Can the measure
of our faith be dignified in relation to our obedience in finding grace, in
order to put off our sinful natures, especially the sin that so easily besets?
The Apostle
James teaches us that a double minded man is unstable, not only in a particular
area, but in all his ways; that is quite a statement! However it
must be taken to heart if we are to find freedom in serving our Glorious
heavenly Father in the freedom of our beloved Saviour’s selfless sacrifice. I
suppose I would not be that far off if I was to stretch that statement into
every area of my life, fall in one and be found wanting in all. Some may
conclude that that is somewhat of a stretch so let me stick to the
fundamentals, which in this, faith! We all need faith to survive, without it we
would certainly perish and remain silent with doubt or unbelief dictating. It
is faith that God has chosen as a tool to establish His children.
It is
imperative we zone into the text we explore, whatever it may be, that which
jumps out at us when we are reading the Bible, that which the Holy Spirit
illuminates for us. That which leaves us in awe must not simply be left there;
we need to go deeper and when we apply ourselves by faith into the text it will
leave us enriched beyond our wildest dreams.
I would like us
to consider this truth; “And the prayer of faith will save the one who is
sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be
forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another,
that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has
great power as it is working.” (James 5:15-16)
If I ask myself the question, why do so many people
claim to have the powers of healing and yet lack the evidence of their claims?
Although this portion of scripture refers to elders within the church (call for
the elders), there is a deeper underlying truth that applies to all and is also
backed up with other scriptures that drives the individual to God’s will for
their lives. We cannot sweep sin under the carpet as if it is a light thing.
God is righteous and we must all be single-minded by that righteousness. We
must be driven towards God’s righteousness and when we live in His light,
nothing will stand in the way of the believer, it cannot! For God is light and
there is no darkness in Him at all. If we learn to live there it will be well
with our souls. Obviously snares are place in our paths by the enemy to lure us into his
traps and when we do not seek out the righteousness of God, we will fail.
We cannot claim to be covered by the righteousness
of Christ and then live a life of debauchery, if this is where we find
ourselves, we fool ourselves and we are then double minded and unstable in all
our ways. We all have our struggles, but we need to own them and confess them
to each other, so that we form the positive habits of faith as our “go-to”
default. If we all applied ourselves well in this area of our lives then
darkness would have no choice but to flee. There is no darkness on the planet
or throughout the universe that can withstand the light of God, praise his
name, Amen! We must all resolve to walk in His light. Today is the day for
action and what will you or I do with our measure of faith. My prayer is
that we will look to seek out God’s righteousness as the most important thing in our lives. I believe if we get this right the rest will follow; please pray for me as I am
already praying for you.
Signing off
Tyrone