Lessons from luke warm tea - 'Strength begins when comfort ends!'
Was just at the 6am prayer meeting with the mighty Dodi & Nath, wonderful half hour we had, I was so caught up in it I forgot to drink my tea - and by the time I took a mouthful of course it was luke warm - I wanted to spit it out of my mouth like in that passage in Revelation, but needed hydration so glugged it down! But it prompted me to look up that passage - and the next verse is this 'You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. [18] I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.' - it's almost the curse of living in an affluent part of the world where we live lives of comfort, that dulls us spiritually - no wonder there are communities of monks and the like that left comfort behind and chose a life of discipline and poverty and devotion - God does reward us though when we make those choices! I love this verse in the NKJV - in the NIV it says 'earnestly', but the NKJV it says 'diligently' - being earnest is not enough, we need diligence! I saw a meme a while back that said passion is all very well, that will get you started, but it takes DISCIPLINE to run the race and finish well!! The glory's not in starting, but continuing to the end...
Friends in church have a son Barny Lee who inherited a rare neurological debililtating condition from his mother that affected him at a much younger age, and so while he was able he decided to defy this condition by doing an epic walk around the entire coast of the mainland UK raising money for research into this condition - his journey was interrupted by covid, so he went back to finish it later on, but having followed his progress and the challenges he faced and embraced, including climbing the odd mountain in his path, I love this quote he ended one such mountain climing episode with - 'Strength begins when comfort ends'!
May we all find the strength to leave our comfort zones and step out of the boat onto the stormy waters...
Hebrews 11:6 NKJV
[6] But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
https://bible.com/bible/114/heb.11.6.NKJV
[15] I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! [16] So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. [17] You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. [18] I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
https://bible.com/bible/111/rev.3.15-18.NIV
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