The dangers of a lukewarm faith are not to be taken lightly, but with God’s grace and our perseverance, He can ignite a blazing fire from even the dampest match.

Many of us have been led to believe being a follower of Christ is simply being a “good person.” Someone who’s generally nice, fairly passive, doesn’t cause any conflict; someone who cruises through life on peace, good vibes, and Jesus (..when He fits into the aesthetic). It’s wearing a cross necklace to the gym.

We have been deceived. Our faith, our lifestyle, is a radical one. We are called to be like Christ.

We are called to forgive the unforgivable. To speak the truth unashamedly. To praise God publicly. To give compassion to those who want it least. To be humble. To show mercy. To walk the narrow path. To take up our cross, and sacrifice. To love our enemies. To be a good samaritan. To be holy warriors. To thrive.

None of this can be accomplished by being lukewarm in our spirituality; by doing the bare minimum for God; by choosing to follow only some of His teachings and ignoring His laws that make us feel too guilty, too uncomfortable. We cannot have fun dancing with the devil Monday through Friday, and then sit in church on Sunday singing worship songs, as if we can somehow get the “best” of both worlds.

No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.

–Matthew 6:24

I know that you are neither cold nor hot, and I wish you were cold or hot. Instead, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.

–Revelation 3:15-1

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name? Did we not drive out demons in Your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in Your name?’

Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me, you evildoers.’

–Matthew 7:21

Spiritual growth is a lifelong journey. None of us are perfect, and God knows this; it’s not an excuse to indulge in sin, but an opportunity to continuously seek His mercy and graces. Whether you’re working on building your faith for the first time, or you’re going through a tough spiritual season and are struggling to stay committed to your faith, you’re not the only one, and you’ve been brought to the right place.

What does a lukewarm faith look like?

Some of you are here because you’ve experienced some conviction that made you realize you’re called to live a deeper, richer faith than you have been. Others might think they’re doing just fine as is. WE’LL SEE.

Common signs of a lukewarm Christian include someone who…

• lives a “cafeteria faith” (picking and choosing which of God’s teachings they want to believe)
• has a self-centered faith (praying only when they need something; does good things specifically for personal praise or reward; focuses on serving themselves more than serving others)
• does the minimum with their faith, and doesn’t feel the need to learn more/deepen their faith
• follows the world’s currents, often going with what’s popular over what’s morally right
• identifies with sin more than their identity in Christ (“wish I was better,” “this is just the way I am”)
• justifies their lukewarmness by comparing themselves to those who are “worse” around them
• stays within their comfort zone, being unwilling to “walk on water” or live God’s truths boldly
• has conditions in their relationship with God, often practicing their faith until it gets challenging

If you felt your stomach drop because more than a few of those bullet points hit a little close to home, don’t give into despair. Instead, thank God for revealing this to you, tell the devil to drink his own poison, and keep reading on to learn seven ways you can begin reviving your faith today.

one | seek out the Holy Spirit

When was the last time you prayed to the Holy Spirit? It’s a weird thought for many people because we might struggle to visualize the Spirit like we can Jesus (our Brother/Friend) or God (our Father), but it’s an equally powerful and present Person within the Trinity. The Spirit is our Source of life.

the Spirit brought life into Adam | Genesis 2:7

the Spirit brought life to the virgin Mary’s womb | Luke 1:35

the Spirit brought spiritual new life to the Apostles | John 20:22

the Spirit brings spiritual new life to us, through baptism | Matthew 28:19

Here’s a simple prayer for you if you aren’t sure what to say (and you can pray this daily).

Come, Holy Spirit,

Fill the hearts of Your faithful, and enkindle in us the fire of Your love. Send forth Your spirit, and we shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth.

Amen.

two | be aware of spiritual warfare

We are in a spiritual war, every day, whether we actively experience manifestations of that warfare or not. You’re not a threat to the devil when you’re lukewarm; when you barely take care of yourself, let alone live your life for Christ, so why would he waste his efforts and devils on you? You’re chillin’ with sin.

When you start truly chasing after Christ, though, that’s when the enemy sits up a little straighter. That’s when he starts watching you more closely, because if you manage to rebuild your faith after everything he did to try and break you… you’d become a radical beacon of hope, love, mercy, forgiveness, a giant glowing arrow pointing right to Christ — and he will have failed.

So, don’t be surprised if you start experiencing some suffering (spiritual attacks) the closer you begin growing to Christ. In choosing God, you’re rejecting the devil, and he’s not going to give up on you without a fight. For some, this might look like an increase of doubt or anxiety when it comes to accepting God’s truths; it may be through the loss of friends who now perceive you to be “boring”; it may be through the emotional distance of family members who feel like they “don’t know who you are now.”

Don’t lose hope. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Seek His protection. You will get through this.

three | stop ignoring or justifying your sins

Whether you’re attached to them out of pleasure, or you’re surrounded by worldly people who normalize them, or you’ve simply never learned the full truth of sin before, or all three — it’s time to learn, now.

The Bible is the Word of God; every individual ‘book’ within that sacred Book was divinely inspired by God Himself. His laws, His commandments, the sins He most condemns, His instructions for how His people (us) are to live well on this earth, His guidance through worldly trials and tribulations, it’s all in there. Take the time to immerse yourself in His Word every day; you’re feeling lost — allow him Him to guide and instruct you.

You can also do an “examination of conscience” at the end of the day. Doing this before bed can be a powerful spiritual defense if you tend to get ambushed with sensual temptations at night. Let your mind drift over the day, recognize where God guided your actions and words, see where your fallen nature took over. Recall your sins, not for self-punishment, but to seek His mercy and forgiveness. End with gratitude.

four | be more selfless, serve others often

Here’s a prayer to root that sacrificial love, the love of Christ, deep within your heart and soul.

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

–Francis of Assisi

A beautiful prayer, but in a more practical sense, this could look like:

Offering the last slice of pizza (or the better-looking slice) to your friend. Cleaning up dishes (even the ones that aren’t yours) for your family or housemates, without needing recognition or praise. Making a little extra food for others in the house when you’re making a meal for yourself. Picking up a sandwich or cup of soup from the deli during your grocery run, for the homeless man always standing on the corner. Putting out a bowl of water for the birds in the middle of summer. Donating to a local thrift store. Volunteering.

five | surround yourself with holier people

It’s easy to feel like you’re a pretty exceptional Christian when you’re comparing your sheephood to the (scoff) hypocritical goats around you. Suddenly, your bare minimum efforts are something to be praised; at least you don’t gossip like she does, or sleep around like he does, or cuss as badly as they do.

As opposed to, if you surround yourself with Christians who are more devout than you. Christians who have a consistent prayer life; who immerse themselves in the Word; who live out God’s truths daily; who lead their boyfriend or girlfriend closer to God through prayer and chastity; who are patient, kind, loving, passionate people. People who ignite that calling deep within you to be better, by being around them.

Don’t let the devil convince you that they’re something rare, though, and that spiritual mediocrity is okay “for the rest of us”; as if those other Christians were born with an extra shot of grace, and that’s why they’re so strong in their faith. They’re people like you and me; they stumble, they sin, they suffer — but through it all, they choose God. They trust Him. They put His will above their own. They live, in Love.

six | set boundaries to protect your soul

The closer you grow to Christ, the clearer it will become who and what around you is not in alignment with the Lord. Things you used to laugh about won’t seem funny anymore; music you used to sing at the top of your lungs you’ll start deleting off your playlist; people you used to think were the highlight of the party, may now seem un-fun, depressing, or even dangerous.

Pay attention to these (often subtle) spiritual developments that start emerging in your life. Understand that there are certain people, activities, TV shows/movies, music, and whatever else is not helpful for your spiritual growth. Some of these things may be harmful to you, or even sinful; you’ll have to let go.

Be open to recognizing your strengths and weaknesses, and where boundaries will need to be set. Be willing to see the truth about certain activities, hobbies, interests, or people who are pulling you away from God; remember, the Way is narrow. If this were easy, everyone would do it. (Matthew 7:13-14).

seven | set spiritual goals each month

Our relationship with Jesus, just like our relationship with other people, requires effort, trust, love, and growth. We have to communicate openly and transparently; prioritize spending quality time with Him; sacrifice selfish desires to love Him better; strive not to hurt Him, not out of fear, but because we love Him so much, we don’t want to cause Him pain. We have to choose to love, and choose Love, every day.

This could look like choosing a new faith-based podcast to listen to on the way to school or work. Maybe you bookmarked some post on social media where someone you admire shared their favorite faith-based book, but you never got around to buying it (you could replace night scrolling with this reading). You could spend the first 15 minutes of every morning reading the Bible, or going on a prayer walk every Saturday evening where you talk to God about what’s been on your heart lately. Set a goal for this month, even if it’s halfway through the month, and commit to doing it for the remaining days. Start today.

Final words of encouragement.

God is a fire that warms and kindles the heart and all inward parts. So, if we feel in our hearts the cold which comes from the devil — for the devil is cold — let us call on the Lord. He will come to enflame our hearts with perfect love, not only for Him, but also for our neighbor, and the cold of the one who hates what is good will flee before the heat of His countenance.

–Seraphim of Sarov

The post Lukewarm Christians: 7 Ways to Ignite Your Faith first appeared on the Way of the wretch.

You jolt awake as your alarm goes off. Eyes open blearily. You can’t hit snooze (again), so you stop the alarm, unlock your phone, and start scrolling before you’ve even really had a conscious thought.

It’s become the routine of most people nowadays. Over 80% of Americans are on their phones within 10 minutes of waking up, and on average, check them every five minutes after that, throughout the day.

While this morning habit may feel deeply engrained in your life, it doesn’t have to stay that way. Instead of spending the first 10, 30, 60 minutes of your day staring at artificial blue light that simultaneously numbs and overstimulates you.. you could replace that scrolling with alternative habits that not only improve your overall health, but draw you closer to God at the same time.

Why are we scrolling in the morning?

Some of us are in hard denial that we’re addicted to our phones. Specifically, that we’ve become hooked on the constant dopamine hits we get from scrolling through video after video on social media.

Dopamine is a “feel good” hormone that plays an important role in the health of our brain and body — it’s also one of the main chemicals involved in developing and maintaining an addiction.

While it’s not possible to develop an addiction to dopamine itself, what happens is you develop an addiction to the behavior consistently providing you with those dopamine hits. In the twenty-first century, this often looks like people being glued to their phones, stuck in the cycle of doomscrolling.

It happens first thing in the morning, and then again at night; when you’re bored at work, or sitting at home. These apps are designed to keep your brain trapped in the cycle of see a video > dopamine hit…dopamine loss > SCROLL > see a video > dopamine hit…dopamine loss > SCROLL — forever.

Why do you think there’s never any end to your feed?

It doesn’t exist.

What’s the point of a morning routine?

You ever wake up in fight or flight mode mode? If you have a sharp or loud alarm, your body doesn’t rise naturally with the sun, or after receiving as much sleep as it needs to operate functionally; it’s ripped out of its deep-sleep brain waves and forced immediately into awake/alert mode. Your body starts pumping out stress hormones from being jolted out of its sleep cycle, and then your nervous system has to regulate itself back down because you’re not actually in immediate danger. It’s a chemical rollercoaster.

Then, you unlock your phone, and pierce your retinas with artificial blue light — you’ll forget to blink for the next three minutes as you get sucked into reading emails and scrolling through videos, proceeding to overstimulate your already chemically unstable brain. Your anxiety starts spiking, and food cravings hit.

You zombie out of bed, probably eat or drink something full of sugar (which spikes your dopamine, your cortisol (stress), and your blood sugar, giving you a brief rush of pleasure before the chemical crash drags you into a foggy depression), and then spend your day working or doing things you don’t want to do.

Yeah. That’s definitely negatively impacting you in more ways than one.

How you start your day matters. Consciously curating a morning routine specifically for your health, your mind, heart, body, and soul, can help heal and replenish your life. In a world that maybe feels like it’s draining you all day long, take the time in the morning for a routine that fills your cup to the brim, first.

Routine alternatives to scrolling in the morning

The good news is there’s no one-size-fits-all morning routine. Our work or school schedules, hobbies, relationships, goals, strengths, vices — it makes each of our lives look a little different, and that leads each of us to have our own unique preferences and needs when it comes to bringing about change in our lives.

In other words, you have a lot of freedom when it comes to creating your morning routine.

We all, however, are human. This means there are certain practices that are universally beneficial for our emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual health — those are what I’m going to share with you below.

one | spend the first few minutes with God

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.

–James 4:7-8

Start your day by focusing on Him who is Love, Truth, Mercy, Goodness. You can thank and praise Him for blessing you with another day; you can pray for Him to be at the core of your actions, decisions, words, and thoughts; you can ask for His guidance now, for any challenges or temptations you may face throughout the day; or, you can simply be there, and rest in the knowledge He loves you deeply.

You don’t have to leave your bed, but you do have to stay awake. When your alarm goes off, turn it off and put the phone back down (on silent). Rub the slumber from your eyes, stretch the sleep from your limbs, and rest in the new morning for a bit, bringing God to mind before the worries of the world.

two | read the Bible

Be not hearers only, deceiving yourselves, but be doers of the Word.

–2 Timothy 3:14-17

The Bible provides endless spiritual nourishment and direction to our wandering souls, disillusioned minds, and broken hearts — starting your day in His Word can bring peace where there’s anxiety, stillness where there’s chaos, and guidance where there’s confusion. Start your day by grounding your soul.

Keep your Bible on your nightstand or somewhere beside your bed (ideally, wherever you’re used to grabbing your phone — we’re reprogramming your brain here). Open the Bible. Start with a verse, and read until a certain word or phrase strikes a chord, and makes you pause. Reread it; hold onto it today.

three | go out into the sunshine

From the rising of the sun to its setting, let the name of the Lord be praised.

–Psalm 113:3

Daily sunshine exposure (when weather permits it) is an incredibly powerful practice to have in your life. We’re not talking about sunbathing for 6 hours until your skin starts blistering; we’re talking 10-20 minutes a day (longer, if you have more sunshine-friendly skin). Benefits include improved brain health and cognitive function; decreased symptoms of anxiety and depression; deeper, more restful sleep cycles; a stronger immune system, and much more.

If you have a front or backyard where you can physically touch nature, that’s optimal. If you’re in an apartment complex or in a city, you might have a balcony you can sit out on, or a front step that you can stand on, facing the morning sun, for a few minutes. You have to work with whatever you’ve got.

four | make yourself breakfast

And Jesus said to them,

Come, have breakfast.

–John 21:12

When was the last time you made yourself breakfast? Not just chugged a coffee or a protein shake, or scarfed down some fast food sandwich, but took the time to cook some nourishing food for yourself.

“I don’t have time—”

“I don’t know how—”

“But why would I even—”

Because it’s an act of love, of service, and quality time.. for yourself. You need to be taken care of, too. It’s okay if you aren’t a chef. Look up some simple breakfast recipes, find one that sounds delicious (that you know you can make), and then make it for yourself. You might need to go to the store a day or so in advance, or wake up a little earlier to follow the instructions; do so. Pour into your cup, first.

five | implement a workout routine

At the time, discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, but later it brings the fruits of righteousness to those who are trained by it. Strengthen your drooping hands and weak knees.

–Hebrews 12:11-13

Movement is good for you. If you’re someone with the gift of the ability to walk, run, lift weights, stretch… don’t waste those gifts. Depending on your schedule, a morning workout might not be feasible, but if you have the time (or can make the time for it), consider adding exercise to your morning routine. Experiment with different exercise forms, choose ones you enjoy, and have a goal for your fitness to inspire you daily.

six | practice being fully present

Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.

– Matthew 6:34

Dare to go to sleep the night before with your phone on airplane mode. When you turn off your alarm the next morning… leave it on airplane mode. Lie in bed for a few minutes, and reflect on blessings that perhaps you usually take for granted (a roof over your head, multiple blankets on your bed, food in the fridge, access to hot water, whatever comes to mind) — practice gratitude for those blessings.

Leave your phone off as you continue about your morning, and practice being fully present to each of your activities. Take a shower without listening to a podcast or music, and be present to the care of cleansing your body. Consciously create your morning coffee or tea without scrolling on your phone at the same time, and make yourself an exceptional cup. Step outside and take a deep breath in; listen to the birds, hear the traffic; look up at the sky, think of God smiling down on you in that exact moment.

Put the phone down, turn off the notifications, and immerse yourself in real life.

Be here, now.

The post 6 Holy Alternatives to Scrolling in the Morning first appeared on the Way of the wretch.