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I have a question to ask of you today. Are you a hothouse Christian?
What a strange question to ask (you may be thinking), and what on earth is a ‘hothouse’ Christian?
Let me explain.
A hothouse Christian is a term used by revivalist, Tommy Tenney, in his book The God Chasers. He describes this type of Christian as those who:
…bloom as long as they are kept in a protected and carefully controlled environment far from fear, distress, or persecution.
Tenney goes on to say the following:
…if you take hothouse Christians out of their protected environment and put them into the real world where the wind of adversity blows and the rain of sorrow falls; if they have to endure the hot sun and the drought it brings, then they discover that they never developed a root system in the hothouse. So they wither…
Is there a biblical precedent for this kind of thinking? Well, yes!
Jesus shared two parables warning his listeners about:
- the folly of not taking his teachings to heart and therefore building their spiritual house on a foundation of sand, and
- the fate of those who do not allow God’s Word to fall on good ground (i.e. fall into hearts prepared to hear and act upon the Word, allowing it to bear fruit in their lives).
You can read or refresh your memory about these parables in Matthew 7:24-27 and Luke 8:11-15.
Now obviously, you can’t put into action what you don’t know, or don’t recall, so are you regularly reading God’s Word?
And sorry friend, I do not mean a single scripture verse or two, every now and again. I do not mean Psalm 23 whenever occasion demands. I mean, are you regularly reading ample portions of scripture?
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If the unthinkable should happen, and you find yourself a persecuted Christian… if the unimaginable should take place and you as a Christian find yourself having to endure hunger, war, or religious persecution, could you cope?
I don’t mean to alarm or depress you dear friend, but as world events draw us closer and closer towards the end times, we should be asking ourselves these things.
How would you or I fare if what happened in the Ukraine, or Israel and Palestine, was to occur in our own part of the world? Would our faith remain intact?
Dear believer, since the Bible tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing faith comes by (or through) the Word, can you see… can you appreciate how important it is to know God’s Word? I do hope so!
Let us pray.
Prayer Focus:
During the coming days, weeks, and months, let us pray for ourselves and our brothers and sisters in Christ (both nationally and internationally), that if we are guilty of neglecting the Bible, then we will fall in love with God’s Word and make it a priority in our lives.
PS: Are you wearing your spiritual armour daily? You need to, if you are to walk victoriously in life, remain resolute in your faith, and stand firm on the battlefield of prayer!
PRAYER:
Father God,
We want to thank you today for the privilege of being able to call upon you and offer prayers and petitions with full assurance that you hear us.
In obedience to your direction that we remain watchful and offer supplications for all saints, we approach you on behalf of ourselves and our fellow-Christians around the world.
O Lord God, in a secular, political and spiritual climate that is constantly changing and feels erratic and unstable, we thank you that your Word is forever fixed and unchanging, a valuable spiritual resource to which we can anchor our souls.
Lord Jesus, we acknowledge your role as our faithful High Priest who ever lives to make intercession for us, and we thank you for your representations to the Father, on our behalf.
Holy Spirit, we repent for neglecting to pay proper attention to God’s Word. We ask that you stir up within our hearts an ever-increasing hunger for the Word. Help us to give it a place of true priority in our lives. As we commit to reading and meditating upon it regularly, open the eyes of our understanding, so we can receive its encouraging, life-changing truths, so we can obey its commands, and so that our faith becomes rooted and grounded in that which is solid and stable.
Holy Godhead members, our eyes are upon you. We invite you to do the necessary work within us so that we are fully prepared for whatever may lay ahead of us.
Father-God, we offer this petition in faith, and ask in the name of your Son, Jesus. Amen.
© Carol Hind
Women of Warfare followers and visitors I wish you a victorious week!
Are you reading your Bible regularly, or were you challenged by this post? Please share your response in a comment box below. I’d love to hear from you. And if there is someone you believe could benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it.
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Sunday’s Supplications
Sunday’s Supplications invites you to not only read the posts but also participate in the prayers. Let’s pray for ourselves and for each other. Let’s obey God’s command to watch and pray for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18)
Please note, you do not have to be a blogger to participate in this praying community.
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