ok so wenesday night after church was amazing...
http://www.xanga.com/MERCY_Triumphs_Over_judgement/451783177/real.html
.check it out.
ok so God's been layin some stuff on my heart lately. and it has to do w/ the mindset of us Christians. and the condition of our heart. and where our passions lie. and how we are impacting our world. its the biggest reason lost people are not saved. its Christians.
(yes, its a lil bit long, but hey..thats how i roll)
please read this w/ an open mind to application to ur own life.. cuz thats the only reason i would put something spiritual out here on xanga, so that others can benefit
(hopefully this doesn't sound like i'm being mean or pointing fingers, i only hope it inspires someone. That's all i want to come from this)
Lately i have seen some disgusting things at Mustang high school. One in particular is lukewarmity (is that a word?? lukewarm means not for OR against something). Really, that word desrcibes it PERfectly... So perfectly that God himself uses it to describe a church in the book of "Revelation" in the Bible....
Revelation 3:14
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:"
-ok so here's a lil background info...the church at Laodicea was VERY wealthy and known for its banking industry, wool manufacturing and a medical school that produced eye salve(comparable to the united states as a wealthy and advanced, yet self-centered country? maybe.) and it had a big pipe pumping hot spring water to the town because its water supply had issues. and by the time the water got to the town it was lukewarm. ok there's ur dose of history now lets move on...
Revelation 3:15-17
15" 'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16So because you are lukewarm, and neither hor nor cold, I will spew you out of My mouth. 17Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,' "
-notice how God is saying that what consumes these people's lives is actually the opposite. big banking industry: they're really poor. bigtime wool manufacturers: they're actually naked. advanced medical technology in eye salve: actually...they're blind. cool lil wordgame God plays to get their attention. they hear that and they're like WHOA, wait a second...so..i get it, but how do i change, God? well...He answers..
Revelation 3:18
" 'I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to annoint your eyes so that you may see.' "
-God not only revealed to them that they are complete BONEheads, He told em "Hey, i'm here and u can have all u want. and its FREE."
so...this applies to Christians at Mustang High School, including myself. We're in the 3:15-17 part of this verse. we are lukewarm. and ineffective. lemme tell u a lil story to help u get a nice lil mental picture of how God sees our lukewarmity...
its a blazing hot day outside and u jus got done playin some pick-up basketball. ur thirsty. REALLY thirsty. (you look for some water or gatorade or SOMEthing....) YES!! a cooler! it probably has icecold drinks in it! so, in ur delirium u reach down and grab whatever it is in the cooler and take a HUGE swig of it. AHHH!! (it wasnt icecold gatorade) it was hot, sunwarmed, curdled milk. and u DRANK it!! i believe you would possible let loose some "gut nuggets", as some call it, all over the pavement. and despite the puking..the taste is STILL in ur mouth...and BECAUSE of the puke, everyone around is sicked out
This is basically what God is saying His reaction to our lukewarmity is. HE WANTS TO HURL! As Christians, our purpose is to glorify Him. From what i've observed lately, that is not what's happening, at all.
things i see that make God wanna spew::::::
-We try to do His job. HE is the ultimate judge and is perfect in His decisions. lol we, as tainted human beings, really dont have the ability to do the judging job justice. Just imagine God (who is above us, mind you) barfing when we place judgement on others. Kinda graphic, but it changes my perspective of how attractive it really is to act superior than someone else...
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-When we know the right thing to do but we choose (not a laidback, casual, "oh i guess i'll just go ahead and do this") we blatently CHOOSE to disobey God. From that verse about lukewarmity, I can see how our disobedience tastes to God. He hates it. And i'll tell ya...it's downright tough to make the right decision sometimes..trust me, i kno...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=on the flipside=-=-=-=-=-=-=
There's the view of disgust from God @ this BUT He doesn't just sit there and be content w/ that bitter taste in His mouth. HE GIVES US THE STRENGTH TO FIGHT IT!! and what's more is that He even comforts us that we made the right decision; the Holy Spirit gives us His "peace that passes all understanding" (Philipians 4:7) to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. No matter how difficlt we think beating satan is, God is SO much bigger than that loser. He really has made us FREE TO CONQUER....
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So next time you find yourself in the position to gag Jesus, take a break and think, "Is this incredible fun reallllly worth sickening God to His stomach?". And i'm not gonna lie, some the options that satan throws at us are preTTy appetizing (thats the point of temptation, right? to appear fulfilling?) But I, being the youngest of the family, have been able to see a lot of different options chosen. And every one of them points to the fact that Jesus really is the ultimate fulfillment in every aspect of our lives.
Hopefully this shed some new light on what we're actually doing when we sin. Not only do our actions impact everyone around us, they also hit home w/ God.
.So do it for the Big Guy.
stand strong in the face of this world
NO MATTER THE COST
 AL
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