When The Fire Fades

Opening Scripture

Romans 12:11 NLT

Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

In Romans 12 we see Paul make a shift from preaching/teaching what God has done for us to what we are to do for God — How to be devoted followers of His.

“Never be lazy” — This warns against spiritual apathy or indifference. Laziness here is not only about physical work but also about spiritual diligence — remaining alert, active, and faithful in serving God.

“Work hard” (literally “be fervent” or “boil in spirit” in the Greek zeontes tō pneumati) — The imagery suggests a heart on fire for God. It’s the opposite of being lukewarm (cf. Revelation 3:15–16). Paul is describing a believer whose inner life is energized by the Holy Spirit.

“Serve the Lord enthusiastically” — This means to direct that energy toward serving Christ with joy and devotion. It’s a life of purposeful obedience and active faith — serving not out of duty but out of love for God.

Often times at the point of salvation we start out on fire for the Lord but as we go through thing within life that fire that we once has starts to become very dull

In order to Stay committed to Jesus we MUST FEED THE FLAME within us!!

What or Who Will You Serve?

Joshua 24:15 NLT

But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

If we choose NOT to serve the Lord then we will automatically serve something.

Addiction: We often times try to justify our Addictions with an excuse — NOT realizing that when we choose to feed our addiction which leads us into Sin is what has become our master.

Your Ego: Often times we let our pride get in the way of our relationship with God and even others. Our Ego will have us thinking of ourselves higher than others. By Serving our EGO we end up falling into a place of self worship.

Your Relationships: Often times we fall into the trap of putting our relationships before God when God should always come first even within our Relationships.

If we let our guard down its easy to slip into one of these three categories serving someone or something else that is NOT God.

We serve what we are devoted and committed to….

It’s NOT always easy serving God BUT it is most definitely worth it.

Do You Trust Him?

Psalm 37:5 NLT

Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.

We are called by God to trust Him in every aspect of our lives… our marriages, our friendships, our family, our ministry, our jobs, our careers, etc.

We have an easy time trusting God when everything seems to be going our way

The moment something bad happens we get into panic mode that we find ourselves struggling to trust God.

We will discover that it is very difficult to commit anything to the Lord if we don’t trust Him.

God has given us a promise that when we develop that level of trust and respond upon that trust by entrusting everything over to Him He will help us.

When It’s Connected To The Lord, It’s NEVER In Vane

1 Corinthians 15:58 NLT

So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

The enemy tries to get us to fall into the trap of thinking that the things we do for the Lord is useless or pointless

Scripture reminds us that nothing we do for the Lord is ever done in Vane. God will always get the glory when we commit everything over to Him.

Whatever we connect to the Lord we are then giving God permission to move in that area

It’s when we commit ourselves to the Lord that we will start to notice even more hardships come across our path — BUT in the midst of the hardship, in the midst of the struggle God is Faithful!!

We become Strong and immovable simply by staying connected and rooted within God’s word

Staying connected to God through prayer

Giving Him our genuine level of worship

What is causing you to stumble? What is dimming your glow? Acknowledge it and move beyond it!