Lukewarm Faith in a Hot-and-Cold World - Martin Wiles

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV

The sign read: House for Rent. Hot and Cold Running Water.

Though laughable now, there was a time when having indoor plumbing was a luxury only the wealthy knew anything about. Water was drawn from a well or creek and carried indoors. Getting hot water meant cutting wood and placing cold water in pots in the fireplace or on a wood-burning stove.

On one mid-August trip through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, my wife and I noticed the leaves on the highest-elevation trees turning. Odd, I thought, this early, but then again, that’s what tree leaves do. As the summer season ended and the daylight hours got shorter, the leaves lost their luminescence and revealed their natural color. The yellows shone through beautifully. 

Christians shouldn’t run hot and cold or change like the leaves on a tree. Nor should we have lukewarm faith in a hot-and-cold world. Paul encouraged the early believers to be steadfast in their love for the Lord and in their work for him. Only by steadfastness would they be able to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission to take the gospel to the ends of the earth and teach people how to be his disciples.

But we also don’t want to burn out doing God’s work—nor does God expect us to. Unfortunately, I’ve known quite a few believers who did. Burnout can come from trying too hard to alleviate feelings of guilt over past sins, from serving with the wrong motives, or from trying to boost one’s self-esteem.

Another entire set of people tends to drop out rather than burn out. Among 18- to 22-year-olds, around 70% drop out of church after graduating from high school. Reasons they give for doing so include life changes, needing a break, moving away to college, work interference, judgmental or unfriendly pastors or church members, a change in their views, or an acknowledgement that they previously only attended to please someone.

God’s work requires determination. The abundant life Jesus offers requires the same. Otherwise, we’ll change like the leaves or run hot and cold like water. The power to remain steadfast instead of becoming lukewarm doesn’t lie within us, but in the power of God’s Spirit. He provides the want that keeps us keeping on—and for the right reasons.

Don’t let a lukewarm faith cause you to turn like the leaves. Serve God with consistency and diligence.

Father, enable me to check my motives for serving you. Then, give me the staying power to serve you faithfully until the end. 

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Missing God’s Will - Martin Wiles

The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years until all the men who were old enough to bear arms when they left Egypt had died. Joshua 5:6 NLT

Though my cousin and I missed more than we hit, the thrill of the throw kept us trying.

A large magnolia tree stood near the porch of my maternal grandparents’ old farmhouse. Beneath it were mounds of dead leaves and my grandfather’s old pickup truck—and the weapons my cousin and I used to aim at signposts: dead blooms. 

Those were the days when young boys could legally ride in the back of a pickup truck, stand behind the cab, or sit on the tailgate and let their feet scrape the road. Oblivious to our devilment, our grandfather puttered along at 25 mph as we aimed our weapons at every sign we passed. Most of them we missed.

The Israelites weren’t much better at hitting God’s will than my cousin and I were at smacking those signs. God gave them the Promised Land, but fear caused them to miss His plan—a decision that cost them forty years of wilderness wandering. 

Speed can cause us to miss God’s will. Although my grandfather was a slow driver, my cousin and I still had difficulty judging when to lob the magnolia bloom so it would strike the sign. I equate speed with busyness—the breakneck speed with which we often live life. Jesus took time to rest and pray to be sure he didn’t miss the Father’s plan. 

Selfishness is another culprit that can lead to missing God’s will. At the age of my cousin and me, life was all about us. We weren’t concerned about the danger of standing in the back of the pickup truck. We were invincible. Throwing while moving could have caused us to tumble onto the road, but we didn’t think about such things.

Of course, we also have disobedience to contend with. God told the Israelites he would help them take the land. They would have none of it. Once our grandparents discovered what we were doing, they no longer forbade us from throwing magnolia blooms at signs. But we did it anyway. 

Bad influences can also cause us to miss God’s will. Ten spies—rather than two--persuaded the Israelites to turn back from the Promised Land’s border. Millions listened to the majority, who, in this case, were wrong. My cousin concocted the idea of throwing the blooms. I listened and joined in the disobedience. 

Think of those things that typically cause you to miss God’s will.

Father, help me resolve to obey your will so I won’t miss what you want to do in my life. 

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Watch the Temptation Tree - Martin Wiles

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT

The tree was unlike any other tree I had ever seen.

Two peach trees stood on the other side of the privacy fence, separating our small subdivision from a lot of woods and a neighboring business’s back parking lot. They belonged to our neighbor across the road. The young trees filled with blooms and small peaches every year in early spring. And every year, the squirrels and birds that lived and played in the trees in those woods ate every one of the peaches as soon as they reached the size of a golf ball.

One year, as I rounded the fence on my daily walk, something in the tree startled me: a snake. Not one to overly fear snakes, I walked closer to see whether it was poisonous. That’s when I noticed it wasn’t a real snake at all. Our neighbors had placed a rubber snake three feet up in the tree, hoping to scare off the squirrels and birds.

The trees continued to change as I walked each day. I suppose the snake wasn’t enough—or, at least, the neighbors didn’t think so. They wanted peaches … badly. The following items were tin pans. They had cut them in half and tied them to various limbs in the tree—a trick I had used in my gardens. A trick that also had not worked when it came to keeping out deer. Perhaps it would work for squirrels and birds.

One day, as I rounded the corner of the fence, I jumped, thinking someone was standing near the tree. They weren’t. Our neighbors had stuck a tomato cage in the ground near one of the trees and decorated it with clothes. Another “person” hung in the other tree, waving like a Halloween ghost.

But even all of the above wasn’t enough. Our neighbors perched a fake owl on the fence. They also hung pieces of hose in both trees, along with other implements—even a plastic gorilla. So many things, in fact, that it was difficult to see the small peaches anymore. The wife wanted to make sure this tree wasn’t a temptation tree for squirrels and birds. She wanted peaches and set out to do whatever it took to get them.

Satan has a way of acting like my neighbor: decorating things up a bit so they look good and beneficial. That way, I don’t see how harmful they might be to my body, soul, and spirit.

But my neighbor prepared, which is the only way to adequately face temptation. In the heat of the moment, without any forethought, I’ll make the wrong choice every time, but when I’ve stored up a pattern of spiritual disciplines—Bible study, prayer, meditation, worship, fellowship—I’ll be more prepared to face and reject what Satan uses to entice.

Accepting Christ results in a new nature—as well as a new want—which leads us in new directions. Paying attention to God’s Spirit as he works through this new nature helps keep us away from the pretty things Satan hangs in our life’s trees to entice us.

When we decide not to sin against God, he will give us the power to do just that—at least sinning will not be the norm. He promises to show us a way out when we look and assures us he won’t allow the temptations to grow so intense that we could say, “God, I couldn’t help myself.”

Don’t let life’s temptation trees take your eyes off obedience to God.

Father, give me strength to overcome the temptations Satan hangs before me. 

Tweetable: Which temptation tree tempts you? 

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Washed Off - Martin Wiles

For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. Psalm 51:5 NLT

Every year, my pollen journey begins with a ball game.

Pollen is not my friend—and I knew it wouldn’t be this particular year. We had received record rainfall over the winter. Although I’m not a meteorologist, I knew when the temperatures warmed, the plants would suck up that moisture and burst into bloom like nobody’s business. Sure enough, they did. A rinsed-off vehicle could turn greenish-yellow in a matter of hours.

As winter ended, the annual announcement came over the loudspeaker where I teach: “Teachers, I’ve put the spring sporting schedule in the workroom. We need all of you to sign up at least once to take up ticket money.” As usual, I chose baseball, which required sitting at a table in the open and taking money from attendees for an hour and a half. I had done it the previous year—and got sick.

As I sat, I watched my clothes, phone, money bag, and anything else exposed turned yellow. I wiped and watched the dust reappear momentarily. To top things off, I needed to cut my grass and the grass of the two neighbors whose grass I also cut. A baseball game and three yards was all it took to give me the crud.

Post nasal drip, runny nose, stopped up nose, scratchy throat, cough, watery eyes. I recognized the signs, but it didn’t help that the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing. Some of my symptoms mimicked the virus’s symptoms, making me feel uneasy. But since I had no fever or chest pains, I figured pollen was the culprit. I stayed in as much as possible, took allergy medicine, and waited for a good rain—which finally came about a week after our outburst of pollen. I watched and smiled as heaven’s water rinsed the pollen from the air and off every surface where it had collected.

I remember my grandfather’s experience with pollen. I don’t know that it bothered his allergies, but he couldn’t stand for it to cover his car. He was a once-a-week car washer. Every morning before he went to work or began his day, he walked out his back door, unrolled the water hose from the rack attached to his old home, hooked it to the faucet, turned on the water, and rinsed the pollen from his car. “If you spray it every morning, the pollen will scoot right off,” he said. Then, on Saturday, he thoroughly cleaned it.

Sometimes, when I visited on Saturday, he said, “Drive your truck around back.” When I got there, he’d have the car-washing stuff ready. He loved to show me his new long-handle brush. Now, he wouldn’t need to bend so much to wash the bottom of the car or get on a step stool to clean the roof. And he would always have some new car-washing detergent with wax that made the vehicle shine. He smiled as he washed the dirt and pollen away.

But some things are more challenging to wash away than pollen. The psalmist pegged one: sin. His mother hadn’t sinned by conceiving him, but he was brought into the world a sinner. Theologians debate how or when the sinful nature gets into us, but no one doubts its presence. And we don’t have to be too old before it begins manifesting itself. Take a loved toy from a young child and watch what happens.

With pollen, allergy medicine, time, and rest will usually take care of my reactions. Not so with my bad attitudes, sinful nature, or temptations. If scientists could bottle a drug to remove the big three, I’d be set for life. They haven’t. . . and won’t.

But God did what scientists and we can’t do. He let his Son pay for our sins on Calvary’s cross. He gives us a new nature when we confess our sins and invite Christ into our lives. He provides his Spirit to give us power against temptations, and he gives us abundant life—which can drive away the cruddy attitudes.

Although God provides for us, washing away all the bad stuff that continually falls our way isn’t easy. As spiritual as he was, Paul said he kept doing what he didn’t want to do. I feel the same way most of the time. I decide—and pray—to have a good attitude, but then something happens that sours it. I choose not to succumb to a particular temptation but get covered with it anyway.

The good thing is that God keeps “scooting” us off with the power of the new nature he’s implanted in us like a good rain washes the pollen away. We’re not all we can be—or all we’ll one day be—but we are much more than we were. We are not covered with the pollen of sin anymore. We are now covered with the righteousness of Christ.

When you need a little washing, God is always happy to oblige.

Father, I depend on you to wash me of those things that keep me from being all I can for you. 

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Filling the Holes - Martin Wiles

Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” John 4:10 NLT

I filled the hole, but it continued to sink.

At the corner of the lot my family and I lived on, a rotten oak tree swayed in the breeze. Each small gust of wind brought limbs to the ground. We feared one day the entire tree would crash and perhaps hit our house. We called a tree-cutting company who cut the tree. Then we called a stump removal service and had them grind the stump.

The spot where the tree had grown was now piled high with wood chips, but soon the ground leveled … even sunk. As the underground roots deteriorated, the chips and dirt sunk. I piled more on top. Eventually, they sunk. I continued piling on chips and dirt until the deterioration process had completed. Finally, we had level ground and no hole to fill.

The woman Jesus met at the well had a hole to fill also, but not one that involved a rotten tree. She had a relationship hole—actually, a God hole. She came for literal water; Jesus offered her living water. When He told her to call her husband, she said she had none. She had had five, and now she lived with a man. She tried to fill her God hole with shallow relationships.

Every person has a God hole. Trouble is, we don’t always recognize it—or we refuse to acknowledge it. As God prompts us to fill it with Him, we either obey or try something else. Even if we fill it with His presence, we can still attempt to add other things for further satisfaction. Things such as unhealthy relationships, play toys, investments, possessions, or addictive substances. Anything to help us experience the joy we feel we’re missing.

The woman had to keep returning to the well because she consumed the literal water and used it to cook. Jesus’ water—a relationship with Him—would satisfy her perpetually.

Jesus offers that same water to everyone. The gift of Himself to quench our thirst. The gift of relationship. Knowing that He forever abides in us through His Spirit and will guide us along life’s path, providing all we need along the way.

By following God’s plan for our lives, our thirst is quenched—the hole is filled. Total obedience ushers in satisfaction.

Fill your life hole through a loving relationship with Christ.

Prayer: Father, we thank You that we don’t have to go through life trying to fill a void only You can fill.