Recently, my sweet friend from life group reminded me of a verse out of Revelation that absolutely rocked my world a few years ago. It’s one of 3 verses that I remember encountering early in my Christian walk that absolutely changed me AND terrified me.
“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.” (Revelation 3:15-16, NIV)
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21, ESV)
“You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.” (James 2:19, NLT)
The reason these verses terrified me is because I had been professing my faith and yet nothing in my life showed what I believed. I confessed it, but didn’t live it. My spirit was willing, but my flesh was weak (Mark 14:38).
-What good is it to believe in Heaven and yet live like Hell?
-What good is it calling him LORD if we don’t live like He is LORD?
-What good is it to believe IN God, but not believe God?
-What good is knowledge about God if we don’t really know Him?
-What good is it to read, just to have read?
-What good is it to study the bible if we don’t let it change us?
-What good is our faith if it doesn’t lead us to obedience?
These verses terrified me. These verses led me to truly examine my heart, my faith, my profession before the LORD almighty. I was utterly convicted of how I was living my life and led to repentance by a gracious Father who wanted more for my life. I was in torment of living one foot in the world, one foot out. I wanted Christ, but I also wanted all the other things the world had to offer. I was overwhelmed with guilt and hypocrisy every day. Until, finally I decided to surrender. By the grace of God I heard the words like the fishermen of long ago, a whisper in my heart that said “Follow Me.” I knew in those moments that my belief about God, my belief in God, moved to knowing God and His way of life.
My plea and my prayer for all of us, is that we would truly KNOW HIM, abide in Him, and pursue Him. That we would not hear those painful words in Matthew 7:23 “I never knew you, depart from me.” Let’s get back to “knowing Him” so that we can make Him known. Let’s proclaim Him through word and deed.
Let our faith be genuine, let our actions would match our words, let our love for Him overflow into love for others. He called us from darkness to light, let us live in the light!
Let us know, believe, and be changed.
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