Quote from Forum Archives on July 25, 2003, 11:53 pm

Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

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The Burning Bush Devotional
(Over 8,000 subscribers in 75 countries)

07.25.03

Borderland

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw
near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners;
and purify your hearts, you double-minded. - James 4:7-8.
On the border of Rhode Island and Connecticut some residents are living in
uncertainty. With new mapping technology which revealed the boundary should
be further east at some points by as much as 70 feet. The result of the new
boundary would move 12 residences along with 22 acres of land from Rhode
Island to Connecticut. This is not a new situation because over the years
there have been many attempts to move the border. Those living in the
borderland tell of an annual ritual by state highway workers of both states
moving the state line marker. Workers from one state move the marker only to
have workers from the other state move the marker back. Iva Crider who lives
in this borderland sums it up by saying, "The whole thing is ridiculous. I'
ve lived in this house 60 years as a Rhode Islander, and now they're saying
I'm in Connecticut? How can you make a change in someone's life like that?"

For the borderland residents it is a difficult situation with Connecticut
having sent them tax bills. If the new boundary actually places them in
Connecticut it will mean a longer distance to schools and also a greater
distance for ambulances to reach them. But their problems are small compared
to those who are living in a spiritual borderland. It is a land inhabited by
sinners and the double-minded. The double-minded are being swept from one
domain to another, back and forth, this way and that. It is more than a tax
bill that they must pay for the "wages of sin is death."

To be double-minded spiritually is to miss out on the continual blessings of
God. Yes, when they are walking in the land of the living the promises of
God are in full effect and beneficial to them. However, when their mind
turns from Heaven and toward the lusts of this world and the flesh they
begin to reap those wages of sin. In the land of death continued sin only
results in a further downward spiral with every area of their lives
experiencing additional decay.

Oh, to move from the borderland to the realm of the Kingdom of God never to
return to the pits of hell. To do so you must resist the enemy. You must
take up the Word of God which is the "sword of the Spirit." You must always
pray and not faint or give up or give in (Luke 18:1). You must love what
your Lord Jesus loves which is the church and not forsake the assembling
with other believers (Hebrews 10:24-25). But the gate through which to leave
the prison of the borderland is 1 John 1:9. You must "confess your sins" and
He will "forgive you" and "cleanse you from all unrighteousness."

Isn't it time to take care of the boundary problem? End your misery and move
into the land of the living leaving the death and decay behind. Run don't
walk to the nearest exit which is your Lord Jesus.

Copyright © 2003. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited.

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