Lise the Lukewarm

Heyyyy Ambassadors!!! :)

So today I said I would send out my personal testimony! Just some background... I was THE DEFINITION of a lukewarm Christian and a Christian who had faith with no works. Please be sure you don’t take anything the wrong way. Most of these things are my personal convictions, however, if God convicts you of something within your own life that maybe needs to be changed, embrace it. If he doesn’t, Praise God! God chastises those he loves. :)

Let’s get started! Basically, I got saved at the ripe age of 9 (or some other young age... you know how we do at New Hope). And I didn’t truly know what it meant to be saved. I knew that I was supposed to read my bible and some more stuff like pray to God every day. As I grew up, I continued to go to church at New Hope. I thought I was a pretty good Christian because I didn’t drink or smoke, or anything, truly. I believed in God and Christ and that Christ died for my sins and stuff, right? When I got to college, the same old stuff happened, but Sophomore year, I began drinking and smoking. Why not? My friends who were Christians did it too. We are not perfect... However, Deep down, I knew something was wrong, so my friend and I tried to start going to church and bible study together, but we kept doing the things we did before. I was the QUEEN of “Oh God understands that I am trying” and “Oh it doesn’t say in the bible that we can’t do this and that” and the classic “I repent every time I do something bad because I feel so bad.” 

September 14, 2013 was when my eyes were opened. Someone who barely even knew me told me their story, their testimony of how God changed them. They actually LIVED for Christ. They also alerted me to the fact that there is no one who is called to be “more Christian” than anyone else. Not your pastor, not your worship leader, not anyone. I truly got to see how I looked in the eyes of Christ. I saw that I professed Christian, but nothing in my life showed that I was truly Christian. I was the Christian that had faith, but had no works (James 2:17). If someone were to look at my life, they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between my life and the life of an atheist. I partied, drank, smoked, had sex, resented people, etc. The only difference was that I went to church and bible study. I realized I had to change, I had to truly GIVE MY LIFE to Christ. I had to stop this lukewarm Christian thing I was doing, because lukewarm gets spat out of God’s mouth (Revelation 3:15-16). I mean, really, who was I fooling? I was still partying... Even though I didn’t dance, I would listen to things that clearly go against God’s word, and more than that, I would rap along and sing along about fornication and drunkenness. Didn’t Jesus DIE so that I would be saved from this stuff? Even if I wasn’t doing anything “wrong”... I didn’t think about people who looked at me as a Christian, and saw me as their model for what a Christian looked like. Those people would see me at parties... and rethink what they thought about Christ (because we are his ambassadors, remember?). So I had to evaluate EVERYTHING I was doing. I asked God to help me see the things he wanted me to see and wanted me to change. I knew I didn’t have the power to change on my own (NONE OF US DO!!). So I invited Holy Spirit back into my life to help me. I stopped partying, drinking, smoking and other things that I knew I should stop. Then Holy Spirit began to convict me on some more things and lead me in the right direction. Since then, I haven’t looked back, and my relationship with my Daddy (Heavenly Father) has changed completely!! I have never been happier or more blessed. 

As Christians, we are supposed to look like Christ, right? We are supposed to allow the Holy Spirit to make us look like Christ. Some of us say that we are supposed to believe and confess and that’s it, right? Well what does it mean to BELIEVE? Like I said earlier, James 1:2 says that faith without works is dead.... Dead means to be as if it never existed...  And works are things that happen as a result of your belief. Quick example... We believe that rain is wet, and will get us wet.... So as a result, we carry an umbrella! So if your “faith” in God has no works... does it really exist? Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith BY my works says James. This faith with works is so serious that James asks if this faith that produces no works can save anyone? He goes on to say that this is basically the difference between God’s people and demons. Even the demons believe that there is one God... but their actions show who’s side they are on. 

Don’t be confused about what I am saying... Works CANNOT SAVE YOU!! But this Faith that saves you... should produce works. This TRUE FAITH does produce works. 

God showed me lots of things about myself that he wanted to change to make me better, but it only started by truly letting him in and letting him reign over my life. So, if anyone asks Why I live the way I live or Why do I live for Christ... It is because I realized that everything else is DYING. King Solomon says that everything is MEANINGLESS. King Solomon is definitely someone who tried EVERYTHING because he had everything!! Trust God speaking through him in Ecclesiastes 1:2. 

So, if you want to know more about having a true RELATIONSHIP with God, or if you have any questions... please feel free to respond to this email!! I poured myself out to you guys, and I have no room to judge anyone, so don’t be afraid.  Remember I am placed on this earth, literally, just to show you God's love. I take that job seriously. So hit us up!

Love you guys, 

Lise