Baby, it's cold outside!

Matt 24:12
“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,”

Revelations 3:15-16
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 1So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

To quote the popular song “Baby, it’s cold outside.” Atlanta is experiencing the same cold front that is hitting most of the United States. My drive-time temp this morning was 19 degrees with a windchill at 5 degrees. The radio weather forecast yesterday morning said that Atlanta could experience up to 15 days of below freezing temps. It requires a little attention to attire and a deliberate effort to be and stay warm.

I bundled up with a sweater, hat, scarf, gloves and coat. I was deliberate about dressing for the weather…it’s cold outside! According to Matt. 24:13 it is always cold out. People’s hearts are growing cold because of the wickedness of society. How then should that impact my spiritual and mental dress? First, I need to stay HOT. I need to light the fires of passion and desire in my life…how can I warm others if I am cold. John says to the Laodicean church in Revelation 3:15-16 that we need to pick a temperature. Either hold or cold, we can’t be both! We’re repulsive when we’re lukewarm. If God finds us repulsive, what do those around us think? Second, others need to feel my heat. It’s a wicked generation and cold-hearts abound. When it’s cold, heat attracts! It’s attractive!

I think about people that have passion/heat and how they can and do attract others to their causes. Think of Dave Ramsey’s passion for debt-freedom…it’s infectious. Think of Tony Horton and P90X, I am hooked and I know of a multitude of others that captured that passion. The list goes on…plain and simple, heat/passion attracts.

I got it! Now, how do I adjust my heat? Get close to the flame! Deuteronomy 4:24 “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire.” I need to spend time warming next to the fire that can consume me and burn away the imperfections in my life so my fire burns hotter and shines brighter.

Baby, it’s cold outside. Warm next to the fire of God!

ME, MY, MINE!

Luke 22:42b
“…yet not my will, but yours be done."

I Corinthians 13:5
“It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”

I am self-centered and self-seeking. That’s as much a statement of fact as it is a confession of sin. The problem is that I know that and I have known it for some time…that’s how this particular sin operates.

Knowing is like smoking, enough scientific and medical evidence exists to show smoking could kill, but that doesn’t stop people from smoking. People stop smoking when they get this “desire” to stop and not before. My father smoked for 35 years and one day decided to quit. He tried the patch for 1 day and after that day went cold turkey. Why? An intense desire to change.

Knowing is not good enough. For a self-centered or self-seeking person, the recognition of this is not necessary seen as a fault. If it’s all about me, why do I care about everyone/anyone else? While I would love to blame society…pass the buck/blame, I simply cannot blame anyone but myself.

It’s not about blame or fault though! It’s about change…life-altering change! It’s about desire! It’s about passion! It’s about small-steps! It’s about a holy God’s mighty working in my life! Today is a day of change and transformation.

Why change? It’s a must! Even Jesus recognized it was a must when he asked for the cup (upcoming death) to be taken from him. It was about his Father’s will and not his own. (Luke 22.42) Paul echoed it as a must when defining LOVE in I Corinthians 13:5 by plainly and clearly stating ‘love is not self-seeking.’ The point is further made in the first & greatest commandment and the second “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.. Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt 22:37-39) If love is defined as ‘not self-seeking’ by Paul and we are commanded to LOVE GOD and LOVE OTHERS…how can I ever truly love God or others if I am self-seeking? It’s been echoed over and over in my recent readings…it’s not about me, it’s about others.

I want to love without bounds and serve without reservation…change is in order!

IT’S A MUST!

Day ONE

I feel like it's the first day of the rest of my life. This past year has been a great milestone in my life and it has set me on a new path with a greater passion.

For too long I said, "I'd like to do this or that," but never taken the steps to make it happen. This year I decided that I would "do" and not just "talk." It wasn't a resolution, but rather it was a goal a new direction. The end product, which is still a work in progress, didn't happen overnight. It was small do-able steps. As each step produced results, I began to take greater steps. Each step required a new level of commitment and suffering, but each step's subsequent result was greater than the previous step. I continue to set, achieve and create new goals. The process doesn't end!

While the outward transformation has been most evident, I am thankful that my God has used this opportunity to show me the need to transform my inward man. How do I transform the inward man? Small do-able steps! Not a new year's resolution (those are easily broken and quickly forgotten), but a goal and a new direction. What if I don't meet my goal or achieve my step in the defined time...I reset it and keep going. It's about the overall process.

God "Create in me a clean heart!"