I was young when I came to know Christ. I grew up in the church and when I made my decision to trust Christ as my personal Savior, it seemed like an obvious choice. I knew I was a sinner and in need of a rescue.
However, that obvious choice didn’t seem to follow me. When I was a teenager, I began making poor decisions. I didn’t really know how to have an authentic personal relationship with Christ. I knew all the rules and how I was supposed to play by them, which lead in part to my rebellion.
The older I got, the worse the decisions were that I made. It seemed as if there was no turning back. I had failed to the nth degree and I constantly felt the way I had ended up, tossed in the sea.
It seemed somehow in my upbringing, I missed the grace. I missed that the rules were supposed to point us to Christ but then were free to walk in His grace. We were no longer in rebellion to Him but were truly His children meant to be the inheritors of all that Christ was and has to give us.
I stayed infant in my thinking and as a result didn’t really experience the grace that was gifted to me through the shed blood on the cross.
Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Ephesians 4:14
One of my scariest encounters with the ocean was when I was living in Hawaii. The currents were especially strong one afternoon. As the waves came in they literally picked me up off the beach and drug me into the water.
As I was tossed around in a cycle, like in a washing machine, I wasn’t quite sure I was going to get out. The shore break was big and the water kept turning over and over. If I had not been pulled out, I am not sure I would have been able to fight the force of the wave.
My decisions in my life often left me feeling the same way. Living life as an infant Christian, I had never grown to a place where I saw the real rescue. The result was a life feeling tossed back and forth between the things of this world and the convictions I felt deep in my heart.
But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. James 1:6
Even though I knew in my heart that Jesus was the answer, I believed the lies of the world that I could conquer all things by myself. I guess you would have to say, I doubted God was really capable of fully rescuing me.
I knew trusting Him as my personal Savior meant rescuing me from hell and eternal separation from Him, but I never relied on or trusted Him to rescue me from myself or from the situations I had gotten myself into.
The result was always feeling this compulsion to be pulled into the world and all it claims to offer. I felt like I was being tossed like the day at the beach. I felt unstable. As I look back on it, it feels so reckless.
Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. James 1:8
Here is the biggest problem with living this way.
That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. James 1:7
Ouch! That one seems to hurt the most.
Living, what James calls, a double-minded life leaves me tossed around in my life. It leaves me unstable.
I can’t say, I have put my faith and trust in God and then never live a day for Him. I was meant for worship. I was meant for fellowship with my King. That is why we were created to be in communion with Him.
Three of the biggest things that I missed out on by living a double-minded life.
Not receiving blessings from God. James 1:7 says I shouldn’t have expected to receive anything from the Lord.
Not giving glory and honor to God.
Not being a light that reflected or pointed people to His kingdom.
While so much time feels like it was lost on myself, I learned a valuable lesson in my dependence on Him. Not to miss another day.
If you feel like this double-minded person or the person that is struggling between choosing the things of this world and things that are eternal. Don’t lose heart.
Make today count. You can turn from those ways. Understand that you are no longer in rebellion to God. You no longer have to live in this world like the sinner you were before you put your trust in Christ. You are free to obey His Word.
Jesus replied, "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. John 14:23.
Christ has come not only to make His dwelling among us but in us. We are the home in which He resides and what we are to reflect is that He is welcome to live and love us there.
It would do us good to regularly remember and thank God for what He did for us at the cross. I think we can be so accustomed to saying it that it loses it awesome ability to transform or hearts and minds.
Feeling torn between two places. The choice may seem obvious from these verses but life doesn’t always appear that easy. It is a real conscience decision that you must make.
One way to learn the best ways to follow Christ is to earnestly seek Him through His Word. There is nothing that will be more life transformational.
Seeking God Daily is a group that offers hope, encouragement, and support in learning God's Word and applying the truths to our walk with Christ.
We want to encourage one another through authentic, honest, and respectful conversation as we earnestly seek Him daily.
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
While we are still getting final details underway, I hope you will join us in preparation for this group. You can find it by clicking HERE! Simply Hit the Join button and your requests will be sent.
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Labels: Double-Minded, Ephesians 4:14, FB Group Seeking God Daily, James 1;6-8, Sitting Among Friends Blog Party, Tossed By World and Godly Views