This post is for those who know Jesus is real, who know they may not be living right, but are content with their current lifestyles & think they still have time to get right.

This post is for those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior, but have yet to change much about their lives for Him beyond attending Sunday services.

This post is for those who are lukewarm in their faith, just sitting on the fence not knowing what the next step is, yet know in their hearts that God has something more for them.

You know what? I get it. Especially in these weird “pandemic” times we’re living in… it can be easy to fall back, to get into different routines, to be pulled into the culture of the world we’re living in. If I’m totally honest, it started to happen with me even before the pandemic. I have good friends from work who go out together & have good times, & I wanted to go out & socialize & have fun with them too. I told myself, “It’s ok to have a drink or two while hanging out by the pool,” or “it’s not a sin to have a drink or two with friends, as long as I don’t get drunk- it’s the drunkenness that’s the sin.” And while that might be true, we all know what happens when we say “just ONE drink,” which is why it’s better for some of us to just not have a drink at all. A good gauge of whether or not we should do something is this: Can I do this, & say I did it in the name of Jesus or to the glory of God?

As I attempted to watch the livestream of my church service from work yesterday, I heard my pastor say “The devil owns that fence you’re sitting on.” He was speaking to those who are Christians, who have accepted Jesus, but aren’t FULLY living for Him. He was speaking to those who are content accepting salvation, while keeping one foot in the world, still not recognizable by those around them as followers of Christ.

The thing is, Jesus sat with sinners, but He didn’t sin with them. He led by His example, & set them free from their sin. We, as Christians, will continue old relationships, or form relationships with new people (even people who claim to know Jesus) in this world who do not believe like we do, but we have to be careful that we are not being influenced by them & pulled into their lifestyles or even our old lifestyles. We are called to be salt & light in the lives of the people around us, not to look like them.

“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

–Matthew 5:13 MSG

‘What harmony can there be between Christ and Satan? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What friendship does God’s temple have with demons? For indeed, we are the temple of the living God, just as God has said: I will make my home in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. For this reason, “Come out from among them and be separate,” says the Lord. “Touch nothing that is unclean, and I will embrace you.’

–2 Corinthians 6:15-17 TPT (bold emphasis mine)

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

–Romans 12:1,2 MSG (bold emphasis mine)

When the pandemic happened, & churches everywhere were forced to shut down & go to online only services, I was already working every Sunday & only attending Wednesday evening services. I continued to listen to all the podcasts & read my Bible daily, watching livestreams when I could. Before I knew it, I had a new, slower daily routine on my Wednesdays off, & when my church opened back up, I was comfortable in my new routine & found myself looking at the clock while cooking dinner saying “darn, we missed church again.” It wasn’t long though, before I began to REALLY miss church.

You can listen to all the podcasts & watch all the livestreams you want, but there’s nothing quite like being in God’s house, worshipping together with your church family, & experiencing His presence! I’m beyond thankful for the church family I have, that kept in touch, reached out, let me know they missed me, & held me accountable when I started to get lukewarm (even if they didn’t know it) in my faith walk. When I made it back to church, there was no judgment, no condemnation, no accusations, only LOVE & lots of warm hugs. I was where I belonged with my family again! If your church has opened back up, but you haven’t made it back yet, I urge you to ask yourself why not? I’m pretty sure that you, too, will be welcomed back with open arms by your God-family who is missing your presence.

This is not the time to pull away and neglect meeting together, as some have formed the habit of doing. In fact, we should come together even more frequently, eager to encourage and urge each other onward as we anticipate that day dawning.

-Hebrews 10:25 TPT

The time to keep sitting on that fence & continue living under grace & mercy is running short my friends. The Word is more than clear on where God stands when it comes to the lukewarm believer:

‘This is a war , and whoever is not on my side is against me, and whoever does not gather the spoils with me will be forever scattered.’

–Luke 11:23 TPT

‘I know all that you do, and I know that you are neither frozen in apathy nor fervent with passion. How I wish you were either one or the other! But because you are neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm, I am about to spit you from my mouth. ‘

–Revelation 3:15-16 TPT

I hear the Spirit saying that the Holy Spirit is cleaning up the church, & those who are lukewarm will either be cut off or rise up with a new fire lit in their hearts like never seen before. I don’t know about you, but I’m trying to stay on the fire side of that!

–Walking in a Renewed Fire of the Spirit by Faith & Finding the Blessings, Gerri