Single-minded

I hate the double-minded, but I love your law. You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word. Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God. Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope! Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually! You spurn all who go astray from your statutes, for their cunning is in vain. All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross, therefore I love your testimonies. My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments. (Psalm 119:113–120)

This reading is much like yesterday, and therefore God must be telling me to give it more attention! The first thing I notice is that double-minded warning. Biblically, and in personal experience as a Christian, this is about wavering between my way and God's way. He wants a certain way of thinking and behaving, but I want another.

Most of this is invisible to others. For instance, I can tell a story or say words that seem to be uplifting, but in my heart, I’m doing it to show off how much I know. Or I can do a kindness with my teeth gritted because I’d rather be nasty. In other words, not being double-minded is having the godly reaction to people without even thinking of my self-centered one. It is hidden in Him, shielded by His Word and His love.

Doing the right thing is not because I am terrified by what will happen or what God with do to me if I do the wrong thing. It is more like being so in awe of the goodness of God that I do not want to do anything that God has judged harmful for me and for others.

For example, in wanting to be like Jesus, He has shown me how it feels when I tell someone about a struggle in my life and they immediately tell me of their struggles — not to empathize, but as if their problem is worse or more important. Motive is easy to discern. I’ve done it too. Because of ‘been there, done that’ I realize that it can hurt a deeply troubled person when I turn the conversation from their problem to ‘poor me’ and dismiss caring for them. Double-minded stunts like that do not gain God's approval.

Jesus, keep me from being like the things I hate. May your law of loving You and others be the place to not just hide or shield me, but where Your attitudes reign. I know that being in Your Word is a vital part of having Your attitudes and actions come out of my life in a spontaneous way and with honest y and without thought about myself — because You are the focus of my life, not me.

What happens when I obey God?

In “Moving Mountains” author John Eldredge says that there is a way that all things work. After using several examples, he applies this to prayer. I am reading several other books on prayer and his thoughts tie in with the principles presented by the other authors.

For instance, one of them uses Scripture to point to the way I can hinder God’s answers to my prayers. Prayer works in surprising ways, but usually not when I am harboring sin and refusing to give it up.

Chambers’ subject for today is the way God works to reveal His nature. He points specifically to our obedience as His method, but I’m not sure this can be dogmatically stated, even using the passage he selected . . .

And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:15–18)

God had already revealed to Abraham that He could be trusted. Otherwise Abraham never would have obeyed the command to sacrifice his only son. This man knew the promises of God and that He is faithful to keep them. God promised that through the boy Isaac the nations of the earth would be blessed. Abraham believed Him and God confirmed Abraham’s faith after stopping the sacrifice.

He blessed this man and in this situation and this time, His blessing came through obedience. However, the whole earth has been blessed through the sacrifice of another “only Son” and for an entirely different reason: not one person was being obedient! In that most remarkable event, God revealed Himself and His great love without anyone doing anything to deserve it: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Sometimes God’s blessing comes through answered prayer: “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” (2 Corinthians 1:11)

Sometimes God’s blessing comes through faith: “In Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:14)

Sometimes God’s blessing comes because of repentance: “For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.” (Hebrews 12:17)

Yet forgiveness, salvation and eternal life, which are the greatest blessings, are neither earned nor deserved. We cannot do anything to make this happen: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9)

As for the revelation of God to me through obedience, sometimes I become more aware of what He is like by obeying Him, but not always. He takes great care that I am not operating on a ‘do this and be rewarded’ basis. Obedience is an act of faith and love, not a carrot on a stick or a game of hide and seek.

Instead, I believe God reveals Himself to me so I am able to obey Him: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29)

The reality is, God makes the decisions. Obey or not, He reveals Himself according to His choice, just as Jesus said: “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Luke 10:22)

It is never wrong to obey God, but I cannot determine whether He will bless my obedience by revealing more of who He is — He may say “Well done” or He may not say anything at all.

Stop judging and just obey God

Amos 1:1–4:5, Acts 8:26–9:19, Job 19:13–29

Amos was a farmer called to be a prophet. Judah and Israel (God’s people divided into two nations) were prospering, but had slid into idolatry and corrupt practices. Amos denounced this, but first he spoke about God’s punishment planned for the pagan nations around them.

This judgment on their neighbors concerned things that anyone would consider sin. The people of Damascus “threshed Gilead” and would be sent into exile. The people of Gaza had taken “a whole people” into exile and God would send fire; they would perish. The people of Tyre did something similar and would receive the same punishment. The Ammonites “ripped open pregnant women” so as to conquer more territory. Moab did other atrocities. Both would lose their leaders to exile and death.

As for Judah, the Lord said: “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have rejected the law of the Lord, and have not kept his statutes, but their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked. So I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.” (Amos 2:4–5)

Judah rejected God’s law, yet Israel’s sins are described in great detail, also contrary to the revealed will of God. For both nations, their punishment would be like the other nations, but their transgressions were described according to their relationship and obedience to God. All these nations broke the laws of God, but the Lord did not seem to expect pagan nations to obey them in the same way He held His own people accountable.

This reminds me of an error often made today; Christians expect unbelievers to do the will of God. Have we not learned that we ourselves cannot do anything apart from faith and an abiding personal relationship with Jesus Christ? I know I cannot. How could I expect others who do not have faith or Christ in their lives to behave in godly ways?

Job also had experience with judgment, not from God but from his family and friends. He said, “My breath is strange to my wife, and I am a stench to the children of my own mother. Even young children despise me; when I rise they talk against me. All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved have turned against me. My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me!” (Job 19:17–21)

Job knew that God was involved in his dire circumstances, but he was positive he was not being punished. Even though he could not understand what was happening to him, he could say this: “Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!” (Job 19:23–27)

Job was certain of his eternal destiny, and certain that God was doing all this for a reason. He told his judging ‘friends’ that they needed to watch out for themselves: “If you say, ‘How we will pursue him!’ and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,’ be afraid of the sword, for wrath brings the punishment of the sword, that you may know there is a judgment.” (Job 19:28–29)

If this could happen to him without reason, then they should not judge him; God could easily judge them for what they were doing to him! This is another lesson for me. I must not be harsh and judgmental toward Christians who are in trouble. What do I know about the purpose of God for them?

The NT gives me even more to think about. Philip encountered a man reading from Isaiah who wondered about its meaning. Philip hopped into the man’s chariot, began with this Scripture and “told him the good news about Jesus.” They came to some water, and the man wanted to be baptized. This indicated that he believed what he had read and heard. From this, I see that using the OT to point to Jesus Christ is extremely helpful in bringing someone to faith in Him. (Acts 8:35–38)

The next chapter is about the conversion of Saul (Paul). He was on his way to Damascus. Suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” From this encounter with Jesus, he was told what to do and “for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.” (Acts 9:3–9) Then a man named Ananias was sent to him. He laid his hands on him saying, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” With that, “something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened.” (Acts 9:17–19)

Even the great Apostle Paul was at one time blind to spiritual things, so blind that he though killing Christians was God’s will. But God closed his physical eyes and then opened them, showing that only by His power can anyone really see (or hear) what He is doing. Ananias could have tried to talk in into the truth, but he simple did what God told him to do and a persecutor was turned into a child of God.

From this, just one important truth for me: quit always trying to figure things out and simply trust God and do what He tells me to do.

Going beyond mere reading . . .

Apparently there are some who have memorized the entire Bible, others parts of the Bible, yet they make no claim to have a relationship with its Author. This attitude may have been true in Jesus’ day also. He rebuked those who claimed to be religious, but they were not happy to call Him their Messiah. Jesus pointing out that these people read the Scriptures with entirely the wrong attitude.

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (John 5:39–40)

The Bible was written to reveal God to those who seek Him. If compared to the cloud that went before the Israelites, it is dark and hard to understand by those who resist His Spirit, something like the Egyptians who saw His amazing deeds but refused to believe. Yet for those who did believe, that same cloud appeared bright and glorious, and led them on their escape from bondage.

This must be true concerning the Bible. God is spirit and communicates Himself in a spiritual manner. If we know the Spirit of God, then the Word of God is opened to our minds by Him.

Christians are given the Holy Spirit, yet I know I can be filled with myself and my concerns. When I come to the Bible each day, I must ask God to fill me with His Spirit, confessing anything that might stand in the way of His communication to my heart and life.

This means that before I read the Bible, I must pray and ask that God sends His Spirit to direct my understanding lest His Word of God merely flies over my head and I miss whatever He wants to say to me.

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. (John 16:13)

This is such an amazing reality. Each day God speaks to me from His Word. Sometimes I am not listening very well, but when I do, what He says is always helpful and practical because it is startlingly related to my circumstances. When I finish reading, my heart is filled with awe at His grace and how He uses His Word to feed my Spirit.

Reading daily and diligently is important, but more important is knowing how to read. Paul wrote, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

For this, the Holy Spirit is helpful, but it is also helpful to consult with other Christians. This can be done in Bible study groups, hearing sound preaching, and reading books and commentaries that refer to what I am reading. I must pay attention to how the church has traditionally understood various teachings and passages. While the church and traditions are not the final authority (God’s Word holds that place), no one person has a corner on all truth. God reveals it to His people as a Body, and He is consistent. That is, Christians all over the world generally have the same understanding of His Word. We may not use the same language, but our Interpreter is the same Spirit. He does not contradict Himself.

The most important requirement for Bible study is never an academic goal, or merely to know it. Memorizing the entire Bible is useless unless I also do what it says.

Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge. (Proverbs 23:12)

God does not reveal Himself to those who will ignore Him and walk on. He intends an intimate relationship built on an intimate knowledge of Him. He knows me deeply and personally and wants me to know Him like that. The Bible contains the deep things of God and cannot be understood or be of any benefit to me if I am reading it carelessly or superficially. Instead, God wants an industrious intimacy, a meek humble heart, willing to hear what He says and put it into practice in my life.

Biblical humility

Some assume that being humble means thinking yourself worthless. My thesaurus offers words like modest, unassuming, meek, self-effacing, lowly, unprivileged, subservient, debased and other negative words that point to me. These days, even as in Bible times, humility is not considered a positive virtue. 
 

Yet the Word of God tells me that I am to be humble, like Jesus who was humble and also a perfect and sinless man. What then does it mean to be humble? This passage makes me think about serving the Lord with humility.

And when they came to him, he (Paul) said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God….” (Acts 20:18–24)

From this example set by Paul, biblical humility can be defined. First, it means not being afraid to show emotion. Paul served God with tears. He didn’t fake courage when he was fearful or pretend joy when he was sad. If he felt like crying, he did. He wore his heart on his sleeve and didn’t try to impress others with ‘being cool’ when he was anything but.

Humility also means obedience. God told him to share the gospel and teach others about Jesus and he did it. He did not shrink back even when threatened by those who wanted him to stop. 

Humble means persistence. Some might think that a humble person will back off and quit when the pressure is on, but Paul didn’t quit no matter what happened. Humility is never the opposite of courage.

Humility makes a person a likely candidate for knowing the will of God. While Paul did not know the details, he did understand, as revealed by the Holy Spirit, that he would be put in jail and suffer affliction. Yet this did not make him want to quit. This demonstrates that humility is not cowardly. Paul wasn’t concerned about his own life except that he should do what God asked him to do. 

In contrast, pride thinks of myself first, but Paul was not like that. He put God and the will of God at the very center of his life. Finishing what God gave him to do was more important than his own comfort. Humility did not fold up under negative feedback or responses to his actions. He was more concerned about the eternal destiny of others than anything that happened to him.

As I think about my own life and how I am often afraid to testify to the gospel, I realize the root of this is pride. Instead of being humble, I am guarded and unwilling at times to express what I think and feel. I want to make a good impression, and that I-want can keep me from obedience. Often, I do not know the will of God, and from this passage I can see that being cowardly could be the reason He keeps me in the dark. I’m too concerned about what will happen to me to be trusted with information about the future. 

Even the briefest study of humility shows me that it requires strong confidence in a caring God, not a strong confidence in a sinful self. What can I say? When I confess my pride, the Lord tells me to humble myself. That means to stop trusting my own judgment in all areas of my life and put all my confidence in Him. 

It also means obedience. If my confidence is in God, then I will do what He says, no matter how I feel or think. Humility is self-effacing in that way, but it is not focused on self. It is more about loving God and caring for others to the point that my concerns for myself can be put into the hands of God and left there. 

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Oh Lord, catch me in every hint of pride. Show me all areas of thinking and action where I am placing my confidence in my worst idol — me. May I truly die to self and live for You.