Revelation 3 - Steve Wiggins Daily Devotional

“The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Genesis of G_d’s creation says: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of My mouth.” Revelation 3:15-16

What a bummer to be the church of Laodicea! They are forever known as the “lukewarm” church.

I have performed over 1000 concerts around the world. Most of them were in congregational ministry settings. Sadly, I have seen far too many “lukewarm” ministries.

Here’s what I mean. Let’s say a preacher moves to a city. He gathers, a group of believers and buys a building, sound equipment and advertises to the community, “Come!” But when people show up, the preacher never teaches the Bible so it could be understood in a comprehensive way; he never exposes sin, never warns of the coming wrath or challenges people to believe in Yeshua.

Afraid of scaring people away, that pastor chooses to only highlight the positive aspects of the gospel…love, acceptance, and peace. While this approach may draw a sizeable crowd with interesting topics, highly involved productions and activities, nobody’s life is ever “transformed”. The congregation eventually becomes more like a Bible-themed country club, without the benefit of the golf course and tennis courts.

That’s a lukewarm church. It’s not completely “Cold”, because it utilizes Biblical principles. But it’s not “Hot”, either, because it denies the power & the passion of God’s Ruach (Spirit) to move boldly.

While it’s fairly easy to understand why G_d would want people to be Hot with zeal, why would He wish anyone were Cold? I believe G_d would desire a person were Cold, because a Cold person is under no delusion that they are saved!

Cold people live for themselves. They’re in the World and they know it. A Cold person has a higher probability of becoming a believer, because when confronted with the gospel, they can compare it to their lives and see a marked difference. Eventually, they may hear the gospel, backed-up by the white-hot life of a passionate believer. In response, they would be more likely to trade their Worldliness for G_d’s righteousness, through faithfully following Yeshua. And I pray you would do today! Believe.

“But if it doesn’t please you to worship the L_rd, choose for yourselves today …” Joshua 24:15

Blessings,
~Steve Wiggins, Associate Leader, Worship Leader
Shuvah Yisrael
Daily Devotional, Monday, December 16, 2013