Choices
See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.(KJV) See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil. Deut. 30:15 (NIV)
As I watch the sun come up this morning and a bright new day begin, I pause to ponder why the human race has found it so difficult to choose to live their lives in peace. Each new day brings a fresh start and a new beginning. Each morning begins with nothing left over from the day before. How beautiful and joyful it would be if everyone would accept that fact and live it throughout the day.
Think about this passage as you read the morning news or watch the news on television. (Good News) “Today I am giving you a choice between good and evil, between life and death.” The choice to be at war with another country. The choice to allow college kids to drink at a younger age. The choice to be a part of a gang whose existence depends on violence. The choice to rob cemeteries of metal to sell for recycle The choice to raise the cost of fuel, food, energy, water and housing to a level where only a few can survive. Choices like these and too many more to list start each and every day.
How do you begin your day? Do you roll over and pretend it has not started? Or, do you see the new day as a new start or a miracle……..you are alive! You are given another day to make choices that will not only affect you but other lives as well. How hard is it to pop out of bed and relish being alive? But, I don’t have that car I wanted or the job I need or the clothes I want or the money I need. How can I be excited about this day without all these things? Come on! Think about it. What are your priorities? What takes first place in your life as the most important thing? Money? Homes? Cars? Prestige? Life? God?
Wait, how did God get into the picture? What does He have to do with me being happy about this day? Where do you think everything comes from? Who do you believe is responsible for your very life? If God is not the answer then who is? Look again at the Bible and see a revelation. The Word is full of examples of God’s work and if you can’t accept that Word then explain it all your way. Oh yes, as you are trying to explain all these things why not just start with life itself. All life, not just yours. Every living thing has a beginning. While you are working on that problem I will give you something else to ponder.
As a parent most of us want only the best for our kids and we would do almost anything to see that happen. As our Father, God does everything to see we have a full and blessed life. First, He gave us life. Then, He allowed us to grow up to the point where we were smart enough to make wise and good choices. At no time does God “pull our strings.” He gave us all free will. I think that is the only error He ever made. His loving creation, us, then began to listen to other “voices” and be tempted. We began to make choices that went against God’s desire for a blessed life for us. We disobeyed our Father. As parents we have had to experience disobedience from our own kids. We have had to discipline our own flesh and blood. Was it a tough thing to have to punish someone you love? Think about how God must feel when we disobey Him. Every human being that has ever existed and exists now and will exist are His “kids” even if they don’t acknowledge Him as their Father.
In Deut. 30:15-20 God explains our choices. Simply. In verses 15, 19, the choices are good or evil, life or death; in verse 16 the choices are love or hatred of God, walk in God’s ways or reject them, keep His commandments, statutes, and judgments or transgress them. In verse 17, 20 cleave to God or turn away from Him, hear God or refuse to hear Him, worship God or other gods. In verse 18 live long or perish quickly. In verse 19 blessing or cursing.
Let’s take a closer look at some of these choices.
Good/evil
Most folks believe that there is good and evil in this world. Even primitive cultures and tribes believed in evil spirits. To this day, evil is associated with the bad things that happen. So, if you are given the choice between all good things and all bad things for yourself, why would you deliberately choose bad?
Life/death
This is a no brainer. Would you go out of your way to choose to die? Do you choose to smoke or live life to the fullest? Do you do drugs as a way to escape or avoid life in its beauty? Do you choose toxic substances to put in your body? Alcohol? Preservatives?
Life or death?
Love God/hate God
Have you decided that there is a God yet? Have you pondered what I said at the start of this? Who gave you life? Should you have determined that life was no mere accident of nature and that a loving Creator/Father made all life, you are at least on the right track. Now, do you choose to love that God or hate Him? Hate the very reason you have life? Hate this incredible world and its unending variety? Hate the person you share life with? Hardly a choice when you think about it.
Walk in God’s ways/reject them
As a father we give our kids direction and guidance. We nurture their choices so that they might have only good things. God gave us an “owner’s manual” to help us in our walk with him. We debate, argue, discuss and alter His directions to suit our needs. Then when things don’t work out we blame the Word as being unbelievable. Folks, if God said it we better believe it or the alternative will become a reality in our lives. God’s commandments are so simple and easy to follow. The problems are the variations we have created to fit the way we want things run. Good example: Don’t kill (Ex. 20:13) but we modify our laws so that abortion of children is legal. Enough said. Examine the other commandments and see how many have been modified or just plain ignored.
Cleave unto God/turn away from Him
We have “gods” everywhere we look. From the Eastern religions that are having a huge impact on a certain age group to the " idols" in professional sports. We have an overabundance of “gods” that are being “worshipped” each day. Far too many movie stars and sports divas command millions of dollars and set the example by their use of drugs and their amoral behaviors. These people are the ones we hold in high esteem and our kids want to be like. Just look at the fashions (?) the kids are wearing and who inspired them. God takes a very low position on the priority list.
So what happens when the choices are wrong? Read the book! The choices are always good or bad, life or death, blessings or curses. There is no gray area or middle ground. Rev. 3:16 (Good News) But because you are lukewarm, neither hot or cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth! God is obviously not happy with that gray area choice. Politicians often play in that zone so as to make no waves on either side and therefore secure their position in office. Back in the day we called that being a mug womp. Straddling the fence with the mug on one side and the womp on the other. The choice to exclude God is clearly defined in the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation God makes it clear that to live contrary to his laws means to invite every kind of disaster and death. Death, eternal death, without God. Not a choice any rational thinking person would make.
The alternative of a bad choice is also clearly defined over and over in the Bible. If you take every curse and apply the opposite you will see the potential blessing. Every detail of your life will be blessed with abundance when God is the choice. From cover to cover, the Bible is explicitly detailed with examples and God’s promises for the blessed life for the believer. In John 10:10, Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” The word abundantly in the Greek is perissos which means superabundance, excessive, overflowing, surplus, over and above, more than enough, profuse, extraordinary, more than sufficient. Wow! Can it be said any better than that!
God created everything. (Genesis) He gave everything to His human creation, Adam. He gave Adam free will and blessed him with a mate and eternal life. He planted a garden to provide food. The Tree of Life was also in the garden along with the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. The Tree of Life is the tree that is associated with experiencing the life of God, including immorality. The Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil represents human autonomy, that is, self-rule and an assumed independence from God in all areas of life. From that tree came the downfall of mankind. Satan convinced Eve to disobey God and eternal life was forfeit. Because God loved us so much He gave us one last choice……His Son. Our choice now is life, eternal life, through acceptance of Jesus as the Son of God, His sacrifice on the cross for our sins, His resurrection and assent into heaven to return to the Father. The choice to believe in Jesus Christ and live as a follower of the Son of God is our best and only choice for a blessed, abundant life ETERNALLY. Only one God, one Christ, one Holy Spirit, one eternity.
Satan can only offer the full range of curses and eternal damnation with him.
Can your choice be any clearer? Can you really NOT choose life?
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trouble ahead
2 Timothy 3: 1-7 (Good News Bible)— Remember that there will be difficult times in the last days. People will be selfish, greedy, boastful, and conceited; they will be insulting, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, and irreligious; they will be unkind, merciless, slanderers, violent, and fierce; they will be treacherous, reckless, and swollen with pride; they will love pleasure rather than God; they will hold to the outward form of our religion, but reject its real power. Keep away from such people. Some of them go into people’s houses and gain control over weak women who are burdened by the guilt of their sins and driven by all kinds of desires, women who are always trying to learn but who can never come to know the truth.
As I read the paper this morning I was reminded yet again of the perilous times in which we live. Top politicians being indicted, killings, terrorism, wars, earthquakes, and fires fill the news. I searched the entire paper, including the classified ads and the advertising, for good news and found none. Until, by chance, I glanced at the obituaries. There was one for a twelve year old girl who knew Jesus from early childhood and had been baptized at three. She had a love for praying and did it every day. The obit was touching and inspiring. The loss became a celebration of her going to be with her Jesus. It is sad that the only place in the whole paper where real good news could be found was in the passing of one so young.
When we look at the scripture for today and see it as if it were written today, things begin to come into focus. Reading the newspaper or watching television will only point out the details of just how difficult these times really are. The cost of living expenses have risen to the point where most families have had to cut or eliminate much of the “fun” expenses just to be able to pay to keep the lights on or the gas on or some food in the fridge. The quality of life will have to be weighed against the quantity of life. By that I mean people will have to decide whether to buy booze, cigs, and Twinkies or fresh veggies, fruits and meat. Deciding if the summer vacation should be on the beach at Pismo or at home doing things together as a family becomes a reality forced into existence by lack of extra money. The electric company wants you to cut off your air conditioner during the hottest part of the day to keep the system from overloading. They will help you cut your energy costs that way. When you have to weigh the cost of the energy and the cost of a hospital stay due to heat stroke…….something is wrong.
Difficult times? Yes and the Word of God warns of even more to come. Verse 2 describes the largest percentage of today’s population. Selfish, greedy, boastful, conceited. Any doubts? Just watch pro sports and especially the interviews with those multi- million dollar players. Then check the sports pages and the internet sports to see how many of these divas are being arrested for DUI, drug possession, spousal abuse, and even shootings. These are the idols of the youth of today. Listen to the language that spews out of their mouths and even from the coaches on the sidelines. Do you really think that language is cute and necessary? Does it help "make the man a man?" Mat. 12:34 says "for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. " Gutter language fully expresses what some folks are abundantly filled with.
Verse 2 b. Kids learn to be disobedient to their parents from many of the videos, music and television shows they watch. Their actions are often reinforced by the babysitters that are raising them in lieu of the parents. Parents are too busy trying to make money or “doing their thing” and the kids have to raise themselves. Ever heard of latch key kids? Mostly the children leave home after the parents are gone and get home before the parents and have only an empty house to welcome them. When the parents do get home they are usually too tired or too busy to pay much attention to the kids. With no one to teach, guide, love, care for, and be there for, the kids learn on their own and often learn incorrectly. Respect is earned. Obedience comes with love for a person who is respected. You cannot require or demand respect. Too many parents today have kids because it seems to be the thing to do and not because the child is really wanted. With no parental guide lines the child has no perimeters and must find out right from wrong the hard way.
Verse 3. …Unkind, merciless, slanderers, violent, hate the good. Sounds like a cross section of everything from gangs to politicians. Again, read the news with these terms, in mind.
Difficult times? How about the amount of money and time spent on pleasure? (leisure time) Simple pleasures like reading a good book or just being with someone special are not enough for most folks. Pleasures should have a degree of danger, lust, sex, illegal aspects, recklessness or excessive cost to be “fun.” When the indulgence of pleasure becomes too great nothing else matters. Not what anyone else thinks or even if it infringes on others rights. The love of pleasure can become a replacement for God. (Verse 4)
Verse 5. Count the number of churches in your town. Amazing just how many there seem to be. Then add to that number all the groups that are not called churches but carry some other label that indicates the “worship” of some deity. If all of these places believed in One God, One Lord, One Holy Spirit, there would be no problem. But, far too many of them “hold to the outward form of religion, but reject its real power.” Worship of idols while proclaiming belief in God is really counter productive. Think about it.
Verse 6. Knock, knock! Who’s there? Remember those jokes? Well today the “knock, knock” is usually someone with a new idea of what it is to be a Christian. How about letting them in to tell you about these new ideas? Your husband is not home and this lady seems sincere. You read her pamphlet and she tells you about her system that allows you to be a Christian without all the rules. All you need to do is come to their meditation meetings or their “bible study” where a new age author is discussed and then a new age book is read. Or, there are the ones that tell you that we are all gods. There are so many traps for the person who goes from place to place and source to source searching for the truth. The scripture speaks of (verse 6-7) “weak women who are burdened by the guilt of their sins and driven by all kinds of desires, women who are always trying to learn but who can never come to know the truth.” I would have to stick up for the ladies here and add guys to this mix as well. Granted, the Bible teaches that Eve was the one who “sold out” Eden to the lies of Satan. And, it was she who convinced Adam that what she did was right and persuaded him to do likewise. We all know the result of that disobedience.
Today the lies and deception are even greater and more varied. The enemy knows our weaknesses and will exploit them at every opportunity. Guys are susceptible to deceit too. So, what can we do to survive these troubled times?
- Choose (with all your heart and soul) to serve God each day.
- Spend quality time in the Word.
- Pray. The Bible says to pray without ceasing.
- Remember that faith is an ACTION word. ACTIVATE IT!
By focusing on God and His Word the events of the world will have little effect on you. His promises will keep you and His angels will guard you. No, the times won’t be any easier and the “bad news” won’t go away if you do these things. But, your relationship with God will grow and the trials will become only a bother. Read the Book of Revelation. WE WIN!
- The AUTHORITY is the WORD
- The power is IN the gospel
- The attraction is JESUS
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luke
REV. 3:16 (NIV)— So, because you are lukewarm- neither hot nor cold- I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
Hot or cold. Black or white. No middle ground. This is the thought for today. Christians are constantly accused of seeing only the two sides of everything based on right or wrong, black or white. If there were a middle ground here what would we call it? Compromise? Surrender? Blindness? Uncaring? Numb? What would you call it if you had a member of your family murdered in cold blood? Would you just write it off as an act of a poor soul who did not know better because he came from a lousy neighborhood? I am sure the dead person would love that. I am sure that the family would be at peace with that description. Yet, is that not what we have allowed to happen in the judicial system? A murder is not judged as a murder but in degrees of murder. Degrees! Give me a break. Dead is dead and no degree of that murder will bring that dead person back or give peace to the family or excuse the killer on the basis of degree. What happens to the killer in the end depends on what degree is decided upon. And, even after the killer has been found guilty, he is then sent to a prison to probably spend the rest of his life or a part of his life being fed, clothed, sheltered, given exercise equipment to do body building, given health care, and schooling. If the killer is sentenced to death row for his crime, he will probably spend most or all of his life getting the same things. The system is now trying to get rid of the death penalty as unconstitutional for the prisoner. It seems that someone who was given a lethal injection reacted badly to it and suffered some before dying has made the whole idea wrong. I have to think here about the person or persons who were tortured, raped, beaten, strangled, or slaughtered. The fact that they felt PAIN……incredible pain is not even considered anymore. Therefore, the killer continues to live in relative comfort in spite of his deeds. Prison is not a spa, or vacation spot. But the taking of a life should not be “rewarded” with better care than a great many of non-criminal citizens are getting. Think of the cost of keeping these criminals in prison year after year and weigh it against the “benefits” that other citizens are not getting and yet are surviving without killing someone. The system has become lukewarm. There has been a gray area established because the law has been allowed to become a tool with no teeth. The Bible says very plainly, DO NOT KILL.
Let’s take another gray area and explore it as well. Pregnancy is a life waiting to become a contributing human being. When a male and a female human being have sex and the sex cells are joined a new life is started. Now everyone has had their sex education 101 class and knows that information already. Right? Wrong. It seems that when these cells join they do not become a human person until nine months later. According to the people who do abortions and the Supreme Court these human sex cells that have become joined and are forming a tiny body with all the organs and tissues of a person is NOT a person at all. There are names for each stage of development but HUMAN is not one of them. By eliminating the human concept from the mix the system has created a means by which they, the judicial system, can turn a blind eye to the ending of that life and make it legal. The person who has become pregnant can also end that life because it is legally their CHOICE to end that life. No matter how it is labeled the ending of that life is MURDER. Legal, to be sure, but murder none the less. And, if the process of the abortion is examined it would not be too far fetched to believe that that little life was ended in pain. This is not too hard to understand when you look at the reality of the fact that some of these abortions are done when the development is in the late part of the ninth month. That my friends is a small person with all the nervous system developed and functional and FEELING. Examine the abortion process and any sane human will see and understand that there is pain connected with the killing of that baby. The gray area that has poisoned the system here has allowed murder to become another means of birth control when intelligence has failed.
Life style choices. Alternative lifestyles. Homosexual lifestyles. Male and male marriages. Female and female marriages. When man was created it was man and woman that began all of humanity. Do you think for a moment that creation could have even happened at all if everything was the same sex? When that molecular mess in that cosmic pond of chemicals and minerals crawled out onto the land (if you believe that line of guff) and tried to continue its life without some means of reproduction it would not have survived. If you don’t buy that line of guff then you might believe that a loving and creative God gave life to man and created a woman so that life could be continued. Fred and Harry would have lived their lives together and died. That’s it folks. There would have been no more. Since this creation story is so controversial and so scary to the “intellectual” non spiritual world, it has become illegal to teach it in the public schools or even mention it as an alternative explanation to life on earth. The Supreme Court, in all its wisdom, has created yet another gray area to confound and confuse and control. We are all products of accidental life forming forces. I am sure that there are more scientific terms to use to label the process, but you get the idea. We have now eliminated God from the learning process and added homosexual choice as an alternative life style. From the beginning of recorded history we have seen that men and women have used unnatural sex for their own perversions. Sex between like sexes is not new……it’s just not seen as a perversion or an unnatural life style any longer. Sure there are some states that still have laws on the books against same sex relations but if a person were to take those laws to the high court they, the laws, would probably be tossed aside as unconstitional or something. If your wheel squeaks loudly enough and long enough someone will listen. And if you get enough squeaky wheels together and make enough noise long enough, someone will probably make a law to allow those wheels to squeak wherever and whenever they want. And, the law will probably require everyone else to be forced to listen to the squeak whether they want to hear it or not. The Bible calls homosexual life an abomination. The dictionary defines an abomination as something that arouses strong disgust. If I read the Bible correctly I truly believe that is exactly the way God feels about homosexual activity. The gray area? Close your eyes and allow more abominations to exist and watch what happens to morals and values and families.
Gray areas are what a lot of politicians are basing their campaigns on. The people who are living a gray life and making gray choices are voters that can swing campaigns one way or another. Of course all the politician has to do is promise to make their way THE WAY and the votes pour in. Read history. Every single civilization has gone up in smoke and collapsed when the government became rotten and the values and morals of the citizens became an abomination. Not one single civilization survived no matter how powerful it was or how rich it was or how intellectual it was. Without God and His laws man cannot survive. If you have any doubts please give the Bible a read. If you only see it as a history of a group of people you will still see how laws were broken and the results. There are consequences for every one of our actions. When God’s laws are broken the consequences are dire.
Deut. 30:19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live, and that you may love the Lord you God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.
Choices. Life and death. Blessings and cursings. How many of us deliberately would choose death or curses. Yet, this is exactly what is done when the laws that are written for our life are ignored or re-written to accommodate a live style with little or no moral fiber and values. By creating a gray area when a clear black or white, right or wrong choice is obvious we open our lives up to death and curses. Do you know what the blessings are for the ones who are committed to following God’s laws? Read Deuteronomy and see all the blessings that God promises and if you then apply the opposite of those blessings you will see the curses. Each day we must choose blessings or curses, life or death. If we continue to blend the two together as a convenience to continue to break the laws the result will surely be death. Choose this day. Choose to believe in the one and only true God and His Son who He sent to deliver us from our sinful ways. One death and one resurrection for all and for all time.
I have attacked some of the gray areas that Satan would use to continue his destruction of mankind. I have made it very clear that there can be no compromise in this war with heaven and hell. Gray areas are lies of Satan to blind people from the truth. Gray areas are like a heavy fog that covers the path that must be traveled and hides the dangers from our sight. We know that there are dangers just as we really know right from wrong when we see it. It seems that we would rather be a part of the “invisible” crowd and not make waves and not stand up for real justice and real laws. Wrong is wrong. There can never be a maybe when choosing life or death. There can never be real success when the only road traveled is the one that leads nowhere.
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let go of the past
Choose to live today. Yesterday has gone and you cannot change it. Tomorrow has yet to come so you cannot access it. This is your time NOW.
Have you ever been to a track meet? The excitement builds as the runners take their positions at the blocks. The starter raises his pistol……..the runners tense for the explosive start…..the gun is fired and the race is on! Wow! The excitement is incredible. You can almost feel the energy being exerted by each runner as they sprint toward the finish line. But wait. There seems to be a problem. One of the runners has stopped in the middle of the track and is looking back at the starting blocks. All the other runners are passing him and heading toward the goal……the finish line. Why did that runner stop? He was in the lead and seemed to be a sure winner. Now he will be listed as DNF. Did not finish.
What could a track meet have to do with this message today? How can a simple race be applied to your Christian walk? Easy. To start with, let’s look at some scripture and get some ideas. In Phil. 3:12-14 (Good News Bible) I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect. I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself. Of course, my brothers, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead. So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God’s call through Christ Jesus to the life above.
Notice anything similar to the track meet and the scripture? Both have a goal. Both require the participants to run straight ahead TOWARDS the goal. Both require a maximum effort to COMPLETE the race. The difference is that the track event is not a matter of life or death, while the scripture “race” is a matter of eternal life.
In the Dakes Annotated Reference Bible we will find yet another bit of information that will help us to understand what is really going on in our Christian “race.” Using Phil 3:13 as the verse Dakes lists three parts to the “one thing I do” section of the verse. 1. I forget the ground I have covered in the race (1 Cor. 9:24-27). I cannot waste time over the past. 2. I reach forth to that which is before me in the race. I strain every nerve and muscle and use every ounce or my strength to win. My future depends on it. I am running for my life. 3. I press toward the mark (v 14), that is, I pursue that white line in the stadium upon which all runners must keep their eyes fixed, lest I be disqualified for the prize. If you apply these three thoughts to the actual track meet AND to the Christian “race” you will more fully understand the importance of keeping focused on what is ahead and not what was left behind. If each runner stopped midway in the race and analyzed their start…..i.e.: did they come up too quickly, or did they hesitate when the gun went off, or many other details only a highly trained runner would know. Perhaps they stopped just because they saw that the finish line tape was not a color they liked. I know, I know, stupid thought……….or is it any more stupid to lose today because you spent the entire day fussing about what went down yesterday! Either idea brings about the same result……neither finish the “race.” Or, perhaps, you spend this day worrying about tomorrow, knowing full well that you cannot do anything about it anyway. There are a lot of people out there that will lose days or even weeks doing just that. They worry their life away on things that they cannot control or change. The scripture in Ps. 34: 9-10 sheds some light on why not to worry. “Have reverence for the Lord, all his people; those who obey him have all they need. Even lions go hungry for lack of food, but those who obey the Lord lack nothing good.” Worry is the start of something that the enemy can use in his deception. By getting into the Word each day and offering every concern to God in prayer, you will be choosing blessings for the day.
The goal of each Believer is to finish that race. I did not say the goal was to be FIRST but to FINISH. Each person has to take whatever skills, talents, and gifts that they have and apply them to completing the journey. As you travel along that path you will begin to see that the path becomes narrower and there will be fewer and fewer pilgrims on that journey. The reason is simple. Walking with Christ is not without persecution and trials. The journey begins each new day and ends at the throne of God. The path must be through and with the Lord Jesus Christ or there is no hope in reaching the Kingdom of God. Only through the Son will the Father be revealed.
Remember the runners that finished the race. Each gave their best and finished. Each Christian must do no less in their “race”. The difference is that each Christian who finishes will be given the Crown of Life. Sure beats a ribbon. Heb. 10:39 “We are not people who turn back and are lost. Instead, we have faith and are saved.”
To conclude this thought for the day. Remember Lot and his wife? God told them to leave Sodom and Gomorrah because He was going to destroy them because of their sinfulness. He told them NOT to look back. Guess who looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. How sad and how unnecessary. If only she had listened to God. If only WE would listen to God today before it is too late. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. TODAY.
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what's in a name
Phil 2:1-11(Good News Bible)— Your life in Christ makes you strong, and his love comforts you. You have fellowship with the Spirit, and you have kindness and compassion for one another. I urge you, then, to make me completely happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and being one in soul and mind. Don’t do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves. And look out for one another’s interests, not just for your own. The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had:
He always had the nature of God, but He did not think that by force He should try to become equal with God. Instead of this, of His own free will He gave up all He had, and took the nature of a servant. He became like man and appeared in human likeness. He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death- His death on the cross. For this reason God raised him to the highest place above and gave Him the name that is greater than any other name. And so, in honor of the name of Jesus all beings in heaven, on earth, and in the world below will fall on their knees, and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
According to the dictionary the definition of name is: 1. word or words by which a person, animal, place or thing is called or known. 2. Word or words applied descriptively (name or title describing someone) 3. reputation: fame
Today great importance is placed on how we are known in relation to our position over others. A good example of this is the title of CEO. Being a CEO literally means being above everyone else in a particular organization. Being better than someone or, better yet, everyone, is a goal that too many individuals strive to achieve. What they don’t seem to understand is that being “on top” means being a target for all those beneath. Competition for position or status can become ugly. Friends are forgotten and families are all but put aside in the struggle to become “top gun” of a corporation or even the small staff of a church. A total focus on achievement leaves no room for being a husband, dad, friend, brother, son……. You will notice that I did not get into the word battle of being politically correct here and only used the male terms and not the neutral words used to strip a person to a non-entity. You are also intelligent enough to know that this battle for ego power is not limited to just the male of the species.
If the battle is so deadly…..sometimes literally… then why are so many people out there willing to sacrifice so much for so little. Whoops. Did I say so little? Yes, to gain “everything” at the cost of everything seems like a losing battle to me. To become famous to the extent that no matter where you go in the world you are known and therefore never left alone, and have no person who you can trust, love, care for, be cared by, confidant, soul mate, and be a friend to, is an incredible price to pay. What value is there in being alone? Do you enjoy your multi million dollar home with only paid servants to tend to your needs while on duty? Do you like eating alone, or just being in that big old house all alone? Is it any wonder why the psychiatrists are having field day dealing with these people? Is it any wonder why there is a flood of “new” drugs available to treat all the symptoms of being without God? Whoops! I did it again. What do I mean being without God? When we focus so completely on becoming so important that nothing else matters……where is God? When families are shattered and lives are trashed in the process of becoming famous or king, or CEO, or head honcho of the corner bar, someone is being left out. When the name becomes more important than what the position or name could do then God is left out.
When God sent His Son to become one of us a terrible price had to be paid. Jesus gave up His heavenly position to become a humble human being. But even from the beginning God tried to make us know just who His son was…….Matt 1:23 A virgin will become pregnant and have a son, and He will be called Immanuel (which means, “God is with us”) Mark 1:1 This is the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Luke 1:31-32 You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. John 1:1, 14 Before the world was created, the Word already existed; He was with God, and He was the same as God. The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw His glory, the glory which He received as the Father’s only Son.
So you want a name that brings attention. You want everyone to know you have power to create and destroy. You want adoration…but with no strings. You want the power huge amounts of money provides. You want to be able to buy friends, love, loyalty, companionship, trust, sympathy,…….and the list goes on. Will you succeed? Will your life be full and complete? Where will you spend eternity..? Or will that too be just another part of the price for notoriety.
Having a goal to achieve the best one can become is not bad. Having goals that will bring attention to you by virtue of the work done to attain those goals is not bad either. Being a CEO or president or “boss” or what ever title that indicates being on top is not bad. The bad part is trying to do it without God as your CEO. The bad part is bypassing His goals, His directions, His love, His compassion, His Son, to gain a worthless title that has no meaning or power in the Kingdom of God. Without the Son there is no Kingdom. Without the Son there is no hope. Without the Son life is over.
I will follow the one whose name causes “all beings in heaven, on earth, and in the world below” to fall on their knees and “will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The power of that name makes the enemy shake in his boots. That name cancels every lie the enemy tells us and nullifies every promise that the enemy makes. The name of Jesus drives away every doubt and darkness that come with the words of the enemy. At the name of Jesus, EVERY knee will bow and EVERY tongue will confess that HE is LORD.
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abraham - a man of faith
The dictionary defines faith as: belief without proof, trust.
As man of faith Abraham set a very high standard. Scripture tells us that he walked with God all his life and we also find that the Word of God also has a bit of humor in it. If we read Gen. 12:1-3 we find God asking Abram (his early name) to basically pack up all his things and leave home, friends, family, and his native land and go to a country that God would show him. Just like that. Pack it up and leave. Don’t look back. Don’t worry. Just do what I ask. Wow, Abram was married to Sarai and that meant that she would have to be content to move wherever! Wherever? Yeah, as if. But God was the one doing the telling and Abram was the one listening and obeying. He packed it all up and they took off for parts unknown. Think of what your response would be if you were told to move (the M word!) somewhere. No data on where - just move. Most wives would be a tad upset. I suspect that the husband would be just a bit concerned as well. I mean, it would mean a new home, new job, new friends, new town, and new environment. NEW EVERYTHING!
Abram did as he was asked. In Gen. 15: 1-6 we see that God made a covenant with Abram that promised protection and rewards. God even promised to provide Abram with an heir……actually God had Abram try to count the number of stars in the sky to give him an idea of how many descendants he would actually have. Talk about a large family! Well, good old Abram listened again and ” Abram put his trust in the Lord” (Gen. 15:6)
Time slipped away as it usually does and Abram got to be the ripe old age of ninety nine and the Lord appeared to him and said to him again that He would give him many descendants. He, God, even had Abram change his name to Abraham, which meant father of many nations. God told him that the covenant would be kept with all the descendants in the future generations. The sign of the covenant with God would be that all the men would be circumcised and baby boys would be circumcised at the age of 8 days. This would be a blood covenant with God and He would bless them. Any male that was not circumcised would no longer be considered one of God’s people. God also told Abraham that his wife would now be called Sarah and not Sarai. God said He would bless her and she would the mother of nations and there would be kings among her descendants.
Abraham bowed down with his face touching the ground and here is where the Word shows some humor. Abraham began to laugh when he thought of his age, 100 years old, and Sarah’s age of 90. The whole idea of starting a family now was a rather incredible idea…..even for God. Abraham even asked God if Ishmael, his son by a servant woman, could be his heir. God told him that He would give him an heir of his own flesh and blood and his name would be Isaac and God would keep His covenant with Isaac and his descendants forever. Isaac was to be the father of twelve princes, and his descendants would make up a great nation.
In Gen. 18 we read that three men appeared to Abraham one day. Abraham invited them to come into his home and allow him to serve them. He told Sarah to get the best flour and bake bread and his servant to select a prime calf and prepare a meal. One of the men inquired of Sarah and then presented Abraham with a life changing promise. He said that Sarah would deliver a boy child in nine months! Sarah was listening at the door. Both she and Abraham were very old and she had stopped her monthly periods. She laughed to herself and thought “now that I am old and worn out, can I still enjoy sex?” The Lord asked Abraham why Sarah had laughed and questioned her ability to have a child. Sarah was afraid and denied that she had laughed.
Isaac was indeed born as promised. Abraham and Sarah were blessed . God had delivered on His promise. Time passed and God called to Abraham again. (Gen 22.) It was time to test Abraham. Abraham was told to take his son and go to the region of Moriah. There on a mountain Abraham was to offer Isaac to God as a sacrifice. We know that most sacrifices in those days called for some blood to be shed. This time it was the blood of the only son of Abraham and Sarah. The delivered promised son from God was to be offered up to Him as a sacrifice. How devastated could Abraham have been. His response was no different than all his other responses.
The next morning Abraham cut some wood for the sacrifice, loaded the donkey, and took Isaac and two servants and started out for the place that God had told him about.
This is the part that gets interesting. Abraham did what he was told. He again went out in blind faith to do what God asked of him.
The third day they came to the place where God had said to go. Abraham said to the servants. (Gen. 22:5) “Then he said to the servants, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there and worship, and then we will come back to you.”
Abraham had Isaac carry the wood for the sacrifice and he himself carried the knife and the live coals for starting the fire. Isaac had to know that there was something that was not quite right here. He was no dummy. He knew what was needed for a sacrifice. They had everything for the sacrifice but no animal. He asked his father about the lack of a lamb for the sacrifice. Abraham answered him this way. “God himself will provide one.” They continued on until they came to the place which God had told him about. Here Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. He tied up Isaac his only son and placed him on the altar. Abraham then took the knife to kill him. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said “don’t hurt the boy or do anything to him.” Abraham had proven himself to God to be obedient even unto the sacrifice of his only son. God provided a ram caught in a bush for the sacrifice.
Abraham knew that his God, the God of love, the God whose promises never fail, would not fail him this time either. God had blessed Abraham all those years and finally with a son. If you read again Gen. 22;5 you will see the faith Abraham had in God. He told his servants WE WILL COME BACK TO YOU. WE will come back to you. He even had the witnesses that he needed to prove to those who would doubt Gods grace. Witnesses were valuable then as now to convince others of what could not be real.
What would you be willing to sacrifice to God? If He was to ask you to go somewhere that only God knew, would you just get up and go? If He asked you to stop smoking or give up dope or the alcohol or……..your car, would you? What sacrifice would be too great for you? How about just giving your life to Him, body , mind and spirit. How about living a life for Him rather than dying for any temptation of satan. Is life eternal with God worth even a moment with the enemy. Something to think about. Something to pray about. Something to LIVE about.
In HIS Name……Amen.
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the reluctant prophet
Jonah 1: 1-3— The Word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittia: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.
What would you do if God told you to stand up for Christian values and morals in front of the Supreme Court? Too big a task? OK, how about standing outside of a porn shop and sharing the Word of God with folks going into the shop? Or, perhaps speaking to young folks about the language that comes out of their mouth……i.e., using the now commonly accepted alternatives for the ‘F’ word. Or, perhaps just being a loving, caring parent who will say NO to a teen son or daughter who wants to spend a weekend with the crowd of friends at the beach? Or, go to an all night party after graduation? Or, how about telling your boss that his/her sexual innuendos are out of line……and risk your job?
Hey, Jonah only had to go to a big city and tell the populace that they were sinning! Perhaps going to L. A. or New York and telling the drug dealers, users, pushers and anyone involved with illegal drugs that they were sinning or calling out the gangs and confronting them with God’s Word….would be a similar experience. Or, going into the clinics that do abortions and simply telling them that killing is wrong. Or, asking the TV stations to not broadcast any show that has bad language, violence, nudity, rape, homosexual behavior……
The list goes on. The tasks are endless. Our replies to God are very much like that of Jonah. Run! Look away. Become too busy with work, taking the kids to soccer practice, movies, the mall, dance lessons, or even baking that pie for the church social.
Jonah was faced with a great wind and waves as he attempted to run away from God’s command. The boat was in danger of sinking. In our attempts to avoid God we also find ourselves in serious situations. Sometimes they appear as health problems or financial difficulties or some other crisis. Jonah’s shipmates responded to the danger much like we would. They threw cargo overboard and out of fear cried out to whatever god they served. Today that list of gods that are served would be quite large.
While all the panic on deck was going on, Jonah “escaped reality” by going into the hold and sleeping. The captain went to him and “suggested” that he try calling on his God since all the other gods were busy or something and the ship was surely doomed.
Then the crew had a brilliant idea. They would draw lots to see who the guilty party was. Hey, drawing the short straw has always been a good way to select the loser in any situation. Jonah lost the draw. When he confessed to them that he was indeed at fault he also gave them the only solution for their dilemma. Throw him overboard!
The crew tried once more to row themselves out of the situation but to no avail. Then the prayer bargaining began. They pleaded with Jonah’s God to not hold them accountable when they fed him to the fish. And, over Jonah went.
When the sea instantly grew calm, they realized that the God of Jonah was GOD , they became afraid and offered a sacrifice to Him and made vows to Him.
God, if only you would heal me I would start going to church or if you would give me the money I need I would start tithing to a church somewhere. If only……I would try to be good. And on and on.
God did not allow Jonah to perish. He caused a great fish to swallow Jonah and Jonah lived inside the fish for three days and three nights. In his distress he called out to God.
Jonah 2: 7-8 When my life was ebbing away, (cause) I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your Holy Temple. (effect)
Those who cling to worthless idols (cause) forfeit the grace that could be theirs. (effect)
But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord. (declaration)
And the fish was commanded by God to vomit Jonah out onto dry land.
What an ordeal! Now surely Jonah will always do what God asks of him. Just like we do when God answers our prayers for deliverance from a problem. Jonah was again given a Word from God (a second chance) to go proclaim to Nineveh the message from God. Jonah obeyed. Nineveh believed the Word of God and was saved from the destruction God had threatened.
Thus endeth the story. Nope! Now Jonah was ticked off at God because things did not go as Jonah thought they should. He got before God and basically said, “isn’t this what I said when I was still at home? Did I not tell you that because you were such a great and loving God you would not destroy Nineveh. But no, I had to get up and go through all that sea and fish thing just so you would do what I told you you would do anyway!” He just wanted to die. So Jonah threw a little temper fit and sat down to see what would happen. God provided a vine to create shade to keep Jonah cool and that pleased Jonah.
Then God commanded a worm to attack the plant and it died. When the sun came up God sent a hot wind and Jonah began to wither under the heat. He wished to die. God said to him, “What right do you have to be angry about the plant?” Jonah said he had every right to be angry …..angry enough to die.
God said, “This plant grew up in one night and disappeared the next; you didn’t do anything for it and you didn’t make it grow. Yet you feel sorry for it! How much more, then, should I have pity on Nineveh, that great city. After all, it has more than 120,000 innocent children in it, as well as many animals!”
When God asks of us to do for Him, we cannot always see the whole picture. He asks for us to trust and obey. And, leave the results up to him. Jonah eventually obeyed God and the people of Nineveh were saved because of God’s Word. What the outcome would have been like if it had been up to Jonah should be pretty clear. When we obey God and step aside and allow God to work, great and perfect things happen. It’s when we become that judge and jury that things get messed up. Thank God for His mercy and His compassion. And, thank God for being slow to anger and abounding in love.
John 3: 16-17
For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal live. For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.
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