Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

Soaked in God's Word, Sprouting Seeds of Faith

Keep Moving Forward

by 2 Comments

Winter finally rolled into the south – with a vengeance! It was bone chilling cold, windy and dreary. The sun refused to peek out, even for a minute. The day was a burrow-under-the-warm-blanket kind of day. With a good book.

Sadly, I hadn’t exercised in days, and my body was letting me know. The aches and pains of being a slug were screaming at me. Off to the treadmill I went. 

Opting for the high intensity interval program, I started off walking at a snail’s pace. So, I upped the speed. A few minutes later, I realized my mistake: increasing the speed at the beginning, also increased it for the full workout. I was actually having to run instead of simply walking briskly. Horrors!! I couldn’t catch my breath. I was ready to quit and crawl back under my warm blanket.

Suddenly, in my flailing run, my arm hit the emergency cord and pulled it out of it’s socket. The treadmill stopped. Finally!  Exercise is hard work, and I was tired. Now was my chance! I could stop.

Or, I could keep moving forward. 

My spiritual walk can be like that at times. I childishly think I’ve served enough. Shouldn’t the younger folks take over now? Can’t I just be a pew sitter again? I obstinately will not sprout and grow, opting to hide underground instead. I just want to coast.

It isn’t just me. I think we all go through those times of spiritual laziness, when we just don’t want to move. We’re comfortable. We’re lazy. We’re slothful.

Scripture warns us against against this:

   “so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Hebrews 6:12 ESV

Sluggish means lazy, slothful, slow and apathetic. It’s as dangerous in our walk as being lukewarm or spiritually fatigued. Maybe even more so, because it’s a choice we make. That day on the treadmill, I chose to continue. I was taking care of my physical health. 

On the other hand, when we choose spiritual sluggishness, we become stagnant. We’re not moving forward in our walk with Jesus. We’re remaining immature. 

How do we avoid becoming sluggish? Well, it isn’t about adding more to our spiritual to do list. It isn’t about doing at all. It’s about becoming. 

The author of the book of Hebrews was encouraging the recipients of the letter to continue to grow and progress in their faith, to persevere until the end. How?

“And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end” Hebrews 6:11 ESV

Earnestness, or diligence is used in this verse to infer moving toward something. We grow and progress forward in our faith by moving toward Jesus. The closer we get to Jesus, the more we are being transformed into His image. We become spiritually mature and heavenly minded. Through faith and patience, we inherit God’s promises.

God will carry us along to maturity. But as believers, we also have to do our part. We have to put one foot in front of the other to move forward, not back. Becoming spiritually stronger, we’ll be able to stay the course and finish the race God set before us.

-What hinders your spiritual growth?

-What can you do to continue to move forward?

-Are you moving from spiritual milk to solid food (Hebrews 5:12, 1 Peter 2:2)?

 

 

 

We become what we behold.  ~William Blake

Until next time,

Ellen

Do you know Jesus?

The Dangers of Hollandaise

by 2 Comments

At a recent women’s event, we played several fun games. One of the them involved putting a tongue depressor in your mouth and balancing pieces of candy on it. One person at the table was designated to be the tongue depressor holder. Several of us said “Absolutely not! I don’t like a tongue depressor in my mouth. It makes me gag!”

Don’t you know, I felt bad that no one wanted to be the designated gagger, so I said Yes.

It seemed to take forever to balance those candies on that little piece of wood stuck to my tongue. All the while, I was trying not to choke and gag. Finally it was over, and I spit that piece of wood out of my mouth as quickly as I could! 

“So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.” Revelation 3:16

After that game, I knew exactly how Jesus felt about the church in Laodicea. He wanted to spit them out of His mouth. Why? Because they are lukewarm. Neither hot nor cold. Emetic (an agent that induces vomiting; something good for little more than inducing vomiting). Tepid.

Tepid: lacking in passion, force or zest; marked by an absence of enthusiasm or conviction. 

A lukewarm Christian is comfortable, complacent, and bland.

Kinda reminds me of Hollandaise sauce. What? You don’t see the connection? Hollandaise sauce has no color (bland), no fire (bland), and just sits there on top of the food (complacent). It’s a Tony Chachere’s wannabe. 

The church at Laodicea was a materially wealthy church. This led them to become self-sufficient. Why, they had all the wealth they needed! What could Jesus give them? Sadly, their self-reliance led to pride, which turned into apathy. They were complacent. They had become spiritual Hollandaise.

Spiritual complacency and becoming lukewarm are slow and gradual. They creep into our lives and we may not notice immediately. How can we guard against becoming lukewarm, self-sufficient, and prideful? We can begin with an inventory of our hearts.

 

Here are a few questions to ask:

  • Is my passion for Jesus still burning hot? If not, why?
  • Is my prayer time fervent or bland? Is it all about me, me, me, or do I intercede on behalf of others? Do I adore and praise        God, give Him thanks and offer confession for my apathy?
  • Do I read scripture to check it off my to-do list, or to know Jesus more and more?
  • Have I become self-sufficient or do I rely on guidance from Holy Spirit each and every minute of each and every day?
  • Am I bored with church? Am I just going through the motions of church attendance and service to the body of Christ?

Take some time today to evaluate your walk with the Lord. Pray about ways to add fire and spice back into your walk. Aim to be a Tony Chachere’s Christian, not a Hollandaise Christian!