“To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless…. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.” ~Paul
Which line did you get in when salvation was offered you? I just bet most of us didn’t choose the line described by Paul and then we are surprised when life gets ugly. I wonder if I would have accepted Christ as my Savior if I’d read the fine print?
God Spots 
this is where the dark spirit of LUKEWARM settles in…we want the ‘HAPPY SALVATION FEELING’ we want the ‘JESUS SAVES ME FEELING’ we want all the perks without the sacrifice…. ask around random people to see who has fasted lately, or ever???? I’ve asked people who’ve have been CHRIST FOLLOWERS their entire lives, and they say, oh I’ve never done THAT before…. why? my guess, it takes discipline annd sacrifice…. LUKEWARM ….
The only cure I know is the Spirit transforming my heart to want God more than I want the better life now. It’s happening, and getting easier to take the fine print in the meantime.
Hi TJ and Colleen. The whole concept of suffering in order to receive God’s best is foreign to us. Especially to us as blessed Americans. I have come to believe suffering can be one of life’s most positive events.
Too bad there is no room for suffering in the lukewarm’s life. It may be a surprise to the lukewarm when God says, “What was your name again? I don’t see it written here.”
“I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” ~Paul
Ok Ok yes…we are called to suffering as Christians…that is a PART of what God calls us to. When we go deep with Him we will discover that is a part of it, but only a part. I also have the Happy Salvation Feeling and the Jesus Saves Me Feeling and that is FINE. There is JOY in that and a sense of “I’ve got something REALLY good here that most people don’t have, and you know, I really want them to have it too”.
Are we really saying that Christians that don’t fast are lukewarm? Doesn’t sound right to me. God calls each of us down a different path where He grows us spiritually and only He can judge who is lukewarm.
Hi Lisa. Thank you. Always good to have an optimist in the crowd. Ha! And yep I agree, the wonderful sense of knowing you have Jesus and a story to tell, makes it all worthwhile. God Bless. archi