. He’s surrounded us with great mysteries to delve into, discovering new things all the time. A verse can speak to me on one level today and tomorrow it can open up a whole new revelation, as I continue to renew my mind by the Word of God. He doesn’t want us to conform to this world and its wisdom, He has greater plans for us than what the world can impart to us. But He will use the world He created to teach us all the marvelous mysteries of Life.

By the way, did you know that when we speak of Life, we are speaking of Jesus Himself? Often, I hear people discussing how tough life can be. It kind of makes me shudder on the inside. Life is not hard. Life isn’t scary or difficult at all. Circumstances can be tough, hard, scary and a wealth of other things, especially if we don’t know yet Jesus. But Life – no Life is GOOD.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” – John 14:6 KJV

Jesus IS Life. Some may find it odd that I capitalize the word Life, now you know why. He IS Life. He’s my Life, but so much more. He’s Life itself.

(picture from wallpaperaccess .com)

While I embark on the upcoming changes to my little world, pray in agreement with me if you will, that I walk boldly with God and embrace all that He has for me. I’ll pray the same for you.

What walls are you standing in front of right now? What’s holding you back?

Perceptions and Misinformation

 

(from medicaldaily .com)

The way I saw it then must be completely different from the way I look at it now. I’ve changed glasses so many times, each pair with new lenses. Aging will do that to you.

Perhaps, as we get older, forgetfulness can be a blessing. I don’t think I really remember how things came together and fell apart in my childhood. That was so very long ago.

How a child understands, and processes things varies with the world they see and how they see it, sometimes based on how they are told to see things. It’s crazy to think that sometimes we process what we’re seeing through the lens of how we think we’re supposed to see it because that’s how we are told it works.

Maybe it was unintentional, perhaps we just overheard something or picked it up from a television show, or even in a song like, “Big Girls Don’t Cry” – a classic song we can still hear echo through our minds.

Or maybe we have vivid memories of hearing the phrase, “Do you want me to give you something to cry about?”

Maybe we recall a scene from a movie where we saw a girl painfully stifling her tears, insisting that she cannot show weakness, vowing she’ll “never let them see her cry”.

(from parentingwithunderstanding .com)

We may not even remember where we learned some of the silly notions we still keep filed away in our minds.

Ideas such as these may have taught us that tears equate to weakness (which is so far from the truth it’s mindboggling).

We may also have learned that it’s prudent not to cry, or that people like us better when we don’t cry.

It’s easy for busy and distracted adults to, intentionally or not, manipulate young children, especially those who are too eager to please those around them. Children often learn to do this to each other, as well, most likely not realizing what they’re doing – but that it somehow makes their lives “easier”.

There are outcomes to falling for something that isn’t true. Sometimes they’re unintended consequences. Other times, they are very intentional plots of deception.

For example, as manipulated children become adults, we’re often trapped in the mindset that pleasing others is more important than learning to establish healthy boundaries.  The very people who helped solidify those dominating thoughts and feelings certainly have no healthy boundaries of their own, whether they realize it or not.

No doubt, I’ve mentioned that I often find myself exploring “the lies we believe”. It fascinates and frustrates me that our minds can believe things that we should or could know are not true, or that we decide that something is true based on a lie or misinformation.

(from linkedin .com)

Big girls do cry.

It can be fear, pride or stubborn determination that keeps us from showing weakness or vulnerability.

It may make us “easier to deal with” when we don’t cry, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong to cry under any circumstances.

There are plenty of great reasons to cry, whether they’re tears of joy or tears of sorrow.

Tears have much value.

“…You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” – Psalm 56:9 NLT

Crying is just the example I’ve used to make my point. I could have used a myriad of other examples.

(from stir.ac.uk)

My point to ponder today is this, what are we believing that isn’t actually true?

While we grow up and mature, we uncover some of these things incidentally. But to discover others, we must purposefully look.

What examples can you share?

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Trusting You'll Breakthrough

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I believe that “breakthrough” is simply the breaking down of the walls that separate us from God's perfect will in our lives. I also believe the bricks of those walls are made of the lies we believe.

Imagine being trapped in a mine cave-in, a wall of rubble stands between you and your freedom. From inside you feel helpless until you recognize you're not alone. Your best friend, your most trustworthy friend, is there showing you which rocks to push and which to pull to prevent further cave-in and make a hole in the wall. This is Jesus revealing the lies in each rock. We can see the rock (the lie) but choose not to move it, perhaps out of fear - because it LOOKS like moving that one will cause the rest to come tumbling down on you.

We get to choose to listen to His voice or fall back on our own wisdom, becoming our own voice of authority; the voice that failed us in the beginning.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.” (NLT)

“Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, and He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way]. (AMP)

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When we listen and obey, we remove one rock at a time, or rocks tumble away because we obediently removed the right one. Aha moment! “Sonlight” bursts through the darkness! (God has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.  1 Peter 2:9 ) Fresh air comes through the passageway providing refreshing, rejuvenation and hope.

Can we trust our friend with the next few rocks? One hole in the wall won't lead to freedom unless we make that hole big enough to pass through. With refreshing and new hope, we are encouraged to push or pull the next rock He points to. If we stay with it, the hole will eventually become big enough to make our way through. Sometimes, God may even instruct us to make that breakthrough passable to all who come that way, removing even more of the rocks as we make our way to freedom.

We might be able to exist in the cave with our friend, Jesus. But He wants to take us all the way out of the cave, into His glorious creation - physical AND spiritual. There's so much we haven't even seen or been exposed to yet.

If you’ve been in the cave a while, it’s familiar. Familiarity can be sneaky because we're already accustomed to our compromised position.

(picture from cftministry .com)

When Peter stepped out of the familiarity of his boat (that was already sinking) into the fiercely wind-whipped waters in obedience to Jesus calling him to Himself (which looked impossible to do), where was Peter safer? In the boat that was going down, or stepping out in faith, even though this was something he’d never done before? He’d never seen anyone walk on water – till then.

Jesus didn't build a sturdy bridge for Peter to step onto; He needed Peter to trust Him.

What walls do you need to breakthrough today? Will you trust Him?

It might require doing something you’ve never done before….

The Excellence of the Guard; My Conclusion

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Our hearts hold untold treasures. Go ahead, try to list them. That's sure to renew your joy!

We’ve also stored plenty of memories in there; we’ve buried feelings and emotions there.

How can we guard it with excellency?

God said to “Guard your heart above all else,” Why? “for it determines the course of your life.” – Proverbs 4:23 NLT

He doesn’t tell us to do anything we’re not able to do – with Him.

I believe our hearts are that hidden place where our spirit and soul come together; the place where God lives, if we let Him. Just as we have a triune God, we are triune beings. We ARE spirit, the part of us that is redeemed from the sin of the world; the part that joins into union with God Himself. We HAVE a soul (our mind, our will and our emotions) and we LIVE IN our body till we leave this world. When we come to Christ and invite Him to live in our heart, it involves submitting ourselves to Him completely. Many of us want God to save us from hell’s destruction after we leave this world but have absolutely no desire to become one with Him and submit the smallness of our humanity to the only all-knowing, all-powerful, omnipresent God.

Whether we know Jesus or not, we can guard our minds. We can be disciplined and hyper-vigilant about what we take in, at least for a while. We can stive to watch wholesome entertainment, we can study certain topics while deliberately avoiding others. We can limit who and what we surround ourselves with.  But plenty of garbage gets past us. We’d have to live alone on a deserted island to not get input from others. That’s not where we live.

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Whether we know Jesus or not, we can guard our bodies, though few of us have the discipline or perhaps resources to do so. Some are very determined to have healthy bodies. We do the best we can with what we have. But we all have unwelcome input that makes its way into our bodies, via our food or the air we breathe or the water we drink. To not get that input, we’d again have to live on that island and now it would have to be an island that could provide for healthy body requirements.

Only when we DO know Jesus are we supernaturally empowered to adequately guard our heart. That power comes from being united with the source of ALL power. By guarding our hearts, we become better equipped to guard our soul and our body.

The ONLY way to guard our heart is to follow biblical instruction, given to us in Romans 12:1-2 (NIV). “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

This means submitting ourselves to God, renewing our minds (spending time with God and His Word) and putting our hearts in His hands. Does doing this mean we will never suffer attacks? No, we’re promised attacks. But the more quality time we spend in His Word, the more easily we’ll recognize the assaults the god of this world and come against them. With God, we are the most excellent of the Guard.

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With God living on the inside of us and being joined together with us in the most intimate way possible, we can tap into His power. When we do OUR best, we weary ourselves. There’s so much to pay attention to around us. All our energy is consumed by constantly being on guard. We lose our creative energy and abilities to glorify God. By joining WITH GOD, we become capable of guarding our hearts, (where our being comes together), and doing it well. We are too weak to do it without Him and the struggle will make us weaker. The excellence of the Guard comes only through relationship with the God Who created our heart in the first place.

The Excellence of the Guard

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When someone speaks the word “guard” my mind automatically goes to a picture of one of the guards at Buckingham Palace. I’ve been there to see them in person.

The next image that comes to mind is that of a prison guard. Next would be the picture of a man or woman assigned to executive protection for someone important. (That used to be one of my husband’s jobs.)

If someone was guarding me, providing my protection, I’d expect them to have been trained and know how to ensure my safety. I would likely leave everything up to them, since I most likely don’t have their level of training. I believe the best guards have the best training available.

There are times we’re called upon to provide protection for someone and fail. I’m the guardian of my young child, if they run out into the street right in front of me and get hit by a car, I’m responsible. There are circumstances where it wouldn’t be the parent’s fault if their child got hurt. Evil people work hard to get around the safeguards put in place. I may do everything right and still see my child hurt in some way.

(picture from feri .org)

Different targets require different levels of protection. The Crown Jewels on display in a museum probably has more guards around it and a higher security level than children in our local schools. Okay, maybe that’s not a good comparison, no matter how accurate it is. But no one is guarding my lunch box in the frig at work, yet many people are required to guard a dignitary.

Value usually plays a role in the level of protection something or someone is provided. So how do we determine value? We all make different calls when it comes to placing value on something. I might treasure a book, but a non-reader would never consider a book something of value. Most of us value money and place a decent level of protection around the little we have. Beyond even our children, whom some of the parents we see on the news seem not to value at all, what could be considered of most value? What should get the highest level of protection?

Scripture tells us to, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” – Proverbs 4:23 NLT

I believe that our hearts are that hidden place where our spirit and our soul come together; the place where God abides, if we let Him.

“No, my dear, your heart is not a closed receptacle.
It’s not a box to hold your memories.
It’s not a sack in which to carry your worries.
It’s not a trophy to be dusted off occasionally.
It’s not a hole to bury things in, good or bad.
It’s never filled to overflowing nor is it ever empty,
no matter how you feel.
It’s not a thing that can be handed over to someone else,
even though poetry tells us so.
It’s the center of your being,
where everything is filtered
as it comes in or flows out of you.
You have the controls,
even when everything feels out of control.
You may not be able to determine everything that comes into your heart,
but you’re in charge of what flows out.
Hurts will find their way in.
Pain will pierce your heart.
Fear will grip your heart.
Loneliness will try to trap your heart.
Panic will arise to scare your heart.
But the Maker of your heart has His hand on your pulse.
He knows your heart, even when you’re trying to hide it.
He sees your heart, even when you feel invisible.
He hears your heart, even when you can’t cry out.
He lives – in your heart.
Trust Him with everything that comes in and flows out.
That’s where your control is greatest, that’s where your power emerges,
that’s where your hope springs from, that’s where your peace mounts,
in deciding Whom to entrust it to.
When God is your source and your filter,
He eases the pain of the bad and stirs up the excitement of the good.
He gives you the option to pour out good, godly love all over those around you,
or to spew evil just because – you can.
The filter in the middle of your heart is made of God’s fingers,
upon which are written in His blood:
FORGIVENESS.
Have you clogged that filter with bitterness?
He will wash all of that away in an instant if you ask Him to.”
- Helen Williams!  12/2022

I’m open and ready to hear your suggestions. How do we guard our heart?

Look for part two, my poem took up too many of my words. (wink-wink.)

Some Like It Cold... (Conclusion)

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In case you haven’t read it yet, here’s the beginning of this blog post: Some Like It Hot... Part I

One thought that crossed my mind, regarding being hot, cold or indifferent, had to do with shock value.

Stepping into an extremely hot or extremely cold pool of water will shock our body. It will make us feel uncomfortable, at least until we acclimate. When the body of Christ becomes lukewarm, the world looks at us and sees no difference between us and themselves; they’re not uncomfortable around us.

(picture from vintagehottubs .com)

NOT in a theatrical way at all, I think there needs to be a sense of shock or a feeling of discomfort to get their attention and show them that there IS a difference. We ARE different. We’re not necessarily better people; we’re not of greater value in God’s eyes – He loves us all equally. But WE get to experience His love on a whole new level! We get to have the God of the universe living inside of us and empowering us! When they scoff at that notion, it breaks my heart. They don’t even know what they’re missing. Christianity is not a magical ticket to a mythical place called heaven; it’s eternity in the arms of our loving Creator that begins the second we let Him into our heart.

When we’re lukewarm, we’re not advancing the kingdom of God; we’re blending into our surroundings.

When we have little value for the gospel, I think it means we haven’t actually experienced the joy it contains yet. (Keep searching with all of your heart! God said, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. -Jeremiah 29:13 NKJV)

Experiencing freedom in Christ fills us with joy and we HAVE to tell someone, anyone – everyone! When God gave sight to a blind man – he had to tell somebody. The widow whose son was raised from the dead? She surely had to tell everyone! How do you keep that kind of joy to yourself? When your sins are forgiven and your shame has been removed and you feel the embrace of your loving heavenly Father, how can you not want to tell someone?

(picture from pinterest)

When I first became a Christian I had a whole lot of zeal, but no wisdom and very little knowledge. When I tried to share my joy, I sometimes went overboard in a crazy direction that actually pushed people away instead of drawing them into the gospel. That’s one of the primary reasons we need to be discipled and share fellowship with fellow believers, but also study the Bible for ourselves, and to seek out the answers to the questions WE come up with.

It’s God’s kindness that leads men to repentance, not my zeal. But I hope my zeal and my joy and my love will get their attention so they can ask questions, whether they ask me or seek out answers on their own. We should want them to notice we’re different. We need to come in hot or ice cold (and we can do that gently when necessary). By now I know I need to use wisdom, as well. Once we’re intimate with Jesus, there’s no going back. We don’t want to live without that intimate love. We may cool off and become lukewarm when we let the cares and affairs of this world crowd the seed that’s been planted in our heart. That’s when we need a brother or sister in Christ to come along and throw some hot or cold water on us! But we may also become lukewarm when we fail to see our purpose in the body of Christ. Ice water has a purpose, hot water has a purpose, but lukewarm water is like water searching for its purpose. My last blog series was on discovering God’s vision for our lives. If you haven’t read it yet, look for it.

(picture from help4today .org)

What does being hot or cold or lukewarm mean to YOU? I’d love to hear your input. That’s what the comment section below is for! AND – if this conclusion is too wordy for you, let me know that in the comments, too.

The whole “spew you out of My mouth” thing could take up a whole new blog post of its own. But for now, I’ll suffice it to say, He can’t spew you out of His mouth if He’s never had you there. The analogy sounds a little gross, but I look back to the fact that God said He would never leave us or forsake us. I don’t think this means that He will disown us for becoming complacent or for not discovering our purpose in His kingdom. He wants the very best for us, and when we settle for mediocre it surely breaks His heart and apparently makes Him sick to His stomach over it. He’s provided the best of everything for us, and He expects us to come after it.

Some Like It Hot.... (Part one of two)

 

(picture from etsy .com)

“I know your [record of] works and what you are doing; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth!” – Revelation 3:15-16 AMPC

Ouch! Hard statement! Check out the AMP translation, it’s even more intense:

‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold (invigorating, refreshing) nor hot (healing, therapeutic); I wish that you were cold or hot.  So because you are lukewarm (spiritually useless), and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth [rejecting you with disgust]. Revelation 3:15-16 AMP

So, who or what is hot, cold or lukewarm?

Pastor’s sermon the other morning explored these scriptures, mentioning that cold water can be invigorating or refreshing, and hot water can be healing and therapeutic. (He must have read that AMP translation.) I’ve been in ridiculously hot “healing hot springs” that could burn your skin off. But hot water can be relaxing and therapeutic.

We’ve all enjoyed a refreshing glass of ice water. But an ice water bath? No thank you. It may be invigorating, but you won’t catch me in one!

(picture from heandshefitness .com)

After church, we talked with friends about the sermon.

We drew from another scripture that Pastor referenced, “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt loses its flavor…it’s good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot... (or on icy roads?)”. - Matthew 5:13

Salt can lose its savor; hot water can cool off and ice water can warm to room temperature. These examples pointed us to the conclusion that we’re losing something along the way. Can we lose our zeal for the gospel? If we understand the price Jesus paid to bring us this good news (gospel), we’d share it with everyone. But when we get busy, some of us let our priorities slip; we place Jesus on a shelf in the background of our lives, as if He isn’t important at all. Or what if….we lose our purpose, or our sense of purpose – or fail to even discover our purpose?

Another comment led us to a discussion about our comfort zone. When we do something that we’re skilled at and comfortable with, it’s not challenging, but we can feel good about doing it. When it’s something big and exciting that God is leading us to do, it’ll take us out of our comfort zone so that we’ll know that it was Christ in us accomplishing the task. If we’re sitting in water that is either too hot or too cold, we’re not comfortable at all. But if we settle into a lukewarm tub, it doesn’t disturb us or prompt us to move at all.

One thought that crossed my mind, regarding being hot, cold or indifferent; could it have to do with shock value….

BUT I’VE BEEN TOLD this is where people lose interest in a blog post, around the 500-word mark. Sometimes I go over it a bit. Sometimes I go over it a bit too much. I’m being loquacious again so, I’ll break this up into two parts, so I don’t lose you. I’ll share my conclusion quickly.