rooted

Hot or Cold?

Hey, y'all!

I listened to an insightful and convicting podcast today by Kirby Minnick. It's called Bought and Beloved and the episode I listened to is titled Heartbroken for Culture. Kirby is amazing and I highly recommend y'all check out her podcast. That girl speaks so much truth!!!

Anyway, this particular episode was centered around Daniel 3 where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego defied the king of Babylon and honored God by not bowing down to the false Babylonian gods. They were thrown into the fire for being so bold, but God soared them from the flames. They didn't even smell of smoke! How awesome is that?! Even better... the king recognized that God was at work and basically made a decree saying that anyone who bashed God would be severely punished. Okay. So maybe the severe punishment part isn't necessarily "better", but the king came to know that God is so real.

For the rest of the episode, Kirby poured out her heart on the fact that society is rejecting true Christian values each and every day. She even compared society to Babylon. How scary is that? Society pushes false gods and idols in our faces and, sadly, many of us are bowing down to them. Many of us are rejecting God just so we can fit in and not look weird or become unpopular defending the TRUTH.

We may claim to be Christians and love God, but do our actions reflect that? I've heard a particular phrase countless times and it makes me cringe every time I hear it. It goes: 'Well... God knows my heart.' Some people usually say this right before they do something that makes them look more like the world. I LOVE my small group leader's response to this. She said something along the lines of: 'Yes, God knows your heart. He knows you're not committed to Him.'

OUCH!!!

How many of us are doing this? How many of us believers are being lukewarm? How many of us are putting our crosses down to pick up the lies of the world—lies that slip through our hands like sand and give us a shaky foundation to stand on? How many of us are not committed to God like we claim we are?

Y'all, my heart breaks when I see my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ becoming complacent and lukewarm. Revelation 3:15-16 says:

"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth."
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Jesus said He will throw us up because of our lukewarm selves. What good are we to the Body of Christ—the Church—if we are not functioning the way we are supposed to?

Not only should we refrain from being lukewarm, but we are supposed to be LIGHT in this world showing it God through the way we live our lives. We shouldn't hide our light to fit in. What's the point of bearing His name if we can't even represent it accurately? What picture is this painting of Christianity to the lost world?

Boy, oh boy! I'm so convicted by this. This is challenging me to look at my own life and ask God to show me the places I've been lukewarm and dim. That is my challenge to you, brothers and sisters. Let us boldly pick up our crosses and walk this narrow path with Christ. Let us be the light we are supposed to be.

If you feel that you are becoming lukewarm or cold, turn back to God. You are NEVER far from His grace. Ask Him to ignite that fire and passion for Him in your heart again. Know that it won't be easy being truly on fire for Jesus in this day and age, but you won't have to do it in your own strength. You can do this with Christ's strength, the Father's love, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

So what's it gonna be? Are you going to be hot or are you going to be cold? Are you in or are you out? My hope is that you are hot and in for the long run.