Saturday, March 28, 2015

Lukewarm Is only Good For A Baby Bottle

MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST
" I know when the instructions have come from God because of their quiet persistence. But when I begin to weigh the pros and cons, and doubt and debate enter into my mind, I am bringing in an element that is not of God. This will only result in my concluding that His instructions to me were not right. Many of us are faithful to our ideas about Jesus Christ, but how many of us are faithful to Jesus Himself? Faithfulness to Jesus means that I must step out even when and where I can't see anything (see Matthew 14:29). But faithfulness to my own ideas means that I first clear the way mentally. Faith, however, is not intellectual understanding; faith is a deliberate commitment to the Person of Jesus Christ, even when I can't see the way ahead.  Are you debating whether you should take a step of faith in Jesus, or whether you should wait until you can clearly see how to do what He has asked? [...] Are you faithful to what He says, or are you trying to compromise His words with thoughts that never came from Him? "Whatever He says to you, do it" (John 2:5)."  CHAMBERS

Knowing what to do, for a Christian, is rarely the problem.  Doing what you know you should do, that is a problem.  Our failing is not recognizing the struggle between our flesh and spirit.  In our minds, we have blended the flesh and spirit so we don't differentiate between them.  The reason we can't differentiate between them is because we are not deliberate in strengthening the spirit in us.  And so we live  lukewarm  lives.  Jesus said to the church in Laodicea, "I know your works, that you are neither hot nor cold: I would prefer that you were hot or cold. So then because you are neither hot nor cold, I will spew you out of my mouth.  Because you say, 'I am rich and have many things, I have need of nothing else; and you don't know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Revelation 3:15-17

Now let me ask you, does that sound like someone who is happy about our being satisfied with having our feet planted firmly on both sides of the spiritual fence?  Lord help us! ELGIN

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