Hot!

Hot coffee!  My love for it first began when I was a little girl. It was the aroma. My mom drank hers black, hot, and in a small White Castle coffee cup. The first time I actually tasted it was not until I was a teenager. I was surprised it didn’t taste as good as it smelled. But by the time I was old enough to live on my own, I was an official coffee lover, as I had discovered that instant coffee with a little milk and sugar made the perfect cup of coffee.

Nowadays my requirements for a good cup of coffee are pretty simple. I prefer Folgers Classic Roast Instant Coffee Crystals, with a little skim milk, monk fruit sweetener, and most importantly, it must be hot! Lukewarm coffee will not do.

So, you can imagine how excited I was to own my first microwave oven back in 1980. It was a wedding gift from my mom, and it wasn’t just any microwave; it was a Sharp Carousel Microwave. I actually didn’t cook much in it, but I found it perfect for making a cup of coffee and keeping it hot. 

Fast forward to May of 2021, our youngest daughter, Mackenzie, got me an Ember Temperature Control Smart Coffee Mug for Mother’s Day. I love it! When used properly, it keeps my coffee a perfect 140 degrees.

Three things I’ve learned about using the Ember mug:

1. You need to start out with hot coffee. For example, you can’t pour cool or lukewarm coffee in the mug and expect it to work properly.

2. You need to start out with a full cup. It doesn’t work well if you only pour in half a cup. It needs to start out full.

3. You need to keep it charged. While it will work off of its charging base, it doesn’t work for long periods of time. It needs to be connected to its base often in order to keep a good charge.

Thinking about my love of hot coffee reminded me of this verse:

“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!” Revelation 3:15

In this Bible verse, Jesus was referring to the church at Laodicea. It was a dead church; their hearts were lukewarm and their deeds were hypocritical, done for show and not with the heart or the love of God. Basically, the church was full of unconverted, pretend Christians who saw themselves as “rich” believers, but in reality they were self-sufficient hypocrites who relied on their own prosperity and their own good deeds. The Lord saw them as wretched, pitiful and “poor” unbelievers, whom he chastised using the analogy of the temperature of their water.

Interestingly,

Their drinking water was disgustingly lukewarm. It came from a viaduct via a nearby spring, but it was practically worthless. It wasn’t hot like a hot spring that people could bathe in, nor was it refreshingly cold for drinking: it was lukewarm, basically good for nothing, and nauseating to drink. Thus, the analogy is of the Lord’s response to the Laodiceans, who sickened Him like the lukewarm water.

So here’s a stern warning,

And a simple analogy.

1. Lukewarm won’t do: First and foremost you must be born again. Have you turned to Jesus in repentance and faith, and placed your trust in His sacrificial death on the cross for the penalty of your sins? If so, be passionate about matters concerning the Lord! Allow the Holy Spirit to transform your desires to line up with God’s will for your life.

2. You need to be full: There are no halfhearted Christians. To be a “lukewarm Christian” is the equivalent of being an unbeliever. You’re either saved or you’re not saved.

3. Stay close to God: Christians grow in their relationship with God through prayer, the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and by growing in the truth of God’s word through meaningful Bible study. It’s the process of santification. And just as a reminder, attending or being a member of a church doesn’t make you a Christian. Nor is there any value in trusting in church traditions, your status, or your possessions. Good works are not a substitute for salvation. Good works are a result of salvation, not a means of salvation.

Something to think about the next time you enjoy a delicious cup of hot coffee. 

More importantly,

Something to pray about.