Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 "The Real Deal"

Tsunami Ministries Devotional by Steve Keaton
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
Title: The Real Deal
Text: Revelation 3:15-16 (NIV) ¹⁵I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

New York City is one of my favorite places in the entire world. Even though I'm a man raised in the south, I just seem to love being in The Big Apple. All of the hustle and bustle, riding the subway, honking horns of the taxis, being shoved around like a pinball on the busy city streets. I love the bright lights and all of the craziness the city has to offer.

It is also a shopper's paradise. With all of the amazing stores and street vendors available. A person could really some of major financial damage if they weren't a bit disciplined with their money. Yet, every time I've been to New York City, I have noticed more people than I could possibly count, pushing through the mass of humanity with more shopping bags than 1 person should physically be able to carry. Stores like Tiffany, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue and several other Madison Avenue, high-end establishments. I have often thought that many of those people are probably carrying more in their shopping bags than I even make in 1 year's salary. Crazy.

However, for those of us who are considered the "Common" person, there is no need to fret. We too have a chance to get our hands on some pretty amazing things. Items that have the names of the most sought after clothing, jewelry and accessories that we never thought we could ever have. How? 2 simple words. Canal Street! Canal Street is the place that you will be able to get all the high-dollar stuff without paying all of the high-dollar prices. Now, I'm sure you are asking yourself, "How can that be?" Well, the answer is quite simple. Because even though it may look like the real deal, and have the name on it like the real deal, it is not the real deal. In other words, it is a fake, fraud or impostor. You can give it any name you wish. Knock-off, faux, counterfeit, fraud, mock, phony. However you wish to label it, the bottom line is that it just is not the real deal. But when it comes to a knock-off of a $1,000 purse or $500 pair of sunglasses, does it really matter? Probably not. No one will really care if found out it was fake. But when it comes to our faith, you better believe it matters.

Unfortunately it has become far too easy for Christ-Followers to fall into this trap. Sure, on the outside they may look the part. They may wear the clothing and the cross around their neck. They may have the cool little fish on the back of their car. They probably even show up to right worship services and so on. But if you begin to really observe and witness what this person is all about, it becomes quite easy to see that they just aren't the real deal. And unlike purses, sunglasses and clothing, this is a major problem. God has called us to a life like no other. A life of loving all, serving all, sacrificing all and walking the walk and not just talking the talk. And when we choose to put on the mask of an authentic Christ-Follower, but live another way, the fact is we are no more than impostors, fakes and frauds.

The word "Real" is defined as being an actual thing. The key word in that statement is "Actual" The real deal. And when our path diverges from the path God has called us to walk, we move away from God and towards a world that desires to see us disconnect from the one who created us, redeemed us and sustains us, and embrace the sad life of a dark world. The fact of the matter is that if we have taken on the title of "Christ-Follower" then we are either with God or against God. We are either walking with the Son, or taking a journey on the dark side of the moon. We are either the "Real Deal" who is passionately living a life that is worthy of the name, or we are a fake. It is as simple as that.

So, next time you look yourself in the mirror, take a good hard look at what you see. Not just on the surface, but deep inside your soul and see what answer calls back to you. Real Deal or Impostor?