double-minded

P 2327 The good fight happens in your head.

/ DVH

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” II Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV. 

After reading this scripture, I had this totally mad thought. Could this be the reason so many of us are stuck in the same place we’ve always been, with one foot nailed to the ground, going round and round? Mainly because we have not grown beyond the places of assent into action. Is this happening because we are not accepting the inspiration and discipline of scripture to correct us, reprove and instruct us in righteousness? And so we only read and accept the bits we like, rather than we actually read the book to find out where we need to be changed? Yikes! 

I know the bible says “…and forget not all His benefits…”BUT! That’s just one kind of verse. The bible has loads of other verses that are instructions, and it is time we started memorising scriptures that challenge our religious beliefs. Christianity is not a club, or a part-time occupation, it is a monarchy –  a theocracy.  A single Ruler …Christ.

That thought about scared the daylights out of me. Do we really think that simply agreeing with what it says, is the same as doing what it says?  Double yikes … and … an ‘oh my goodness’ thrown in! 😳 I know we can’t make every single change all at once, but we need to start somewhere. Sometimes the Holy Spirit is more willing to help us than we are to be helped. 

Pick something that comes up often in your life and start there. Maybe that could be traits that drive other people close to us nuts, YAY!! We need to be humble and open and pliable enough to go after change. Seek advice, don’t hide from the truth. “Confess your faults to one another that you may be healed.“ Otherwise we are easily diagnosed by James as double-minded. And we will get nowhere because we continue to ignore our own faults.

By all means be encouraged by the Lord from His book, but please don’t let the need for pastoral care overshadow, or eliminate the need to be transformed. We can spend so much time trying to make ourselves feel better over things that actually need forgiveness, or repentance, or reconciliation, or reparation… or all of them! 

We can end up so focussed on ourselves we forget our mandate…which is to love others, by sharing the gospel in all its power and authenticity. Plus living our lives the way Christ would – today. In our own homes, with our families, and the people who really know us – as well as other people we don’t know well. They can’t see through our pleasant exteriors. 

There is no lasting value or even any transformation in just admitting our faults and praying over them, and then leaving the transformation to Him. We simply must engage in the process. I’ve found that once the Lord highlights some fault of mine, opportunities to yield to Him and act in faith – pop up like daisies. I am not always thrilled by this, but I have also discovered that obedience and transformation leads to greater revelation and deeper commitment to the King.

I’ve also learnt that I need to actively, prayerfully, continually, revise my behaviour – especially when I find my thoughts start feeding me a diet of other people’s faults. Have you ever noticed, when someone is being provocative and contrary, how easy it is to remember the last time they offended you? Our enemy is delighted to run these things by us when we feel weak or vulnerable. Take heart — this means the Lord is giving us strength training.

I don’t know how we can ever think we can fight satan when we have difficulty fighting temptations. God sent us a round-the-clock, available at any second, Helper. Instead of denying the faults we have, we need to use these things as an opportunity to diagnose, repair and bring healing into our lives and the life of someone else. We are fighting for other people’s right to hear the good news for themselves. Of course our enemy wants to distract us at any turn, we have been given the power to usher in new beginnings for others. Ya might want to think on that. 🧐

P 2316 Faith requires ACTION.

/ DVH

However, we all need a huge dose of what James said in chapter one V6-9.“But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [God’s willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind. For such a person ought not to think or expect that he will receive anything [at all] from the Lord,  being a double-minded man, unstable and restless in all his ways [in everything he thinks, feels, or decides].”

So if you want wisdom – ASK – and don’t take no for an answer…INSIST! Pretend you are 5 years old and NAG! This kind of asking shows Him we believe He said it, we know He heard us, and HE WILL ANSWER US. At the same time, the state of our mind matters, that’s why it needs daily renewal. We don’t have to read twenty chapters from the bible every single day— we just need to pray, pause, and wait for Him to reveal what He wants to say to us for today. That’s ‘our daily bread!’ 

What James is talking about here – is faith in action, not theoretical faith. This kind of surety in God’s goodness can’t be borrowed. It must come from inside us. But it can be learned, from our personal, hard-fought knowledge of Who HE is. Action is how you go from theory to experience. We have to cultivate our relationship with Him by listening and doing.

Personally, I also encourage myself in the Lord so I can access my faith — just like David did. David looked at Goliath and remembered the God Who sent him there to that battlefield. That God helped David kill a lion and a bear. His courage for doing the next thing, came from his previous experiences with God. This is what builds faith into our lives – not how we feel but what He did yesterday or last week.

Actually, last week we gave away bookmarks etc in our various trips to doctors and physiotherapists. The Lord told me to give a bookmark with a ballet dancer on it to an older lady. My thought bubble was: ‘That’s just nuts! Way to be instantly wrong!’ The nice lady had a smile all over her face: ‘My mother was a ballet dancer and I run a ballet school’ she said. 😶

Faith is not about getting it right or even understanding it — it comes from obedience. We have a huge book full of things to do! Our faith grows from our personal understanding and knowledge of His ways AS we obey and trust Him. Common sense is overrated – it will talk you out of trying. 

Here is another one: I made a keychain for the lovely public librarian who takes care of my library needs. The Holy Spirit said: “Give her the one with that large cross on it.” I argued with Him, because she had specifically, previously, politely told me she is an atheist. Do you know what He said when I queried it? “You never know what people will cling to, when life falls apart. It’s a reminder for her.” So far she has thanked me three times, in capital letters. 

Sometimes we don’t have a testimony because we won’t take a risk. Faith does stuff – it is not an observer. It steps out and acts. However there are times that it shuts up instead of being equally as rude as the other person is … in an argument. Faith gives a soft answer instead … and that is still doing something!  

Our Faith is not in our ability to access God. He is always accessible to us because of what Jesus Christ did. Our faith is in Who He says He is and what He said He did — in the book! We don’t go to Him just to find things we want to to fix, or even the things that we think we want. We go there to find Him, because His Presence is our prize. Not just what He will or won’t do for us. This means our faith is in Who He is … His character.  

We need to take the time to read the Bible, and prayerfully think about it, that’s how we learn His Ways. After that we ACT on it. So when I read: “do good to those who despitefully use you,” I don’t think – ‘I don’t have that problem with anyone GOD…” and dismiss that scripture….Instead I immediately ask Him: ‘Who is that in my life Lord?” I assume His word is right and I AM WRONG. I don’t excuse myself. Faith needs action, otherwise it is just tumbleweed blowing about in your brain! 👋🏻