Double-Minded

Double-Minded: of two minds or soul

meaning: a lack of purity of heart or a lack of absolute trust in God.




Have you ever heard someone talking and while they were talking they completely contradicted what they previously said?  Well if you are really listening, you may hear people do this often.   It's not because they are liars. No, it's worse than that because it shows how their spirit is in conflict with their head knowledge. I can tell you from experience it's a place of unrest.

Recently in prayer, God told me that I was double minded.  He asked me the question, " How can you proclaim that God dwells within you making healing and miracles available to you yet out of the same mouth you proclaim how you are sinner?  Do you not understand what my Son did for you? Do you not understand what the blood does for you?

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. James 1:5-8

This was overwhelming for me. I thought as an act of honoring God I was to constantly remember that I was a sinner and how I am always messing up.  But God told me how this is being double-minded and He is ready for me to move on and get my mind right.  You must understand, God knows we are sinners, that was the point of sending His Son!

He began to reveal to me that the blood covered my past sin, my present sin, and my future sin. I no longer have to go to God to get forgiveness. I go to God not for confession so I will be forgiven, but I confess/talk to God so I can get wisdom ( Does this help in your understanding of how it's about a relationship?). For I, we've already been forgiven.  It's hard for Him to move you, to aid in your circumstances when you are negating what Jesus did for us on the cross. It dishonors Him. 

So here's all we need to do, and I know It's hard for us lowly, humble, sinners who can't get anything right, but we are to stand tall! Honor God with changing our mentality from a sinner mindset to a king mindset, to a redeemed and holy child of God mindset.  He no longer wants us groveling like a victim. He wants us coming to Him asking for wisdom. Because of this act of faith and believing He is who He says He is, healing can come our way and the heart, the real root of the sin can be medicated and healed!  This is ultimately walking in Faith, which pleases God and honors what His Son has done for us!

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9

Illuminated

I was sitting on the porch tonight just thinking about the things that the Lord had been talking to me about lately.  I got up to go inside and looked up at the lamp post in our front yard.  The same lamp post that we tried to get to work when we first moved in 5 years ago.

Before we moved in, they replaced the concrete walk path leading up to the front door and we just figured that the workers inadvertently cut the wire because it never worked.

While briefly looking at this same lamp post, the Lord whispered, "Put a light bulb in it."

 I thought to myself, "Why? It has no power."

"Put a light bulb in it."

I then told Betsy, to go turn on the switch that we assumed controlled the lamp post.  I went into the garage to find my voltage tester and once again I heard "Put a light bulb in it."  I grabbed a light bulb off the shelf and began to screw it into the socket and like magic, it lit up. This old lamp post that we have been looking at for five years, that had never worked, was now shinning like a welcoming beacon.

Why am I telling you this story?Because logically, you could say that there was power to it the whole time and we just didn't try hard enough, or we had a bad bulb.  You could say its just a silly lamp post, why would God choose to move in that way?  I would then ask you, "Why wouldn't God move in that way?"  Doesn't His word say that we could move a mountain with the faith the size of a mustard seed. 

Tonight God demonstrate His power through what seems a small act, but this small act is huge for someone who has worshiped a small God.  I can assure you whenever the "big" things arise in my life, these little acts will certainly prove that my God is up for the task.  The more we exercise our faith and trust His spirit in the small stuff, the stronger our spirit gets.  The Lord can't move in the big things in your life until you trust Him in the small problems.

I have always been a control-freak and my trust in God has been mediocre at best.But tonight (and for the last several months) God has taught me that there are things unseen and unexplainable happening all around me, and sometimes it is best to just sit back, relax and really trust God.  I can honestly say that there is more freedom in letting go.

Posted By Ben

Dear Grace Chapel,

Before coming to Grace I was at a place of seeking and felt very off put with the church. So much in fact, that I began a journey that was way out of my comfort zone. I met with pastors and people, from different denominations, asking them about worship and who the bride of Christ was? I of course had answers from the bible, but was hoping to hear the heart. I was longing to find my identity amongst this body of believers.

I got a range of answers and they were definitely heart filled. But when asked why the body was so broken up and segregated from one another, it almost always came down to wanting to be with like minded believers when it came to corporate worship. Most everyone said they were open to their brothers and sisters from different denominations, but only in theory. Since only running in the circles with these “like-minded” believers, none really had the opportunity to practice this brotherly love that they so often wore like a badge of honor. Myself included.

After God allowed me to get a glimpse of this broken and bruised bride, something inside of me wanted to just give up. But my spirit longed for more. A friend invited me to Grace Chapel and I instantly could feel a pulse of something so real, yet unseen. I didn't know what it was.

A bit hard hearted and reluctant, I tried to not get too excited. It was when we joined our fusion group that I began to understand there was something bigger than people happening to this assembly of believers.

One night the Holy Spirit dulled my physical senses and opened up my spiritual ears. One by one, members of this fusion group shared of their backgrounds. I heard one member say she came from a Jehova's Witness denomination. One came from Southern Baptist. One was from a Church of Christ and the list went on. A few days later the Holy Spirit asked me, “How can all these people from different backgrounds sit in one room and share in unity?” I replied, “I don't know? How is it working?” The response, like many have described, was a like a light being turned on in my heart and mind. “They are operating in true love,” the Holy Spirit gently responded.

I became overwhelmed for I realized that God was giving me what I had been seeking for over two years. A place to learn how to worship in Spirit and in Truth (Jn 4:23-24) and a place that not only says they accept others but actually is operating in it.

I have only been at Grace for a little over a year. I can't say that it is perfect and that makes my heart so happy. Because of that imperfection, it shows how God is so much bigger than us, yet is teaching us how to operate in something we don't even fully understand ourselves. It shows that God is alive and fully cares about our hearts desires. Most importantly, It shows that He is in the business of restoration and He intends to fully restore His bride.

I can honestly say that my growth over the past year has been incredible and excruciatingly hard. The refining process is hard, but the great Refiner, Jesus has made it so much more tolerable because of you people at Grace Chapel. I hope this letter encourages this body of believers, for our work is great and there is much to do. But how fun it will be getting to work along side you.