I heard a radio DJ recite the following to his listeners, and I'll repeat it for my readers:  "Enjoy a big cup of encouragement today.  I hope it will warm your soul!"   I add..... and ALSO make the day a bit brighter!

"Each of us (all believers/Christ followers who have placed their faith in Him...the One who forgives sins, gives unmerited grace, and offers eternal life) has lukewarm elements and practices in our lives, therein lies the senseless, extravagant grace of it all.  The Scriptures demonstrate clearly that there is room for our failure and sin in our pursuit of God."

I, Charlotte, am surely thankful that God is a most forgiving God and that "His mercies ARE new every morning."  (Lam. 3).  "His grace is sufficient." (2 Corin. 12:9). 

Francis Chan goes on to say as a result of the verses above..."I'm not saying that when you mess up, it means you were never really a genuine Christian in the first place.  If that were true no one would follow Christ."

"The distinction is perfection (which none will attain on this earth) and a posture of obedience and surrender, where a person perpetually moves toward Christ.  To call someone a Christian simply because he does some Christian-y things is giving false comfort to the unsaved.  But to declare anyone who sins "unsaved" is to deny the reality and truth of God's grace."

I also thought this was a challenging statement by Tim Kizziar:  Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church (body of believers) should not be of a failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter."  That's how the church of Laodicea was.  Jesus asked them to give up what they thought was necessary and valuable, in exchange for what really matters."

"They did not realize or acknowledge that their souls were sick, that they were desperately in need of what Christ offered."

As I continued to read, I was struck with "God's definition of what matters...it's pretty straightforward.  He measures our lives by how we love!" 

And, I'm sure we all have room to grow in the area of loving better, as Jesus did!  Paul writes in I Corin. 13: 2-3, "If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing."  Wow.  Those are strong and unmistakable words.  According to God, we are here to love.  Not much else really matters."

"So God assesses our lives based on how we love.  But the word love is so overused and worn out.  What does God mean by love? He tells us in I Corin. 13:4-8.

Love is patient and kind:  love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.  It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends...faith, hope, and love abide; these three, but the greatest of these is love. 

I sure can agree with the author's words about love:  "If I am meant to represent what love is, then I often fail to love people well."

"Following Christ isn't something that can be done halfheartedly or on the side.  It is not a label we can display when it is useful.  It must be central to everything we do and are."

I have given that statement much food-for-thought and prayer!  And, when feeling hypocritical in my own ability to love as Jesus did, I am also thankful to know that all of God's people are a work in progress and His love, patience and grace is always prevalent...always alive...always at work through the power of the Holy Spirit that resides in each of His children.

Lastly, Francis Chan wrote:  "If life is a river, then pursuing Christ requires swimming upstream.  When we stop swimming, or actively following Him, we automatically begin to be swept downstream."

I was also reminded while reading Chan's words, that even though we can all be lukewarm at times, we should care and desire to not be lukewarm towards Him who gave His entire life in full surrender to the Father, out of love for us who believe. 

Yes, "Most of our thoughts are centered on money, our bodies, what we want to become, etc. but the fact is that nothing should concern us more than our relationship with God; it's all about eternity, and nothing compares with that.  God is not someone who can be tacked on to our lives." 

Lastly, for now...."because this is vital...in fact, there is nothing more important or eternal:  Are you willing to say to God that He can have whatever He wants?  Do you believe that wholehearted commitment to Him is more important than any other thing or person in your life?  Do you know that nothing you do in this life will ever matter, unless it is about loving God and loving the people He has made?"  

That's a challenge for all of us to contemplate in full....every single day, and potentially life changing at best!