"Making Choices"

"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

From the moment we wake up until the day ends, we have choices to make. There are some choices we will have no control over- they are made for us. Things will happen to us that we didn't plan. We will face situations that we would have never chosen had we had the opportunity to choose. But there are some things today (and each day) that we will have the power to exercise choice over.

We will have to choose what our attitude will be like. Will you choose to be angry and bitter? You will have to make the choice to whether walk in fear or by faith? You may have to choose to hold onto a grudge or choose to let it go. Today you will be faced with the choice to trust God or not-- even when you don't understand "why?". You will also have to choose how you are going to treat other people-- those who love you and those who don't; those who bless you and those who curse you; those who treat you good and those who despitefully use you. You will be the one who chooses whether you will seek the Lord, serve Him and be obedient to His will.

These are all choices you will be called upon to make daily. They are also choices that only you can make-- no one can make the choice for you about how you respond to others, if you walk in love, if you keep your eyes on the Lord, if you have a good attitude. And no one can make you choose otherwise unless you let them.

The question is not whether you will be faced with choices today-- you will. The question is, "What will you choose to do when you are?" All the choices that we have to make actually boil down to only two choices-- "Will you choose to follow your flesh or follow the Spirit?" Whichever one we choose to follow will make all the other choices easier. If we choose to follow the flesh, we have already made the choice to choose to be angry, have a bad attitude, be fearful, to be unforgiving, etc. But if we choose to follow the Spirit, we have made the choice to choose to be loving, kind, forgiving, forbearing and trusting.

Have a great day. Make the choice to follow the Spirit and all the other choices you have to make are already made.

For further reading:

Joshua 24:15
Galatians 5:16
Proverbs 1:29; 3:5,6,31

"What Is The Cross?"

I was in a store one day and passed by the clothing section. A t-shirt caught my eye. On it were all these scroll designs and a cross- I thought it was very pretty, but then I saw a skull on it too. I have seen a lot of different clothing pieces that were printed with crosses and skulls. The first thought that crossed my mind was-- "Why do they always have to place the cross with objects of death". My next thought was- "It was a place of death".

The cross was an instrument of death. It was the place where our beloved Savior Jesus was crucified and died. But for us Christians, if it were only a place of death, we would have no hope. But thankfully it is so much more than that.

For us it represents life. "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:8) "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." (Hebrews 2:9)

It represents hope. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Galatians 3:13,14)

It represents healing and deliverance. "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." (1 Peter 2:24)

It represents love. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

 

It represents mercy and grace. "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." (Romans 8:3)

It represents the power of God and salvation. "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18)

It was a place where the penalty of our sins was paid, and our pardon was provided. "And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross." (Colossians 2:13,14)

It was where we received reconciliation to God. "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:19) "And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby." (Ephesians 2:16)

 

It was a place of victory. "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)

If you think the cross was merely a place where Jesus was crucified or a place of defeat, you are sadly mistaken. It is anything but. So, let's rejoice in the cross and stop placing it among dead things and taking it out of its proper place. "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Galatians 6:14)

Have a great day. If all you see the cross as is a place of death, you need to look at it again.

"Abundant Water - Part 2"

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord." Acts 3:19

Yesterday we talked about how it is God who quenches the thirst that we have, not ourselves. He promises to send water upon those who are thirsty and abundant water upon those who are dry. Like He told the woman at the well that if we will drink from the water that He gives- salvation- we will never thirst again. Salvation quenches that thirsty place within us. But even after we have received this life-giving water there are times when we become "dry" and need to be refreshed. 

I want to talk about "times" of refreshing this morning. Salvation is that one time experience, but times of refreshing have to happen continuously. We have to do like the old timers used to say, "Get under the spout where the glory comes out". Just because the "rain of His Spirit" flooded your soul and refreshed you yesterday doesn't mean you don't need it to happen again today.

I am having to water my plants daily. It has been so hot that if I miss a day, you can certainly tell it. The effects of not having rain show up in them. They get dry and will start wilting. They look like they are dying. But once I water them, the transformation is noticeable-- they perk up, begin to bloom and look healthy again.

If we don't receive the refreshing water of God's Spirit continually (by that I mean daily, even several times a day- sometimes I have to water my plants morning and evening) our lives become "wilted" and "dry". The affects will show up in behavior and attitude. We will not be as joyous. Confusion will overtake our peace. The Fruit of the Spirit will not be very evident. We won't be fruitful. We will find ourselves gravitating more to the flesh. We will be spiritually unhealthy.

Does this describe how you feel? Have you been "lifeless and dry"? Have you been wondering why you are experiencing this? Have you looked for an answer to change it? Your answer is "water", each and every day. You have a promise from the One who does the watering that He will send water upon you-- "Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary." (Psalm 68:9)-- but you must take time to get alone with the Lord and let Him water you until the refreshing comes.

Have a great day. Feeling dry? You need the water of the Spirit to refresh you and you need it continuously.

For further reading:

Isaiah 35:7; 55:1; 44:3
John 7:37;38

"Abundant Water"

"For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring." Isaiah 44:3

Mankind is always trying to solve his own problems. We have to face it--- we can't. We need help. We need God's help because while we can't, He can. For example, we can't quench our own thirst. There is a "thirsting" within us that is longing to be satisfied. We try to quench it but without success. We have tried to quench it through sensual pleasures, through entertainment, through education, through hobbies, through mind-altering substances, and an endless list of other activity. We may find something that will quench it for the moment, but then it always comes back.

Are you trying to quench your own thirst? Are you trying to satisfy that dry place in your life? You can't. You can't give yourself "water". You can't produce the "rain" that you need. But God can. In the verse above He said, "I will". When the heavens were shut up and there had been no rain upon the land for over three years, Elijah prayed for rain and the heavens opened up and the rain began to fall. Did Elijah do that? Did he produce the rain? He prayed for it, but God created it and God sent it.

This morning God is wanting to pour water upon those thirsty areas in your life. He is wanting to saturate you with "heavenly" showers. He doesn't want to only send enough to dampen your life, He wants to send "floods". He wants to send it in abundance. Twice in our opening verse He said, "I will" do this. You can't do it. But He will do it.

When it rains, the earth just receives it and lets it "happen". God is ready to send water- cleansing and refreshing- to your life. He is ready to send floods to your dry places to cause them to come back to life and bloom again. Cry out for the spiritual rain like Elijah cried out for physical rain and get ready, it is coming. Then just receive, bask in and enjoy the abundant rain of peace, grace, strength, provision and blessings that will flood your soul.

Have a great day. You can't water your own life, but God can and will, and He will do it in abundance.

For further reading:

Isaiah 43:19,20; 55:1
John 7:37; 4:13,14; 6:35
Psalm 63:1; 68:9
Matthew 5:6
1 Kings 18:41-45

"Fear Of The Lord"

"Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways." Psalm 128:1

Sometimes we wonder what it means to "fear the Lord". Does it mean we are supposed to tremble when we approach Him and be afraid of Him? Does it mean we are supposed to reverence Him? It means both. But the "fear of the Lord" is not demonstrated by trembling in terror, it is demonstrated by obedience.

The fear of the Lord is defined in the verse above-- "that walks in His ways". The fear of the Lord means that we respect and honor God enough to walk in His ways, keep His commandments and do His will. The fear of the Lord is not doing what we want and putting our will and plans above His for us.

There are blessings that are attached to the fear of the Lord. When we have the fear of the Lord (and not just say we do), we get to enjoy those blessings-- they are given to us by God Himself.

Are you walking in the fear of the Lord? Do you respect Him? Do you reverence Him? Is His will more important to you than your own? Are you following Him- yielded and obedient to what He desires? Think about it, search your heart, look at your lifestyle and see if you have the fear of the Lord.

Have a great day. The fear of the Lord is to respect the Lord and show that respect by doing His will and not your own.

For further reading:

Psalm 128; 111:10
Job 28:28
Isaiah 33:6
Proverbs 9:10; 10:27; 14:26