Single Not Double Minded!
“Happy All Hallowed Eve – The Night Before All Saints Day!”
Psalm 119:113-120
113 I hate double-minded people,
but I love your law.
114 You are my refuge and my shield;
I have put my hope in your word.
115 Away from me, you evildoers,
that I may keep the commands of my God!
116 Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live;
do not let my hopes be dashed.
117 Uphold me, and I will be delivered;
I will always have regard for your decrees.
118 You reject all who stray from your decrees,
for their delusions come to nothing.
119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross;
therefore I love your statutes.
120 My flesh trembles in fear of you;
I stand in awe of your laws.
Reflection: One of the blessings of having the bible as your “due North” is that it gives you a source for decision making. It gives you a confidence in making decision based on what you believe God’s Word would lead you to do. As Dallas Willard classically says living the Christian Life is about, “doing what Jesus would do if he were you!” Meaning if Jesus is the Word, than living like Jesus did is putting our trust in the Word! This keeps us from what David says in verse 113 from being, “double minded”. Saying one thing and doing another thing, or doing one thing and saying another. Either way God’s Word keeps us as we living according to it as people of “integrity”. The word means integrated! I.e. Your life matches what you believe and your actions and behaviors from what you focus on and place your trust in. Though we are not perfect God’s Word is continually shaping us to be people who are less double minded and more single minded!
2 Samuel 22:1-25
David’s Song of Praise
22 David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said:
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
3 my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield[a] and the horn[b] of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—
from violent people you save me.
4 “I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and have been saved from my enemies.
5 The waves of death swirled about me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
6 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
7 “In my distress I called to the Lord;
I called out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came to his ears.
8 The earth trembled and quaked,
the foundations of the heavens[c] shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
9 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
10 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
11 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared[d] on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness his canopy around him—
the dark[e] rain clouds of the sky.
13 Out of the brightness of his presence
bolts of lightning blazed forth.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
16 The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
17 “He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
20 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
21 “The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord;
I am not guilty of turning from my God.
23 All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.
24 I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.
25 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness[f] in his sight.
Reflection: Similar to the psalms we see more song writing by King David to the Lord. What one senses when they read this is the depth of David’s seemingly insurmountable situation and the glorious power that comes to his aid as he turns to the Lord in His hour of need. It is almost if the depravity of the situation brings out the height of the glory of God and his angels cf.cherubim. Though we never want to go through painful situation they call on us to reach out to God in our distress in deeper ways and when we see God’s relief it is even more powerful.
That is my prayer for folks on the East Coast who have had their lives and property devastated by this Hurricane Sandy. God please help these folks to reach out to you and help us to pray for them and give where we can to help them rebuild their lives.
John 11:1-16
The Death of Lazarus
11 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” 8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.” 11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” 12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. 14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
Reflection: Along the lines of this theme we see the healing of Lazarus, the ultimate sign, other than Jesus rising from the dead. Lazarus will die again but Jesus will never die at the Resurrection. Nonetheless the gravity of this sign is not lost and gives ultimate proof that Jesus is and was the Son of God. Notice in spite of all that the disciples have seen they still are not sure of what is going on, and are stuck in here and now not the eternal. The disciples think they are going to die with them, but Jesus will teach us about another kind of death we die each day as we pick up our cross and follow Him.
Like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, as it spreads its wings, takes them up, and bears them aloft on its pinions, the Lord alone guided him. Deuteronomy 32:11,12
Through faith you are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:5 (NIV)
O Holy Comforter, we once again thank you for your guidance and support. We thank you for the ways you breathe new life into your church. God, may we be part of that new life and not cling to comfortable ways of doing things only because they are comfortable. Amen.
Psalm 119:113-120
113 I hate double-minded people,
but I love your law.
114 You are my refuge and my shield;
I have put my hope in your word.
115 Away from me, you evildoers,
that I may keep the commands of my God!
116 Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live;
do not let my hopes be dashed.
117 Uphold me, and I will be delivered;
I will always have regard for your decrees.
118 You reject all who stray from your decrees,
for their delusions come to nothing.
119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross;
therefore I love your statutes.
120 My flesh trembles in fear of you;
I stand in awe of your laws.
Reflection: One of the blessings of having the bible as your “due North” is that it gives you a source for decision making. It gives you a confidence in making decision based on what you believe God’s Word would lead you to do. As Dallas Willard classically says living the Christian Life is about, “doing what Jesus would do if he were you!” Meaning if Jesus is the Word, than living like Jesus did is putting our trust in the Word! This keeps us from what David says in verse 113 from being, “double minded”. Saying one thing and doing another thing, or doing one thing and saying another. Either way God’s Word keeps us as we living according to it as people of “integrity”. The word means integrated! I.e. Your life matches what you believe and your actions and behaviors from what you focus on and place your trust in. Though we are not perfect God’s Word is continually shaping us to be people who are less double minded and more single minded!
2 Samuel 22:1-25
David’s Song of Praise
22 David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said:
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
3 my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield[a] and the horn[b] of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—
from violent people you save me.
4 “I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and have been saved from my enemies.
5 The waves of death swirled about me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
6 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
7 “In my distress I called to the Lord;
I called out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came to his ears.
8 The earth trembled and quaked,
the foundations of the heavens[c] shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
9 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
10 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
11 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared[d] on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness his canopy around him—
the dark[e] rain clouds of the sky.
13 Out of the brightness of his presence
bolts of lightning blazed forth.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
16 The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
17 “He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
20 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
21 “The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord;
I am not guilty of turning from my God.
23 All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.
24 I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.
25 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness[f] in his sight.
Reflection: Similar to the psalms we see more song writing by King David to the Lord. What one senses when they read this is the depth of David’s seemingly insurmountable situation and the glorious power that comes to his aid as he turns to the Lord in His hour of need. It is almost if the depravity of the situation brings out the height of the glory of God and his angels cf.cherubim. Though we never want to go through painful situation they call on us to reach out to God in our distress in deeper ways and when we see God’s relief it is even more powerful.
That is my prayer for folks on the East Coast who have had their lives and property devastated by this Hurricane Sandy. God please help these folks to reach out to you and help us to pray for them and give where we can to help them rebuild their lives.
John 11:1-16
The Death of Lazarus
11 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” 8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.” 11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” 12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. 14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
Reflection: Along the lines of this theme we see the healing of Lazarus, the ultimate sign, other than Jesus rising from the dead. Lazarus will die again but Jesus will never die at the Resurrection. Nonetheless the gravity of this sign is not lost and gives ultimate proof that Jesus is and was the Son of God. Notice in spite of all that the disciples have seen they still are not sure of what is going on, and are stuck in here and now not the eternal. The disciples think they are going to die with them, but Jesus will teach us about another kind of death we die each day as we pick up our cross and follow Him.
Like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, as it spreads its wings, takes them up, and bears them aloft on its pinions, the Lord alone guided him. Deuteronomy 32:11,12
Through faith you are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:5 (NIV)
O Holy Comforter, we once again thank you for your guidance and support. We thank you for the ways you breathe new life into your church. God, may we be part of that new life and not cling to comfortable ways of doing things only because they are comfortable. Amen.
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