Refuse to go through the motions without emotions.

Pray right now, asking the Lord to wake up your sleepy heart. If receiving holy communion doesn’t move you emotionally, you’re in a rut. If your heart no longer erupts with joy as you sing about the grace of God and the blood of Jesus, you’re in a rut. If that is you, take heart. The Lord loves you so much He comes to you, He comes to wake up His sleepy Bride. The Apostle Paul spoke to sleeping Christians in one of the greatest churches of the day, Ephesus, and said: “Awake, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light” (Ephesians 5:14). Now stir up the gift of God that is in you. Get around some people that are passionate about God, let the embers of their life light up something fresh from the Spirit in you.

Choose holier over older. 

Samson fell into the trap of getting older, but not any holier. He had the call—he was God’s man of the hour—but he thought that his conduct didn’t have to line up with his God. His self-deception led him to eventually lose his eyes and then his life. If you take a glance at your life for a minute, are you getting holier? Do your conversations sound more like the way Jesus talks? Are the fruits of the Holy Spirit evident in your life? (See Galatians 5:22-23.) The Scriptures say, “Wake up to righteousness, and stop sinning” (1 Corinthians 15:34). I encourage you to read the book, “The Beauty of Holiness” by Pastor Dave Williams. As he mentions right on the cover, it is an exciting pursuit!

Stay tight with the family. 

I’ve noticed something while making campfires. If I want to get a fizzling fire to start bursting into flames, I just push the burning embers together. If I want to get a fire to go out, I just spread the embers out, and eventually, the fire dies. In these last days before the return of Christ, you can expect that persecution will increase as sin will run rampant everywhere. At the same time, there will be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit like this world has never seen before. We are told that many in the last days will depart from the faith as the tension between this world’s kingdom and God’s kingdom increases. The Apostle Paul said, “Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts” (2 Timothy 2:22). Your alliances are critical in this season.