The weather has been crazy this winter.  It has been up to 72 degrees one day and down to 42 degrees the next.  This rapid change from hot to cold temperatures has been making my head hurt a little bit.  It is not any good for my sinuses or my allergies.  I wish it would just stay either hot or cold, this bouncing back and forth drives me crazy.  More than once I have been caught at the office without the proper type of coat or jacket.  Last week I was forced to wear the old, musty “Mr. Rogers” sweater that has been hanging on my office chair for the last 5 years.  That song is still going through my head thanks to all the people in my department who felt compelled to sing it as they walked by my desk!  Any time the temperature jumps around like this I am reminded of what the Lord said in His word to the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:14 – 16,

Rev 3:14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:  15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.  16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.’”

The Lord, the true witness, Jesus Christ knew the deeds of that church and He was not pleased.  They were rich and had become complacent.  They were no longer on fire for the Lord.  They had become lukewarm in their testimony, lukewarm in their witness and lukewarm in their love.  The Lord said that their present state was so distasteful to Him that He would just as soon spit them out of His mouth.  That is a sad commentary for a church or a person to receive from the Lord.

I think that all of us have become complacent and lukewarm at some point in our Christian walk.  I think that all of us have had our fire go out and have no longer extended warmth to others in our outreach, in our witness or even in our fellowship as we interact with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  That is distasteful to our Lord and Savior.  In that same chapter the Lord encourages us to come to Him and become rich in His grace, clothe ourselves in His fellowship and once again warm ourselves with the fire that only He can bring to our lives.  He tells us that if we make ourselves available to Him we can overcome the sin, the challenges and even the complacency that plagues us in our lives.  We don’t have to stay lukewarm.  We can catch on fire again for the Lord!  That is such an awesome promise!  I pray that you will not be lukewarm this week.  I pray that you will know the great warmth and love of His presence and His fellowship.

If you would like to know more about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you can send me an email directly at pastorpstephens@aol.com