My Hiding Place

[Christsfreeservant]

“I hate those who are double-minded,​

But I love Your law.​

You are my hiding place and my shield;​

I wait for Your word.​

Depart from me, evildoers,​

That I may observe the commandments of my God.​

Sustain me according to Your word, that I may live;​

And do not let me be ashamed of my hope.​

Uphold me that I may be safe,​

That I may have regard for Your statutes continually.​

You have rejected all those who wander from Your statutes,​

For their deceitfulness is useless.​

You have removed all the wicked of the earth like dross;​

Therefore I love Your testimonies.” (Psalm 119:113-119 NASB1995)​

Well, we should not hate anyone, but we can hate the evil they do. For we are to love even our enemies who do evil against us and who “despitefully use” us (Matthew 5:44 KJV). And we are to pray for them, and do good to them, and speak truth to them which will be beneficial to them, because we love them, and because we want to see them set free from the power of sin and of Satan over their lives, so that they will now serve the Lord Jesus with their lives in surrender to his will and to his purpose for all our lives.

And who are the double-minded? James talked about them in James 1:5-8. They are like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. They are those who are unstable in all their ways, always going back and forth with regard to what they believe and what they put into practice, like someone riding on both ends of a see-saw, a teeter-totter, going up, then down, continually shifting positions on beliefs and on practices. And to teeter is to stagger, to waver, to sway. And to totter is to flounder, to stumble.

So, one minute they could be lifting up the biblical gospel of our salvation taught by Jesus and by his New Testament apostles, while deriding the false gospel of the flesh which requires no repentance, no death to sin, and no walks of obedience to his commands. But then the next minute they could be supporting the false gospel by applying its teachings to their own lives in order to give them an excuse or an “out” for their refusal to bow to Jesus as Lord, to put sin to death in their lives, and to obey the Lord, in practice.

Now some of these who are teeter-tottering, who are the double-minded, who will often profess one thing while they live the opposite, who are the evildoers being spoken of here, will be those who are coming against the righteous, to persecute and to falsely accuse them in hopes to discredit and to silence them. And the righteous are those who have died with Christ to sin and who are walking in obedience to the Lord’s commands, by the grace of God, in the power of God, although perhaps not with absolute perfection.

But the encouragement here for those who are following Jesus with our lives, who are being persecuted and mistreated by the double-minded evildoers, is that Jesus is our hiding place and our shield, and he will sustain us according to his word if we will continue to put our trust in him, and to walk in his ways, despite what evil people say against us or do against us. We must not lose hope or be afraid just because the enemy of our souls is on the attack. We must rest in the Lord and trust him with our lives.

But for those who live on this “teeter-totter,” whose lives are driven and tossed by the wind, whose practice it is to sin against God, and against other humans, and to stagger, to waver, to sway, to stumble, and to flounder; who have rejected the commandments of God in favor of deliberate and habitual sin; who cover up their sins with deceitfulness, with their lies – they are rejected by God. And no matter what they profess with their lips, they will not have salvation from sin nor eternal life with God, if they continue.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

I Take Refuge

Based off Psalm 71
An Original Work / September 1, 2018
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

O, Lord, I take refuge in You,
For You are my God.
Turn Your ear now to me.

Be my Rock and Fortress
To which I do go.
Deliver me, God. You’re my hope.

My lips now give praise to You, God.
I always have hope,
Since You saved me from sin.

My enemies speak evil
‘gainst me, O God.
Oh, help me, O Lord, rescue me.

The path of my life has been hard.
For, I have had troubles
Too many to bear.

But You will increase honor,
Restore again.
Your faithfulness, Lord, comforts me.

My Hiding Place
An Original Work / August 1, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love