God is so amazing, so grand, so broad, so beautiful, so intentional..& his worship requires a standard. For the last few years, I’ve been living a one foot in one foot out kinda life – lukewarm if you will. I was so comfortable in sin that my mind was blinded.

2 Corinthians 4: 1-4 tells us:

1 Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. 2 We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. 3 If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

Just to give you some context..

I rededicated my life to Christ in 2018, I had done all things to be delivered, and I was truly set free. The truth made me free…I found joy in the Lord. Forsaking my old life & taking up my cross was challenging, but I fought through the tears and did it anyway. I was truly delivered, however I wasn’t in the business of maintaining or upgrading my deliverance.

Matthew 12:43-45 NLT states:

43 When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order.  45 Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.

This was the story of my life. Small compromises led me back to alcoholism, which led me back to fornication, which led me back to deception. It was a snowball effect. I could see how the spirits that were more evil than the original had begun to take residence in my body and rule my life. I was indeed worse off than before. I was more excited for brunch after church than I was for the actual service. I began to go out more often. More often turned into every weekend & before I knew it I was singing about a God I felt like I barely knew. I had forsaken the God who promises to never leave nor forsake us. It felt like “Well…..you’re back here, you might as well have fun along the ride.” That is such a slippery slope & it leads straight to Hell. Every time I think about my life mid-2019 to November 2022, I truly am reminded of God’s grace. I abused it to excuse my sin. That is not okay. If I would have died during this time, my home would not be with our Father in Eternity. It would be with the god of this world because that is who I allowed to infiltrate my life. God wanted me to be hot or cold, but I was stuck in the middle and his word tells us “But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!” (Revelation 3:15-16) I would’ve been spit out plain and simple. I am so grateful for growth in him, grateful for restoration, and so thankful for a Savior who gave his life just for me. True revelation of the selfless act Jesus committed leads to repentance. You cannot stay the same once you have knowledge and understanding of what Jesus did for us.

My spirit has been grieved. We are a generation that thinks we have time to get it right. We have time to get it together. We want to live because we’re young & get it together when we get older..but look around. This world is growing more evil by the day. Death is among us. It’s snatching people left and right, young & old. Close your eyes right now and ask yourself..if I breathed my last breath right now, where would I spend eternity? If you aren’t sure, let’s handle that.

Romans 10:9-10 NLT states:

9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

Repeat this prayer aloud.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for allowing us to be present in this moment, breathing the air that you’ve given us. I believe Jesus is the son of God. I believe he died on the cross for our sins. I also believe Jesus rose from the dead so that we may have a new life in Him. God, I ask that you please come into my heart, come into my life, continue to perfect the work that you have started on the inside of me so I can bring glory to your name forever. In Jesus name, amen.

If you feel like you and God aren’t communing anymore, if you feel like he’s far from you..He isn’t. He’s waiting on you to return to him with open arms.

1 John 1:9 KJV states:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The following prayer is for you. Repeat it aloud.

Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for allowing us to be right here in this moment. You are all powerful & all knowing. You created us for such a time as this. Thank you for sending your son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. He was beaten and bruised for our iniquities so that we could be forgiven and made whole. Father God right now, we repent for our sins that have separated us from you. We repent for putting people, places, and things before you. We repent for turning our hearts away from you. We repent for taking your grace for granted. We repent for taking the blood of Jesus for granted. We repent for knowing better but not doing better. We repent for living a lukewarm lifestyle, one that is not pleasing to you. Father God, If there is anything standing in the way of our relationship with you, we ask that you reveal it to us. Lift the scales from our eyes so that we may see the truth and turn from it, in Jesus name. We thank you for loving us consistently. We ask that you help us to love you properly. Thank you for giving us a desire to know and serve you wholeheartedly. You created us, you know us inside out. We ask that you reveal us to us, so that we can see the error in our ways and turn our faces back to you, in Jesus name. We love you and we don’t want to only be hearers of your word, but we want to be doers of it, in Jesus name.

God loves you. Don’t allow another day to pass us by and not give him what he’s due. He gave his only son just for you. Let’s serve him in spirit & truth.