The Power of Choice

Josh 24:14- Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.

15. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

 

God created man to be a free will agent.  As with Adam & Eve, we are free to serve God or free to spend our lives in vanity trying to please our sinful flesh.  Whatever the case, the choice is totally up to us; and God will not coerce, manipulate, or interfere with our decision making process.  The angels also have free will. One-third of them chose to leave and defect from the army of God to join the rebellion of satan (Rev. 12:3-4).  It was God’s divine Will, and sovereign right, to bestow such a wonderful right to His creatures.  Sin is the culprit that makes free will a hindrance or even a death sentence to those outside of Christ.  For this reason in our topical verses Joshua, Moses successor, challenged Israel to choose the living God who brought them out of bondage into the land He promised, or choose those gods which are created in the idle time of a heart and mind void of the Fear of the Lord!

 

Our decisions should be made based upon the Word of God.  Reverently and carefully should we think before we act.  Impulse is the mother of all mistakes.  One moment to think about what the Will of God is could be the different between a life full of regrets, or a life lived in the incomprehensible peace of God (Philippians 4:7).  Ask Solomon who said, “Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”  Sounds like a man who made a lot of bad decisions.  Also Israel, who throughout its history, ignored Joshua’s sound advice and was evicted out of the “Promise Land” that he fought so valiantly to get them into.  Yes, we have the right to choose; but a decision(s) without seeking the full counsel of God could lead to some serious consequences.  

MIND THIS

Ephesians 4:23- And be renewed in the spirit of your mind

New York is called the city that never sleeps.  The inference says something is always happening there.  Well, the mind works the same way.  Even when we are sleeping, we are dreaming.  Like the beating of our hearts, our minds never shut down.  The mind is a city where there is activity on a constant basis.  And as a city filled with millions of people our minds need to be cleaned, monitored, and policed.  Without standards and limitations our minds will have us thrown in a spiritual prison by its own vices.  

 

The best way to renew our minds is with the Word of God.  It will give us the limitations and standards that we will need to set in place—to keep us inline with the Will of God for our lives.  All type of things go on in our thought life on a daily basis.  Thoughts we wished would not have even showed up on the screen!  They come, and they go.  Do they?  Only you can answer this.  The Word will not put an end to random evil thoughts; but it can help us overcome them, hate them, limit the time in them and therefore  their effectiveness on us, and also show us the way to escape their clutches (I Cor. 10:13).   

 

So read God’s Word in faith and believe it, and watch your thought life change for the better.  Like a city with a good and diligent police force, the Word of God will bring order to where there was chaos.  “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7).  

SHELTER FROM THE STORM

Thess. 4:16-17 - For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Whether or not there will be a rapture of the saints of God before the Great Tribulation has stirred much debate.  The idea of a secret “Snatching Away” of God’s people has brought division even among believers!  Yet the Holy Scriptures speak in no uncertain terms to us.  God has not spoken to His children in riddles or dark sayings but has stated that the Body of Christ (Rom. 7:4), the Church of the living God (Acts 20:28), the Bride of Christ (Rom. 7:4), has not been appointed to wrath (the Great Tribulation; I Thess. 5:9).  The rapture is going to be a pivotal sign to the Jews of the need to search the Scriptures; particularly, the New Testament.

The sudden departure of the Church will undeniably speak volumes to the Jews. God is not finished with His chosen people, which is what Paul explained in Romans 9-11.  Before every major disaster, God made sure that those who believed in Him were definitely out of harms way: Enoch, Noah, Moses, Elijah, and most of all, the Lord Jesus Christ.  The previously stated are just a few.  Therefore, since evil is increasing, immorality is the order of the day, the earth is becoming more of an unfriendly place with each passing day, and uncertainty inevitably looms, let us put off the former works of darkness: 22. “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph 4:22-24).  The rapture is the Christian’s shelter from the coming storm!


BE OF GOOD COURAGE

Joshua 1:9- Have not I commanded thee?  Be strong and of good courage; be not dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Before Joshua could win the campaigns in the valleys, he first had to win the battles in the battlefield of the mind.  Three times, each in his first encounter with God, after the death of Moses, Joshua was told to be of good courage and to be strong.  I truly believe that defeat was inevitable unless God gave Joshua His Word before going into any physical battles.  Israel’s new leader had to be spiritually prepared in order to overcome all obstacles. 

Fear, worrying, rebellion, and doubt are innate.  They come natural to a Christian lacking faith in God, and natural to unbelieving sinners.  We knew sin before salvation through Jesus Christ.  The ills of the flesh are our defaults.  So if we do not trust in the Lord with all our heart (Prov. 3:5-6), we will succumb to our assumptions, base our predictions on them, and the natural tendencies of our flesh will naturally take control.  To be spiritually strong will enable us to have the mental courage we will need to defeat our enemies.  If we lack courage there is a spiritual problem.  God will be with us in all that we do, if we take courage in knowing that he will not leave us.  Let us prepare ourselves for the New Year by being strong and of good courage.  As God commanded Joshua, He is commanding all His children: be strong and of good courage.   

WHAT DO YOU SEE

Heb. 11:1- Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

There is a big difference between a fighter and a boxer: a fighter will depend upon brute and brawn to win a fight; a boxer will use wits and skill to conquer his opponent.  The fighter could swing his arms into weakness thinking his heavy blows will knock his adversary out.  A boxer will let a fighter tire himself out, and then box his way to victory.  This was the case in the fight between Muhammad Ali and George Forman decades ago.  Ali, the boxer, went in the as the underdog against Forman, the brawling fighter.  He claimed the victory before the fight.  Bigger, stronger, and more intimidating was Forman, but Ali used his faith in his boxing skills to bring his Goliath to the canvas.  

David employed skill to defeat Goliath, while Israel cowered at the sound of the giant’s voice; even their tall king feared the gargantuan (I Sam. 10:22-24; I Sam. 17:11)!  David used a primitive weapon, a slingshot, to bring the giant to the ground with all his modern equipment following.  Then, he cut Goliath’s head off with his own sword.  David didn’t see a giant; he saw an opportunity for his faith in God to give Israel victory (I Sam. 17:45-46).    

What do you see? Debt mounting, a crumbling marriage, a weak economy that threatens your livelihood, strained friendships, hopelessness, Christians acting like children, plans that have failed, goals that were not achieved, etc?  It is not what you are seeing, but rather what eyes are you looking through.  The eyes of faith showed David victory before it literally appeared.  Got faith?  Ask yourself, “What do I see?” 

THE TRUTH NEVER CHANGES

Isa. 40:8- The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the Word of our God shall stand for ever.

Whether rejected or received, the Word of God gives the answers that we so badly need.  Often times we avoid reading, hearing, or thinking about it because we do not want to hear its truths.  Truth can hurt more than pouring alcohol into an open wound.  When it comes to changing our ways, we would rather someone sugarcoat, compromise, or just outright lie to us about what we must change; but the Word of God avoids just cutting the surface, and goes straight for the jugular (Heb. 4:12).  Although this method may be deemed as “cruel and unusual punishment,” it is necessary if we are expecting more inner growth in the coming year.              

If faith in God’s Word is not put into action—then we will settle for our own limited, faulty, and flawed interpretation of life.  Life must be viewed in light of what God’s infallible Word has revealed.  The Word of God is the only thing that has not changed, wavered, or second guessed itself.  It has remained consistence, as much as life has remained unpredictable.  But think about this: The B.I.B.L.E has given the believer the right to have the peace of God in the midst of life’s unpredictability (Philippians 4:6-7).  Jesus said, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy Word is truth” (John 17:17).  

Trust in God’s Word and take heed to its commands.  No matter what, the truth never changes.  So let us not become a victim of it, but a victor through it (Rom. 3:4; II Cor. 3:6)! 


THE VIRGIN BIRTH

Matt 1:23- Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Oh how awesome and great is our God! 

 

Adam and Eve brought sin into humanity, but it would be by the grace of God to save man from sin.  In order for this to be made possible there would have to be a sinless person willing to die for man.  Millions, possibly billions, of animals died to make a temporal atonement for the sins of man; but the animals were put under our subjection to man, and fell into the domain of sin by man’s fall.  Man because of sin could not produce a sinless man without God’s intervention.  Men and women together could only produce after their kind (Gen. 5:3).  So God could not use a man’s seed to produce a sinless man.  Being that woman carries the seed, God would need her bring a sinless man into humanity’s realm. 

 

The Holy Spirit placed the seed that God had promised to Abraham inside of Mary.  Mary, by the same type of faith Abraham had, received God’s Word and became the only virgin ever to be pregnant without ever being with a man.  What was in her was from the Holy Ghost (Luke 1:35).  God used his miraculous power, and the virtue and virginity of Mary to bring salvation to mankind!  God the Son walked the earth with us; and after His ascension, ten days later, sent the Holy Spirit, as he promised (Luke 24:49), to take His abode in all those who believed.  Give God praise if you have been justified by faith.  Christ is with you through the person of the Holy Spirit.  Thank God for His unspeakable gift (II Cor. 9:15)!

IS THERE ROOM FOR JESUS

Luke 2:7- And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

 

Should a king be born in a cave where animals dwell for shelter?  The King of kings was.  The king over the land of the Jews during this period sought to kill Jesus, and the world had no room for Him.  They could not make an exception for a pregnant woman?  Maybe evil spirits tried to hinder a safe birth?   Whatever the case, the same contempt for our Lord is still being shown today by taking Christ out of Christmas.  We see signs all over the place saying “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greetings,” for the purpose of not offending non-Christian groups; yet, they still offend the Lord Jesus Christ!

 

For Christians, Christmas has a very special meaning.  It allows us to commemorate the birth of our Lord who was born to die for the sin of the world.  His selflessness in taking off His glory to put on flesh to die for mankind, so that whosoever believes in Him as the God/Man might live, is the greatest show of love ever displayed by God (John 3:16)!  Sadly, the same world and its inhabitants that Jesus was born to die for—denied Him proper hospitality.  But thanks be to God our Lord loved us so much, He ignored our poor judgment and even forgave us; for He knew that we knew not what we were doing.         

 

Do we have any room for Jesus?  If we do, then He has promised that you and I will have a mansion for all eternity (John 14:1-3).  MERRY CHRISTMAS

KNOW YOUR PLACE

Matt. 1:20- But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

We can gather that Joseph was told of the visit of the angel to speak to Mary, and the outcome.  This is why he would be contemplating on what to do with her.  Rather than washing his hands of her, Joseph sought to save her.  However, he had decided to divorce her.  In those days an engagement was view as a marriage when it comes to infidelity before marriage.    It must have been devastating for Joseph to find out that his fiancée was pregnant—knowing he had not been sexually intimate with her, as of yet.  Void of anger, retaliation, and the blame game, Joseph set his thoughts on how to keep Mary safe from the vicious judgment of the public’s opinion on adultery.  Without worrying or fear, Joseph thoughts were sincerely about how to handle the situation.  As he thought, God dispatched the angel Gabriel to tell him the plan.

 

As Joseph did, we should seek God and rationally think things over before acting rashly out of anger or hurt.  When we think on this level, without the evil mental vices usually employed, it is here that God can reveal His plan to us.  Often times we may not see the hand of God dipping into our human affairs to be a blessing to us.  Yet it is our duty to have faith in Him, to trust Him, and to believe His Word.  Once Joseph understood his place in the plan of God, he took Mary as his wife and did not approach her sexually until after Jesus was born.  So I say to you, know your place in the plan of God for your life.  Although it looks to you that your life is a mess, this is exactly the place where God can bless!     

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