Choices

Chad · Jun 26, 2005

What the Bible Says About...
How Our Choices Create Our Future
By Betty Miller

The freedom to make our own choices is a very important issue in our society. Every day, each of us chooses to do the things that we do, unless we are in a situation where we have been stripped of our freedom and then we must do as those who have control over us command us to do. This would be the case of those in prison or those who are enslaved by force in repressive societies. Even in these circumstances one still has freedom to make certain choices although they may be limited. For example, one can choose as to what kind of attitude and response one would have to his or her oppressors. Those in prisons can still experience freedom when they have Christ, because true freedom is an act of the soul and therefore we each can make choices in our soul. Other men cannot force us to think wrongly unless we choose to agree with them.

There are other circumstances that can limit our choices because of the authority that exits in the world. One of these would be the choices of school children are limited to the authorities' decisions and rules. This is also true of the military. These are just two of many circumstances that can limit one's own personal choices.

However, no matter what our choices are today, they are ultimately creating our future because every choice that we make will either cause us to be blessed or cursed. Another way to put it, is that things will get better or worse for us. All choices have consequences. These consequences will be for our betterment or will work to destroy us. We are also responsible for our choices. The Bible challenges us with this admonition in Deuteronomy 30:19: "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live"

Messages going forth in our society today have stressed our "right to choose" but have not balanced it with the message that our choices also have consequences (especially in the area of lust and selfishness.) For instance, most movies have glamorized many things that are bad for us and have not generally shown the destructive results of smoking, drinking, adultery, fornication, gambling, abortion, etc.

These things do not often hit home until ----

A loved one gets lung cancer and is dying.
A child is killed by a drunk driver
Close friends divorce because of the unfaithfulness of a mate
A teen is infected with a venereal disease she will have for life
A family loses their home because of gambling debts
A baby is aborted because of the lust and selfishness of it’s parents leaving them struggling with guilt

Our Daily ChoicesWe face choices on a personal level daily:

What shall we eat? ---- We can choose to eat healthy or just "pig out" on junk food.

Whom should we vote for? ---- We can take the time to pray and study the candidates positions and vote accordingly or we can refuse to vote. When we do not vote, we are actually making a choice to allow others to choose who shall rule over us.

Whom shall we marry? ---- This is a serious life-time commitment and should never be gone into without God's guidance. Making this choice foolishly or based on emotion alone has brought much heartache to many a person.

What occupation should we pursue? ---- Those making this decision strictly based on need or money issues will regret not seeking God about this issue. God has gifted every person with certain talents to adapt to the jobs that are suited just for them at the right times in their lives.

Should I return the money that was credited to my account by accident? ---- Remember the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." When only God is watching, what kind of choices do we make? He is looking for people He can trust, as He desires to use us in His work.

Should I purchase this item on credit? ---- Do I really need this item or is it something I want, even though I cannot afford it?

These are just some samples of choices that we face. We also face temptations that we must resist with the Word of God. The consequences of some choices are more deadly than others. When we rebel against God and choose our own way, we are choosing a path of destruction that will ultimately end in hell. Because of God’s love and mercy to humanity, most of our choices do not have immediate results. We are all given a time to repent and find the Lord and His ways. We may all get away with sinning for awhile; however in time we will reap what we have sown.

2 Peter 3:9 says "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

Galatians 6:7 "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."

Wrong Choices Cause Soul Sickness

Many people are sick in their souls because they have not known the ways of the Lord, and therefore have made wrong decisions. God wants to heal us in every area of our souls and bodies, as well as give us a new life in the spirit. To receive healing of the soul, however, we must understand it and why it needs to be healed, restored, and renewed.

The Greek word psuche (pronounced "sue-kay") is the word Bible writers used when talking about things of the natural man, which in English is called "the soul." The soul of man is comprised of the mind, the will, and the emotions. Our emotional patterns tend to formulate our personalities.

The soul, or personality, is formed through a person's reactions to the information the mind takes in. The way each person chooses to react to the things he hears, the things that happen to him, and the things he chooses to receive as truth causes each soul to become what he, or she, is. However, when a person is born again, he becomes a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15), and the soul can be changed and renewed through the Holy Spirit.

As Christians we are to develop the attributes of Christ and become like Him. Because much of our personalities are formed through our choices, we have to make new choices to let go of the old nature and receive the new. Our new natures are formed by the truths from the Word of God. The healing of the soul, which is a cleansing process, takes place as we learn to study the Word and develop a close fellowship with the Lord through prayer.

The Mind, the Will and the Emotions

We might look upon human beings in this way: each of us is a spirit who has a soul and lives in a body.

The will is how we exercise our freedom of choices. God gave man this freedom when He created Adam. God will not violate our free wills and make us do the right thing, nor will He make choices for us. We can choose His way, "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ" (Romans 8:22:"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."), or we can choose the way of self -- which really is the devil's way or "the law of sin and death."

There are only two ways: God's or the devil's. What man thinks is his own way is really Satan's way and puts him under the authority of the enemy. If someone is not for God, he automatically is against Him (Matthew 12:30). There is no possible way man can just do his own thing and think he is not making a choice. That choice is choosing Satan's way. Even "no choice" on man's part is a choice, because when we refuse to choose, others will make our choices for us. Satan causes men to follow him by encouraging apathy, laziness, or lack of responsibility.

The mind is the intellect, with reasoning being the "voice" of the mind. If the mind remains unrenewed, not "healed," it will continue to think carnal thoughts, believe false information, and result in fleshly speaking and living.

The emotions were designed by God to express His characteristics, which are placed in our spirits when we become born again. Those are the "fruits" written about in Galatians 5:22,23, and other places. If we do not yield to the renewal process, we continue to act like our "old father," the devil.

Put on the Nature of Jesus

Much of the Church considers sanctification or "conforming to the image of Jesus" (Romans 8:29) to be optional. It is not taught or preached as much as it was in former generations. Many Christians born since World War II are as much a part of the "Me Generation" as the world. Self-will and rebellion are more a part of society today than at any time previously in the history of the United States. It is no surprise that much of today's American Church operates in carnality, and it should be no surprise to us that God has finally set out to expose this evil and clean up His Church.

When Paul wrote to the Ephesians about "crucifying" the old man, this is exactly what he meant (Ephesians 4:18-24). When something is crucified, it is put to death. Every Christian needs the things of his old nature (which are part of his unregerated soul), to be put to death in order for the life of God to permeate the whole person. We have been given the power through the Holy Spirit to overcome sin in our lives. We can choose to obey God and He will empower us to overcome every sin.

Romans 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Instead of pursuing holiness, many Christians have just allowed Christ to dwell in their spirits, but have not allowed Him to renew their souls and heal their bodies. As soon as a person is born again, he should begin to make the choices that will put to death his old ways of thinking, talking, and acting, and allow the Holy Spirit to replace them with God's ways.

Overcoming Through Faith

Renewing the soul will cause negative habits and emotions to change. The key to that change is faith. Through our wills we must choose to change. However, it is only the work of the Holy Spirit who can actually bring permanent change in us. We cannot do it in ourselves. We choose to let go of the negative and that allows the Holy Spirit to do the changing. But doubt and unbelief can keep a person from receiving this kind of healing as much as it does healing of the body. A Christian must make the choices for God's way and against his own way in absolute faith that the Holy Spirit will do His part and make the needed changes in us.

If we allow our bodies to be lazy and undisciplined, they will suffer the consequences. Bad physical habits can hinder God's work in us. The Holy Spirit wants to help us overcome these ungodly ways. In the soul, if we choose to be resentful, hateful, angry, unkind, discouraged, worried, fearful, impatient, lustful, greedy, etc., we will allow these things to rule us instead of calling on the strength of Christ to help us to overcome these negative attitudes.

Many habits or addictions of the soul and body can be broken with a three-day fast. Certain desires or feelings of the body are perfectly legitimate, such as hunger, sleep, and so forth. Through the five senses, the body is the receiver of information from the world around it. The senses were given to us by God to protect us, and under the direction of the Holy Spirit, they work perfectly to serve us. However, under Satan's influence, or self-will, the senses are perverted to fulfill the lusts of the flesh which can bring destruction.

Changing Old Habits

Every sinful habit in our lives gained its foothold through our thoughts and choices. We can gain victory over those habits by thinking God's thoughts. A person who feels unworthy and unacceptable can replace those negative feelings with the truth that through Jesus, he or she has become worthy and acceptable. The process of conforming to the image of Jesus will be successful as we choose to replace negative thoughts with positive ones.

The way to change a habit of negative thinking is to choose to change that negative thought for its opposite. The Bible calls that "overcoming evil with good" (Romans 12:19-21). For example, if a Christian finds himself ready to repeat some negative gossip about a brother or sister, he should choose to say something nice about that person instead. Very quickly, the habit of repeating negative things about other people will be broken.

The Lord wants to save us from tragedy, sickness, fear, anxiety, and the turmoil of this world. These things come upon us because of our bad choices or through ignorance or chains of iniquity. Instead, God wants us to walk in the Spirit of life so we may have His love, joy, peace, and victory (2 Corinthians 7:1) over every trial and temptation.

Bible Choices Bring Blessings

Our future is determined by all the choices we are making today. Let us bring God into helping us make our decisions. In doing that it will determine whether our future will be secure and will have God's blessing on it. Let us be as Joshua was and declare: "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." God promised Joshua good success if he obeyed the words of the Bible and chose to follow Him. Joshua and his family were blessed because he made the right choices even though he went through many battles God was with him. He was an overcomer!

Joshua 1:8: "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

Joshua 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."

Coconut · Jun 27, 2005

What a fantastic message Chad! Glory to God!

I was reading another this morning, that I would like to add...

What Do I Still Lack?

What percentage of responsibility for my spiritual maturity is the Lord's, and how much of it is mine? To say that I alone am responsible for my soul's development is conceit. To say that all the responsibility is the Lord's is impudence.

I find it humbling, inspiring, and challenging to recognize that the greatest saints who ever lived did not have a bigger Bible than I have. They just knew it better. Indeed, they had far less of the divine Revelation. Today we have the complete message of God to man. He has nothing more to say to us. As the old hymn says, "What more can He say than to you He hath said?" God has no "P.S." to add to the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

For years the Holy Scriptures were wrapped up in tongues that only the scholars could read. "There was no open vision in those days" (I Sam. 3.1). Then, blessed day, the whole counsel of God was released in our mother tongue. With this unveiling came the glad news of the priesthood of believers -- Hallelujah!

Trees are fascinating to most of us. I like to see the burdened fruit trees showing off their labor. The English like their mighty oaks and the Americans their redwood trees. At the moment, in the area where I write, the peach trees are richly endowed with fruit; but, it does not grow already canned. No! God gave us the fruit; we do the canning. Trees do not grow furniture, even in this scientific age. We have the trees. From them we make the chairs, etc. So it is with the spiritual life. Here is a stunning truth from Second Peter, Chapter one, verse three: "His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain TO LIFE AND GODLINESS." Paul backs up Peter in this area when he says, "How shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Rom.8:32). And to top these precious words, here comes Paul again with a staggering statement: "The Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; HEIRS OF GOD, AND JOINT-HEIRS WITH CHRIST." Stop there? NO, add the remainder: "...if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together." (Rom. 8:16-17)

With all this limitless resource to inherit in this life, why then, O why, do we settle for minimum spirituality? These scriptures just quoted shatter all our excuses for carnal Christianity and explode all our feeble bumper-sticker excuses on bumper-sticker evangelism: "Christians are not perfect, just forgiven." (Some backslider must have written that one.)

Sinning is not permitted to believers. "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin." (I John 3:9) Not that it is impossible to sin; but it is, by the blood of Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit, possible not to sin. John again shouts the triumphant note, "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4)

God, then, has made it possible for you and me to have victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil!

Here are the Master's commandments to His own. These are not options but imperatives. With His enabling and our striving, we can explore what Lowrey called "the possibilities of Grace." We can leave the playpen in the Spiritual Nursery and "go on unto perfection." (Heb. 6:1) Here are His commands:

"Little Children, keep yourselves from idols (I John 5:21)
"Building up yourselves on your most holy faith..." (Jude 20; Rom. 10:17)
"Keep yourselves in the love of God .." (by obedience to His Word) (Jude 21)
"Put on the whole armor of God..." (equipment for beating Satan) (Eph. 6-11)
The Scnpture is very clear here: "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4 :7)
Christian maturity is not a weekend operation. On the other hand, remember there is no finality to the Christian life this side of eternity. While we are in the flesh, we "press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 3:14)
We hear continually about "Weight Watchers." O that we watched our spiritual growth as carefully!

I believe in instant purity: "The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin." (I John 1:7) I do not believe in instant maturity. Faith in the finished work of Christ is one thing. To add to your faith, as Peter says in 2 Peter 1:5-7, is something else. As a tree must be pruned regularly to bring it to maturity, so we need pruning. It is easy to sing, "And pour contempt on all my pride." If I do that at all, I will do it conveniently protecting myself from any "bleeding." It is when the Lord does it -- or worse still when He uses some other human being (less spiritual than I am) to do the pruning - then can I kiss the rod? This is a process in spiritual growth. Can I take it cheerfully when I am slighted, when my name is cast out as an evil thing (though I am totally innocent)? Can I joyfully help to promote another to a position that I would like and which I am more capable of handling?

I heard a preacher asking another if folks came to the altar at his last meeting. He replied, "Yes, but most of them are altar tramps." It's easier to go to the altar than to get on the cross. There is no magic in a trip to the altar. You will not grow an inch by walking a few yards to the altar, unless there is a total repentance and a holy vow to God that you will not fall into the same hole again.

That holy band of "Heroes of Faith" in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews staggers me. They had no Bibles, no millions of cassettes as we have, no Bible seminars, no daily radio Bible teaching, and (fortunate souls) no Gospel T.V. preachers whining about lack of funds. (When did the Lord run out of supplies?) Yet what things these folks in Hebrews 11 accomplished: subdued whole kingdoms -- (O that some person rich in faith could subdue the worldwide kingdom of the drug trade)-- wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. What miracles, what men, what faith!

Asked why he was used of the Lord so greatly in China, Hudson Taylor replied, "God had looked long for a man weak enough, and He found me." He takes the weak things of the world to confound the mighty. Spiritual wisdom does not come with years; neither does maturity. The key to both is obedience. Whatsoever He saith unto YOU, do it.

An insatiable thirst for God will produce an unquenchable love for holiness (as He is Holy), resulting in a passion for the lost.

Remember, friend, you are just as spiritual as you want to be.

By Leonard Ravenhill

Mike · Sep 11, 2005

" Bump " I thought this was a great thread . Give it a bump ! :thumbs_up Mike

DanV · Jul 25, 2006

I dug this up from my files on the subject "Free Choice." I could not improve on it, so I decided to post it as is:

Our Free Choice

The Christian life is not determined by our circumstances, our church attendance, our social standing, our finances or even our belief systems, but by the daily choices we make.

Sin isn't birthed in our mind or in our body; it's begun within our will! God has given us a fearful and awesome responsibility with our "free will," because what we choose determines the degree of our sanctification. Faith choices allow God's Life from our hearts to flow out into our lives and bring us closer to reflecting Christ's image; whereas, emotional choices quench God's Life, block it from coming forth and prolong the sanctification process.

Scripture tells us that when we are "born again" we not only receive a new spirit and a new heart, but we also receive a new supernatural willpower. This new willpower is not only God's authority enabling us to choose His will over our own, but also His power to carry out and perform that will in our lives.

As Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." In other words, our new willpower gives us the authority and power of God to "go against the tide"- to choose to set ourselves aside and follow Him, regardless of how we feel, what we want or what we think. Thus, our free choice is really the critical crossroads of our lives.

God Bless,

Dan

ladylovesJesus · Mar 27, 2007

The way to change a habit of negative thinking is to choose to change that negative thought for its opposite. The Bible calls that "overcoming evil with good" (Romans 12:19-21). For example, if a Christian finds himself ready to repeat some negative gossip about a brother or sister, he should choose to say something nice about that person instead. Very quickly, the habit of repeating negative things about other people will be broken.

The Lord wants to save us from tragedy, sickness, fear, anxiety, and the turmoil of this world. These things come upon us because of our bad choices or through ignorance or chains of iniquity. Instead, God wants us to walk in the Spirit of life so we may have His love, joy, peace, and victory (2 Corinthians 7:1) over every trial and temptation.

Bible Choices Bring Blessings

Our future is determined by all the choices we are making today. Let us bring God into helping us make our decisions. In doing that it will determine whether our future will be secure and will have God's blessing on it. Let us be as Joshua was and declare: "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." God promised Joshua good success if he obeyed the words of the Bible and chose to follow Him. Joshua and his family were blessed because he made the right choices even though he went through many battles God was with him. He was an overcomer!

I have just found this thread and it is very good with so much helpful information contained to help believers in their walk with Jesus.

It never ceases to amaze me how much helpful information is contained in these forums.

Thank you Chad for providing this for all of us.

God bless

:rainbow: :rose:

SpiritLedEd · Mar 31, 2007

There is an essential bit of self discipline we need to master in the area of making good choices; in times of testing, we need to learn to slow down, to respond rather than react, to pause before taking action.

"Snap decisions" are appropriately named. Every time I make a snap decision, something snaps.

SLE

Rachel15 · Apr 2, 2007

I believe God has led me to this thread as I am facing a choice of which church to go to - there seem to be two choices and I am struggling to know which is His way although I am sure he has been telling me, but I have been stubborn and now I am confused.

Today as I prayed i saw a title of a feature on a magazine which seemed to speak to me as it mentioned a name of someone at one of the churches - could God be speaking to me like this?

SpiritLedEd · Apr 4, 2007

Rachel, that could bea sign from God. I think the best thing to do is to attend each church for a few weeks and continue to pray for wisdom.

SLE

jiggyfly · Apr 4, 2007

Rachel15 said:
I believe God has led me to this thread as I am facing a choice of which church to go to - there seem to be two choices and I am struggling to know which is His way although I am sure he has been telling me, but I have been stubborn and now I am confused.

Today as I prayed i saw a title of a feature on a magazine which seemed to speak to me as it mentioned a name of someone at one of the churches - could God be speaking to me like this?

Maybe God's got something else for you. Why does it it have to be one of the two churches that you have picked? Why does it have to be a church at all? Did God tell you he wanted you to "go to church"? We know that God is not the source of confusion and I personally have found we confuse ourselves many times just by assuming things when it comes to following God. His way maybe totally different than what you have heard from and through other people including pastors and ministers.

I would suggest going to God without any pre-conceived notions concerning fellowship with believers and let God tell you Himself what He wants for you. It may require some time, I find that Father really loves to spend time with His kids, so don't be upset if He doesn't answer right away.

Rachel15 · Apr 4, 2007

Thanks SLE and jiggyfly for your posts.

I was led to believe that God plants you in a church to grow and for your 'covering'. So i guess my main concern has been where he wants me to go.

I shall certainly continue praying for guidance.

Thank you and God bless,

Rachel

HisFollower · Aug 15, 2008

response to Choice

Evil Choices
Proverbs.1:29
“For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord”.
Isaiah.65:12
“Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; and when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before Mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not”.
Isaiah.66:3
“He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offered an oblation, as if he offered swine´s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighted in their abominations”.
Matthew.27:21
“The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas”.
Wise Choices
Joshua.24:15
(which “CHAD” had written, a great example of choosing wisely)
Ruth.1:16
“And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God”.
Psalms.119:30
“I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me”.
Luke.10:42
“But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her”.
Hebrews.11:25
“Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than enjoying the pleasure of sin for a season”.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

caprice09 · May 30, 2011

Faith is an act of choice.

The power of the blessing of God given unto man, the promise to "be fruitful," is the revelation that God will honor and return every work done under the sun. Simultaneously then God reveals the threat of the judgment of God toward works of vanity and sin (which are unfruitful works of themselves, but coupled with this blessing of God do the destructive works of sin bear the fruits of judgment. For if man, who is the works of God, can turn himself against the LORD God who made him, then by what was intended a blessing of God's grace, are the works of man to bear contradictory and dissatisfying fruit. Hence the just curse upon Adam that his works of tilling the ground should now bear briers and thorns), and also that man, made after the likeness and image of God, should return the works of God unto Him after His very example by which man received them by the grace of God.

Without this blessing, of what effect are the works of flesh? Whether righteousness or wickedness, of what eternal significance is the effect of the doings of man? "Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than you. If you sin, what do you against Him? or if your transgressions be multiplied, what do you unto Him? If you be righteous, what give you to Him? or what receives He of your hand? Your wickedness may hurt a man as you are; and your righteousness may profit the son of man." For it is God that cultivates the works of man to bear fruit, even as man was called to do concerning the works of God! "For you are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are you not carnal, and walk as men? For while one says, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that plants anything, neither he that waters; but God that gives the increase. Now he that plants and he that waters are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are laborers together with God: you are God's husbandry, you are God's building."

For works are the manifestations of our faith, acting upon that which we believe worthwhile: righteous works manifest our faith in God, and wicked works manifest our faith in the world. Never do we have all the facts in which to make an informed decision, we do that which we are compelled to do through faith. Fear is anti-faith, instead of compelling one to act, fear repels from confronting the issue or deters from a specific action. Fear is having the greater faith in the opposition of the action to be taken through the unwillingness to incur the risk of harm against one's self. Lust is being tempted towards an action in order to be compensated with the promise of reward with which one is persuaded to disregard fears and reservations. Spiritual idolatry is the false representation of God with which one uses to motivate toward or away from a specific action. For whom should we fear more than God, to the reverencing of His Word and eschewing of evil; and what is to be coveted and yearned for more than the blessings and graces of God as evidence of His love (for the which no fear could restrain or deter us)? Think of the soul as a balance, the scales of which tilts in accordance with its faith toward one side or the other ("honest scales and balances belong to the LORD; all the weights in the bag are of his making."). By exalting one side more than it’s due, simultaneously the other side is diminished and humbled. By exalting those things which are not of God, we simultaneously take for granted the things of God, robbing Him of the glory to which He is entitled and bestowing it upon those things which are not; by appropriately exalting the things of God, the things of the world are fallen from the pedestal to which they were falsely exalted and the LORD is properly enthroned and exalted to the pedestal in which all things are humbled before Him through the abundance of His grace.

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caprice09 · May 30, 2011

Submission to His Will

For the Lord judges the hearts and reigns of all people, and returns the harvest of every judgment wrought in heaven and in earth ("I the LORD search the heart, I try the reigns, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."). For the Lord has mercy upon our ignorance, though we do transgress the letter of His law; yet perfect obedience aside from the Spirit is vanity and a lie! Understand then this precept: the devotion of your will unto God in submission to the Holy Spirit, this is faith, and is the only true obedience to the law and Word of God! No works are worthy to be rendered unto the LORD; even our sacrifices apart from a willing and obedient heart are an abomination unto the LORD; but righteousness, as we received it of the example of the LORD in Christ, is love and mercy toward both the wicked and the righteous!

For we that receive the gospel of grace as our salvation through the Word of God (receiving God’s Word as His prophecy and promise) live as though already bearing the glory and fullness of God, as Sons and citizens of Heavenly Zion. For nothing could hinder the Word of God when it called forth the light on the first day, nor can the waves of the sea break forth past the border He decreed upon the earth! Therefore, we that are saved by faith, live in obedience to the Word of God as though His kingdom is already come; trusting that whatsoever our Everlasting Father should promise or prophecy is, to we that believe, as though it has already come to pass!

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