A challenge of your love and faith...

CRAZY LOVE

Chapter 4: Profile for the Lukewarm

***CHALLENGE***Read the following information and then challenge YOURSELF below the 18 “symptoms”

YOU MIGHT BE LUKEWARM IF…

1)  Attend church regularly (Isaiah 29:13)

2)  Give money to charity and to the church...as long as it doesn't impinge on their standard of living. (1 Chronicles 21:24; Luke 21:1-4)

3)   They 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. (Luke 6:26, Revelation 3:1; Matthew 23:5-7)

4)  Don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin (John 10:10; Romans 6:1-2)

5)  Moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act (James 1:22, James 4:17; Matthew 21:28-31)

6)  Rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends (Matthew 10:32-33)

7)  Gauge their morality or "goodness" by comparing themselves to the secular world (Luke 18:11-12)

8)  Say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed a part of their lives...but only a part. (Luke 9:57-62)

9)  Love God, but they do not love Him with all their heart, soul, and strength (Matthew 22:37-38)

10)  Love others but do not seek to love others more than themselves (Matthew 5:43-47; Luke 14:12-14)

11)  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)  Think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven (Phillipians 3:18-20;Collossions 3:2)

13)  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)  Do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty (1 Chronicles 29:14; Matthew 13:44-46)

15)  Are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control (1 Timothy 6:17-18; Matthew 10:28)

16)  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 (Matthew 7:21; Amos 6:1)

17)  Do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to (Luke 12:16-21)

18)  Probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren't very different from your typical unbeliever (Matthew 23:25-28)

Pick the one characteristic that weighs the heaviest on your heart.  It might be the one that you feel the most guilt of (that’s how I feel) or the one that seems the most challenging)…spend 15-20 minutes getting to the HEART of this lukewarm characteristic.

Why do I do this?

Why do I feel this way about this?

What’s stopping me? 

DIG DEEP.

Find verses that combat this characteristic.  Use biblegateway.com if you do not have a bible…do word searches.  Find what God says about that characteristic and how to be encouraged and how to overcome it.  I have a concordance if anyone would like to use it!

PRAY.

Ask God to help you battle this sin.

Think of one or two tangible things you can do this week to help you fight against this lukewarm characteristic.  It may be fasting for some, or getting up earlier to pray, taking a walk by yourself, or even talking with your children.

Start challenging YOURSELF and stepping out for YOU! 

For those of you that come and meet with me on Tuesday – be prepared to share about your journey this week: the highs and lows.  I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers as we go forward.  What a challenging chapter this has been…and will be for another week to set on my heart!  Love you ALL!!!!