Morning Coffee (or Tea) and Our Stance With God. What Temperature Are You?

Hey Everyone,

Disclaimer: I had to include an alternative to coffee for a particular tea-loving friend.

I was prepping my morning coffee a few days ago as I gathered up what I needed to do some work for a few hours. As I became distracted with other things, my coffee very quickly cooled down to barely lukewarm, causing the first sip to be less than enjoyable.

Because I don't like the taste of coffee that's been reheated in the microwave, I usually choose the opposite extreme once it's cooled down to "the point of no return," so instead, I add heaps of ice until it's cold enough to suit a polar bear.

I don't like coffee unless it's piping hot or ice ice (baby) cold. (That was a song reference for anyone who grew up around the same time I did!)

This whole morning coffee-turned-bad-turned-good-again scenario had me thinking about a particular passage in Revelation. I'm not the only one who doesn't enjoy something lukewarm.

Revelation 3:16 -- "So because you are lukewarm (spiritually useless,) and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth (rejecting you with disgust.)"

This gave a whole new meaning towards my otherwise mundane coffee ritual.

Certainly none of us want to be seen as spiritually useless or disgusting to God.

But yet I found myself asking:

1. How do we know whether we are lukewarm, cold, or hot? How can we determine if God finds us spiritually useful? (And how much do we have to be doing, and what do we have to be doing to achieve this?)

Is going to church once a week enough? Praying 3 times a week? Helping out in one group... or 4? Or is it more or less?

How do we know?

I struggle with this myself. I have been reading a daily devotional for years, but a few weeks ago, I believed God was telling me to bump that up and get back into regular Bible reading. I've always tried to read the Bible regularly, but yeah, I was slacking. Every time I read through the Bible completely, I like to buy a new one with footnotes and additional articles and insights (about culture, geography, history of the time frames, etc.) I'm sad to say, I've had my latest Bible for over 3 years and I'm only up to Acts. The Holy Spirit was telling me, "C'mon now, pick that up and let's get going."

Right now I'm trying to read 2 pages a day, 6 days a week (with one day off for church,) and that seems to be the pace He wants me to have, at least for now. I know it's different for everyone -- for some, this would be a blink of an eye, but for others, even half a page would be a struggle. I can freely say that for me, it's a challenge keeping up regularly, which is probably why God determined that amount for me.

2. What benchmarks or signals do we use in our own lives to determine if we are "hot" enough for the will of God? Does He prompt/correct you about this? If so, how?

3. What do you use to keep yourself from becoming lukewarm? And how do you get back if you fall off the path?

I was thinking about these things as a single person just because that's my own situation, so I was thinking about the challenges of sometimes having the only guardrail as being God and yourself.

But I realize it can be just as or more difficult for married people due to several factors, especially if one spouse has strayed and the two are not in alignment.

Do you ever worry about your faith "cooling off" or becoming just room temperature?

I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences with how you stay on fire for God as He wants us to be.

I don't have time this morning to answer that many spiritual questions in detail, so I will just give a few quick bullet points.
First, I will repost a solution I came up with to the use of a French press. I like this method so much that I bought more than one and gave them as gifts to coffee drinkers. The drawback, everything is a compromise, is that the breaker is fragile glass and it cools down quickly. The following is from another post in the recipe forum started by Poinsetta.

I am not against any method people prefer.
I've had every method from hobo coffee, instant, bad quality, good..... percolator to pour over, campfire pans to glass pots.
However, I just bought a spare French press as a backup in case my daily user breaks. That's my favorite. In case you're not familiar, they are essentially a glass beaker with a handle that encases it so you can handle and pour it. I fabricated a special double walled mylar insulator to keep it hot longer. The drawbacks to a French press are that they can easily break and that they lose heat quickly. I made the insulator with my personal camo design and an elastic bungee cord for extra heat seal.
It snaps together with three snaps and came out perfect. I did something similar with the top because heat rises, so made it a hat. The coffee remains hot and just as good an hour later.

The whole bean coffee is ground just before use and added after preheating the press with hot water.
Once the water is about boiling, it's poured in while stirring with a bamboo chop stick.
The lid is set on top. It consists of a stainless steel screen and stem that becomes the press.
Around 4 minutes, the coffee is ready. Then you push down the press which strains the grounds to the bottom.
This method seems to extract the most flavor , yet doesn't allow the grounds to become bitter.

The most important part is the use of purified water. I decided to forgo city chemically sanitized water for a Royal Berky Water Purification Unit. I have an indoor well which I like.
The Berky is the same model that the queen of England is said to use. I never met her to ask, but it's good enough for me regardless. 😉

I've seen a lot of emotional decisions that lack follow through. There's nothing wrong with proper emotions. We are made in the image of God and I believe that is part of His Being. However, emotions are not enough. I only mentioned that because of the misunderstanding my local charismatic friends and also some fundamental Christians have . They often refer to emotional services, or lack thereof, as to whether they think the assembly is dead or alive.

When it comes to the passage you refer to in Revelation chapter 3, I'm glad that you recognize it is speaking to a body of believers. It would be an easy solution if they were hot and walking with the Lord. That is most preferable..
It would be an easy solution if they were cold, such as > this good news. <
Notice the only proper response to the good news is not "asking Jesus into your heart." Preachers will throw out the entire Bible to misapply that one phrase, which isn't even found in the Bible.
What is the proper response?
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved."
Until that occurs, the rest of your questions are moot and do not apply. Now back to that point.

One key to spiritual growth after salvation, which is the goal of being hot for the Lord in the Revelation passage is the following.

1. Development of spiritually edifying routines. They need to become lifetime routines.
2. Fruitful life.
This comes from routines that produce fruit. I'm not just talking about fruit of the Spirit, but also leading others to Christ.
3. Develop a consistent love for God.
4. Develop a consistent love for others.

That's all I have time for until I read my Bible at lunch.

I found a devotional and trying to read that everyday, although its kind of less meaty than I would like.

It has a ribbon bookmark so makes it easy cos I tend to lose where I am up to. All Bibles ought to have book ribbon bookmarks.

Have just started a new job thats full time term time so am busy organising things to settle in atm. I make sure I take my breaks and get enough quiet time/fresh air. Tea is best hot. You have to carve out time and say NO to people sometimes.

Teachers will dry to dump their work on me assuming I will help them out when they can do it themselves. But Just got to be firm and say no.

I think being single means you need that precious time alone with God is particularly important. Cos He has singled you out. I think being married means your time is never really your own, its ALWAYS about the other spouse or children etc, but them you supposedly willingly entered into that kind of bondage!

individualists dont cope well with TOO much community things, including church gatherings. I find that you can coast along with the bare minimum effort in a group, whereas when you are on your own you do everything you can and get more satisfaction using all your talents. Though these talents are not just for you but only you can do them - its about taking responsibility for yourself. When you in a group you can sort of easily let everyone else think for you. (Groupthink - which can be a good thing, but more often its a bad thing! Unless you all have the mind of Christ its easy for one with the loudest voice to shout down or bully everyone else)

As for tea, tea is best done as 'High tea' with fresh scones with jam and cream in the traditional English manner OR in a busy Yum Cha restaurant with dim sum. With at least two others.

Otherwise its a tea bag and dry biscuit affair snatched in ten minutes at work. Make sure you at least get to sit down. lol Bring back the tea ladies/men who put on morning tea for you. Employers used to have them before everyone just bought their own in a thermos...

You have a thermos dont you? To keep your tea hot. Just hot water. Stainless steel flask should do it.

If you like things cold just freeze a (plastic) bottle of water in the freezer the night before bring it to work by afternoon if you have no fridge it would have melted but it will still be cold.

My bible had a ribbon bookmark, but my cat Tango ate it. Cat obviously needs Jesus.

I've never owned a Thermos or any kind of stainless steel holder.

Just haven't had a need for one so far, as I don't mind the transition.

But maybe someday.

I have a lot to say on this topic, but I will wait until I am back at the house with a real keyboard. Smartphone on screen keyboards are not reasonable facsimiles.

I believe it is the state of mind or of faith. You either have it or not. You either produce fruit or not. By your words alone you show you are of faith and under grace, love, forgiveness you walk in sanctification which will not always be hot in energy or hot in good works. It will sometimes be a walk through depression, loneliness, pain, fear, failure, and oh yes, sin.

God already knows this as to why He sent His Son and to why the Holy Spirit was sent as well.

We are hot when we abide in faith. A true faith will be a continual gradual state of holiness. Not in perfection but a gradual state. There will be seasons of stagnation or even rebellion since we can be stubborn. But those of true faith live in a continuous repentance were they eventually catch on and turn back.

In the meantime here's a webcomic about the flavor of iced coffee:

So about being lukewarm... I don't think it has anything to do with how much a person is or is not doing. That might be an indicator, but it's not the heart of the matter.

Out of the seven churches, only two didn't receive any rebuke. Five of them had left their first love. That's the Bible's phrasing, not mine.

The Bible says a lot about love. We are told to love God and love each other. That means it's something we choose to do, not a reaction to circumstances: We decide whether or not to love.

If you love someone, you don't care any more about what who does for whom. You don't keep score. It doesn't matter whether you are doing enough to make him love you, or whether he does enough to be worth what you are doing to keep him with you.

When you act from love, it doesn't matter how much you are doing. It will always be enough, because you do it willingly from love.

If I am lukewarm, it is not in what I do. What I do is only a reflection of my heart. If I am lukewarm it is a lukewarm love, not lukewarm actions.

Either way, "Am I doing enough?" stops being a valid question. There is no right answer because being lukewarm is not a matter of how much I'm doing.

Wow... she could do that all day long

I do not know if I'm on fire for God or not. I do know I have my idols, and they divide the heart.

I can say this though, I have been seeking God diligently and consistently since June of 2012. I am more aware of (and bothered by) my sin than ever.

I think I am growing. But, I am not as passionate or as dedicated as Paul or Peter. I wish I could say differently, but I will say that I think God is working in me to improve those things.

I have this, idk what to call it, a thermos I think, but its doesn't only keep hot drinks hot, it also keeps cold drinks cold. And I've marveled and wondered at what material it might be made of since it works so well. And going back over the Laodicean context of Rev 3:15, it makes me wonder if it might be lined in gold? In v. 18, The Amen counsels, " buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see." Following His assessment of Laodicea in v. 17, "You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked."

That is, Laodicea has no drink cozie. In v. 19, the faithful and true Witness says, " Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore, be earnest and repent." The hot is those that envelope themselves in that love, a love that can keep them cool if the need presents itself also, but if out of it, becomes lukewarm.

Interesting!.. I'll drink my coffee hot, cold, or lukewarm!


We don't really know that do we?.. Why do we do what we do?.. Are we trying to please God who might get angry if we don't or are we doing it from the heart? Do we serve because we want to be part of something and help?.. Do we study because we really want to know how to walk out our faith?



Whether I'm "hot" enough or not, I don't know. I do have study routine that I follow because it's what works for me.


Yes, as singles we have our challenges. Married folk have their own challenges. There is no perfect world with either.

As far as lukewarm or having your faith cool off, I guess we have to ask ourselves why we do what we do? I'm not sure that's an answer but it's all I got at the moment...

Funny Yesterday, I made sure I ate most of my lunch at morning tea, since I would hardly get time in my own lunch time, then had a free period with no classes in the afternoon, so had time to finish my lunch in the staffroom and then got told off by the Principal for not having my lunch at lunch time. She said I could eat in my office, which is a cupboard under the stairs in the library.

Um..cos someone needs to be in the library at all times.
but I have a no food or drinks policy in the library.

Oh well, I guess I must become a library mouse then or bookworm and eat books.

I remember one job I had a tiny corner in the basement office to have a break but I would go out into the roof staff carpark to get some 'fresh' air otherwise I would have been inside a windowless building for 8 hours. And become a vampire...

For me its not really tea ....

Its either hot chocolate or ice chocolate. Lukewarm chocolate is the chocolate thats been sitting on the supermarket shelf or pantry until it expires. Possibly already melted a little and then gone hard again. I know you could still eat it but...its not as satisfying.

The best use for that kind of chocolate is melting down in a recipe for chocolate cake or chocolate pudding.

Off topic but: most thermoses and insulated tumblers use air or empty space as the insulating material to keep the drink from conforming to the outside temperature. The older ones had these vacuum (in the sense of space without anything even air in it) glass inserts with a usually silver colored backing like a mirror (that shattered into tiny pieces if you tried to be clever and put an ice cube in it to keep your drink cold), newer ones are just double or triple walled stainless steel. Foam insulation works about the same way, the foam is full of little tiny air pockets that heat has a hard time crossing.

Ok enough geeky stuff.