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Way Of The Cross I'm a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The dye has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problems recognizing me --my banner will be clear!!! Are You Lukewarm? Without zeal for God we are as distasteful as a drink of lukewarm water. Lukewarm... that is what I want to write about today. Let's say you are working hard around the house, cleaning the attic, going through the old boxes, hauling stuff outside to be given away. It's hot in the attic; the heat from the entire house has risen to smother you. You're sweating. Your mouth is dry. What would you like? Iced tea? Lemonade? A soda with lots of ice? Exactly. All these drinks have something in common: They are cold. Now a different scenario: It is cold and rainy outside, it's a Saturday afternoon, the house is quiet, and you've started a fire in the fireplace. You grab your favorite book and settle in for a cozy hour of silent indulgence. What drink do you make yourself? Hot Chocolate? Hot Tea? Cappuccino with hazelnut creamer? Ooh, now that sounds good! The point is, when you really want to relax on a cold day, you want to drink something hot. When do you want to drink something lukewarm? Never! In fact, there is nothing more distasteful than a lukewarm drink. We want to spit it out. Our lives are lukewarm! Too many of us are a river of lukewarm water. We float through the days and years, not jumping onto either shore. We are content to drift downstream. Being lukewarm threatens to bring us down as a nation. We have become hardened, self-satisfied, and self-sufficient.Complacent. There was an ancient town called Laodicea. It was thriving and successful in all material ways. It was rich, but oh, so poor. Its people said, 'I have everything I want. I don't need a thing.' They didn't feel the need to be hot or cold about life. They were content in the mediocrity of lukewarm. Their true purpose and worth was stifled by their own indifference. They felt they didn't need anybody. Do we feel that way? We can't. For with that self-satisfied complacency comes destruction. There are consequences for apathy. The heavenly Father we all share speaks these words to the people of Laodicea - as He speaks them to us: "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... Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent." 'From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.' How could God let 911 happen? An interview with Anne Graham "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?" In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school... the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK. Then someone said teachers and principals better not discipline our children when they misbehave. The school administrators said no faculty member in this school better touch a student when they misbehave because we don't want any bad publicity, and we surely don't want to be sued. There's a big difference between disciplining, touching, beating, smacking, humiliating, kicking, etc). And we said OK. Then someone said, let's let our daughters have abortions if they want, and they won't even have to tell their parents. And we said OK. Then some wise school board member said, since boys will be boys and they're going to do it anyway, let's give our sons all the condoms they want so they can have all the fun they desire, and we won't have to tell their parents they got them at school. And we said OK. Then some of our top elected officials said it doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs. It doesn't matter to what anyone, including the President, does in private as long as I have a job and the economy is good. And we said OK. Then someone said let's print magazines with pictures of nude women and call it wholesome, down-to-earth appreciation for the beauty of the female body. And we said OK. And then someone else took that appreciation a step further and published pictures of nude children and then further again by making them available on the Internet. They're entitled to free speech. And we said OK. Then the entertainment industry said, let's make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence, and illicit sex. Let's record music that encourages rape, drugs, murder, suicide, and satanic themes. It's just entertainment, it has no adverse effect, nobody takes it seriously anyway. And we said OK. Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW." "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who put darkness for light, and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Isaiah 5:20
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