Lukewarmness

So I have been studying Revelation as I lead our girls time at small group. Here are some things God is teaching me...

Revelation starts off with letters to the angels of the 7 churches. The 7 letters to the churches are really neat & scary, but also beneficial to study as an individual and as a member of Christ's body. I know a lot of people are familiar with the letter to Laodicea and the idea of lukewarm water)and Jesus spitting you out)....but I thought John Piper's words on lukewarmness were penetrating and powerful.

"The essence of lukewarmness is the statement, "I need nothing." The lukewarm are spiritually self-satisfied. To find out whether you are among that number, don't look into your head to see if you think that you are needy; rather, look at your prayer life. It doesn't matter what we think in our head, the test of whether we are in bondage to spiritual self-satisfaction is how earnest and frequent and extended our prayers for change are. Do you seek the Lord earnestly and often in secret for deeper knowledge of Christ, for greater earnestness in prayer, for more boldness in witness, for sweeter joy in the Holy Spirit, for deeper sorrow for sin, for warmer compassion for the lost, for more divine power to love? Or is the coolness and perfunctoriness of your prayer life exhibit that you are spiritually self-satisfied and lukewarm? " (to see the whole article go to this link- http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ScriptureIndex/17/373_How_to_Buy_Gold_When_Youre_Broke/ )

That statement really got me thinking. I hope it stirs your heart as well.

One thing that I think really shows Gods character in all of these letters is that he gave warnings to the churches. He could have easily, with one flick of the wrist, blown them all to smithereens. But instead he gave his churches the chance to repent...to turn away from their sin and iniquity. He did not have to do this, but by his great mercy, he did. I love that character of the Lord....his great mercy. It really is great when we think about our sin and depravity. Anyways, hope this encourages you today. Have a happy monday!