This is the best day to be alive for the church! The greatest hour for the church is now! Isaiah 60, written while the Israelites were in captivity! Regardless of what the circumstances are in the world around us, we are to arise and shine! We are not of this world but we are in this world to be Jesus to the world, not forgetting who we are IN Christ!
I was reading a book by Rick Renner and he was talking about Hebrews 6:12, about being slothful. I wondered what that meant. Reading on in his devotional he brought some things to light! And that was exactly what I was dealing with, but couldn’t pinpoint it.
Hebrews 6:12 KJV- “That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
NLT “Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.” Some translations say “lazy” but verse 10 says “For God is not unjust, He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers as you still do.” It’s not about being lazy; it’s about being slothful! So what does this word “slothful” mean?
The word slothful comes from the Greek word ‘nothros’ and describes something that is dull, monotonous, or unexciting, something that is slow and sluggish; or something that has lost its speed or momentum. It denotes a person who has become disinterested and whose zeal has been replaced with a middle-of-the- road, take-it-or-leave it mentality; A candle that does not burn as brightly as it once did, and now it’s flame has dwindled to a mere flicker. It’s someone who has lost zeal or his intense conviction about a matter that once was of great importance to him.
When I read this I was convicted! I was simply “going through the motions” with life and ministry! I had lost passion and zeal for the things I loved the most! But was unaware of what was wrong with me! I love my friendship encounter but was dreading going to group. I now knew that I had allowed a “sloth” to attach itself to me!
I needed to shake that thing off!
If we are in this state of “slothfulness” we are not as aware of the things of the spirit. We have a hard time hearing or seeing things in the spirit because we have become “spiritually dull and indifferent” Slothfulness has nothing to do with the amount of energy you put out. It is talking about the inward condition. On the outside it may look like we are going forward, but on the inside we are neutral, dull, and indifferent! But eventually, if not taken care of will manifest outwardly. Then we don’t go to cell, celebration or talk to our neighbors about Jesus. We become comfortable with the sloth in our life. Concerning the things Jesus commanded us to do; we just make excuses to not do them. The sloth is not a pet! We need to shake it off!
Heb 6:12 could be interpreted this way:
“Quit being slothful– quit acting like someone who has lost his enthusiasm and excitement and has now sunk into a state of being slow, boring, monotonous, sluggish, dull and uninterested.
1- Shake off that sloth!
2- Ephesians 5:18, Be continually filled with the Holy Spirit!
3- 2 Timothy 1:6, STIR up the gift! We have to stir up the things in us! Remind ourselves of who lives IN us! The Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives IN us!
God is calling the church to Arise and Shine! If we allow this slothfulness to continue, we will not be to the world what the world needs. The world needs us being Jesus! Excited, passionate and full of life! Resurrection life!
