Revelation 3:15-22

¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

¹⁹ Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. ²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

²¹ To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne,just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²² Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

According to Merriam-Webster, full-bodied means, “The general impression of substantial weight and rich texture; having importance, significance, or meaningfulness.” There is great significance in this definition when it applies to Christianity…in fact, the Bible says so!

My friends Sarah F. and Catherine P. have reignited my love for hot tea. There is nothing like sipping hot tea to reinvigorate your senses especially during the 3:00 p.m. slump. When brewed properly, one receives the full-bodied flavors in tasting notes such as sweet, nutty, citrusy, fruity, and malty just to name a few. Now granted…this is not a blog on tips for preparing tea; yet, there are amazing parallels between brewing tea and your Christian walk.

As believers, we have such potential. In fact, the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave lives in you and me. Romans 8:11 says, “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” To that I say, we have more than “just potential”…we have an unimaginable destiny in Christ!

When you buy a box of tea, the teabag has such great potential. It has the ability to transform water into full-bodied flavor that changes the palate of the receiver. However, if the tea remains in the box (i.e., dark) then it will slowly waste away until expiration – unused, untouched – failing to reach its full potential as originally designed by the maker.

Some of us actually want to use the tea. We get it out of the box; we see the potential but we fail to heat up the water to the right temperature, and the tea sits in a lukewarm bath failing to extract all its rich benefits into the vessel. The tea is described as flat, tasteless, and thus spit-out. The receiver’s desire fades and thus remains untouched.

Then, there are those connoisseurs that have studied and prepared. They are masters at extracting the bull-bodied flavor of every type of tea. They know exactly what to expect because they are trained. They are bold in their approach because they know what works. They take every opportunity to talk about it even with people who have never even tried it before because they cannot contain their excitement. They describe how rich and satisfying it can be when completed properly, at just the right temperature, to extract all the right flavors.

Are we still talking about tea? I would say NO. In fact, we never were. This mimics our Christian walk perfectly. I encourage you this day to be a connoisseur of Christ. Study the Word and be bold in the faith. Take up your cross and crucify the flesh. Mark 12:30-31 says, “³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Friends, you cannot be lukewarm and follow these commands. If you present as lukewarm, then you are not giving your “all” as described in this passage. You are missing your unimaginable potential as designed by the Maker. I pray that God tastes and smells the sweet notes from our full-bodied flavor as we present our lives as a living sacrifice for Him!

[This blog was inspired by my friend Catherine Pabon who shared this word with me. Thank you Catherine.]

Thankful,

Christian Armetta

1 Corinthians 2:9-16

⁹ That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard,     and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” ¹⁰ But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. ¹¹ No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. ¹² And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. ¹³ When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. ¹⁴ But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. ¹⁵ Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. ¹⁶ For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

Do you really get it? Do I? After reading this passage today, I’m not so sure. I was brought to a vulnerable place after reading this chapter. The apostle Paul delivers a soul-piercing message relating cognitive processing (i.e., thinking and comprehension) with the Spirit of God. Paul most certainly would have made an exceptional neuropsychologist; yet, he was beyond the science. Paul GOT IT! This is how Paul introduced his message in the very first verses of 1 Corinthians chapter 2.

“When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. ² For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. ⁴ And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. ⁵ I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

Yes sir, Paul got it! As faithful as he was, he approached in weakness. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate that Paul did not overcompensate for his feelings of weakness, timidity, and nervousness. Instead, he released it all to the Father and simply “forgot everything except Jesus Christ.” Yes—-there it is. At that very moment, in our weakest of human ability and character, God’s strength was made perfect in Paul’s weakness.

There is absolutely no need to even attempt to put “self” into the equation. When it comes to spiritual matters, our abilities come directly from the Father; all others are dust in comparison. Because Paul allowed the Spirit to control his tongue, his message, and his delivery, he was able to speak wisdom that does not come from human ability—this is Spirit-led. Even more, Paul continued to explain that believers have “the mind of Christ” living within them in the form of the Holy Spirit—“For who can know the Lord’s thoughts” except the Spirit Himself?

Have we fully acknowledged, allowed, or even understood that we hold the mind of Christ deep within our soul? Again in verse 10 we read, “But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. ¹¹ No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.“

Are you beginning to wrap your head around this? I have a hard enough time comprehending the deepest parts of the ocean much less the Father’s depths. In fact, it’s impossible to understand. Yet, the Holy Spirit who shows us even God’s secrets and knows the Father’s thoughts lives in me!

So, the questions now become:

Why are you blocking this Spirit-filled power?

Have you prayed for God to bless you with His greatest of gifts so that you may go forth and use them to further His Kingdom?

Are you communicating with the Spirit through prayer and Bible study so you may hear God’s thoughts?

I despise giving the devil credit for anything. However, he has done a good job in blocking us from fully understanding this power, why? The evil one is fully aware of his demise, and he knows that a Spirit-led believer is more powerful than him…only through the blood of Jesus Christ and not of ourselves! The devil truly loves a lukewarm Christian. We have in fact discussed this before. The same God who raised Jesus from the grave is living inside of you as a believer. Why would we ever want to be quiet, dim, unconcerned, and unmoved?

Sadly, most of us are simply unmoved! We hold the Spirit like He is a life-preserver. We only pull Him out when needed in times of emergency. No, let us break free from the chains of misperception and misunderstanding. Let us challenge the idea that we can’t impact a Kingdom-sized change. What is your purpose dear friend? Why do you think you are here? I pray that the Spirit will unveil your eyes!

Question: Where are your thoughts coming from? [Spirit-led or worldly]

Question: How will you seek to be Spirit-led, casting off your abilities and trading them for God’s mind and ways?

Thankful,

Christian Armetta