Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
I grew up in an era of history when computers were just beginning to be used regularly by the public, and when I was in middle school, I ended up taking a short summer class that educated students on the basics of computers. One of the very first things that we learned was how a computer makes decisions based on yes and no. The instructor taught this to us through the use of a flow chart. The students drew a small square on a piece of paper and then wrote up a question that went in the box, to which you could either answer yes or no. Depending on your answer, it would take you to different places on the flow chart. We were taught that computers basically make decisions the same way. To help us understand further, the teacher would have us play a game at the end of the day called the Oregon Trail. Back then we didn’t have t.v.monitors, so we read everything that came over the teletype. As you traveled across the frontier, the computer would ask questions such as do you want to hunt or do you want to sleep for the night? Obviously to progress in the game, you had to make a decision. But sometimes you had to wait a long time to play the game because certain children were extremely pokey. They simply could not make up their minds about what answers to give.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
As we travel through this temporal world, each of us need to make daily decisions, and just like a flow chart, you will have to decide which course of action that you are going to take. But many people cannot decide which way to go, constantly flip flopping between two decisions. Should I do this, or should I do that. Should I go this way, or should I go that way? Rather than making a decision one way or the other, they go back and forth, wavering in a state of indecision and double-mindedness.
James 1 ⁶ But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. ⁷ For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. ⁸ A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Have you ever been in a car with someone who turned to go down a side street, but after driving a few blocks, they decided to double back and go the opposite way instead? The Apostles referred to this type of activity as “wavering,” which is defined as to vacillate irresolutely between choices : fluctuate in opinion, allegiance, or direction. When people decide to become a Christian, they had better consider what they are doing because it is a choice from which there is no turning back. The Christian life is very much like a marriage, and just as a wife must never depart her husband, we are never to depart Christ. The church is His bride, and we must serve Him faithfully, abiding by His side all the days of our lives.
Joshua 24 ¹⁴ Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. ¹⁵ And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
How many times have you been going through the grocery store with your children and allowed them to pick out a treat from the candy aisle? But the child goes back and forth in between two items until the parent finally tells them to pick one, or else they will. Many people who profess to be Christian are the exact same way. Rather than being all the way in, or all the way out, they try to straddle the fence instead, a lukewarmness faith that is condemned in scripture.
Revelation 3 ¹⁵ I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. ¹⁶ So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
A lot of people will make choices but then won’t stick with the decisions that they made, something that Jesus warned about in the parable of the sower.
Mark 4 ¹⁸ And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, ¹⁹ And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
Some people who decide to follow Jesus will turn aside from what they began. Lot’s wife was called out of Sodom and Gomorrah, but then she wanted to return, and was turned into a pillar of salt because of it. There is no turning around when you become a Christian, because those who do are not fit for the kingdom of God.
Luke 9 ⁵⁷ And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. ⁵⁸ And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. ⁵⁹ And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
⁶⁰ Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. ⁶¹ And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. ⁶² And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Wavering is to show indecisiveness and uncertainty about the right course of action, or to hesitate and stagger. As we walk through the flowchart of this world, scripture already teaches us the path that God wants us to take. God has already provided us with the answers to all the questions, but just like a wave on the ocean, some people will flip flop back and forth, rather than abiding in the solid foundation of scripture.
“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;” Ephesians 4:14
Unlike shifting sands in the desert, followers of Christ must be steadfast and unmovable in the teachings of our faith.
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:58
Those who make the decision to follow Christ either follow Him, or they don’t. They will either repent of their sins, or they won’t. It’s a yes or no answer, because there are no maybe’s in the Christian life. You either do, or you do not. Those who try to tip toe through the grey areas, will only follow the path of unfruitfulness. Rather than wavering, we must buckle down and follow through on the decisions that we make, ones that are grounded in the teachings of Holy Scripture, and guiding us down,……
…….The Oregon Trail
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤️
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