BBD 09.07.15 In the Middle (Classic)
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>
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The Burning
Bush Devotional
Classic
from 2008
09.07.15
In the
Middle
Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” - Luke 9:23 NKJV.
And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write… “I know your
works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So
then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out
of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of
nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and
naked…As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.”
- Revelation 3:14-19 NKJV.
As Christians we should periodically examine our
commitments. Our determination to be faithful to commitments makes up the true
Christian life. Before we can become a Christian, we must commit ourselves to
turn from sin (repentance) and commit ourselves to have Jesus as our Lord and
Savior. Out of the continuation of those commitments flows the Christian life.
Too often after a few years of being a Christian (If not
long before), we see people begin to back away from those original commitments.
They begin to try to find a middle ground between the world and the Lord. We
see many living exactly that way with their lives. They come to church just on
Sunday morning if they come at all. They put on their happy faces and know all
the Christian things to say. But through the week their Christianity has very
little real value to them.
There’s an old saying that is still very true: “If you sit in the middle of the road you will be run over!” If we sit in the middle of the road with our
Christianity we will be run over by life. We may try to blame the Lord for it,
but we really have no one to blame but ourselves. The Bible often warns and
challenges us to living completely, totally for God. Joshua said, “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this
day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were
on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you
dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).” Elijah said, “How long will
you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal,
follow him (1 Kings 18:21).” And our
Lord says to many who make up His church, “I know
your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or
hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit
you out of My mouth (Revelation 3:15-16).”
As human beings we like to think that there are no
absolutes, and that we can have a little of God and little of the world.
However, God thinks in terms of absolutes. You are either totally for God, or
you are totally against Him. Here is how Jesus puts it, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love
the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24).” The result of living in the middle is a lack of life.
Instead of the “abundant life” that Jesus came to give (John 10:10) you will have a sorry substitute and the
substitute life will give you very little peace, and very little joy. Living in
the middle will result in your being like a ship without a rudder being blown
this way and that because the Lord will not be guiding you and directing your
steps. What happens to a ship without a rudder? Eventually, it will be blown
into the rocks or capsized by the waves and destroyed.
Has life run over you? Maybe it is time to get out of the
middle of the road!!
Copyright © 2008-2015. Ed
Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On
June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of those
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Please continue to pray
for our friend Michelle who has had surgery for cancer and is being treated
with chemo. She is now half way through with chemo and will soon have another
PET scan to check the progress of treatment. Thank you for your prayers for
Michelle!!!
Please continue to pray for
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sister). Jeanie has also been experiencing increased pain in her back and side.
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