God gave me a vision of a church full of people who had no revelation of God's word and no power to live the life he gives or change the world around them. He showed me these people leaving the church and going into the world; then I lost track of them, they were no different from everyone else.

My response was one of sadness that they missed out on all God had for them. God's response was a little different: "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold or hot: I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth" (Rev.3: 15-16; KJV).

Two stark verses but so worthy of our attention. Lukewarm is neither hot nor cold; these are the churchgoers sitting on the fence. Sitting on a fence must be uncomfortable. These people feel being in church is good insurance but they are not sold out for God. I am not sure how people can claim to be Christian if they are not sold out for God; if they are not hot. If people are cold, then at least they are honest and God can meet them at that point.

To be lukewarm is to be deceived, full of pride, trusting in our own resources (Rev 3:17), with no real perceived need of God. Notice, in verse 20 of chapter 3 of the book of Revelation, that Jesus pleads with people in the church to open the door of their lives to him, and take note he is addressing the church. We need him; only he is the source of abundant life (John 10:10) and the power to change us (Rom 8:11).

Please pass this on. All rights reserved.

Check out our web site ( www.onthewayinlove.com ) for information on our book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training”, including how to purchase it and also to see more encouraging Bible based blogs. Please recommend our book to others.