Just a few thoughts

[Stephen]

This is not as much a Bible study...as just something I thought I would share...anyone can feel free to comment on this. I was sitting in church this morning, (a new one, I had never been too) and It was a fine service...nothing special about the song service or preaching...but somewhere along the line...something hit me. Part of it was a converstation I had on a ride home with someone the other day....about my views on God and my core I suppose. As I sat there in church the thought came to me...why am I here. I thought to myself...because its Sunday and its what I should be doing. And that is when it hit me...I had grown complacent. It is very easy to let life hit you with everything (work, school, etc) and before you know it...Christianity is nothing more then a hobby. I no longer went to Church to learn about God more....or to worship him...it was just, something to do. It's funny...things can come along...that make us pray, such as sickness in the family, stuff like that....when we need God we are fast to say Oh God help where are You? Yet, if He was to suddenly ask us to do something we would even hear Him. I know personaly the past year maybe 2 years have worn me down with God. Everyone has there problems...thats a given. With me it was somewhere between losing a job, job hunting, parent problems....and depression...that I slowly let God become a hobby. Sundays were just a day I did my thing. And that is sad. Maybe I am the only person that this happens to...but I don't think so. One thing that does happen when you grow complacent...is that you begin to justify things...and let things go that before, you would have fought against. So during this church service there was a short time of prayer...after which I felt better then I had in a long time...I suppose more happy that I had realised part of why I was so upset, was that I had lost what makes Christians happy...our hope. So what does everyone else think? Anyone else feel complacent sometimes? And want to share? I am sure if you want someone to pray with you there are people here that would be glad to...myself included. If you want to PM me feel free. But I think it would be nice to talk about this. Complacency is a dangerous thing. Complacent Christians...are much like unarmed soldiers. Useless. Sad, but true. So lets see what everyone thinks....post past experiences...ways you personaly make sure you never let things get boring or whatever....you know what I mean. Anyway, thanks for reading this...I hope if anyone feels the way that I felt...that you realise what is going on...trust me, when you come to the understanding that you on your own ain't gonna get you anywhere...and you remember...oh yeah...I'm a Christian...I have God...you will be a lot better off. Have a great day guys.

[Shinja]

yeah i know what your talking about, most of the time i sit and know that im missing somthing. like theres somthing i should be doing, i dont know what to do about it. it seams most of the churchs ive been in the last 5+ years to havent really cared much about thier members theyve been more concerned about numbers(members and budgets and big buildings and custom letter head with the church on it), i think that this has something to do with my complacency, but i cant blame anyone for that but myself. i pray each night that God would show me where to go, and what to do with my life, for i know he has a plan for each of us. and id hate to miss it because im too caught up in myself.


anyway

Matt

[Gypsy]

I know what you mean, however, I would like to point out that even complacent Christians are not entirely useless. Defenseless, yes but the Bible talks about (and I've seen it many times personally, both in my life and other's lives around me) that God will work through you sometimes even if you're not really trying to live for him. For instance, there has been a few points in my life that I couldn't have cared less about staying close to God. But even then, when other people would come to me for spiritual advice or Biblical questions, I was able to answer them. This just shows that God can work through you, even when you realize it - which should only encourage you to stay close to Him. Being a Christian is literally a day-to-day walk, not a running jump from Sunday to Sunday. And while we all go through the dry times, what follows is usually a spiritual growth spurt.

[Rashiir]

I know what you guys mean, thing is, God won't let you be complacent for very long. He'll send something to shake you up. It happens for me. Looks like it's happened for you guys. It still doesn't mean you don't have to guard against it, though. hm. anyway, good times.

[SMoonEmpress]

Too true. I know that I, sadly, have felt myself grow complacent. It brings to mind a song I've song at church before called "Casual Christian". It goes something like
"I don't wanna be, I don't wanna be a casual Christian...
I don't wanna live, wanna live a luke warm life."

It was a great song, and I think of it everytime I find myself growing "luke warm".

[majanthehun]

Let's see if the majan can do this... ok. i know what you're talking about, being a complacent christian. like previous posts have said, God can still use you even when you're not paying attention, but remember- being lukewarm or riding the fence instead of being one one side or the other is not a good way to go... ive done it before and trying to be christian and not at the same time doesnt work- even Jesus said He will spew you out of His mouth if you are lukewarm. it shows a lot of maturity to understand that you are being complacent right now, so you have now been presented with a choice... you can continue to be complacent or you can get back on track. that is a choice that you make. but it needs to be made. anyways, this is a lot to get from a newbie but you just met one of the most opinionated newbies ever.

Congradulations Graduates of 2003!! (is that how you spell congratulations? i dunno...)

[Enrico Maxwell]

To be complacent is to leave yourself open to the whispers of Satan. It is easy to fall into the trap of going to mass out of habit, and not out of a desire to experience Christ.

If you do find yourself falling into such a trap, you must look at your life and see what is lulling you into this sense of complacency. You cannot just sit and wait for God to "wake you up". It's possible he's already trying to wake you and you've hit the snooze alarm. You must pray to God and ask him to take you from that complacency, challenge your thoughts, and open your soul to the Holy Spirit.

Seek out the Spirit. Take the initiative. God will put opportunities before you, but you must take them. Work with a charity, join a new Bible Study or Youth Group, volunteer for a position in your church, or find another way to challenge yourself. Remember, the Lord helps those who help themselves, and he gives answers to those who seek.

[Ashley]

well, to be fair, it's not always that clear cut. Unfortunately, I will be honest...a lot of the time I am somewhere in-between 2 and 3.
But, there is always hope. I truly believe God will continue to work in the lives of even the coldest believers because they are just that: believers. To quote Paul, "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus"--Phillippians 1:6 and "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, or anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."--Romans 8:38

What better hope is there than that? That no matter what we may do, where we may go, or what we may feel like for any amount of time, God still loves us. What's more, He fully knew this and STILL chose the cross...knowing that some of us would turn our backs on him, spit at him, become unfaithful at times, and then come crawling back. Is not my God amazing?

[majanthehun]

i've always seen the hot-cold thing in a different way... my view could be wrong though (i'll have to check the greek and all that la before i say who's right or not).

ive always seen this:

cold- totally against God, not wanting to have any part in him or anything of that sort

luke-warm: saying you beleive in God but not really having any faith

hot: totally sold out for God, never looking back.

another thought: being on fire for God is good, yes, but remember, a good foundation is completley necessary. all the fire in the world is not going to save you when the storm comes if you do not have a solid rooting in the Word. at my school (wait, my OLD school- i dont go there anymore), there were some Christians who were the most outspoken, firey people i have ever met (one actually began to preach in the middle of my third period class) but whenever they were asked a deep theological question or they entered a trial, they fell apart because they had no grounding in the Word. They were on fire for God but they knew relativley little about the Bible, and consequently, they couldn't stand up to satan's firey darts.

anyways, the entire point of this narrative was to say that you should be on fire for God, yes, but don't let the emotions get in the way of learning about the Bible and the basic truths found in it.

[Jaltus-bot]

i've always seen the hot-cold thing in a different way... my view could be wrong though (i'll have to check the greek and all that la before i say who's right or not).

ive always seen this:

cold- totally against God, not wanting to have any part in him or anything of that sort

luke-warm: saying you beleive in God but not really having any faith

hot: totally sold out for God, never looking back.

The lukewarm ones aren't really committed to following God or not following God. This is how I've always understood it.

[Syreth]

A big Amen in response to the word from Ashley. Definately well said. Even if we are faithless, He will remain faithful, because He cannot disown Himself. I've grown complacent before, pretty much every Christian has. But it's a dangerous place to be in. I know firsthand. It doesn't mean everyone will, but my complacency lead to a BIG fall in my faith. I've seen other people fall, and other people "ride the fence" for years. Of course, "riding the fence" usually means you're trying to hide something or other, but anyhow. One of the biggest things ever that has helped me is spending time in God's word daily. Just a couple chapters a day, more sometimes. I've been trying to memorize scripture too, and it's cool because it's like part of the Bible is right there in your head so you can "read" it whenever you want. God has used lots of other things to draw me closer to Him also. Just seek His face and He'll do amazing things!

[Swordguy]

luke-warm: saying you beleive in God but not really having any faith

pursanly i belive that luke watm is what i was about three to four years ago.

i was a christian and saved but i didn't realy go all out for Christ (kind of like what i am getting out right now ouch) i didn't know what it was to totaly follow Christ. i was just along for the ride. out there with Christ in the back of my head and not in the front.

let me tell you going all out for Christ is so much better.

[Syreth]

This passage is interesting to consider. One of my teachers went over it with us at Bible College. It was cooll, because he stressed the importance of going over the Bible in an un-biased manner. The fact is that it doesn't say whether hot is good or cold is bad or vise versa. But it's clear the lukewarm is bad. Next thing you might ask is why is lukewarm bad. It says so in the passage. They were complacent because they thought they had everything they needed, but Jesus was there for them. All they needed to do was let Him into their lives. An interesting thing to note is that in Laodicea there are springs. Some of them are warm and therapudic (sp?) and others are cool and refreshing. It's interesting to consider that after reading this passage. It's kinda silly how something little like this can spark up so much debate (just saying this generally), but it's really a very small issue.