“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.”
~ Revelation 3:14-16
I know two different types of ladies, both have been Christians for a long time – decades. Both have served in different ministries through the years, both have been faithful to church for a long time. Both study their Bibles and pray every day, striving to glorify God with their lives.
Thing is, as I was getting to know these ladies, I noticed something. With all their similarities, there was something very different between them.
Subtly Stale
One of them grew quickly bored with any Bible study that was what she deemed ‘too basic.’ If it was about the essentials – salvation, tithing, faithfulness to church – she would say it wasn’t deep enough, and that people around her just didn’t seem to want to really get into things that mattered about God and the Bible. This went so far as to cause her to grow discouraged and drift away from weekly Bible studies – simply because they weren’t at a level that she saw as being deep enough.
Forever Fresh
The other woman though, speaks of the things of God with awe and reverence. She speaks warmly of these basic things. When going through the exact same lessons as the woman above, I could tell she relishes the chance to study them once more, even though she’s probably studied them countless times over the years. It’s as if this lady is a brand new Christian, one who is only just now seeing the glory of Christ and she’s still overjoyed by it. I talk to her and am reminded again of the childlike faith and love that I need to have when coming to Christ. This woman is not bored by any Bible study, no matter how many times she’s probably read the verses, and no matter how many other people say the same things about those verses over and over.
The moral of the story? Don’t become a stale, lukewarm Christian…
Related Post: Chronic Pain & Lukewarm Faith
Stay Fresh
I’m not saying I’m either one of these women – though I know I’ve acted like the first one far too many times in my life. I’m not trying to compare anyone else to these ladies either. What I am saying, is that the second woman is a testament to me of what long-term Christianity OUGHT to look like. We get it in our heads that it’s inevitable for us to grow stale and bored with the things of God, but this lady is teaching me that that isn’t the case. Christ can remain fresh to me – to us – for all time.
As I thought over my experiences with these two types of ladies, I thought there must be a way to keep myself from growing stale. Sometimes our first reaction is to just try real hard, you know, as if closing our eyes tight and straining will just give us that new perspective, that freshness in Christ that we know we should have. But if you think about it, little children don’t try real hard to have that newness, that wonder about them. That’s just how little children are.
So then I got to thinking. Maybe what I need to concentrate on is not the end result, but what keeps me seeing things through new eyes.
- Experience all of it again through the eyes of a new disciple.
- Don’t think more highly of myself than I ought – keep a right perspective of my own abilities and my place in this journey.
- Get involved with helping people on a physical level – not just intellectually. Make hospital visits, help in the nursery at church, be available for people in prayer and in times of need.
As I look at these three points, there are so many things I should say about each one, that I can’t fit them all in a single post. Over the next few posts I write I’ll touch on some additional thoughts, going over each point more in depth. Please follow along as I walk through this study and try to figure out how to keep fresh eyes on Christ.
Is your faith becoming subtly stale? Check out these three tips to keep your faith fresh. Click To TweetTherefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’
Hebrews 12:28-29
Sherry, these are such great tips. I think it is so easy to subtly become stale. To lose the awe of God. Thank you so much for sharing these words with us today.
What a humbling reminder – your description of the two women really made me stop and examine my own heart. I look forward to your follow up posts!
I agree – this is always something I have to let God remind me about.
Romans 12:1-3 – we ain’t supposed to be full of ourselves – just to do what God has called us to do
Yes, very true.
One of the most important warnings in the Bible!
Sherry, what great reminders. I think we need to keep the perspective of awe of a small child. I teach the 4 and 5 year olds in Children Church and I love the wonder that they receive all of the truths that I share.
Yes, I help teach the 2-3 year old class sometimes at my church, and it’s a constant reminder of what it’s like to see things from the eyes of a child.
So true. This is probably more important than most realize!
Great post, Sherry. It is good to be reminded that we need to keep our appetite wetted for Christ….as a deer panting for water, so our soul should be thirsting for Him. I appreciate your words.
wow, this was an amazing post, great reminders. I want to have fresh faith and be more like Jesus
Your post reminds me of an old hymn that talked about loving the old, old story. I’m so thankful the Bible is living and speaks to us on new levels when we come with an open heart.
Yes, very true.
I love your perspective. I’ll be interested to follow as you work through this study. I think it’d make a great study for our women’s class!
Sherry, these are great tips. I need to be become more “child-like” in keeping my faith fresh. Thanks for sharing with Thankful Thursdays.
Love these tips, Sherry – especially the one about helping people in a physical way! Stopping by from the Grace and Truth linkup.
Jen 🙂
Your post reminded me of two things. First, Hebrews 4:12a, ” For the word of God is living and active.” This means that every time I open up my Bible, there is something new for me to learn! With an attitude of expectation, I am not disappointed. Second, I saw a bumper sticker on a semi-truck many years ago: “Attitude determines altitude.” With the right attitude, we can’t help but to grow in our faith!
Those are great suggestions. It’s all about our heart attitude, isn’t it?
thanks for the great tips totally appreciate you sharing this
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