The Burning Bush Devotional
04.02.04
Curing Double-Mindedness
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw
near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners;
and purify your hearts, you double-minded. - James 4:7-8.
Sadly, the Passion of the Christ is no longer playing at a movie theater
near us. The Passion did have a long run compared to many movies; however,
it would have been nice if it could have stayed on through Easter at least.
Instead, it appears that Hell Boy has replaced it. Now I dont know what
the replacement movie is about but the title seems to say it all.
What a drastic change! From Christ demonstrating His love through sacrifice
to a movie in opposition to all that He represents. Our culture is
bi-polar - a large segment loves what is right and a large segment loves
what is wrong. Or, is it the same segment of the population that loves both?
This is even worse that we want what is good on one hand but also want what
is bad. It would be interesting to poll those going to see Hell Boy to ask
them if they had also viewed the Passion. I think we know the sad answer
is that many will watch both movies.
The Psalmist said that he hated the double-minded (Psalm 119:113). It seems
to be Gods attitude as well at least toward the attitude of
double-mindedness. The Psalmist goes on to say, But I love Your law. You
are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word (Psalm
119:113b-114).
If we are one of those who have a love for the good and a love for the bad,
all rolled up in us how do we ever change to single-mindedness? The Psalmist
gives us direction when he says in Psalm 119:112, I have inclined my heart
to perform Your statutes forever, to the very end. He then says, I love
Your law, and says a few words later, I hope in Your word. The Word of
God which is the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) appears to be the
weapon of choice against double-mindedness.
James adds, Come near to God and He will come near to you. But there is
something more that is needed. There is an evil that has crept into our
hearts and lives that must be dealt with. It must be confronted. It must be
shown the door and pushed out into the street. James says, Cleanse your
hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. We cannot do
this by ourselves but we must want it in our hearts and then we can come to
our Lord Jesus confessing our sins (1 John 1:9) and he is faithful and just
to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Once we have been cleansed and purified, what do we need to remain in that
condition? We need to continue in His Word, saturating our hearts, and minds
so much so, that it runs over into every area of our lives and out into the
lives of those around us.
Let us rise up against this evil of double-mindedness that has invaded our
lives and push it back into the hell from which it came. Through His power
and for His glory!
