Revelation 3:15-16: A Story about Temperature

I have heard counsel many times about how important it is not to be lukewarm in your faith. You need to act on that faith and help it to grow instead of letting it stagnate. Well, this week as we were studying Revelation, we discussed the scripture verse where this came from.

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of thy mouth." -Rev 3:15-16

First, to better show how this scripture can apply to each of our lives, I'll explain some of the background. James is describing some springs in the city of Laodicea (who he is writing to in these verses). The water from these springs, which was once hot, is lukewarm by the time that it gets to the city. In addition, the water often became choked off on its way to the city because of the build up of bacteria due to the minerals in the water as well as its temperature. Bacteria loves to grow in lukewarm temperatures. I learned this as I was working in food service, as we are told to keep food either at cold or hot temperatures. If the food's temperature is in the middle, bacteria grows much faster than it would otherwise. It is the same for this water. 

It amazes me just how powerful this scripture is. If we are lukewarm in our faith, there is a much higher chance that bacteria, or things that lessen our faith, will be able to grow and multiply. And, if this happens, we can become choked off from God and from the revelation that comes through Him, just as the water became blocked. If we are lukewarm, we also run the risk of being "spued out of God's mouth." The word spued here is actually a nicer way of saying vomited, and vomiting is a violent rejection of what the stomach has ingested. 

I don't think that anyone would choose to be violently rejected by God or to cut him or herself off from God. However, this is what often happens, and it is easy to find oneself in the category of being lukewarm. We all get busy in our lives and priorities change. Sometimes it is hard to keep God and our faith as the number one priority. It takes a lot of time and effort. However, if we remember to keep our priorities straight, we can avoid being lukewarm and the negative side effects that come with it. 

1 Peter 1-2: A Story about Rising Above Temptation

In 1 Peter 1, Peter explains how we should rise above the lusts of the world, saying in verse 14-15: "As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lust in your ignorance; But as he which called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation." We live in a society that is abounding with lusts. Different temptations lurk around almost every corner, and taking part in these has been increasingly seen as acceptable by the world we live in. With all of this going on around us, how can we stay above these temptations so that we can become better followers of Christ, "holy in all manner of conversation?" We discussed a couple of ways in class that we could better do this. 

1. Don't let your mind be idle/blank. If your mind is idle, it is much easier for temptation to come to you or for you to do things that are not entirely beneficial to your spiritual well-being. As we discussed this, I realized that I recently have let my mind be idle, or even wanted it to be. After spending a long day on school work, I get home and browse some time wasting internet sites with the purpose of not having to think about anything at all. Because I allow this to happen, I can give over control for things that are on the internet or thoughts that I don't come up with to occupy my mind instead. 

2. Don't dwell upon/rationalize temptations. The second thing that we discussed that connects to this first point is not to go back and obsess about things that we have been tempted with in our lives. If we do this, we put too much focus on our temptations and might end up trying to rationalize away the temptation. Christ gave us an example of what to do with this when He was faced with the devil's temptations. He did not pause and think about those temptations that Satan presented Him with. He instantly refuted Satan's offers. If we do the same, we will always be stronger than those things that we are tempted with. Initially, as stated in 1 Corinthians 10:13, we are always stronger than our temptations. However, if we let them stick around for too long, we flip this around and may end up giving into temptation. 

3. Be spiritually born again. This point is mentioned in 1 Peter 1:23, where Peter says, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible..." If we are truly spiritually reborn, we will have a greater resistance to the temptations that we are faced with in day to day life. 

4. Go back to the basics. This fourth point can be seen in 1 Peter 2:2. Peter states here, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." When we find that we are struggling with temptations, we shouldn't focus on those parts of the gospel that can be more complex and difficult to understand, but we should go back to the basics. By simplifying and going back to the basics of the gospel that we know well, we can form a better foundation on which to stand when facing a temptation that we are struggling with. 

These are just a few of the many suggestions that the scriptures give that can help us deal with temptations in our lives. As society becomes more and more accepting of sin and we are faced with more temptations, even in the bright light of day, following such suggestions can help us to have more success in our efforts to follow Christ's example. 

James 1:5 A Story of Asking God

You may have seen an image that looks similar to this floating around the internet in the past year or so. I saw one of these on my cousin's Facebook page a while back and thought that it was interesting. 

As interesting as it is, it is also a very relevant statement for our time. In James 1:5, James clearly states:

"If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally."

This is very interesting. If we want to gain knowledge about what path we need to be on in life or what is true and what is not, our first thoughts shouldn't be to turn to the internet or other sources of knowledge. As we all know, things found on the internet are not always the most reliable. But God is 100% reliable, and He can help us to find the answers that we are seeking throughout our lives. He is there for us and would love to answer our questions, but we have to put our trust in Him and not leave it completely in the hands of other sources such as the internet.

With all of our recent technological growth, it's hard not to find it easier to just go to the internet and look something up. I have found myself at some points becoming so frustrated with not being able to come to a decision on what I wanted to do for a career/major/etc. and actually typed in the words onto the Google search bar: "What should I do with my life?" Of course, I wasn't expecting to get an answer-or, if I got one, to get the correct answer for me. But I did searches on the internet about different things before I really turned to prayer and tried to get the answer from God, who will give us the correct answers all the time. 

Even though we, as a society, have developed many methods of gaining knowledge, we have not outgrown our need for God. We will never outgrow this need, because He can take us to heights we would never be able to achieve on our own. But we have to remember to continue to rely on Him instead of "relying on the arm of the flesh."

2 Timothy 1:7 A Story of Living by Faith instead of Fear

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Tim 1:7)

This scripture was brought to my mind multiple times throughout the week, as I heard it discussed both in my New Testament class as well as in a church meeting today. It is a very important scripture for each of us in our lives because it reminds us not to live by fear. Instead, we need to strive to have faith in our lives and live by that instead.

If you listed out the types of "spirit" that God has given us, you would come up with a list of positive, strengthening things. On top of Paul's list of power, love, and a sound mind, you could add hope, peace, joy, and the list goes on. These are all things that are in direct opposition to the doubt and fear that Satan would have be our constant companions. The devil would have us feel that we are insignificant and worth nothing. He would like to cause us to be down on ourselves by having us focus on the past and mistakes we may have made. The spirit that God gives to us can help us to face the future with hope.

It is important for each of us to face our future with faith and with the spirit that God brings into our lives. Many times, as I have tried to make decisions in my life, I have been faced with the feeling that I have to make a decision right at that moment and that if I choose wrong, all will be lost. At these times, I have been filled with anxiety about making a decision. This scripture shows us that it is vital to not make such decisions while we are under the influence of the spirit of fear because it is not of God. Instead, we should make decisions when we have the spirit of a sound mind, which God can give to us.

Ephesians 2:14: A Story about Walls

"For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us." 
Background

In the temple at Jerusalem, there are many different areas that those who want to worship that belong to different groups cannot cross. The first of these walls of separation that the gentiles were not allowed to cross. Basically, if they crossed this boundary, they could be killed because they were seen as being unclean.

The separation wall

The next area of separation was at the Court of the Women. Israelite women were allowed to go here, but were not allowed to go any further into the temple. They were not allowed to go past what was known as the Nicanor gate.

Court of the Women

There is also a boundary at the court of the Israelite's where those who were not priest were not allowed to pass. These "walls" of separation continue on and on until you get to the area of the temple known as the holy of holies, where only the high priest could pass through on one day of the year.

How can it apply to our lives? 

After Christ was crucified, the veil hiding the holy of holies, the most sacred of all the separations, was torn. This meant that anyone who was walking by could see into this most sacred place, where the presence of God was said to be able to dwell. "He hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us." 

Christ breaks down the barriers that keep us away from our Heavenly Father. This happened in after His crucifixion, and it can happen in each of our lives. Christ wants each of us to be able to be in God's presence, and He can help us to do this. The most significant way Christ has broken down the walls between us and God was through the atonement. Through His atonement, Christ became a mediator for each of us. He paid the price for our sins so that we might be able to stand in God's presence.

If we let Him, Christ can bring us closer to our Father in Heaven, which is something that would extremely bless each of our lives. Neither Christ nor Heavenly Father want us to be strangers. They love us and want us to be closer to them. Thanks to Christ, we are able to be brought closer to God.

Acts 27: A Story about Adversity

Throughout Acts 27, we find Paul encountering one dangerous event after another on his journey to be judged in Rome. Through this fascinating tale there are many life lessons to be found, particularly about dealing with trials.

1. Listen to prophets and promptings

In Acts 27:10, Paul gives a prophecy to those who are to travel on the journey with him warning them that the trip will prove dangerous to their lives. However, he is quickly ignored. What does he know? He was just a prisoner. Besides, the captain surely knew more about the ship than Paul did and he thought it would be fine. In addition, the wind was perfect for sailing the very short distance they needed to travel to reach a spot that was much better for spending the winter than where they were currently at. So, they ignored Paul. 

Because of this, the crew and the prisoners embarked on a perilous ship voyage that resulted in the destruction of the ship and almost of their lives. There are many times in our lives that we may be told to do something by prophets or by the Spirit, and they may not make sense. You don't always receive the why to why you should do something. Even if it seems strange and doesn't make sense (such as Paul's warning at a time when the weather was perfect), you should still follow this counsel because, if you go against the word of God, there will always be some type of consequence.

Though some trials can be brought about as a consequence of ignoring the word of God and can be avoided by following it, others can be brought about to test us and make us stronger. Whatever the cause, you can deal with such struggles through both simplifying your life and waiting out the storm. 

2. Simplify

As the crew traveled over the stormy seas, they began to fear for their chances of survival. As they became more worried, they began to toss things over the side of the ship to lighten the load. These are things they probably thought of as important a few days ago when they were on the shore, but in the end they were things that the crew members didn't really need and that only weighed them down. This is an example of something that we can do when times are tough. We can simplify our lives by getting rid of those things that aren't really important and focus on the things that are. This can help us to feel less overwhelmed and have a better chance of surviving with our sanity intact. 

3. Wait out the Storm

In Acts 27:29, the crewmen had just discovered that they were approaching land. They were in the midst of a horrific storm, in unfamiliar territory. It was probably a scary experience to be there in the dark during this time, not knowing what they were headed towards. How did the crew deal with this situation? They threw down their and "wished for the day." Sometimes, when life gets overwhelming and you feel as if you have lost control, you just have to hold on, ride out the storm, and wait for the morning. But here's the good news: the morning will come. Or, "Tomorrow Comes" if you are really into Les Miserables. And it came for the ship men as well when, in the morning, they were able to make it to land and no one lost their lives. All was well again.

The men on this journey survived the terrible experience that they went through. Likewise, we can have a better chance of making it through our times of deepest despair if we listen to the word of God, simplify our lives, and do the best we can until the danger passes. 

Romans 8: A Story of God's Love and Grace

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35, 37, and 39)

This set of verses written by Paul to the Romans (and to each of us) is extremely powerful. Its main message is that nothing can separate you from God's love. If you make a mistake, no matter how bad it is, God's love will still be there for you. It is something that will always be there for you and that you do not have to earn. Each of us is a spirit child of God and He is our father and loves us.

In my New Testament class this week, my professor used an analogy to our personal lives of Christ's love and grace. The analogy was to think of your children or, if this doesn't apply, think of your relationship with your parents. Sometimes parents ask their children to do things, such as chores around the house. If the child asked to do the chore is lazy or rebels and does not complete the task, it does not mean that they are not the parents' children. As my professor phrased it, even if the child did do the job, his father doesn't say, "Good work Johnny, if you keep this up, someday you will be my son." That would be ridiculous, because he is already the father's son.

Likewise, we are all God's children-we don't have to earn being a child of God. We don't even have to earn God's love or work to keep it. It is a constant and will be there for us always. If God didn't love us, why else would He send his only begotten son to suffer and die for each of us so we could have the chance of returning to be with Him?

And we don't have to earn the grace that was given to us through Christ's atonement either. We  are sufficient for his grace. If you look up the words "earn" and "deserve" in the topical guide of the Bible, it won't be there. This is because nothing you can do will earn you Christ's grace or help you to deserve it. Like God's love, it is there for you always.

I'll just end with this quote by Dieter F. Uchtdorf that pretty much sums everything up:

“Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God's love encompasses us completely. ... He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken.”