Study from God’s Word… Reading two traveling letters, the books of James and Jude, written to the church written by these two brothers of Jesus, who were trying to get the persecuted Jewish Christians to remember God’s covenant and to remain faithful in spite of the persecutions of the world … Passage for Reflection: James 4: 4 … NIV You adulterous people,[a reference to adulterous Israel – see Hosea 3: 1] 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.
My Journal for Today: Reading the books, i.e., letters, of Jesus’ brothers, James and Jude this morning, if one cannot see the relevance of Scripture to our world today, that person would have to be a non-believer or a foolish Christian who has been duped by the paganism or carnality of worldly pleasures or materialism; and unfortunately this is a very common failing evidenced in the church and Christians today.
Dr. Smith makes the relevant case that today’s parents will try to get their kids to recognize the truth that “bad company corrupts good character;” yet, these same parents often will take up deadly close friendships with the world and allow worldly values to corrupt what God’s word teaches us. Let’s get right to Dr. Smith’s closing devotional question today (with one little addition from me): Do the decisions I make reflect a greater friendship with a faithful God or with an ever-so-fickle friend [the world]?”
Dear one, I don’t trust myself; and I acknowledge the truth of Jeremiah’s warning in Jer. 17: 9, which tells me how weak my human heart (i.e., my very HUMAN being) is; … and that I have a heart which is deceitful beyond measure. James and Jude recognized this; and they were writing (i.e., preaching) a message of warning to all Christians; yes, to those in the first century after Christ, but also to all Christians in any generation who could be deceived that we followers of Christ cannot be wooed and won by the world away from the truth which is found in God’s word.
More specifically, we see these two letters throwing up a loud warning against trafficking in worldly and fleshly pleasures and expecting us, as Christians, to be able to have a deep and abiding relationship with Christ. NO WAY! It simply cannot happen; and that is what today’s highlight text almost yells out in warning to the man or woman of “the Way,” … i.e., any follower of Christ.
So, my fellow Christian, let’s be honest and ask ourselves the question raised by James and Dr. LaGard Smith today: Are we cavorting too closely with the materialism of the world and trying to have one foot following God’s truth [i.e., the Bible] and the other foot pursuing the lured values of the world? And can we not see that such dualism will split us in half and take us away from Christ’s simple (but, oh so difficult) charge (see Luke 9: 23) to deny self, to take our cross (of Christ) daily, and to follow our Lord?
Take careful note here, my dear one, and see where your path is leading. Because if it is pursuing friendship with the world, we will be lured by the sirens of materialism and pleasure-seeking onto the rocks of death and darkness and we’ll never be able to foster the friendship offered by Christ by being obedient to Him and following Him in the friendship He and only He can offer.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I want to follow You and to stay away from the lures the world uses to divert and distract me. Amen
Showing posts with label choices. Show all posts
Showing posts with label choices. Show all posts
Monday, December 20, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
2010 – June 28 – Creeping Incrementalism
Study from God’s Word… 2nd Kings 15: 29 [1st Chron. 5: 23 – 26]; 2Kgs 15: 37; 2Kgs 15: 30-31; 2Kgs 17: 1-2; 2Kgs 15: 36, 38a [2Chron 27: 7, 9a]; 2Kgs 38b [2Chron 27: 9b, 28: 1a]; 2Kgs 16: 2b-4 [2Chron 28: 1b-4] … Passage for Reflection: 2nd Kings 15: 29 … NIV 29 In the time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He took Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and deported the people to Assyria.
My Journal for Today: After reading through the OT history which Dr. Smith led me to in his directed chronological study of the Bible for today’s date, I was led to read about all the political and social intrigue which had transpired in over 200 years of Israel and Judah becoming split kingdoms, … God’s people, who, for the most part slowly wandered away from their devotion and worship of their God, … the God Who had made them His chosen people, led them out of captivity, and brought them into a land He had promised them.
It was well over 200 years of what Dr. Smith today calls ”Creeping Incrementalism.” And today’s highlight verse only captures a snapshot of some of these people being deported as Assyria broke them down into captivity. And here were God’s people being taken captive by pagan nations, just as a number of God’s Prophets had warned. No, it wasn’t because they were ignorant of truth or God’s will. It wasn’t because they hadn’t been warned and rewarned and rewarned … over and over and over again. God had been incredibly patient and forbearing; but slowly, … incrementally, … God’s people had become Satan’s pawns. How does it happen; as I think you recognize how powerfully it applies to our lives as well?
Creeping incremental sin certainly applied to my life. For over 22 years of my life, I chose to ignore the warnings and let my flesh choose sin and Satan over the Savior. And slowly, gradually I made one seductive choice after another, leading down the primrose path toward death. Fortunately, for me, as God’s word says it will happen for God’s people, I surrendered by will to the “hound of Heaven.” And ultimately the mind of man will surrender and hear the truth of the Gospel, especially when Christ, Who is God’s Redeemer, will come again to reclaim His Bride; and there will be rejoicing at the wedding feast of the Lamb of God. But in the meantime, we are now – again – seeing the effects of those who deny God, ignore His warnings, and try to mock Him with their sin.
However, as it began in history with today’s reading, God’s people and even more of the lost people who surrounded them in life, are going to experience the death-knell of God’s wrath as He will not allow even those He loves to perpetuate disobedience and fleshly ways of life. Sin always has consequences [!], even for those who are believers and most certainly for those who mock or deny God. And if it takes a season of separation, as it did for Israel and Judah, … well, so be it! And that’s what we read from today’s study of Hebrew history.
We cannot abide and choose to do things in the way of the flesh, especially knowing that we’re ignoring God’s way. Ultimately, God will leave us to our own sinful minds and hearts (and that’s the subject of one of the most sinister passages in the NT – meditate on Romans 1: 18 – 32 - linked). But if/when we can know God’s ways (through His word) and surrender to His will, God’s mercies are new every day (see Lam. 3: 22, 23 - linked]; and He will be there to save His surrendered children.
Oh, how I hope that any who read here are in surrender mode to God’s will for their lives; because if you are letting “creeping Incrementalism” with sin choices repeatedly taken you into captivity, at some point, God will simply turn you over to your self and let Satan have you for a season. OR, God could choose to take you home and not let you become a tainted witness of His love and mercy. But, make no mistake about it, we cannot continue to choose sin and self over our Savior. God will not be mocked!!!
My Prayer for Today: Lord, You know my heart; and You lift me up with Your strength to choose Your ways over the ways of my flesh. Help me to continue to walk in Your footsteps. Amen
My Journal for Today: After reading through the OT history which Dr. Smith led me to in his directed chronological study of the Bible for today’s date, I was led to read about all the political and social intrigue which had transpired in over 200 years of Israel and Judah becoming split kingdoms, … God’s people, who, for the most part slowly wandered away from their devotion and worship of their God, … the God Who had made them His chosen people, led them out of captivity, and brought them into a land He had promised them.
It was well over 200 years of what Dr. Smith today calls ”Creeping Incrementalism.” And today’s highlight verse only captures a snapshot of some of these people being deported as Assyria broke them down into captivity. And here were God’s people being taken captive by pagan nations, just as a number of God’s Prophets had warned. No, it wasn’t because they were ignorant of truth or God’s will. It wasn’t because they hadn’t been warned and rewarned and rewarned … over and over and over again. God had been incredibly patient and forbearing; but slowly, … incrementally, … God’s people had become Satan’s pawns. How does it happen; as I think you recognize how powerfully it applies to our lives as well?
Creeping incremental sin certainly applied to my life. For over 22 years of my life, I chose to ignore the warnings and let my flesh choose sin and Satan over the Savior. And slowly, gradually I made one seductive choice after another, leading down the primrose path toward death. Fortunately, for me, as God’s word says it will happen for God’s people, I surrendered by will to the “hound of Heaven.” And ultimately the mind of man will surrender and hear the truth of the Gospel, especially when Christ, Who is God’s Redeemer, will come again to reclaim His Bride; and there will be rejoicing at the wedding feast of the Lamb of God. But in the meantime, we are now – again – seeing the effects of those who deny God, ignore His warnings, and try to mock Him with their sin.
However, as it began in history with today’s reading, God’s people and even more of the lost people who surrounded them in life, are going to experience the death-knell of God’s wrath as He will not allow even those He loves to perpetuate disobedience and fleshly ways of life. Sin always has consequences [!], even for those who are believers and most certainly for those who mock or deny God. And if it takes a season of separation, as it did for Israel and Judah, … well, so be it! And that’s what we read from today’s study of Hebrew history.
We cannot abide and choose to do things in the way of the flesh, especially knowing that we’re ignoring God’s way. Ultimately, God will leave us to our own sinful minds and hearts (and that’s the subject of one of the most sinister passages in the NT – meditate on Romans 1: 18 – 32 - linked). But if/when we can know God’s ways (through His word) and surrender to His will, God’s mercies are new every day (see Lam. 3: 22, 23 - linked]; and He will be there to save His surrendered children.
Oh, how I hope that any who read here are in surrender mode to God’s will for their lives; because if you are letting “creeping Incrementalism” with sin choices repeatedly taken you into captivity, at some point, God will simply turn you over to your self and let Satan have you for a season. OR, God could choose to take you home and not let you become a tainted witness of His love and mercy. But, make no mistake about it, we cannot continue to choose sin and self over our Savior. God will not be mocked!!!
My Prayer for Today: Lord, You know my heart; and You lift me up with Your strength to choose Your ways over the ways of my flesh. Help me to continue to walk in Your footsteps. Amen
Monday, March 22, 2010
2010 – Mar. 22 – Choosing at the Crossroads
Study from God’s Word… Ruth, Chapters 1 – 4 … Passage for Reflection: Ruth 1: 16 … NIV 16 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”
My Journal for Today: Well, Dr. Smith takes a breather from his teaching time in the Book of Judges to look at a famous story from the Book of Ruth, the story of another person living at the time of the Judges who made a critical choice in life based on values. And this is the story of Ruth who chose to follow her Mother-In-Law, Naomi, back to Naomi’s native land, leaving behind all Ruth had there in her home country of Moab. And this included a choice to turn away from the gods of Moab and to follow Naomi’s God, Who was the God of the Israelites.
Yesterday [see my journal entry from 3/21], we read of warriors who had to choose to say “Shibboleth” as they crossed the Jordan; and if they said the wrong thing, it led to their death. And God led 42,000 Ephraimites to their death in this way, once again liberating the Hebrews from their enemies. The story from my devotional time today about Ruth is much easier to take; but it, too, involves making choices which have ultimate and eternal implications.
Ruth had a choice to make when Naomi decided to return to Canaan from Moab; and Ruth chose to stay with her mother-in-law, Naomi, … also choosing to worship Naomi’s God, Who was the one true God. This choice, as we read in the Book of Ruth, led to a whole series of people making their own choices, or in reality led by God, which became choices leading to the marriage of Ruth to Boaz, her kinsman redeemer, and ultimately to the birth of a son, who became the grandfather of King David.
CHOICES! We make choices; and they will have consequences; and the consequences will be used by God – in some way – for His glory. But in the mix, our choices will have consequences for us personally as well. Ruth could have chosen to stay in Moab, as did her sister-in-law, Orpah; and we don’t know what happened to Orpah. But we do know, as do all through history who read God’s Book, that Ruth’s choices, especially to follow the one, true God, led her to be the grandmother of the great King, David. And the story of Ruth is one we should recognize as having powerful value for our lives and our choices.
When you or I make Godly choices, God will honor those choices within His perfect plan; and we will become a part of that plan. And we know, from reading much of the Old Testament, that ungodly choices, such as those made by the Pharaoh of Egypt in the times of Moses, will lead those who make such choices to be part of God’s plan to overcome man’s evil with His good. How we participate in God’s grand scheme will all be reflective our choices. I will pray that our choices be Godly choices. And today, I pray that I will make choices which honor my God.
To any of my non-American readers, forgive my being a bit provincial here; but yesterday many of our governmental representatives made choices to vote for or against a health care plan for our nation; and those choices are going to have consequences which ripple through our land for years to come. But God is in control! … And just as He was in the life of Ruth, our God will have His will in the lives of all today. May He have mercy on us; because the choices made yesterday by our government do not appear – at least to this humble observer – to be choices which honor and glorify God. And my friend, God will not be mocked; and we will reap what we sow; … AND … the rain of God’s plan will fall on the righteous as well as the unrighteous. Oh, may God have mercy on us!
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me, lead me, … shepherd me to make choices which are part of Your plan and Your perfect will. Amen
My Journal for Today: Well, Dr. Smith takes a breather from his teaching time in the Book of Judges to look at a famous story from the Book of Ruth, the story of another person living at the time of the Judges who made a critical choice in life based on values. And this is the story of Ruth who chose to follow her Mother-In-Law, Naomi, back to Naomi’s native land, leaving behind all Ruth had there in her home country of Moab. And this included a choice to turn away from the gods of Moab and to follow Naomi’s God, Who was the God of the Israelites.
Yesterday [see my journal entry from 3/21], we read of warriors who had to choose to say “Shibboleth” as they crossed the Jordan; and if they said the wrong thing, it led to their death. And God led 42,000 Ephraimites to their death in this way, once again liberating the Hebrews from their enemies. The story from my devotional time today about Ruth is much easier to take; but it, too, involves making choices which have ultimate and eternal implications.
Ruth had a choice to make when Naomi decided to return to Canaan from Moab; and Ruth chose to stay with her mother-in-law, Naomi, … also choosing to worship Naomi’s God, Who was the one true God. This choice, as we read in the Book of Ruth, led to a whole series of people making their own choices, or in reality led by God, which became choices leading to the marriage of Ruth to Boaz, her kinsman redeemer, and ultimately to the birth of a son, who became the grandfather of King David.
CHOICES! We make choices; and they will have consequences; and the consequences will be used by God – in some way – for His glory. But in the mix, our choices will have consequences for us personally as well. Ruth could have chosen to stay in Moab, as did her sister-in-law, Orpah; and we don’t know what happened to Orpah. But we do know, as do all through history who read God’s Book, that Ruth’s choices, especially to follow the one, true God, led her to be the grandmother of the great King, David. And the story of Ruth is one we should recognize as having powerful value for our lives and our choices.
When you or I make Godly choices, God will honor those choices within His perfect plan; and we will become a part of that plan. And we know, from reading much of the Old Testament, that ungodly choices, such as those made by the Pharaoh of Egypt in the times of Moses, will lead those who make such choices to be part of God’s plan to overcome man’s evil with His good. How we participate in God’s grand scheme will all be reflective our choices. I will pray that our choices be Godly choices. And today, I pray that I will make choices which honor my God.
To any of my non-American readers, forgive my being a bit provincial here; but yesterday many of our governmental representatives made choices to vote for or against a health care plan for our nation; and those choices are going to have consequences which ripple through our land for years to come. But God is in control! … And just as He was in the life of Ruth, our God will have His will in the lives of all today. May He have mercy on us; because the choices made yesterday by our government do not appear – at least to this humble observer – to be choices which honor and glorify God. And my friend, God will not be mocked; and we will reap what we sow; … AND … the rain of God’s plan will fall on the righteous as well as the unrighteous. Oh, may God have mercy on us!
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me, lead me, … shepherd me to make choices which are part of Your plan and Your perfect will. Amen
Monday, March 15, 2010
2010 – Mar. 15 – Making Good Choices
Study from God’s Word… Josh 22: 1 – 34; Josh 23: 1 – 16; Josh 24: 1 - 28; … Passage for Reflection: Joshua 24: 15 … NIV 15 “ … But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
My Journal for Today: Today’s highlight verse is an oft quoted exhortation from Joshua to God’s people, taken from the third address he made to three separate segments of the Hebrew tribes late in his life. Part of these addresses involves Joshua quoting God as a Prophet; but some of what he said was his own words, as were these when he stated exactly what the chosen people of God would face in their future.
And Joshua could be addressing you and me with what he said to the Israelites, because we certainly have a choice as to whom we serve; … don’t we? We can serve our spiritual enemies, … Satan, the world, or our own flesh; and unfortunately just like God’s ancient peoples, that’s exactly what we often do. Now, having been one of those pagans who denied God at one point in my own life, I can almost excuse a lost person for their choices. They choose Satan or selfishness or worldly idols above God because they simply don’t believe God exists. Would we really expect the lost to make Godly choices when they don’t even believe that the God of Abraham is there for them? BUT … and this is an enormous “but” … what about those of us who do believe in the God of the Old and New Covenants? What about our choices?
How can I excuse myself when I do believe that God delivered His people from Egypt; and I do believe that God, the Father, did send His Son, Jesus, to die on a cross to pay for my sins? And I do believe that I will spend eternity with Jesus, having God, the Spirit, in my heart to seal my eternal future. So, believing all of this, why do I still make unGodly choices?
And Dr. Smith this morning nails our problem as he writes that our big challenge today is the choice to have choices, which so often takes precedence over the one choice to serve God. We live today in a culture which demands choices. We are captivated by the need to have many choices in any situation. When we go to a restaurant, we want to be able to choose from many tasty choices. When we go to select a car, we want to be able to satisfy our need for speed and selectivity by having many vehicles from which we can choose. Our “god” has become the god of many choices rather than what Joshua charged God’s people toward; and that is to have ONE choice which leads us to make all other choices; and that choice is the One True God, … the God Who wants to lead us into making any choice as we desire to serve Him and glorify Him with our choices.
As Smith so aptly puts it, ”Correctly understood, our reverence for choice has so much to do with satisfying our own desires that the lesser god we end up worshiping is self!” We can be pro-choice or pro-life; but above all we desire to have a choice to be one or the other. When, in point of truth, we are pro-God, our choices become His choices and we will live as Jesus Himself instructed His disciples to live, (see Luke 9: 23), … “to deny self … and to follow [Him].”
So, my dear one, what is your choice?
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I choose You!!! Amen
My Journal for Today: Today’s highlight verse is an oft quoted exhortation from Joshua to God’s people, taken from the third address he made to three separate segments of the Hebrew tribes late in his life. Part of these addresses involves Joshua quoting God as a Prophet; but some of what he said was his own words, as were these when he stated exactly what the chosen people of God would face in their future.
And Joshua could be addressing you and me with what he said to the Israelites, because we certainly have a choice as to whom we serve; … don’t we? We can serve our spiritual enemies, … Satan, the world, or our own flesh; and unfortunately just like God’s ancient peoples, that’s exactly what we often do. Now, having been one of those pagans who denied God at one point in my own life, I can almost excuse a lost person for their choices. They choose Satan or selfishness or worldly idols above God because they simply don’t believe God exists. Would we really expect the lost to make Godly choices when they don’t even believe that the God of Abraham is there for them? BUT … and this is an enormous “but” … what about those of us who do believe in the God of the Old and New Covenants? What about our choices?
How can I excuse myself when I do believe that God delivered His people from Egypt; and I do believe that God, the Father, did send His Son, Jesus, to die on a cross to pay for my sins? And I do believe that I will spend eternity with Jesus, having God, the Spirit, in my heart to seal my eternal future. So, believing all of this, why do I still make unGodly choices?
And Dr. Smith this morning nails our problem as he writes that our big challenge today is the choice to have choices, which so often takes precedence over the one choice to serve God. We live today in a culture which demands choices. We are captivated by the need to have many choices in any situation. When we go to a restaurant, we want to be able to choose from many tasty choices. When we go to select a car, we want to be able to satisfy our need for speed and selectivity by having many vehicles from which we can choose. Our “god” has become the god of many choices rather than what Joshua charged God’s people toward; and that is to have ONE choice which leads us to make all other choices; and that choice is the One True God, … the God Who wants to lead us into making any choice as we desire to serve Him and glorify Him with our choices.
As Smith so aptly puts it, ”Correctly understood, our reverence for choice has so much to do with satisfying our own desires that the lesser god we end up worshiping is self!” We can be pro-choice or pro-life; but above all we desire to have a choice to be one or the other. When, in point of truth, we are pro-God, our choices become His choices and we will live as Jesus Himself instructed His disciples to live, (see Luke 9: 23), … “to deny self … and to follow [Him].”
So, my dear one, what is your choice?
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I choose You!!! Amen
Saturday, January 02, 2010
2010 – Day 2. Jan. 2 – The Problem of Sin
Passage for Study: Genesis 4: 6 - 7 … NIV 6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
My Journal for Today: Do you have trouble dealing with sin? I sure do. Sometimes I feel like the Apostle Paul wrote about in Romans 7: 13 – 24 [linked for your study] . And when I struggle with my wretchedness (Paul’s term; but mine too!), I have actually wished that God had refrained from giving us free will, … that we just would always make the right choices automatically. However, it just doesn’t work that way, does it?
We are sinners; and that sin nature – our Adamic DNA – came from one who was created to live and walk with God in a perfected setting, … The Garden. But God gave Adam (and Eve) free will, the ability to choose good versus evil; and we know that Eve first and then Adam, being her responsible head, chose evil. And we certainly could ask why would they do that, being so close to God? Why do we, now, choose evil when we know – full well – what is right versus what is patently wrong?
Well, as my devotional author, F. LaGard Smith, writes today, perhaps we choose wrong over right at times because it just feels so immediately good [what a lie Satan perpetuates and we buy]. Perhaps we do so because we just rationalize our humanity, excusing our sinfulness because we think, “I’m only human; and aren’t humans expected to sin.” Maybe we even go so far in our sin habits to pin the blame on God, saying something like, “Well, since God’s in control, He could prevent me from sinning if He so desired.” But none of those excuses or “rational lies” hold water, do they?
No, sin is sin; and it never can be excused or rationalized! God allowed for EVIL in this world so the concept of GOOD would have meaning. If there was no evil in the world, we’d never be able to recognize goodness; and the concept of free-will, the part of us that makes us like God, would be neutralized and made null-and-void. One cannot have free-will without the ability to make choices; and choices require an ability to recognize two opposing forces from which we can choose. Hence, good cannot be good unless there is evil to give definition to what is good.
So, we have the law of God’s good working in the universe He created so that we can honor God by choosing to avoid what is recognized to be not-good (or evil). And without this ability to choose (i.e., free will), the entity of faith has no meaning as well. God chose to allow evil in the world and for us, His created children, to see that evil, recognizing its nature as not-good, so that we can exercise faith in our loving, grace-giving God. If we didn’t have the inborn ability to recognize good and evil, we could not have faith in a God who has created evil to allow us to recognize good.
I know that can be somewhat convoluted in its logic. But it’s important for us to realize God has engineered into mankind the ability to choose good or evil; and when we do NOT have faith in God and choose evil (i.e., sinning), there will be consequences; and we recognize those consequences, as Smith points out, as “shame, guilt, fear, and regret.” And this ability to recognize the consequences of sin (as was evidenced in that passage of Romans 7 to which you were referred above) becomes infinitely more acute in the born-again Christian who has God’s Spirit residing in him/her. It is easy for the non-believer to develop human, emotional calluses which blind him to the consequences of his sinfulness (i.e., doing or perpetuating evil). But when one is in Christ, he/she is tuned into the mind of God by His Spirit residing in our hearts; and this allows us born-again Christians (prayerfully you as well) to more easily detect the consequences of sin.
So, may we thank God for this sign of our salvation in being able to detect, regret, and even to hate our sin nature; and may we celebrate – as we move into this New Year – God’s grace in allowing us to be cleansed from our sin when we come to His throne of grace and confess (as we read and believe from 1st John 1: 9). Today I (and you) have a choice. I (we) can pursue self or my Savior. We can choose to ignore God’s law and respond to the law of sin in our nature; or we can avoid sin and walk in victory with a God Who created us for His glory as we choose His way over the way of sin.
My commitment today is the latter; … my challenge - everyday - is always the former.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, make sin ever apparent, every moment of this day. Shine Your light so brightly that I cannot help but see my own sin choices. And give me Your strength so that I can choose Your good over Satan’s evil. Amen
My Journal for Today: Do you have trouble dealing with sin? I sure do. Sometimes I feel like the Apostle Paul wrote about in Romans 7: 13 – 24 [linked for your study] . And when I struggle with my wretchedness (Paul’s term; but mine too!), I have actually wished that God had refrained from giving us free will, … that we just would always make the right choices automatically. However, it just doesn’t work that way, does it?
We are sinners; and that sin nature – our Adamic DNA – came from one who was created to live and walk with God in a perfected setting, … The Garden. But God gave Adam (and Eve) free will, the ability to choose good versus evil; and we know that Eve first and then Adam, being her responsible head, chose evil. And we certainly could ask why would they do that, being so close to God? Why do we, now, choose evil when we know – full well – what is right versus what is patently wrong?
Well, as my devotional author, F. LaGard Smith, writes today, perhaps we choose wrong over right at times because it just feels so immediately good [what a lie Satan perpetuates and we buy]. Perhaps we do so because we just rationalize our humanity, excusing our sinfulness because we think, “I’m only human; and aren’t humans expected to sin.” Maybe we even go so far in our sin habits to pin the blame on God, saying something like, “Well, since God’s in control, He could prevent me from sinning if He so desired.” But none of those excuses or “rational lies” hold water, do they?
No, sin is sin; and it never can be excused or rationalized! God allowed for EVIL in this world so the concept of GOOD would have meaning. If there was no evil in the world, we’d never be able to recognize goodness; and the concept of free-will, the part of us that makes us like God, would be neutralized and made null-and-void. One cannot have free-will without the ability to make choices; and choices require an ability to recognize two opposing forces from which we can choose. Hence, good cannot be good unless there is evil to give definition to what is good.
So, we have the law of God’s good working in the universe He created so that we can honor God by choosing to avoid what is recognized to be not-good (or evil). And without this ability to choose (i.e., free will), the entity of faith has no meaning as well. God chose to allow evil in the world and for us, His created children, to see that evil, recognizing its nature as not-good, so that we can exercise faith in our loving, grace-giving God. If we didn’t have the inborn ability to recognize good and evil, we could not have faith in a God who has created evil to allow us to recognize good.
I know that can be somewhat convoluted in its logic. But it’s important for us to realize God has engineered into mankind the ability to choose good or evil; and when we do NOT have faith in God and choose evil (i.e., sinning), there will be consequences; and we recognize those consequences, as Smith points out, as “shame, guilt, fear, and regret.” And this ability to recognize the consequences of sin (as was evidenced in that passage of Romans 7 to which you were referred above) becomes infinitely more acute in the born-again Christian who has God’s Spirit residing in him/her. It is easy for the non-believer to develop human, emotional calluses which blind him to the consequences of his sinfulness (i.e., doing or perpetuating evil). But when one is in Christ, he/she is tuned into the mind of God by His Spirit residing in our hearts; and this allows us born-again Christians (prayerfully you as well) to more easily detect the consequences of sin.
So, may we thank God for this sign of our salvation in being able to detect, regret, and even to hate our sin nature; and may we celebrate – as we move into this New Year – God’s grace in allowing us to be cleansed from our sin when we come to His throne of grace and confess (as we read and believe from 1st John 1: 9). Today I (and you) have a choice. I (we) can pursue self or my Savior. We can choose to ignore God’s law and respond to the law of sin in our nature; or we can avoid sin and walk in victory with a God Who created us for His glory as we choose His way over the way of sin.
My commitment today is the latter; … my challenge - everyday - is always the former.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, make sin ever apparent, every moment of this day. Shine Your light so brightly that I cannot help but see my own sin choices. And give me Your strength so that I can choose Your good over Satan’s evil. Amen
Saturday, September 19, 2009
2009 – Day 261.Sept 19 – Learning From Suffering
Passage of the Day: Job 28 … Linked for study …
My Journal for Today: At the end of his devotional for this date, Chuck Swindoll zeroes in on a pertinent and powerful truth from this study in Job, especially from Chapter 28; and that is we learn that “… the greater the suffering, the better we determine what really matters.” That’s what Job had learned; and be begins to assert this truth in Chapter 28 by his commitment to dig deeply into the mind of God to find the Lord’s wisdom to replace his own confusion and doubt.
This very date, a dear friend of mine was lamenting his long struggle with his weight and the outcomes of being overweight physically (high blood pressure, joint problems, and fatigue). And oh, how I empathize with that, having become obese myself some years ago and incurring diabetes as a result. However, when I was diagnosed with diabetes, God showed me I need not languish in my own habitual sin nor my feelings of defeat from my chronic obesity. God revealed to me that I could choose to be an “overcomer” because Christ had been THE OVERCOMER [see John 16: 33].
God’s Spirit led me to recognize that I need not live, as did Paul, in the lie of Romans 7: 14-23, I could rather live in the truth of Romans 8 - link provided. I need not live in the weakness and pain of 2nd Cor. 12: 7-8; I could rather live in the strength and victory of 2nd Cor. 9-10 - link provided. But if I bought into the lies the enemy would have me believe, such as those Job had heard from his three friends, I would not be able to share in the victories God had for me to experience in my future.
Job, in Chapter 28 made the decision to stand for God’s truth rather than to surrender to Satan’s lies. He decided to go deep and mine for God’s mind, rather than listen to the surface logic of the world. Job declared for all to hear that God was in control; and he (Job) was going to dig more deeply for Godly wisdom rather than rely on human logic.
And that’s what we need to do; … we need to learn from our suffering rather than to succumb to its pain. We need to begin mining for Godly wisdom rather than relying on human experience or logic. We need to find God’s way rather than man’s will. And you know, as do I, the primary source of those choices; … and that is God’s truth from His word.
So, are we going to choose to dig deeply into God’s mind; or are we going to listen to our own deceit-ridden heart or the world’s logic? Are we going to live in Romans 8, rather than Romans 7? Are we going to choose to receive God’s strength, or are we going to rely on our own weakness to deal with the challenges presented by the world?
Choices!
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to choose Your way, … not mine! Amen
My Journal for Today: At the end of his devotional for this date, Chuck Swindoll zeroes in on a pertinent and powerful truth from this study in Job, especially from Chapter 28; and that is we learn that “… the greater the suffering, the better we determine what really matters.” That’s what Job had learned; and be begins to assert this truth in Chapter 28 by his commitment to dig deeply into the mind of God to find the Lord’s wisdom to replace his own confusion and doubt.
This very date, a dear friend of mine was lamenting his long struggle with his weight and the outcomes of being overweight physically (high blood pressure, joint problems, and fatigue). And oh, how I empathize with that, having become obese myself some years ago and incurring diabetes as a result. However, when I was diagnosed with diabetes, God showed me I need not languish in my own habitual sin nor my feelings of defeat from my chronic obesity. God revealed to me that I could choose to be an “overcomer” because Christ had been THE OVERCOMER [see John 16: 33].
God’s Spirit led me to recognize that I need not live, as did Paul, in the lie of Romans 7: 14-23, I could rather live in the truth of Romans 8 - link provided. I need not live in the weakness and pain of 2nd Cor. 12: 7-8; I could rather live in the strength and victory of 2nd Cor. 9-10 - link provided. But if I bought into the lies the enemy would have me believe, such as those Job had heard from his three friends, I would not be able to share in the victories God had for me to experience in my future.
Job, in Chapter 28 made the decision to stand for God’s truth rather than to surrender to Satan’s lies. He decided to go deep and mine for God’s mind, rather than listen to the surface logic of the world. Job declared for all to hear that God was in control; and he (Job) was going to dig more deeply for Godly wisdom rather than rely on human logic.
And that’s what we need to do; … we need to learn from our suffering rather than to succumb to its pain. We need to begin mining for Godly wisdom rather than relying on human experience or logic. We need to find God’s way rather than man’s will. And you know, as do I, the primary source of those choices; … and that is God’s truth from His word.
So, are we going to choose to dig deeply into God’s mind; or are we going to listen to our own deceit-ridden heart or the world’s logic? Are we going to live in Romans 8, rather than Romans 7? Are we going to choose to receive God’s strength, or are we going to rely on our own weakness to deal with the challenges presented by the world?
Choices!
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to choose Your way, … not mine! Amen
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