What is it going to take?

I peer over the vast sea of people, overwhelmed by the destruction they cause themselves.

If only God they caught a glimpse of what You intend for them.

If only Lord they set You as Lord of their lives, as their only God...and not just one of their many gods.

Some days I intercede for them that they will wake up, repent, and follow You!

Other days I ask if it will take a taste of Your wrath for their eyes to open from their slumber and denial.

My heart is sad for those who neglect You Lord.

With their words they say they love You.
But their actions say they love themselves... and their sin.

Oh Lord, what will it take to turn these lukewarm believers into passionate disciples?

Help them love You first Lord.
Help them let go of their dreams, goals, and sin.
Help them grasp a hold of Your will and Your purpose for their lives.

The Lazy Christian.

Is there such a thing? A lazy Christian?

The Lazy Christian does not:

• Pray
• Read the Bible
• Serve
• Evangelize
• Tithe
• Know their personal gifts
• Bear fruit

We are called to live a life set apart FOR Christ.
Yet apart from Jesus, we can do nothing (John 15:5).
So then: DOING NOTHING = LAZINESS.

Need a definition?

 

la·zy  (lā′zē)

adj. la·zi·er, la·zi·est

1. Resistant to work or exertion; disposed to idleness.

2. Slow-moving; sluggish: a lazy river.

3. Conducive to idleness or indolence:

Lazy Christ are apart from Christ. These lazy Christians are the lukewarm church. Do they know their destiny? Revelations 3:16 explains it simply.

So what then shall they do? Luke 13:5 has the first step of the solution.

Folks, the end is drawing near. There is no time to procrastinate abiding in the Lord. I long to see the Body of Christ full engaged living a biblical lifestyle that attracts the unsaved to Christ.

How will the world know that Jesus Christ transforms lives,

if your life looks no different from the world?

Where did you get off track? Refer to the list above. The starting point of living out a 'changed life' starts with a 'devotional life' of prayer and spending time in the Scriptures/truth! In this time, you will be filled with the Holy Spirit and you will begin to bear fruit, find your spiritual gifts, serve, give, and evangelize.

The Christian life is intended to be active, not passive.

Matthew 28:19-20 gives the directive: Go and make disciples! This is not an optional commandment, it is what the Lord Jesus calls us all to. It's up to you to spend time with the Lord to find out who in your life you are to lead and direct toward Christ. God speaks. His Spirit leads and convicts. Obedience is key. Obey the voice of the Lord, the nudge of the Holy Spirit and you will find yourself being an "active participant" in the work of God.

Otherwise, you will remain the "spectator Christian"...the Lazy Christian. And that my friend is just down right boring. No wonder sexual immorality, alcohol, drugs, porn, the Internet, money, -- FILL IN THE BLANK -- is so attractive and consuming your time. You are not aggressively engaged all that God created you to do FOR HIM.

John the Baptist said it best: I must DECREASE, He must INCREASE. It is to be about HIM, not us!

When it is about US, our lives, dreams, comfort, choices....we become disengaged with Jesus...and resort to being Lazy Christian, living the lukewarm powerless life fulfilling OUR will, not HIS will.

It all begins with repentance. Luke 13:5. Repent of the selfish lifestyle and call onto the Holy Spirit to fill you with the power to overcome your fleshly desires and give you the passion to live sold-out to Christ. And then daily - stay plugged into the power source!!!!! This is when you crush the lazy, spectator Christian lifestyle and you will produce the kind of fruit that is imperishable...that which will stand with it refined by the fire coming!

LUKEWARM - What is it by definition?

You know you're a nerd when you have fun working on a 75 page paper....

Here's a little excerpt....

"Consider what ‘lukewarm’ in the Greek means, the word in which God describes the church of Laodicea in the Book of Revelation lukewarm is chliaros in the Greek, which means, “ the condition of the soul wretchedly fluctuating between a torpor and a fervor of love.”  Further definition is needed. Torpor is defined as sluggish inactivity, lethargic indifference, apathy, and dormancy; fervor on the other hand is intense heat, passion, and zeal."

Attempting to make this fit as part of my worldview, and will feel like I need to find a way later to refer back to it later when I pose the need for greater discipleship.

Why is this fun? Because it is confirming...no longer do I take offense when people try to criticize me and say that I am too passionate for Jesus...really, according to these definitions can one really be too passionate? Funny how a critical opinion can be received as an affirming compliment.

I was born for such a time as this, to be open and transparent about my faith to serve as an encourager to those who do not want to live the lukewarm life, but find acceptance for their zealous pursuit of the Lord.

It's OK to love God above all....really, it is!

Jesus is willing to HEAL

How do I begin this??? My whole belief re: healing from the Lord has changed. It really is according to our faith. I've sat in a 'healing meeting' w/ disbelief...and the Lord plainly said in my heart "Let it be according to your faith"...."They have the faith for a healing, and so I will". Ouch - I know.

Following that service I attended, I had a conversation w/ a Bible-scholar. She is a great woman of faith, and when I shared my disbelief with her...and how I was struggling to ask God for a healing for my son's asthma....She challenged me:

WHERE  IN  THE  WORD  DID  JESUS  NOT  HEAL?

Made me say: Hmmmmm. Prayer + Faith in Jesus = MIRACLES. (Period.)

In the meantime, I've taken on this mission to pray for a little boy, a  2 year old Steven. The doctors diagnosed him Valley Fever and as of last Thursday, he's not responding to the meds. The doc has doubled the dosage and they are discussing bone scans. Valley Fever is a nasty, terrible thing. Please join me in praying for him, if you already haven't.

But, knowing that Jesus Christ has the power to heal...and He loves the little children, why would He not be willing to heal little Steven? He is willing, I believe.

Need some convincing that Jesus heals? Go to Matthew 8....

• verse 3: I am willing...be cleansed.
• verse 7: I will come and heal him.
• verse 14: He touched her and her fever left.
• verse 32: Jesus delivered the demon-possessed men.

Go to Matthew 9:

• verse 6: He said to the paralytic, GET UP & WALK (healing).
• verse 22: Your faith made you well.
• verse 25: Jesus took the girl by the hand & she got up. (Her father had said she was dead.)
• verse 29, 30: He touched their eyes (they were blind), and their eyes opened!

Think about this....this is 12 counts (their were 2 demon-possessed men...and 2 blind men) of healings.

Along these verses, there is not one instance of Jesus saying 'oh, not today'. So we are challenged aren't we?

We can either continue to live under man's lack of faith in Jesus being a healer and not put Him on the spot to be a healer....Or we can believe the Word of God, the Bible and pray to a God who heals willingly with great faith.

This is the faith I am using when I pray for Steven. How can the Lord not heal this boy? It will mystify the doctors who serve the gods of medicine...it will strengthen his mother's faith, it will grow his father's faith, all his older siblings will end up saved through this kind of testimony. Why would Jesus NOT want to heal? I can't equate God with that rationale.

I think it's time that we start asking Jesus Christ who overcame death, to overcome our diseases and infirmities...addictions, mental illnesses - you name it! If it's physically holding you back and down...then go to the God who heals - Jesus!

This is where our modern day version of Christianity has to change. This is one major area we need to make Jesus Lord again. Lord over our health.

We need to put ourselves in a place of need, a place that stretches our faith. I think we don't want to be 'disappointed by God'...so we don't ask big, marvelous things from Him. Well, we're wrong.

GOD DOES NOT DISAPPOINT!

GOD IS SUPER FAITHFUL!

So put your neck out there, and ask God for some miracles and watch Him show up! Your relationship will be sooooooo positively impacted by it! Trust me -

ASK GOD TO DO MIGHTY THINGS

AND WATCH HIM SHOW UP!!!!

And once He does -  WORSHIP HIM!  And share the testimony that Jesus heals!!!!