Cure for Complacency???

I whispered in Mary's ear "we could be home by now if we had attended our regular place of worship." Now that was an obvious admission of complacency right there. My rear end was hurting real bad and after what seemed like eternity the preacher was finally coming to the close....this wasn't the first time I've sat through this word...

He had been presenting the case about our sorry assed complacency, exhorting us to finish well and finally we were on our feet, all heads bowed making a fresh commitment to do better and work harder...to put a stop to the complacency which can have such devastating results when we finally stand before our maker....he was doing his best to motivate us to love and good works... and staying hot...if we could hold tough till the end we would receive the "well done" from the master.

I was having a hard time holding on till he got finished...and was trying to imagine holding on till the end....

I so want to hear the "well done" but it was taking him too darn long to make the point...

Finally thank God the girl with the blond hair began to sing such a sweet song of worship and in a moment I was transported to the place the preacher had been trying to get us to for the past hour. With the song came a fresh revelation of how much He loved us FIRST. John says it this way..."Here in is Love, not that we love God, but that He loves us.....First".

In my mind I mused "Thank you Lord that First Love isn't some thing I drum up but something you have already initiated. Thank you Jesus for Loving me First. And thanks for the friendship...

Here is the quick cure for complacency and every other sin (anxiety, fear, unforgiveness, greed, lust, anger etc.)...try it...lean back and put your head up against His chest, take a couple of deep breaths, let Him wrap His arms around you, just be still and soak it up...waste some time with Jesus (B Manning)and learn the unforced rhythms of Grace (G Edwards)...and whalla ....passion is restored....

....good fruit is the natural result of abiding in His love...