Double-Mindedness

A man of two minds (hesitating), he is unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything he thinks, feels, and decides. James 1:8

Most people have probably been double-minded about something at one time. Some people may even struggle with it on a regular basis. Either way this is not a place that you want to spend a lot of time in. It is a very unstable and unhappy place to be.

When we are double-minded we are not giving God 100%. We are giving Him just enough to get by and be considered a "good" Christian. If we are serving God with our whole heart then we have a close relationship already established with Him. And if we have a close relationship with the Lord we have no reason to doubt. We trust Him. We trust Him, because we know Him. We know that He does not lie. We know that He is true to His Word. We know His character. We have faith. We go from faith to faith. We give no place to doubt.

The only way to be free from double-mindedness is to develop a personal relationship with God and give Him your WHOLE heart...not just a piece of it. We went into some practical ways that we can begin to know God in our final Flesh vs Spirit series. If you need a refresher, click here.

How do we give God our whole heart? How do we know when we are not giving Him our whole heart? Let me list the some examples for you. I may not hit on an area that you need to hear about. So, I suggest that you pray, and ask God to reveal where you may be lacking in your dedication to Him.

- You don't attend church on a regular basis.
- You don't go to church because your husband won't.
- You think that it's OK to tell "white" lies when necessary.
- You become offended easily or regulary.
- Your Bible has dust on it.
- You can't remember the last time you spent time with the Lord.
- You get irritated when you are under conviction.
- You frequently watch immoral programming and "feel" no conviction.
- You rarely make prayer a priority.
- You feel stressed out and/or irritable on a regular basis.
- You have become very negative.
- You feel like things are hopeless.
- Your children are more important to you than spending time with God.

I could go on for quite awhile....

If you are experiencing two or more of these symptoms, then you may be someone who has begun the to lose their focus. You are becoming desensitized. You are no longer pursuing God with your whole heart.

It does not have to continue. You can get joy, peace, contentment, and a sound mind. All you have to do is let go of the world and self. Then hang on tight to God. And begin a new relationship with Him. He is waiting with open arms for you. He longs for you to give Him your whole heart. He will cherish it and never break it. He is all you need. Begin to put Him first in your life and your life will become more than you had ever hoped it could be!

Let's pray,
Daddy God, I want my life to shine for You. Forgive me for the times I have let go of Your Loving Hand and took matters into my own hands. Forgive me for putting You in any position other than first in my life. Help me to make right choices. I love You, Lord. I love You more than anything in the entire Universe. Thank You for loving me always. Even when I forsake You. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

In His Love and Service,
Lara ;)

How to Acquire Wisdom, part 2

James 1:6-7

Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating or doubting). For the one who doubts is like the billowing surge out to sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind.

For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything he asks for from the Lord.

This is the key to anything that we want from God. We must have faith. Without faith, God is unable to grant our requests. For we must believe before we can ever receive. First, we ask, then we believe without doubting, and finally we receive. In God's timing, of course.

I often wonder why we doubt God. All of us have doubted, will doubt, or are doubting God. It amazes me that we do this. Why would we doubt the Creator of all things? Why would we doubt a God that cannot lie? Why would we doubt the One Who sent His Precious Son to die for us? Why?

The only answer I could come up with is, our flesh. It is our flesh that doubts. Our spirit man knows how to operate in the spiritual realm. When we are living and walking in the spirit we are more likely to stand firm. However, when we step out in our flesh and start trying to figure things out. That's when we doubt.

Our minds (a.k.a. flesh) cannot wrap around the things of God. And the things of God all operate in the spiritual realm. Our flesh cannot understand that God created time. Our flesh cannot understand how God can be three distinct Persons, yet one. Our flesh cannot understand how God can come down from Heaven and live as a man, and then die and be resurrected.

Even though our fleshly minds cannot understand many things, it does not change the fact that they are the Truth. When we renew our minds with the Word, we are letting go of our earthy, fleshly thinking mind and gaining the Mind of Christ. We begin to understand the things of God and we begin to trust Him.

Starting today, I challenge you to let go and let God. I challenge you to ask and believe. I challenge you to trust the One Who loves You, and will never leave you or forsake you. I challenge you to renew your mind daily. I challenge you to challenge yourself and get into the Word and learn how to trust your God.

Let's pray,

Daddy God, thank You for Your powerful Word. Thank You for making things clear. I ask that You give me a measure of faith and help me to understand Your ways. I ask that You teach me to trust You, Lord. I know that I can trust You in my spirit. But sometimes I give in to my flesh and doubt what I already know. Help me to recognize when this happens, so that I can reject the doubts and trust You, my Loving Daddy in heaven. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

In His Love and Service,
Lara ;)

How to Acquire Wisdom, part 1

James 1:5

If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God, Who gives to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or fault finding, and it will be given to him.

What an incredible verse!

It makes me think of Solomon. He had the opportunity to ask God for anything, and he asked for wisdom. God was so moved that he didn't ask for wealth that He made Solomon not only the wisest man to ever live, but also the richest! Wisdom is to be sought after much more than wealth. For with wisdom we can attain wealth and much more.

I would love to have an abundance of wisdom. There are times I wish I knew what to do or how to handle a certain situation. When we are given the gift of wisdom we have a direct line to the same wisdom that Solomon had. A God given wisdom. A God glorifying wisdom. The kind of wisdom that helps us to lead happy and productive lives.

Another thing that comes to my mind when I read this verse is ask and receive. If we go before the throne of God and ask Him for wisdom, He will give it to us. However, there is an "if" involved. We'll get into that tomorrow.

So, we know there is a way to get this wisdom. Tomorrow we will dig deeper into how to not only obtain this godly wisdom, but keep it.

Let's pray,
Daddy God, thank You that You have made wisdom available to me. Thank You that You love me so very much that You want me to lack nothing. I am truly blessed to be one of Your chosen. I look forward to learning all I can about You and Your glorious ways. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

In His Love,
Lara ;)

Patience and a Good Attitude

JAMES 1:1-4

James, A servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered abroad [among the Gentiles in the dispersion]: Greetings (rejoice)!

Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations.

Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.

But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. Amplified Translation

We will start with the original Greek.

Joyful - chara (khar-ah'): cheerfulness, calm delight, exceeding joy.

Temptations - peirasmos (pi-ras-mos'): a putting to proof, provocation, adversity, try.

Proving - dokimion (dok-im'-ee-on): a testing, trial, trustworthiness.

Bring Out - katergazomai (kat-er-gad'-zom-ahee): to work fully, accomplish, to finish.

Patience (both verses) hupomone (hoop-om-on-ay): cheerful endurance, constancy.

I think these verses are very interesting. Two things stood out the most for me.

First, in order to get the fruit of patience we must go through trials. The trials are what make us strong and help us to learn patience. The trials are like a training ground. You don't just get patience. You must earn it through experience and endurance.

Second, not only do we have to go through the trials, but we must be calm and have a cheerful enduring attitude. As if the trial itself wasn't enough. LOL.

I don't know too many people that get excited over trials. The first thing that most of us do is ask God to take the trial away. Then we ask Him for patience. That is too funny. I think God has the best sense of humor. He truly is an AWESOME GOD!

What I believe James is trying to explain to us is that in this world we will have trials. There is no way out of it. It is part of life. I guess you can thank Adam and Eve for it. It is just the way it is. James is telling us that even though we must go through these trials, our Wonderful and Mighty God threw in a benefit.

The benefit is that when we go through these trials calmly, with a good attitude, and stand strong in our faith, we will become fully developed and lack nothing. Can you imagine lacking nothing?

I believe that this means we will be so focused on the victory, and the more we find joy in the midst of the trials, they will eventually have no affect on us. That is truly a wonderful gift. To get to a point in your walk that your emotions do not run amuck every time something goes wrong in your life. To get to a place where you have a calmness, and are cheerfully enduring.

That is my goal. I want that kind of faith. I want to lose the emotional upheaval and gain the victorious calm.

Let's Pray,

Daddy God, I come before you with a thankful heart. I am so very thankful that even though I must endure trials and suffering in this life, You have made ways for me to find joy and peace in the midst. You love me so much that You made a way for me to be free of the emotional burden of trials. Lord, I ask that You help me to calmly endure the troubles that I am facing and will face. I ask that You help me to have a good attitude, and remember that it is only for a season and one day I will sit at your feet and never hurt again. I love You, Lord. I love You. Thank You. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

In His Love and Service,
Lara ;)

We Serve a Jealous God

James 4:5 ~ Or do you suppose that the Scripture is speaking to no purpose that says, The Spirit Whom He has caused to dwell in us yearns over us and He yearns for the Spirit to be welcome with a jealous love?

The original Greek word and meaning for yearns is, epipotheo (ep-ee-poth-eh'-o): intensely crave possession, earnestly desire.

We can be certain that we serve a jealous God. He tells us Himself in Exodus 34:14; For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, Whose Name is Jealous, is a jealous impassioned God.

He longs for us to put Him first. His greatest desire is for us to love Him and pursue a friendship with Him. He wants to be our delight. When we put people, hobbies, entertainment, or anything before Him in our lives we are creating idols. Idols are not just golden statues. They can be anything and anyone.

Instead of writing a passionate speech on putting God first, I am giving you an assignment for today. I want you to make, yes make some time to sit down and really examine how you are spending your time and where you find your most joy.

If you find that you have little time with God or that your children bring you most of your joy, then you need to make an adjustment in your life. Don't get me wrong, our children and loved ones should be a joy to us. However, nothing should be more important to us than our Daddy in Heaven.

We need to make sure that God is our top priority. When we do this we will be the wife, Mother, and woman that He created us to be. And we will find a joy and fulfillment that is incomparable!

Let's Pray,

Daddy God, help me today. Help me to examine my priorities and how I spend my time. Show me where I have self made idols in my life and help me to knock them down. I want nothing more that to live my life for You. Help me to put everything in its proper place and to set an example for my children and those who know me. I love You Daddy, and I want You to be my All and All! In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

In His Love and Service,
Lara ;)