Rth 1:14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
Rth 1:15 And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.
Rth 1:16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
Rth 1:17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
Rth 1:18 When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.
Gunnery Sargent Hathcock has one of the most impressive mission records of any sniper in the Marine corps. during the Vietnam war he amassed 93 confirmed kills saving the lives of hundreds or even thousands of marines. The Vietnam army put a $30,000 bounty on his life for killing so many of their men. Rewards put on U.S. snipers by the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) typically amounted to $8.
It was Hathcock who fired the most famous shot in sniper history. He fired a round, over a very long distance, which went through the scope of an enemy sniper, hit him in the eye, and killed him. Hathcock and Roland Burke his spotter were stalking the enemy sniper, (which had already killed several Marines) which they believed was sent to kill him specifically. When Hathcock saw a flash of light reflecting off the enemies scope he fired at it in a split second pulling off one of the most precise shots in history. Hathcock reasoned that the only way that this was possible, would have been if both snipers were aiming at each others scopes at the same time, and he fired first.
. Keep in mind that he volunteered for this mission, but he had to crawl over 1500 yards of enemy territory much of it open field, to shoot an NVA commanding general. Information wasn’t sent until he was on-route. (He volunteered for a mission he knew nothing about) It took 4 days and 3 nights without sleep of inch-by-inch crawling. One enemy soldier almost stepped on him as he laid camouflaged in a meadow. At another point he was nearly bitten by a viper, he didn’t flinch. He was bitten by bugs, he was scorched by the sun, he was almost delirious with fatigue. He had scabs and blisters from calling for days.
He finally got into position and waited for the general. When he arrived Hathcock was ready. He fired one round and hit the general through the chest killing him. The soldiers started a search for the sniper and Hathcock had to crawl back to avoid detection. They never caught him. Nerves of steel. As he set in the dark not sleeping and not being able to see what was slithering around him he wondered why would he take this incredibly dangerous assignment just days before his deployment was over
He said I made this decision in my right mind and I will finish this in my right mind.
In a world filled with instability it is great to know that there is a foundation of truth and a way of life that is eternally fixed and unmovable. It is wonderful to know that my Savior lives and that my God is a living God. It’s great to know that He will never let me fall or that I will like a tree planted by the water that grows roots deeply and cannot be easily moved.
We are living in a world where there is no sure foundation outside of Christ. Surely the Word of God tells us that every thing that can be shaken will be shaken in these last days. The “every thing” that will be shaken includes our faith, if it is weak.
a sure foundation in Christ is obtained only when we have a made up mind. Anyone who is committed, sold out, and centered upon the work of the Lord is sure to have a stronger foundation than those who can’t decide what they really want to do about Jesus.
Jas 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. (agitated)
Jas 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
Jas 1:8 A double minded man is unstable (inconsistent, unfaithful rickety) in all his ways. Hodos progress
Dipsookos- vacillating , or going back and forth, being in and out, going high in God and then low in the devil and the world,
Eph 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
Eph 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
Eph 4:19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
Eph 4:20 But ye have not so learned Christ;
Eph 4:21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
Eph 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Eph 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
When your mind is made up, there will never be a question whether we will be in church or not. There will never be a time when we will let our ministry, or our calling suffer from inattention. There will never be a time when someone else will have to fill in for us because we aren’t on our post.
This is the Lord’s Army! When the roll is called up yonder in this army, you can’t afford to be AWOL! The penalty is eternal separation and a dishonorable discharge.
Double-minded people are the type of people that you can never really count on for anything. They talk big but do very little that is lasting.
Old Testament Israel was in this condition during the reign of King Ahab. The people had lived in confusion and delusion brought on by their courtship and marriage to idolatry. After a number of years the showdown was to finally come at a place called Mount Carmel.
1 Kings 18:20-21, "So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, how long halt ye between two opinions? If the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word."
Elijah wasn’t on Mount Carmel to play games. His mind, too, was made up. He knew the God of Heaven whom he served. There was no doubt that Elijah was trusting in God and would do whatever it took to win. His confidence was in the eternal God with whom there is no variables or shadow of turning. He knew God was there for he had decided to obey God in all that he did.
450 Prophets of Baal showed up that day to challenge Elijah to a showdown. It would be a “fight to the death”. Before the day was done either Elijah or those 450 prophets would be dead and Elijah wasn’t planning his funeral.
King Ahab, the wicked King of Israel who was married to Jezebel, the most wicked queen in Israel’s history, had called all of the Children of Israel to witness the contest between Elijah’s God and Baal.
As Elijah looked out over Israel he saw a people who had wandered far from God. They had become so entangled with idolatry that they could no longer decide who the real god was so they worshipped them all. Satan loves indecision and the confusion it brings. If he can keep us guessing he can fool us into following the wrong path.
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This kind of ALL leaves no room for loving another God!!!!
when Elijah asked, “Who is on the Lord’s side”, no one spoke up for God. Maybe they were afraid. Maybe Baal’s prophets intimidated them. or maybe they just couldn’t make up their minds quick enough.
It’s time to make up your mind or you will get left behind because this train is bound for glory and nothing will ride it but the righteous and the holy. Get on board while you can!
Before the day was done, the Lord God of Heaven, Jehovah is His name, the great I AM had answered by fire while the prophets of Baal got the silent treatment from their god of stone and metals. The Living God sent a fire out of Heaven that burned the sacrifice, the wet wood, the stones, the gallons of water in and around the trenches and even burned the dry sand around the altar.
Israel was so more in confusion. They turned back to God and destroyed the idols and the prophets of Baal.
Now that is what real repentance is all about. Get rid of the old nature of sin and turn back to worshipping God. Sell out to Him completely and prove Him!
We need to develop the same attitude and commitment that Joshua had in Joshua 24:15, "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."
Isa 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Isa 26:4 Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
1Ch 28:9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
1Ch 22:7 And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God:
Neh 4:6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
Isa 65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Luk 12:29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
Act 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
2Co 9:2 For I know the forwardness of your mind…
2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
1Pe 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end…
Jas 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
