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I write about what matters...to you---
women, wives and moms---
about your family, faith and future.
I write about what's hard, what helps and what heals.
I show you how it's done. And not done.
I hold your hand as you find what matters to the Savior.
And let go of those things that mattered to you, but not to Him.
I write about what matters...to Him.
               Sonya Contreras

​Are You Spit in God's Mouth?
 

We've been looking at the seven churches in Revelation. The angel is blunt with what they need to do. We consider the church in Laodicea today.

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: ‘I Know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are luke-warm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:14-16).

There is great danger in complacency. If you are not striving after God, you are not standing still.  The stream of life is carrying you downstream.
As a mom, there’s no time to rest in our laurels.
God gives moments of rest, where we re-group and then carry on, but He doesn’t allow us to stop and gloat.
We can feel proud of our child’s accomplishments but we cannot rest there.
When every son graduates, I heave a sigh of relief that milestone is finished. But that accomplishment comes with vulnerability. I know their weaknesses and pray that they stand in the world and look to God as they make their decisions.

I could become immobilized by the world’s dangers or rest in what they’ve already done, but I must return to my work with added motivation and help those boys who remain.
The complacency of “just getting them through” is gone and the push for diligence takes its place—for a short time. It is so easy to “just do enough to get by.” Sometimes my dinners are just slopped together. Sometimes my teaching is just “get them through.” Sometimes . . . that’s complacency. There’s no energy to do it. Where’s the motivation? the drive? the umphf?
I want to be finished but I’m not, but I act like I am, and rush through what must be done. I’m complacent.
I’m spit in God’s mouth.

There’s no “retirement” with God.
Paul spoke of this idea. He did not want to get “shelved,” and ignored by God. FIND VERSE
Many Christians want to be on a shelf and admired for what they have done, instead of what they should still be doing.

What’s our condition?
Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.” (Revelation 3:14-19).

Because of our “shelf” mentality, we don’t even know how wretched we are. We see through rose-colored glasses, and don’t realize the river has taken us away from God. We’ve lost what’s valuable and we don’t even miss it. We’re exposed, vulnerable, and needy, and don’t even know our clothes are gone! We can’t see the truth for the pride that we keep.

But the angel doesn’t leave us there. What does he say?
“Be zealous and repent.

Zealous is a negative term today. We want to be “balanced,” not over-bearing, nor commanding, cautious and calculating, not jumping in without thinking.
But the angel reproves and disciplines us to be zealous.

That’s committed, “fervent, earnest, eager, enthusiastic, excited, ardent, gung-ho, impassioned, passionate, fervid, feverish, rabid, vigorous, vehement, forceful, energetic, determined, persistent, dogged, tenacious, devoted, devout, religious, pious.“ (From J. I. Rodale’s The Synonym Finder.)
That’s anything but complacent.
That’s giving God your entire heart.

How?
First the angel says, “Repent.”
Am I so bad I must repent?
Look at the state of this church.
They are naked and don’t even know it.
They have taken their eyes off God.

They have forgotten what it’s like to see. When I wore my glasses for the first time, I could not believe how green the grass was, and the sky—it was so blue. And the street signs, I could now read them. My brain had adjusted to the fuzzy, blurry images relayed by my eyes. I processed the world through a haze.

In the same way, our complacency with what God has given us to do—Be a Mom—makes us lose sight of eternal values, of what’s important, of what we should be doing. We see through a haze and think we are rich, when we are destitute. Our priorities are skewed. We’ve lost our values. What was once dear is now trampled. We no longer see from God’s perspective.

Repent of losing sight of God and what He values.
Repent of not giving God your whole heart.

After repentance, what’s next?
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3:20-22).

What is the cure for complacency?
Dining with Jesus.
Jesus said, "I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me."
By allowing Christ to control every area of your life there won’t be room for half-done jobs.
It’s all or nothing.
You’re with Him or you’re not.
You give your whole heart.

He doesn’t eat with someone without changing them.
Zacchaeus, as a tax-collector, gave back four times what he stole from the people when Jesus ate with him.
The Pharisees, wanting to trap Jesus, invited him to dinner. They ended up killing him.
That’s either hot or cold.
God won’t keep spit in his mouth.
Choose.
I want to dine with Jesus, not just be spit.

Author of Biblical fiction, married to my best friend, and challenged by eight sons’ growing pains as I write about what matters.

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Faith
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When God Speaks
A Russian Christmas Story
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Do You Think You're Stressed?
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What about the Details?
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Don't Carry More than You Need
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Are You Safe?
Are You Tired of the Same Old Thing?
Does the World Make Sense?
Have You Seen God's Majesty?
Do You Feel Judged?
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Confessions of a Desperate Mom
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Are You a Protector or a Ruler?
Who Are You?
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The Lamb of God as Told by a Scribe
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Remember: The Symbols of Passover Explained
Tea and Rest
Do You Have Peace?
What Makes a Marriage Work?
When Life Is Awful
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Rules
Seasons
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Do You Know the Word?
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Is Jezebel in Your Midst?
Do You Stand Against Satan Himself?
Are You Tired of Being a Mom?
What in the World Is Happening?
It's Not My Story
How Would Your Faith Compare?
Are You Sinking?
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An Intimate Moment with Mary
The Worldview that Makes the
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Thoughts to Ponder
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See the Story in the Stars
Do the Scriptures Burn You?
Being in His Presence
Contentment: It's Not for the Timid
How Secure Are You?
How Do You Respond To Stupid People?
The Earthworm Is My Hero
Heart Issues or Issues of the Heart
Things Aren't Always What They Seem
More faith articles are found here:
alt
under the Table of Contents. Also available in book form.
Or here:
alt
under the Table of Contents. Also available in book form.
Articles on Suffering can be found  here, 
alt
under Table of Contents. Also available in book form.
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