Line Upon Line

Yesterday, I posted a quote from Arthur Wallis' book, "The Radical Christian." Would you like to read a bit more?

Great, I thought you would!

"All too frequently, after the divine seed has germinated in a man's heart, after he has entered the kingdom by the narrow gate and begun to walk the straight path, the radicalizing process slows down and eventually is arrested. He begins to revert to his old way of thinking. After all, it is less demanding, and looking around it seems to him that most Christians have leveled off in a similar manner, and that of course eases his conscience. Ceasing to swim upstream, he starts to drift with the current or to swim just enough to stay where he is and so avoid the epithet 'backslider.' For all that, he is a backslider. He has ceased to be an asset to the kingdom of God and has become a liability.

"The loss of true radicalism has leavened Christendom with unreality, hypocrisy, and compromise. The Christ of the Laodicean church thunders His warning at the close of this twentieth century just as he did at the close of the first: 'You're neither hot nor cold. Would to God you were one or the other. But this mixture of hot and cold, lukewarmness, makes me sick. Repent, before I vomit you out of my mouth.' This is a call to New Testament radicalism. 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'"

It's true, if you're not moving forward, you're sliding backward.

think on these things...

Matthew 16:24-27 (NLT)
Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul? For I, the Son of Man, will come in the glory of my Father with his angels and will judge all people according to their deeds.

Proverbs 14:14 (NKJV)
The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied from above.

Five Little Fishes
Five little fishes swimming in a pond.
The first one said, "I'm tired," as he yawned.
The second one said, "Well, let's take a nap."
The third one said, "Put on your sleeping cap."
The fourth one said, "Wake up! Don't sleep!"
The fifth one said, "Let's swim where it's deep..."