Today I'm continuing my study of Hebrews, and I'm taking passages from Chapter 2: 11 - 18
"Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, ' I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises'.
And again, ' I will put my trust in him'. And again he says, ' Here am I, and the children God has given me'. Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abrahams' descendents. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted".
This sums up the whole purpose of Christ Jesus coming to earth. He came to save us all from the chains of slavery to sin, and the consequences of sin - death being the final penalty. We are all going to die physically, but we will live on for all eternity.
The question is: WHERE WILL YOU SPEND ETERNITY? Heaven and hell are real places, and God doesn't "send" anyone to hell, but gives us each the choice to make for ourselves. We can put our trust in Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, and once we leave this earth, we will live forever with him in all his glory. Jesus spoke of hell, the torment that will go on for all eternity to those who have chosen not to be one of his brothers, his children. He said, "Those who are not with me are against me".
In 2 Peter 3:9 it says, " The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance".
I'm sure at some point in your life, you have been posed with the choice of giving your life over to Christ, and your answer has been, "I'm not ready for that yet", "I'll do it another day". God has been patient in waiting for you to choose to receive his gift of salvation, but we are never promised tomorrow - today might be the day that your life on earth is done. Don't wait any longer - take the step today to get real with God and tell him that you need him to reveal himself to you so you can once and for all know that when your life on earth is over, you will go through the gates of heaven into his presence. Let today be the day that you make the decision as to where you will spend eternity. Trust God to change your life while you are here, and to have the hope of living in glory forever and ever.
Have a very blessed day and if you make the decision to be part of the family of God today - WELCOME to the family! :)
Janelle
Showing posts with label choices. Show all posts
Showing posts with label choices. Show all posts
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Making Choices
Today's passage comes from the OT, in the book of Joshua, starting at verse 14 - 15.
"Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served behond the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord".
Sometimes when we are given choices, we make instant decisions without giving much thought or prayer to the matter, and we end up getting out of God's will. He needs to be involved in every aspect of our life, and although some choices might sound good to the natural, we need to take the matter to the Lord and let him talk over with us the pros and cons, and how it will affect us not only in the physical sense, but most importantly, the spiritual sense.
The "rivers and Egypt" in today's verses represent to us in this day, our former lives before we came to know the Lord. The "land of the Amorites" represents the world and it's viewpoints. We made choices and served other things without letting God be in the center of them. Most of those decisions were selfish ones - with our god being SELF. What is most important - to live the standards of the world or by God's standards and his will? I want to grab hold of the verse where it says, "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord". No matter what situation I am put in, as long as that is my mindset - I know the Lord will be with me and walk me through anything as long as I allow him to be involved.
I was given a choice yesterday whether or not to go back to my old position in the working world. The offer they made me was good, and all the things I said I would have to have were so I could lay out all the pros and cons of the situation not only with my husband, but most importantly, before the Lord. My main goal for the rest of the time I have here on earth is to put God first in every decision I make, no matter how big or small. I want to be in the center of his perfect will, and be at peace with the choices I make in my life.
I know in allowing the Lord to be at the center of this, I will have his peace with my decision.
I pray today that if you're at a place in your life where you need to "choose this day whom you will serve" - you will choose the Lord. If you don't know him, it's as easy as just talking to him to let him know you choose to let him into your life - to be the Lord of your life and save you from your sin and your inability to live without him in the center of your life.
He will never steer you in the wrong direction - his will is perfect, and he wants only GOOD for you. He says in the book of Jeremiah, "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". Jeremiah 29:11
Today, put your life in God's hands - there is nothing too big or too small for him - he can and will help you with every choice you're faced with, and he's just waiting for you to ask him for his help.
Have a blessed Thursday...
Janelle
"Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served behond the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord".
Sometimes when we are given choices, we make instant decisions without giving much thought or prayer to the matter, and we end up getting out of God's will. He needs to be involved in every aspect of our life, and although some choices might sound good to the natural, we need to take the matter to the Lord and let him talk over with us the pros and cons, and how it will affect us not only in the physical sense, but most importantly, the spiritual sense.
The "rivers and Egypt" in today's verses represent to us in this day, our former lives before we came to know the Lord. The "land of the Amorites" represents the world and it's viewpoints. We made choices and served other things without letting God be in the center of them. Most of those decisions were selfish ones - with our god being SELF. What is most important - to live the standards of the world or by God's standards and his will? I want to grab hold of the verse where it says, "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord". No matter what situation I am put in, as long as that is my mindset - I know the Lord will be with me and walk me through anything as long as I allow him to be involved.
I was given a choice yesterday whether or not to go back to my old position in the working world. The offer they made me was good, and all the things I said I would have to have were so I could lay out all the pros and cons of the situation not only with my husband, but most importantly, before the Lord. My main goal for the rest of the time I have here on earth is to put God first in every decision I make, no matter how big or small. I want to be in the center of his perfect will, and be at peace with the choices I make in my life.
I know in allowing the Lord to be at the center of this, I will have his peace with my decision.
I pray today that if you're at a place in your life where you need to "choose this day whom you will serve" - you will choose the Lord. If you don't know him, it's as easy as just talking to him to let him know you choose to let him into your life - to be the Lord of your life and save you from your sin and your inability to live without him in the center of your life.
He will never steer you in the wrong direction - his will is perfect, and he wants only GOOD for you. He says in the book of Jeremiah, "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". Jeremiah 29:11
Today, put your life in God's hands - there is nothing too big or too small for him - he can and will help you with every choice you're faced with, and he's just waiting for you to ask him for his help.
Have a blessed Thursday...
Janelle
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