359 of 365 - Lukewarm

To the angel of the church in Laodicea write… 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
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Of all the letters to the churches, the one to Laodicea often seems to hit closest to home in our culture today. There is no middle ground in God’s Kingdom…no fence-straddling is permitted. Jesus isn’t just disappointed with our lack of wholeheartedness, He says He will reject it.⁠
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In his book, Crazy Love, Francis Chan says too many of us are “lukewarm and loving it.” He summarizes the lukewarm Christian today as having the following traits:⁠
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•       Attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians” do, so they go.⁠
•       Give money to charity and to the church… as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living⁠
•       Desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions than what God thinks of their hearts and lives.⁠
•       Don’t really want to turn away from or be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin.⁠
•       Are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ – things Jesus calls His followers to do – yet they do not act.⁠
•       Rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. ⁠
•       Gauge their morality or “goodness” by comparing themselves to the world around them. They feel satisfied that they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street.⁠
•       Do not live by faith, instead structure their lives so they don’t have to. They give God a section of their time, money, thoughts, but He isn’t allowed to control their lives.⁠
•       Love God and others, but neither as much as they love themselves.⁠
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Question: Which lukewarm traits resonate most with you? What changes can you make today?