Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

When I sought today’s focus, the Holy Spirit responded with be single-minded.

Today’s scripture, James 4:4-8 (NIV) reproves…
[4] You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. [5] Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? [6] But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” [7] Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Consider…
Today’s scripture begins by calling some believers adulterous, and ends with an exhortation to repent from their double-mindedness.

The adulterous indictment made me think of Hosea 1:2 (NIV), which says…
[2] When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.”

I’ve always been amazed by God having Hosea act out His word to show the people their unfaithfulness to Him, despite His faithfulness to them.

Writing that reminds me of Paul’s writing to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:11-13 (NIV), where he wrote…
[11] Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; [12] if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; [13] if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

Typically I cite verse 13 only, however today the Holy Spirit made me look at the preceding verses for context. This passage is about God’s thoughts about our commitment to Him. God says He will return the same energy we give Him, up to faithfulness, meaning He won’t abandon us no matter what, because of who He is. Nevertheless, make no mistake, God takes issue with our lack of commitment to Him.

That’s why Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:32-33 (NLT)…
[32] “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. [33] But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.

If you want to be an undercover Christian, don’t expect to be under God’s covering.

God expects and requires fully committed Christians. Jesus emphasizes this fact in Matthew 10:37-39 (NLT), where He said…
[37] “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. [38] If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. [39] If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.

You see, God is an all-or-nothing, either/or God. We know that’s true because the first of the ten commandments is Exodus 20:3 (KJV)…
[3] Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

God’s phrasing is interesting, because He says no other God’s before Him instead of just no other gods.

I believe this intentional because God knows we will have many competing priorities in life, He is emphasizing we must not allow anyone or anything compete with Him.

The Holy Spirit underscored this with Exodus 20:4-5 (NLT)…
[4] “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. [5] You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.

Plainly said, God won’t put up with split affections. The Holy Spirit reiterated this with Exodus 34:14 (NLT), which expounds…
[14] You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.

We serve an only Him God.

Therefore, when we try to strattle the fence of living God and the world, He calls adulterous.

I like the way Ezekiel 16:32-34 (NIV) describes disloyal believers…
[32] “ ‘You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband! [33] All prostitutes receive gifts, but you give gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors. [34] So in your prostitution you are the opposite of others; no one runs after you for your favors. You are the very opposite, for you give payment and none is given to you.

Although this was written to Jerusalem, it’s still applicable to us. You see, we’ll sacrifice for our…

• Family
• Friends
• Careers
• Health & Wealth
• Fame
• Dreams
• etc

…but we only want to tip God to serve us.

We use our time, talent and treasure for pleasure above His glory, despite the fact that He’s the author of our story.

The Holy Spirit is telling me, unequivocally God has an issue with anything less than a full commitment to Him.

For those of us who hear this and race to grace, the Holy Spirit reminded me of Paul’s admonition in Romans 6:1-3 (NLT)…
[1] Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? [2] Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? [3] Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death?

God’s grace isn’t permission to live in sin, it’s a prerequisite and empowerment to live for Him!

This brings us to today’s focus, which is living with a single-mindedness for God.

A Google search for the definition of single-mindedness return this AI response…
Single-mindedness refers to a state of being focused on one particular aim or purpose, often with determination and unwavering resolve. It describes someone who is highly focused and driven, sometimes to the exclusion of other considerations.

That immediately made me think of Paul’s declaration in Philippians 3:12-15 (NLT)…
[12] I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. [13] No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, [14] I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. [15] Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you.

As I read this perfect single-mindedness declaration, I heard Psalmist Bryan Andrew Wilson singing…

I put you first oh God in everything I do
Acknowledge you oh God, I give myself to you
Creator of all things, You created my heart brand new
I put you first in worship and in truth
I put you first in worship and in truth

CHORUS:
My heart is willing, my spirit is yielded
My soul is burning with desire to please You
My hands are lifted, In surrender to Your will
I put You first in worship and in truth
I put you first in worship and in truth

The Holy Spirit pressed pause on the song and said, either God is first or He’s not at all!

This made me ask, how do I demonstrate to an omniscient and omnipresent God He’s first? The Holy Spirit responded with it’s about your pursuit. Unlike the Will Smith movie, Pursuit of Happyness, God wants us to pursue Him first!

Of course the Holy Spirit directed me to Matthew 6:33 (NLT) for biblical corroboration of this expectation…
[33] Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Then, the Holy Spirit did a mic-drop reminder that Micah 6:8 (NLT) explains…
[8] No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

That’s when the Holy Spirit opened the eyes of my heart and showed me, walking humbly with the Lord means living with an awareness and deferment to God.

Again, I asked the Holy Spirit how do I do this? He responded with Ephesians 4:20-24 (NLT)…
[20] But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. [21] Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, [22] throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. [23] Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. [24] Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

The Holy Spirit said, follow my lead! Then, He reminded me of the Galatians 5:24-25 (NLT) exhortation…
[24] Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. [25] Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

After that, the Holy Spirit encouraged me to share Paul’s stated passion in Philippians 3:7-11 (NLT)…
[7] I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. [8] Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ [9] and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. [10] I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, [11] so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

Writing today’s post has so many songs playing in my mind, like Tye Tribbett singing our single-minded believer’s theme song…

Everything
You’re everything to me
Everything
You’re everything to me
Life and breath
You’re everything to me
You’re my peace
You’re everything to me
Joy in sorrow
You’re everything to me
Hope for tomorrow
You’re everything to me
Master
Savior
Ruler
Redeemer
Provider
Shelter
Healer
Delieverer
Father
Protector
Provider
Savior
JESUS, JESUS
You’re everything to me

Let’s close today by asking God to give us one pure and holy passion, to know and follow hard after Him!

Today’s song is…
One Pure And Holy Passion

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)