What Is Your Spiritual Temperature?

“I know of no better thermometer to your spiritual temperature than this, the measure of the intensity of your prayer.” – Charles Spurgeon.

There are many things that we use in life to measure other things. A barometer measures atmospheric pressure; a speedometer measures speed, a pedometer that tells you how many steps you have walked, a thermometer measures temperature. But is there a device that measures one’s spiritual temperature? Is there a spiritual thermometer?

We know from Revelation 3:15-16 that God doesn’t think much of His followers being lukewarm: “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!” We don’t want to be lukewarm, nor do we want to be cold. We want to be “on fire for God.” To some people, it means being “excited about God. ”They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32)

A good example of being on fire for God literally and figuratively can be found in the Acts 2 church. “Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.” (Acts 2:3-4) Acts is the story of a handful of men and women who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, changed the world.

We are now 282 days into 2019. How are you doing spiritually? Are you becoming more like Jesus? Ask, is my love for God becoming more passionate, or has it cooled even a little? Are you making progress, but not as much progress as we would like?

Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second greatest is to love our neighbor as ourselves. He also said “your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:35) Love is really the only thermometer/barometer that is an indicator of our spiritual condition. Am I loving God more each day? Do I love others more each day? If the answer to those questions is yes, then you are headed in the right direction. Real love is more about knowing Jesus, and less about a to-do list of spiritual chores. Passion is what keeps the spiritual temperature rising. As you do, your thermometer readings will begin to shift away from indifference … and towards the “fire” end of the scale.

Discussion Questions:

How often do you take stock of your spiritual temperature? Would you say your temperature is where you would like it to be?
What can you do this week to move your spiritual temperature a few degrees upward?