Yesterday, as I and my wife were praying, the presence of Jesus manifested. I did not see Him face to face but I knew His presence was in the room. He was visiting with a message.
We couldn’t help but worship Him. Jesus is precious, He is worthy. He deserves our all, our best, not leftovers of our lives.
Then Jesus said, He is looking for overcomers, not excuses.
It’s time to radically love, worship, and obey Him. It’s time that our hearts burn for Jesus. No more excuses on why we can’t be on fire for Him. No more playing the victim card.
No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
— Jesus
He is looking for people who are ready to go all the way. He has plans for each one of us. We’re not the center, He is the center. Our lives revolve around Him, not He around us. He is the author and we’re His story. He is looking for people who are willing to say, “Yes Lord, at Your command.”
There is a firm side to Jesus
In Revelation 3:19, Jesus says, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.”
His love and passion for us will not let Him go along with our pattern of thinking and behavior. He will rebuke and chasten us.
Truth can be uncomfortable, may sound rude, and can offend us but it’s needed for our growth.
So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
— Revelation 3:16
The danger of lukewarmness is that it is deceptive. We can convince ourselves that we aren’t lukewarm. We can take Jesus lightly to the point that we lose that reverential fear (respect) and awe He deserves. If we encountered the real Jesus, the way He is, we will be undone. It won’t be business as usual.
Don’t take Jesus lightly
Let’s not reduce Jesus to an idol, a perception of Him according to our liking, a comfortable version of Jesus to suit us.
In Revelation Jesus said, “Be zealous and repent”. It’s time to love and follow Him with all our hearts, mind, soul, and strength. He is the King of Glory and the Lord of Lords. He is our worthy Saviour. He is the coming King. He is the commander of the armies of heaven.
He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. Let’s give Him the time, the affections, the obedience and adoration that is due to Him
We can become too self-obsessed. We can get stuck and give reasons why it’s so hard to rise above the issues in our lives. We’re not our own. It’s time to take our eyes off ourselves. It’s all about Him.
If you love Me, keep My commandments.
— Jesus
When we see the love that He has, we will be ashamed of our lack of love for Him and one another. Our crowns will also come off, as we humble ourselves before His great glory.
— Rick Joyner
Don’t treat His word as common
Jesus’ words are not suggestions, it’s the truth. People have sacrificed their lives for the scriptures we hold in our hands.
Woe to us if His word has become familiar, common. Woe to us if we read and hurry. Jesus wants to transform us into His living epistles.
His truth will deal with our selfishness and self-centeredness. It will be like a hammer that breaks and exposes our hearts. Jesus wants to birth a new version of ourselves according to His likeness. Let’s get over ourselves and yield to the Holy Spirit.
Don’t be like Lot’s wife
Before this year gets over, we can cross over to a new place of alignment with Jesus. Don’t look back. Don’t be like Lot’s wife. She took her eyes off the path of the Lord. She looked back to the world, to the past instead of forward to God’s plan for her life.
It’s time to lay down our lives and partner with God’s Kingdom plan.
Jesus is done with lukewarmness. We need to make a decision, either to be radically hot or cold. It can no longer be about us and our feelings.
It’s time to radically love Jesus more than the entertainment and amusements of the world. It’s time to let go of our ways. It’s time for a radical devotion to the King of kings.
