"A half-hearted Christian is worse than a backslider in the bar"- God

"11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water."


Jeremiah 2:13

God told his people thru the prophet Jeremiah, "You have rejected me, the fountain of living waters (out of your belly shall flow rivers of living waters), meaning the spirit of God that is to indwell us...always fresh, always pure.


Now the sad part. Not only did gods people go back from an intimacy of walking in the spirit, they have also hewn out religious cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. There is no flow in a cistern. The water is stagnant. In a broken cistern, it is even worse, for whatever water is put in disappears for it leaks out.

Saints, have we substituted something else for the abiding spirit of Christ in us? Have we made doctrine, denominationalism, religiousity, a humanistic self-reliant approach to God our spiritual base rather than simply abiding in Jesus himself, daily dependant on Him for life, for power, for victory, for wisdom? Have we forgotten God owns us? Have we stopped full dependence on the Father to walk this life through us? Sadly, for most, the answer is yes.



Instead of fresh living water that the world looks on with envy, for many in the world are truly thirsty and looking for answers to life and what it all means, we pull out our little pail of old, stale water to woo them to truth and they look at us like "You'r kidding right?"



The world understand our poverty of spirit, (and yes, thank God there are indeed a few great exceptions!) but sadly, for most we do not yet see our water is stagnant stuff that sets none free, yet we are content because by gosh, we have WATER! (well, we did have a while ago!)



What is interesting in this discourse is that God said His people committed two seperate sins. One was to reject him and go backwards. The second was to substitute something that supposedly looked like God's hand but was not. The second sin in God's eyes is worse than the first. Hs word backs up this assertion.



In Jeremiah 3, , God says Israel backslid, and Judah turned back to him, but only feintedly, or halfheartedly. God said backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah. (Jer.3:11) To walk with the Lord with our heart not in it is treachery in God's eyes, conniving, trying to get the full reward but not paying the cost, having our cake and eating it too.


In Revelation 3, God addresses theLaodecian church and says this as to their lukewarmness. "I would that you were hot or cold, just don't be lukewarm." Listen. God would rather us be back in the bars than to be halfhearted towards Him. Whatt?? Hey, I did not say it, God did.



And why is this? Because a child backslidden in a bar knows he is wrong and in danger and can do something about it. But how hard it is for a religious person to perceive or acknowledge his need! Religious pride is the hardest of all sins to repent of, for the blindness prevents ever seeing the need for repentance. Sometimes, as in the case of Saul/Paul, one have to be blinded in order to see. If that is what it takes, God blind us.



In the parable of the prodigal son, who was the fatted calf and the party given to, the "faithful" half-hearted son who stayed to make a good show to the father, or the rebel son who messed up big time but knew it and returned? We all know the answer.



God wants 100% or 0%. He deserves our all, for he gave us His.
We can put the decision off today, and if we have a tomorrow, maybe even then. But at some point, a decision will be made, and not making a decision reveals you have already made yours. 

Has God given us wisdom on how to be in the center of His Will? Hmmmm..

What is the shortest chapter in the Bible?            -- Psalm 117


What is the longer chapter in the Bible?             --   Psalm 119



There are 1189 chapters in the Bible



What is the middle chapter in the Bible,
with 594 chapters before it and594 chapters after it?                                          --   Psalm 118


If you add up all the number of verses in

the Bible, over 20,000 of them, what verse

is the exact middle verse in the entire Bible?   --   Psalm 118:8



Is it just a coincidence that both the middle chapter, and the middle verse are located together?



What does this central verse in the central chapter of the central book of mankind have to say to us? If we really want to be in the center of God's will, could God have perhaps planned on us finding this center verse to give us true wisdom on being in the center of His will for our lives? You decide.....

"It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man."


Psalm 118:8

Be blessed today!

Bruce