My Goals in Life.

-To live radically in the name of Jesus Christ.

-To proclaim His name above all other names.

-To delight in bringing Him praise and in giving Him glory.

-To live a life worthy of the calling that has been place on my life.

-To honor His will and to put it above my own.

-To trust that the Lord is good and His word will endure forever.

-To find my peace in Him though the storms of my life may rage on.

-To love others above myself and count my life as nothing without Jesus.

-To reflect His glory solely in all that I do.

-To be childlike in my faith.

-To delight in Him and Him alone, as He is the only thing worth delighting in.

These are only a few of my goals in life.

But to sum it up, here is my final goal....

To be like Jesus.

Forever His,

Rachel

"I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart FREE." Palm 119:32

They say a picture says a thousand words.

Well, that verse just painted a picture for me.

And this is what it says:

JESUS = FREEDOM

Forever His,

Rachel

Warning: Do not be Lukewarm.

I haven't blogged in quite a while.

Life has just caught up with me I guess.

I could tell you pages and pages worth of thoughts I have had over the past couple of months.

But I will spare you.

With a sense of urgency, I will tell you of my thoughts of late.

You probably have already read the tagline.

"Warning: Do not be Lukewarm."

That is what I have come to warn you about!

It is what the Father has been pressing on my heart MAJOR this week.

First, it came with a video I watched. This guy talking about how many Christians go through life "thinking" they are Christians, but continue to live in sin. They pray the prayer. They go to church. They believe in God.

I have a newsflash: Even the devil believes in God. 

"You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder." James 2:19

Sorry. 

Try again.

Then, I was just sitting in my car today and staring out over Athens. 

Just looking around. At EVERYTHING.

And thinking how on fire I was for Jesus coming to college because I knew Athens would be a place of spiritual warfare and temptation. 

And it was!

For a time...

But now I have gotten comfortable.

And so have so many other Christians!

We live our lives in COMPLACENCY.

Lukewarm.

Comfortable.

Unwilling to step outside our Jesus circles to be with those who NEED Jesus.

To be with those who Jesus came to save, the tax collectors, murderers, rapists, liars, self-righteous, poor, hungry, PEOPLE. 

I say this with SUCH urgency.

DO NOT BE LUKEWARM.

Jesus said,

"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

He wasn't bruised, beaten, torn to shreds, spit upon, put through physical, emotional, spiritual anguish so that we could PRAY A PRAYER.

No. 

Do not be fooled.

Complacency is probably the Devil's Easiest and most Obscure tool for bringing "Christian's" away from the Lord. 

To be Lukewarm. To be comfortable. To fail to deny ourselves daily and follow Him.

Do not forget the parable of the sower.....

"The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away." 

Matthew 13:20-21

These are the type of "Christians" that never know the Lord. 

They receive Him with "joy" at first.

They pray the prayer.

They go to church.

They are on "fire for God" for a short time.

But they do not last.

Their hearts grow lukewarm.

They shy away from living on fire.

They fall back into sin.

They are afraid and so they stay complacent.

Do. Not. Be. This. "Christian".

Because I fear for your life.

I fear that on the day you get to heaven Jesus will tell you this.....

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"

Matthew 7:21-23

I don't care if you go to church.

I don't care if you pray daily.

I don't care if you've go to the soup kitchen every Sunday, go on mission trips every summer, and always read your Bible.

That makes you a good person.

That does not necessarily make you a Christian.

Be on fire. 

Or don't give a crap.

But do not pretend.

Do not just go through the motions.

I leave you with this.....

  "You women who are so complacent, 
       rise up and listen to me; 
       you daughters who feel secure, 
       hear what I have to say!

  In little more than a year 
       you who feel secure will tremble; 
       the grape harvest will fail, 
       and the harvest of fruit will not come.

  Tremble, you complacent women; 
       shudder, you daughters who feel secure! 
       Strip off your clothes, 
       put sackcloth around your waists."

Isaiah 32:9-11

The time is coming near.

Tremble, you who are complacent.

You who feel secure.

Because He is coming back as a Lion.

So be on fire.

Do. Not. Be. Lukewarm.

Forever His, 

Rachel