Are you in danger of becoming lukewarm?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
(Revelation 3:16 (NIV))

We know that this is the message to the church in Laodicea. When we think of this passage, we instantly think about a faith that is neither hot, nor is it cold. They do not possess a faith that is on fire, yet they don’t possess a faith that is nonexistent. They are somewhere in the middle.

They believe in Jesus, but they believe in the power of their wealth and self sufficiency more!

Don’t be so self sufficient that you become lukewarm!

Did that last statement catch you off guard?

Think about that for a moment. Are you more concerned about your house and cars than you are about your faith in Jesus? Do you pay more attention to the things that make you money than you do to the One who brought you salvation? Do you think that your lifestyle is because of the things that you have done? Have you relegated God to be a distant second, or even lower, in your priorities? When things look bad, do you look to your own understanding to get you onto a firmer foundation, or do you turn to the Lord in prayer?

Professing a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior is a choice!

It is a choice I pray that everyone will make.

Becoming lukewarm is also a choice, and it is a choice of neglect. It happens when you neglect to spend time daily in His Word and in prayer. It happens when you neglect to place God above all other gods. It happens when you neglect to love the Creator more than the creation. It happens when you neglect to realize that faith must be nurtured, and, as a result, you become so comfortable in your faith that you think that you have it made! It comes when you neglect to realize that you cannot handle anything that the world sends your way. It comes when you neglect to realize that your self sufficiency means absolutely nothing.

Are you in danger of becoming lukewarm?

Copyright 1998 – 2023 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Fully commit yourself to the Lord!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
(Revelation 3:16 (NIV))

Laodicea literally means the will of the people!

They professed a faith, yet lived as if they didn’t. They thought that they were rich in both the ways of the world and in spiritual matters. They didn’t look to God. They looked to themselves. The letter to Laodicea was far from encouraging. This is the only letter of the seven written to the churches that had nothing good to say about their faith.

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
(Revelation 3:14-22 (NIV))

If I were to venture a few speculations, I think that I could safely say that they had taken worship out of their assemblies if they even met at all. They didn’t need to worship for they felt that they had it all. The Lord was not the center of their assemblies or their lives, and I think that it is safe to say that they barely gave what I refer to as lip service. Their hearts were not in it because they felt that they had to reason to worship in truth for they had made themselves rich.

Does that sound familiar in the society that we see today? We see people engrossed in what they have accomplished and in what they want that they completely forget to even acknowledge the Lord in any way at all.

We have become a society where anything and everything is feasible because truth is relative. Each person has their own truth, but how has that gone for us the last several years? We are now a society that is triggered by facts and the truth. Feelings and personal desires are now what is important. Dare I say that we are even seeing this in our churches? Some churches are no longer preaching the saving grace of the Gospel of Jesus, but are preaching a gospel of social justice or personal empowerment. If there is no absolute truth, everything breaks down. With all that is happening in the world, are we seeing this happening in real-time? Has insanity become the new normal? I heard someone say the following in reference to what is happening in the world, and in the church.

Is the tail wagging the dog?

We should recognize this to mean that things are out of order. Perhaps the following makes that statement better.

Is the cart before the horse?

Personally, every single time I see something ungodly happen, the following comes to mind. I think that it says it best, especially when God told us that He would give people over to their reprobate minds.

Are the inmates running the asylum?

In the days ahead, we, as the Body of Christ, must stay true to His Word. We must cling fast to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and never allow anything to work its way into our lives and dilute the truth. As believers, we are supposed to be on fire for the Lord. We are supposed to be the light of the world. Don’t allow that fire to die down and the light to be put out. Don’t let your flame become just a warm ember.

Fully commit yourself to the Lord!

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

It is time to make up your mind!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!
(Revelation 3:15 (NIV))

Are you still sitting on the fence?

Are you thinking of following Jesus but still enticed by the world?

Does your attitude change based on whomever you are with?

Do you go from one extreme to the next in your thoughts and actions?

Jesus referred to people like this as being lukewarm. They can’t make a commitment to stand firm. They do one thing that is right in the eyes of God and the very next thing that they do is a major sin. Perhaps you simply walk a path that is neither an attempt to follow Jesus, nor is it a rejection of the world. Unfortunately, there are consequences for this type of behavior.

So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
(Revelation 3:16 (NIV))

You may ask, “What about grace?”

If you call upon Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, and then deny Him, have you truly accepted God’s gift of grace? Have you decided in your mind that you are a sinner in need of a Savior?

It is time to make up your mind!

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

How do you live your life?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
(1 Peter 2:16 (NIV))

We have been given a choice as to how we will live. God has given us free will, and we can use that free will to follow Him or to reject Him. Too many people have two sides to them. There is the one side that puts up a good image while in the presence of those that you want to impress, and then there is the side that rebels against all that is good. This reminds me of the warning to the church at Laodicea. They were neither cold nor hot. In essence, they couldn’t decide if they were following Jesus or not.

Just like the church at Laodicea, we all have the choice to follow Jesus or to follow the world. Don’t use the grace that you have been given to convince yourself that you are able to do whatever you want. Jesus came to bring grace and mercy, but that does not mean that you can continue to sin. We are called to repent, to turn from our sin, and to follow Jesus. That means that we must change the way that we live our lives so that they honor God.

How do you live your life?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Are you ready and willing to serve?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning,
(Luke 12:35 (NIV))

Is your lamp burning?

Is the fire inside of you still as hot and bright as it was when you first believed?

Are you ready to respond to God’s call whenever and wherever it may come?

It is human nature to get excited and then have the excitement slowly fade away. It is human nature to get tired of waiting on the sidelines. Sadly enough, that is what too many members of the Body of Christ have been doing. We have been waiting on the sidelines! We have been listening for God’s call in the midst of the noise of the world and we have let the world interfere with our ability to hear clearly!

Be still, and know that I am God,
(Psalm 46:10a (NIV))

It is my prayer that you will take the time to sit in God’s presence, to take the time to let the distractions of the world fade away until you find yourself feeling the warmth of God’s love like you have never felt it before. When you feel the closeness to God, then you will be better equipped to know God’s own heart. You will be better equipped to listen for that still, small voice. You will be better equipped to be able to say:

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
(Isaiah 6:8 (NIV))

Are you ready to say, “Here am I. Send me!”

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

What do you remember about your early faith?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

The word of the LORD came to me: “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:

” `I remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the desert,
through a land not sown.
(Jeremiah 2:1-2 (NIV))

God told Jeremiah to tell the people of Jerusalem that He remembered the devotion of their youth. I want you to think about that simple statement.

Looking back at your faith when it was new, have you lost your zeal? Have you lost your passion for Jesus? Have you gone from an “Amen” type of faith to a “whatever” type of faith? Have you lost the fire that used to burn so bright and so hot?

To be honest with you, life is hard. It is so easy to lose sight of the fire and the passion when you are told by everything in your life that you have to take care of other things first. It is difficult to maintain the fire when you are being beaten down by the world. It is difficult to maintain the passion when you have to focus on your job for so many hours a day. Life can, and often does leave you exhausted.

What if Jesus were to say Jeremiah 2:1-2 to you. Would you listen to the things that are not being said and realize that Jesus is asking you what happened?

Think about that for a moment!

Jesus did not go anywhere. He is still right there. It is we who have let the relationship take a back seat.

Sometimes I think that the saddest words in the English language are, “I remember . . . “ They imply that something has changed and not for the better.

What do you remember about your early faith?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery

Are we a church based on God’s Word or on people’s opinions?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
(Revelation 3:14-22 (NIV))

I read something last night that I had forgotten about the church in Laodicea. Actually, it was more about the long term meaning of the passage and the translated meaning of the name of the city – Laodicea.

Before we get into the name’s meaning, I want to make sure that everybody understands that the church at Laodicea was one of the worst churches of the seven that are mentioned in Revelation. Many theologians actually believe that the long term prophesy applies to the general church of today. With what I was reminded of in my readings last night, I sadly agree with them.

Laodicea literally translates to something like “People’s opinions,” or “People judged.” Some have even stated that it can be translated as “The will of the people.”

Think about this meaning and the fact that this type of church is considered to be one of the worst.

What do you see when you read about the different denominations. They started because of division and people wanted to change a few things that they didn’t agree with. What about the current issues facing society? Many people who profess a faith in Jesus are ignoring the Bible and are teaching what they want to teach. If I were a betting man, I would venture to say that most people who sit in the pews of the churches around the world don’t actually know what the Bible has to say. They rely on the person in the pulpit and don’t read it for themselves.

I have read the warnings that have been given to the church in Laodicea, the church based on people’s opinions. Frankly, I am scared to death to be outside of God’s Word for I know what awaits those who preach the will of the people instead of God’s Will.

Are we the prophesied church of Laodicea? Can we escape what is to come? Can we repent and turn into a church based on God’s Word?

Thankfully, we know that there will be those who overcome. It will take more than sitting in a pew for an hour and accepting whatever the preacher says as truth. We must read God’s Word. We must live, eat, sleep and breathe God’s Word. We must hold each other accountable and not allow people’s opinions to dictate the truth that we know to be God’s truth.

It is important to remember that God’s Word never changes! People and their opinions do.

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery