St. Timothy Lutheran Church

I was just looking back at Pastor Steve's entry on Lukewarm Christians, and I can't read something like that without getting fired up.  This is the thing that is constantly on my heart, like a steady ringing in my ears that turns into a loud scream when I hear someone talking about it.  It makes me want to run outside and grab the Church by the proverbial lapels and shout "WAKE UP!!!"

The more I read through the Bible, the more this call to a radically changed heart and mind, which results in a radically changed lifestyle, rings out.  Here's just a very small sampling:

"But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul." -Deut. 4:29

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,  and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?" -Deut. 10:12-13

"And He (Jesus) said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."" -Matthew 22:37

"For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." -Jesus, in Matthew 7:14

 “Strive (or in the NIV, "Make every effort") to enter through the narrow door." -Jesus, in Luke 13:24

"Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord." -Romans 12:11

“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." -Jesus, in Revelation 3:15-16

"Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.’" -Jesus, in Matthew 7:21-23

I think that some of these words were meant to strike a healthy fear in us.  We ought to be concerned if we look at our lives and see slothful spirituality, if we see that we've turned our Christianity into something easy, something that makes our finances better, or our marriages better, that makes our lives easier, when the pursuit of Christ is often hard.  We should be bothered if we see that we mostly don't love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, if we see that we're lukewarm. 

I'm not ignoring grace here, either.  Zeal for God, and striving for Him, and making effort, and loving God does not save us.  Doing works for God will not save us.  It is only by grace that we are saved - and thank God for His grace!  These things are markers or symptoms of those who have been saved.  2 Corinthians 13:5 says "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" 

So how are you doing?  What sorts of things are you thinking about most of the time?  What do you spend your time puruing?  Where do you invest your efforts and your energy?  What do you study?  What are you striving for?  Do you meet the test?