Month: October 2023

Recently, one of us got a drink from the tap. Little did we know that just minutes before, one of us had been doing the dishes — with the hot water running. But now the water in the line was no longer hot. Now it had cooled a bit, so it was only lukewarm. One sip was all it took to realize IT WAS DISGUSTING! A cool glass of water is so refreshing, and hot water is truly useful for so many wonderful things — but it was hard to resist spitting out this “in between” drink!

We started thinking about other beverages that are great either HOT or COLD — but rarely in between. Hot cocoa is delicious when piping hot. And if you refrigerate what’s left over, it makes a frosty chocolate drink.

We all know nothing beats a cold glass of lemonade on a scorching summer day; and although we’ve never tried it, we’ve heard of people drinking hot lemonade to remedy colds and sore throats.

We suppose there are those who’ll drink tepid tea or coffee, but most of us can’t stand either of these mainstays when they’re lukewarm. Coffee or tea that’s sat around is gross! On the other hand, both coffee and tea at either end of the “temperature taste” scale are enticing and invigorating. Both are hot libations that comfort us and help us face the day. Iced tea is a mealtime favorite and iced coffee is a guilty pleasure. But in between, neither of these drinks are very palatable.

There’s a silly but cute old made-for-TV movie called Coffee, Tea or Me?, which starred Karen Valentine as a daffy airline stewardess looking for a husband. The 1973 movie was loosely based on the novel of the same name, a highly-fictionalized account of the “swinging” life of stewardesses, which managed to unfairly stereotype women in this demanding job — and which led to the mainstream adoption of the expression “coffee, tea or me?”

We mention this because the phrase is perfect for the point we wish to make. Some things, like coffee and tea, are great if they are either HOT or COLD. Otherwise they’re a bit repulsive. In God’s eyes — and here’s where the “me” part comes in — people are the same way!

Our Heavenly Father delights in us when we’re on fire (extremely passionate) for Him. This doesn’t mean we go around acting like dorks who can’t talk about anything but God. But it does mean our focus is on Him and doing His will, and on being pleasing in His sight. It means loving God, and if we love God, then we demonstrate it by doing our utmost to obey Him, and to love others. We’ll come up short time and again, but we’re constantly trying to rise higher.

If we’re cold, God looks down upon us and sees great potential. He loves the non-believer, but He doesn’t expect anything from him or her; because God understands that the non-believer doesn’t yet know the basics. The believer doesn’t get off quite so easily. God expects more because we know more and have more. When we accept Christ as our redeemer, we become a member of God’s family — and He hopes we’ll behave ourselves and not act like a bunch of black sheep.

God can work with people who are HOT (on fire for God) or COLD (non-believing with awesome potential), but He doesn’t have much use for those of us who are in-between. He actually finds a “lukewarm” believer distasteful: “…Because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:16 NIV) Scary, right? Like a drink of tepid tea or room temperature coffee, a half-hearted, unenthusiastic, apathetic, indecisive, wishy-washy believer is NOT palatable to our Lord.

Are you hot, cold or lukewarm to God? If your answer is lukewarm, then ask yourself, “What happened to cause me to grow lukewarm?” Have you allowed hurts and disappointments to cool your passion for God? Have you simply grown weary in well-doing? Or have you lost your first love?

You may be attending church religiously; you may be active in ministry. These things are important, but what God really wants from you is a RELATIONSHIP, not RELIGION. He wants you to love Him, trust in Him, and abide in Him — to do the right thing to please Him, not to fulfill a formula or follow a ritual or be seen by somebody.

If you’ve allowed your relationship with our Heavenly Father to get tepid, ask Him to relight the fire that was once in you. Return to your first love, and the enthusiasm you once had. Stop sitting on the fence. You can once again be hot-stuff for the Lord. “Coffee, tea or ME!”

We don’t often fry foods; frying can be messy, and fried foods aren’t very healthy. Once in a while, though, we do fry thin-cut, lean pork chops. We set the gas at medium to control the heat and put a lid on the skillet to minimize the spatter of the sizzling olive oil. We recently discussed putting a lid on pots to prevent things from boiling over, and we compared the precaution to “setting a guard” over our mouths, lest we blurt out stupid and hurtful words. Keeping a lid on things is the best way to avoid having to clean up a mess, whether it’s on top of the gas range or in a relationship.

It’s impossible, however, to keep a lid on the skillet throughout the entire frying process. You have to remove the lid to turn the chops (or whatever you’re frying), and when  you do, droplets of flesh-searing oil take the opportunity to spatter your hands and the top of the range. And —  wouldn’t you know it? — those red-hot spatters of grease are just like words! Sooner or later, no matter how careful we are, we’re going to say something stupid or hurtful. We’re all sensitive about something, and some of us may be overly sensitive; so when we consider the human propensity for “Foot-in-Mouth” disease, we realize that when interacting with others, eventually someone is bound to get burned by a sizzling word.

When frying food, we expect to have a few oil spatters, so we keep a sponge with a little ammonia nearby. When the skillet spats at us, we wipe away the grease right then and there. Cleaning things up fast is always best, because these spatters can be nasty and things can get sticky, just like harsh words in a relationship if not quickly dealt with. But what substitutes for ammonia when cleaning up the messes we make with our mouths? Something much stronger than ammonia, something that removes even the toughest stains. No, not Tide! LOVE!♥♥♥

If you’ve read a few of these posts, you’ll realize we love old movies (and a few new ones, too), but movies, even the ones that seem realistic, are glamorized depictions of life. Hollywood tends to varnish life so it shines brighter. (As though life weren’t already bright enough — but then, that’s why Hollywood is called Tinsel Town.) It also espouses its own crazy philosophy. You can enjoy the show, without buying into everything Hollywood presents as “wisdom”! The 1970 tearjerker Love Story is a great example: “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” That might look good on a cheap t-shirt, but if you practice this philosophy you’ll never have a “love story” — or any meaningful relationships!

TRUE love is quick to say “I’m sorry” — wherever and whenever your words offend. And as often as your words offend! In fact, TRUE love means actually getting into the habit of saying, “I’m sorry I hurt you again. I was wrong. Please forgive me.” Here’s the two-step cleaning process: first, apologize to God. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 KJV)

Second, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed.” (James 5:16 AKJ)

Making a habit of apologizing requires us to get rid of stinking pride. It’s humbling to admit when we’re wrong, but it’s always necessary. And it takes God’s grace, the supernatural strength to do what’s right in a difficult situation. So take responsibility for your words and actions. Don’t try to shift the blame. Don’t make excuses for bad behavior. Say the magic words: “I’m sorry.” Say it like you mean it, and say it quickly, before the mess gets out of hand. Don’t walk out the door or go to bed without making things right. Hurts build up and harden, like spattered grease on the rangetop. It’s easier to clean it immediately than to wait for another time. Apologizing only gets harder the longer you wait.

“…Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry.” (Ephesians 4:26 NLT)