Well now, what could that title possibly mean? Temperature of what?
I am referring to 3 spiritual temperature settings of your faith:
1. Hot-someone on fire for the Lord....eager and hungry to learn more
2. Cold-someone who against spirituality, or rejects the Bible as false
3. Lukewarm-someone who professes with their mouths, yet has not actions or fruit
Of the three, the lukewarm is the scarriest. This person has been exposed to the truth, but doesn't really care or feel any urgency to either know more or pass it on to others. This is a big problem in our church body today.
Oswald Chambers notes in Utmost for His Highest on Sept 27, "Once the call of God comes to you, start going and never stop". He uses 3 references from the gospel of Luke, 9:58, 9:59, and 9:61 to show different individuals who profess a desire to follow Jesus, but must first attend to other things. The response of Jesus is that doing those other things does not matter and the person should push that aside to follow him. Seems kinda harsh, but the point is "If the Spirit of God brings to your mind a word of the Lord that hurts you, you can be sure that there is something in you that He wants to hurt to the point of its death".
We must remember that God's ways are not our ways. We have limited understanding of God and His purposes for our lives. Lukewarm followers are like the people in that example in Luke who feel the need to do other things before following.
Our faith should not be based on emotion. Though, emotion will be part of the driving force. Obedience is crucial. If you are feeling cold or even mildly warm, get a wake up call. This is serious stuff!!!
Plug in, be of service. Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, VA had a great mission statement a few years ago, "Seek Him constantly, Serve Him faithfully and Share Him boldly". Great advice for us to follow. More on that to come.....
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