Jesus help me

Revelation 3:15-18
"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are luke-warm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 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. 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."

"It is not scientific doubt, not atheism, not pantheism, not agnosticism, that in our day and in this land is likely to quench the light of the gospel. It is a proud, sensuous, selfish, luxurious, church-going, hollow-hearted prosperity." ~Frederic Huntington

I feel completely humbled and quite overwhelmed with what the Lord is teaching me right now. For starters, my relationships with the high school girls at church have given me both great hope and great fear. I realize as I spend time with certain girls that they are capable of understanding God's word and applying it to their lives at a level much, much deeper than I had dared to hope. I am thrilled and encouraged. Simultaneously, God is revealing that many of these girls do not appear to have had a true encounter with Christ. Their lives are marked with sin patterns that they are not mournful over. They seem to be jumping into a downward spiral, and have become quite comfortable and pleased to be there. I think their Christianity has been a hoax. Man, is that heartbreaking. Mentoring is one thing, evangelizing to girls that have heard the gospel all their lives (and seem to be cold to it) is another.

I found myself wondering this weekend what in the world I was going to do. Here's what I've simply come up with: Keep sharing Jesus. I am going to assume, as I always should, that Jesus is going to soften their hearts to His love and grace. I am going to continue to be vulnerable and transparent about my past, and all the ways that I chose to have what Revelation calls a "lukewarm faith". I will continue to pray for the commitment and love that will lead me to exhort these girls, even when it is so uncomfortable that I would rather be anywhere else on earth! And I must make prayer a bigger priority in my life. I want to petition the Father on their behalf more and more.

Lastly, I want to learn from what I hear and bless my children with this time. I desire salvation and joyful, worshipful living for my children and my husband more than I can articulate. God is so gracious to give both myself and Andy a season to get to know this high school age group on an intimate level. I pray it will not only lead to fruit in the high schoolers lives, but fruit in ours and consequently our children's'. I pray that we will have the wisdom, discernment, and knowledge to point them to Christ in each of their stages of life.

Today I am begging for wisdom and understanding. I am begging for grace and mercy in the lives of those I love. I am praying for brokenness over sin, so that His redemptive love can be tasted and lives can be transformed. I am praying that Jesus will be more, and I will be less when it comes to who is reigning in my own heart. May He alone be glorified!

*Pictured above: Two of the beautiful souls that bless me.*