
Lukewarm Christian Motherhood
I have been a Christian since I was 18 years old. I wish I could say that I have always put the Lord first but the truth is my early years as a Christian looked a lot like my years before becoming saved except I went to church on Sundays.
I was making some changes in my life but I was still very caught up in the ways of the world and exactly what I wanted.
God has really worked on me over the years but when I think of the magnitude of what He has done for me, what I do in return never seems like enough.
I think, if only I committed myself to daily reading and meditating on the Bible since I was 18 how much further I would be in my Christian walk.
If only I listened to the Holy Spirits leading instead of pushing Him away.
I can’t change the past but I can change the the future.
I can be strong and bold in my faith and be obedient to God’s will in my life.
When you start truly living for the Lord and seeing the purpose, the joy and the abundance that comes from living that way it makes you wonder why you ever did it another way.
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Satan.
I remember hearing other Christians blaming satan for certain things in their life. I never used to get it. I am very much a take responsibility for your actions kind of person. Until God started growing my faith and maturing me in my walk with Him.
I know I want to live every day fully for Him but I feel the spiritual warfare. Satan trying to hurt God by hurting His children. Satan preying on my every weakness, filling my head with lies.
I know the truth and when I don’t immerse myself in that daily satan so easily gets in.
Motherhood is hard. And satan uses that against us. He creeps right in and preys on our tiredness, our overwhelm, our comparison and it is so easy to use the busy season of early motherhood as an excuse not to be at church, and not to be reading our bibles and not to be serving others than just our family.
In 2019 we live in this culture of motherhood where we all deserve a glass of wine at the end of the day and the culture of self care seems to be how to escape our families. We only care about our immediate circle of people around us. We don’t go out of our way to serve.
This is not how God wants us to live out our motherhood.
Lukewarm Christianity. This may not be a popular thing to hear and maybe a bit harsh for the third podcast, but I can speak into it because I fully confess it was me. And to be honest I still default to comfort and ease.
But. The Holy Spirit. My helper, my guide, my counsel. He is changing me. He is helping me to be more and more like Jesus. He is convicting me and teaching me my purpose.
But we need to be leaning into him. The Holy Spirit will step back when we say we can do this without him. And that scares me and I hope it scares you. Because I know I can’t do this life alone. God doesn’t want us to do life alone. He gives us a guide and he gives us community.
So find other mamas who want to do life with you glorifying the Lord. Find other mamas who read the Bible regularly, serve regularly, and pour into you.
Lean out from comfort and control and lean in to God’s plan and purpose for you life.
Lukewarm Christianity should have no place in our lives. In Revelation 3 Jesus is talking about Christians not being hot nor cold but being lukewarm and just like lukewarm coffee after caring for our kids all morning, God wants to spit us out of His mouth.
Lukewarm Christians are those who sit in the church and know the gospel but do not act on it. This is not about works but this is about being sold out to Jesus.
So often we sit in church and consume but we don’t act in love. We are either committed to the kingdom, using our time and resources for His people and His kingdom or we are simply consuming.
The world can so easily have influence over us but it is our job as Christians to be different. We can’t think like the world and have our lives be transformed by God. If we want to be transformed we cannot be conformed.
Francis Chan is one of my favorite pastors to listen to and in his book Crazy Love he says this.
Lukewarm Christians
- Lukewarm Christians don’t really want to be saved from their sin. They want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. God is a useful fire escape they employ, not a God they worship.
- Lukewarm Christians are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not do radical things themselves. They call “radical” what Jesus expects of all his followers.
- Lukewarm Christians equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness. But Jesus didn’t call us to sanitation; he called us to discipleship. If you are his follower, your life will not be defined only by avoiding sin but also by entering into his suffering.
- Lukewarm Christians rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. Like Charles Spurgeon said, “You are either a missionary or an impostor!”
- Lukewarm Christians think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven.
- Lukewarm Christians love their luxuries and rarely give to the poor in a truly sacrificial way.
- Lukewarm Christians do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. David Platt says, “If you’re not in a place where you feel desperate for the Spirit of God, then there’s no way you are on the front lines of the mission. When we are on the front lines, we feel desperately our need for God’s help.”
- Lukewarm Christians give God their leftovers—not their first and best. Stop calling your complacency and apathy “a busy schedule” or “bills” or “forgetfulness.” Call it what it is: evil (Malachi 1:8).
When I read these I feel so convicted. I have come along way but I still have a long way to go.
So how do we change? How do we as Christian mothers go from loving Jesus but being sold out to the world to loving Jesus and being sold out for Jesus.
- Real change begins with new thinking Ephesians 4:23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
- It begins with immersing yourself in truth. Girl, read your bible. Every day. Meditate on His truths day and night. 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness
- Pray, rely on God. 1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
- Community – If you are serious about this. Find community, a small group, an accountability partner, a mentor.
- Faith. You need to believe God can change you. God can help you. You get to choose how you grow in your spiritual walk. That choice starts with faith. Deep Faith.
Motherhood is a gift and a great responsibility. Think about what kind of example you want to leave for your children.
Let’s remove the failure based, joy sucking hardness that the world complains that motherhood is. No its not, there is so much joy, even in the hard even in the mundane. When we remove our focus from worldy distractions we can experience peace, joy and abundance in our motherhood. Let’s stop being lukewarm. Let’s get to the end of our lives, facing God our judge in heaven and let him say “well done good and faithful servant.
Prayer
Sisters in Christ. I pray that you come into the fullness of your purpose. Why God put you on this earth.
I pray we are not satisfied with the comforts of the world but that our hearts are broken for the cause of the kingdom.
I pray that our eyes are focused on eternity and not on the material things of this world.
I pray that our faith is strengthened daily.
I pray for a community for each and every person listening today. A small group of people we can trust to grow and encourage us, a mentor, someone to keep us accountable.
Lord remove the lies and distractions that satan puts before us. Lord help us stay focused, help us run the race well. Thank you Lord for who you are and all you have done. We ask all these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.