Am I lukewarm?

Read the following and insert your name where it has the word Lukewarm People. See if this describes you!

1. Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians” do, so they go. Isaiah 29:13

2. Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so, After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right? 1 Chronicles 21:24, Luke 21:1-4

3. Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions (like church attendance and giving) than what God thinks of their hearts and lives. Luke 6:26, Revelation 3:1, Matthew 23:5-7

4. Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it; they’re merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Lukewarm people don’t really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one. John 10:10, Romans 6:1-2

5. Lukewarm people are moved by stories of people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for “extreme” Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call “radical” what Jesus expected of all His followers. James 1:22, James 4:17, Matthew 21:28-31

6. Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion. Matthew 10:32-33

7. Lukewarm people gauge their morality or “goodness” by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren’t as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street. Luke 18:11-12

8. Lukewarm people say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed, a part of their lives, their money, and their thoughts, but he isn’t allowed to control their lives. Luke 9:57-62

9. Lukewarm people love God, but they do not love Him all their heart, soul, and strength. They would be quick to assure you they try to love God that much, but that sort of total devotion isn’t really possible for the average person; its only for pastors and missionaries and radicals. Matthew 22:37-38

10. Lukewarm people love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves. Their love for others is typically focused on those who love them in return, like family, friends, and other people they know and connect with. There is a little love left over for those who cannot love them back, much less for those who intentionally slight them, who kids are better athletes than theirs, or with whom conversations are awkward or uncomfortable. Their love is highly conditional and very selective, and generally comes with strings attached. Matthew 5:43-47, Luke 14:12-14

11. Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money, and energy they are willing to give. Luke 18:21-25

12. Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today’s to-do list, this week’s schedule, and next month’s vacation. Rarely, if ever do they intently consider the life to come. Philippians 3:18-20

13. Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor. Matthew 25:34, 40, Isaiah 58:6-7

14. Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty. They want to do the bare minimum, to be “good enough” without requiring too much of them. 1 Chronicles 29:14, Matthew 13:44-46

15. Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them sacrificing and risking for God. Matthew 10:28

16. Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America.

17. Luke warm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don’t have to trust God if something unexpected happens-they have their savings account. They don’t need God to help them—they have their retirement plan in place. They don’t genuinely seek out what life God would have them live—they have life figured and mapped out. They don’t depend on God on a daily basis-their refrigerators are full and, for the most part, they are in good health. The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God. Luke 12:16-21

18. Lukewarm people probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren’t very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Matthew 23:25-28, Luke 14:34-35

Check out the ending

Someone once said that “confession is good for the soul.” Therefore, I am going to make a small confession to you. I love to read science fiction books. I was recently reading a series in which the heroines got to a point where all hope was lost. They were surrounded by the enemy, they had been wounded, and many of their friends (key characters in the book) were lost in a great battle. I was so “wrapped up” in this book that I was stressed out about what would happen to the characters. Would they escape? Who would be left standing? Would I lose my favorite character in the book? I soon found myself in anguish over the book and I could no longer enjoy it. So guess what I did? I CHEATED! I turned to the last chapter of the book and I read it. I found out that my favorite character lived on and that many things had “somehow” worked out for this heroine. I then turned back to where I had left off and finished reading the book. I found out that by knowing everything was going to work out for the heroine that I could enjoy the book no matter what happened along the way.

Today’s world is not much different. The economy is down, unemployment is up and Russia says that the United States will be under Martial Law by the end of this year. The bad news about his world continues to stack up. That anguish that I felt when I was reading my book can so easily creep into our lives on a daily basis. How do we deal with this? Well as fellow Christians I encourage you to cheat. Turn to the book of Revelation and see how the final chapter of God's book unfolds. Here are a few verses to encourage you:

Revelation 4: 8 - Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

Revelation 5: 11-14 - 11Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" 14The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Revelation 21: 3, 4 - 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Knowing that it is in God’s hands will help you to take your eyes off of this world and keep them focused on Jesus.

Do something with your life.

Welcome to footsteps

Today's Biblical Family Sunday school class is about to conclude it's third year on the Sandhurst Sunday school cycle. Over the past several months Reeves, Charlie and I have felt led to take the class in a slightly different direction. Not a different direction as far as what we believe or what we teach but in what we do as a class. We have spent considerable time talking and praying about where to go from here with the class and we feel very confident in where the Lord is leading us. Our thoughts have been confirmed by each other, by our classmates and most recently by what our Sunday morning speakers have shared with the congregation.

One of the first things we are going to do is to change the name of our class. Over the past several months the focus of our class has changed from a focus on the family to a focus on God's calling on each one of our lives. We have seen an increase in the number of people who may not be in a traditional family showing up on Sunday mornings. We have single moms and dads in the class. We have college students, newly weds and empty nesters. With this in mind we have decided to call our class Footsteps. We based this on Psalm 119: 133 - Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me. We have developed a mission and vision statement for the class so they can share in what we believe the Lord is leading us to do.

Footsteps Mission Statement:

The Footprints Sunday school class exists to leave a spiritual footprint in our community and world through living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Footsteps Vision Statement:

Following the Five Fold Thrust of the Church at Sandhurst we will be actively engaged in carrying the message of Jesus Christ to the world through Local and World MISSIONS. Bringing glory to God through a lifestyle of WORSHIP. Sharing the love of Christ through EVANGELISM. Being obedient to the great commission through DISCIPLESHIP, and living out what we believe and teach so that we might help others through SERVICE/COMMUNITY OUTREACH.

Proverbs 29: 18 says: Where there is no vision, the people perish... I know we could argue over what does this really mean and what is the real meaning of the Hebrew word for vision. But the premise behind this is very true. If people do not have a vision, how will they know where they are going and how will they know if they get there. We believe that God has given us a vision for this class that lines up with and supports the mission of Sandhurst.