Lukewarm Coffee

If you have known me for awhile or read this blog for a period of time, you know that I really like coffee.

Coffee is one of my favorite drinks, especially in the mornings, at a brunch, after supper...I don't think there is a wrong time to have a cup of coffee.

I am not much of a fan of iced coffee.

I like my coffee either really hot or frozen like a Starbucks frap.

I usually drink two cups in the mornings. On the days where I am really tired or groggy, it may take three.

Have you ever been reading or writing or maybe even watching TV and you set your cup of coffee down? It might have just been a few minutes or you may have gotten so distracted by what you were reading that you forgot all about your coffee. It's not hard to do.

The coffee drops in temperature while it sits. When you pick it up, you are expecting that next sip to be like the last one. You are ready for that steaming, hot deliciousness. Then it happens. You lift the cup to your mouth and you sip...room temperature coffee.

At this point, your brain tells you that this is the most horrible thing you have ever tasted and you want to spit it out. (Not a good idea unless you were planning on cleaning your kitchen or living room anyway.)

Room temperature coffee is not hot. It is not cold. It is disgusting.

Room temperature coffee reminds me of Revelation 3 where Jesus is talking to the church of Laodicea. The church had lost its focus. They were so wrapped up in doing things themselves that they figured they could maintain doing church by themselves. They were not hot. They were not on fire. They were not exploding. They were not burning with passion for Christ. They were not cold. They were not freezing. They were not dead. They were not shutting down the church and calling it quits. They were just trying to keep up appearance by continuing to do what they have always done.

They were lukewarm. They were room temperature. They were maintaining. They were happy with the way things were and did not want to change. In fact, they were so detestable, that Jesus says that because they are neither hot nor cold, he will spit them out of his mouth (Revelation 3:16).

I pray that we will burn with a fire, a passion for Christ that will be blazing hot and we will be confident and bold in Christ and his Great Commission. Let us not back down and not be afraid to risk it all for the sake of the Gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16). Let us blaze a trail of fire that others can follow straight to the Cross.

This is really about our hearts.

Our lives are supposed to be a sweet aroma to the Lord.

When you lose focus off of Christ, when you stop praying, when you quit giving, when you stop pouring your lives out as an offering, when you quit being obedient your life becomes like stagnant water.

Stagnant water stinks.

Like coffee, we want to be steaming hot. We want to burn with a passion and devotion for Jesus. This begs the question: How can we become steaming hot again if we are lukewarm and stagnant?

Rekindle the passion.

The only person that can change your heart from lukewarm to steaming hot is Jesus. You have to take the first step. You have to want a relationship with your Redeemer King. You have to want to follow in the footsteps of your Rabbi. You have to want to be in the presence of your Shepherd.

Cultivate the relationship. Begin again. Start over.

Remember the fire you once had when you burned so bright, the passion you had for Jesus could blind somebody? That is the kind of passion we want to rekindle.

Cultivating is a process. It is not instant. Have you ever had instant coffee that tasted good?

Like roasting and brewing coffee is a process, cultivating your relationship with Jesus is a process.

It is never too late to start. Start now.

May your life as a christian be a steaming, hot, fresh cup of coffee. May your life be warm and inviting to others. Live in such a way that people begin to ask questions and want to know about your life.

Use your life as a tool to point others to Jesus.

Live intentionally.

Grace and peace to you lions.

Pastor Jimmy