Spewed

This morning as I was reading, I read several things that really spoke to what I was thinking and feeling.  I was planning on writing about thankfulness, but then I read a chapter in Crazy Love, and whether I like it or not, thats where my heart has led me today. 

This chapter was about being a "lukewarm" Christian.  When I read the title,my immediate reaction was "ugh, I would rather skip over this one" because I was afraid of what I might discover about myself.  I think most of us would either like to think that we aren't lukewarm (half-hearted) Christians, or that we just shrug it off and think "yah, I guess I'm "lukewarm," but I'm saved."

However, Jesus says in Revelation 3:15-17 "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold- I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Wow. This is scary stuff. We can't just dabble in some parts of Christianity, we have to be consumed by it, or else Christ will spit us out! He is disgusted with this type of behavior.  So what makes a lukewarm Christian?  Using the verse 2 Corinthians 13:5 "examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves," Francis Chan complied a list of "lukewarm" ideas/actions, and backed them up with Bible verses. So today, I am going to challenge you to test yourself.  You might be surprised at your results.

Lukewarm People...
1. Go to church fairly reguraly because its what "good Christians" do, because it's what's "expected" but there heart isn't really there.
2.  Give to the church, charities, etc. as long as it doesn't effect their standard of living.
3. They choose what is "popular" over what is right in conflicts because they care more about what people think than what God thinks.
4. They gauge their morality by comparing themselves to the secular world. They might not be a hard core Christian, but they are better than "that guy."
5. Say they love Jesus, but only give Him a part of their lives-their time, money, thoughts etc.
6. They say they love others, but love themselves more. They tend to only love people who love them in return, not those who can't love them back.
7. Serve God and others, but there are limits to how much time, money, and energy they are willing to give.
8. Are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, but rarely give to the poor.
9. Do what is neccessary to not feel guilty.  They do just enough to be good enough.Ex: How far can I go before it's a sin?
10. They are concerned with playing it safe, it keeps them from sacrificing for God. They want to be in control.
11. Feel secure in their "titles." Christian, Republican, Saved since age 5, American etc.
12. Do not live by faith. They are secure financially and in their own lives, they don't have to rely on God.

I don't know about you, but there were definitely a few items on this list that spoke to me. Then I started to think about how much this really requires of me, and my heart started to constict, and my stress level rose, and I thought "there's no way I can be what He wants me to be." I was very uncomfortable with what has been brought to my attention. But, that's a good thing.

To sum this up, Francis Chan said " We are all messed up human beings, and no one is totally immune to the behaviors described in the previous examples. However, there is a difference between a life that is characterized by these sorts of mentalities and habits, and a life that is in the process of being radically transformed."  So, today I don't list these to make you feel guilty, but to challenge yourself.  If you, like me, are in the process of letting God radically transform your lives, then you will want to check up where you stand. It would be impossible to attain all of these areas on our own, but what God whispered to me today was that I don't have to do it in my own strength, He will help, I just have to be willing. All I know is that I want my life to be a sweet drink offering to the one who saved me, not some lukewarm, day old, beverage that He spews out of His mouth. Which one do you want to be?

If you are interested in the BIble verses backing up these categories, let me know, I would love to give you a list of the references he used, or you can read "Crazy Love" which I would recommend anyways :).