by David Brenneman
We choose who we worship. I heard someone say this yesterday and it's entirely accurate. Human beings were indeed created to worship the One True God, and Jesus Christ His Son. Yet, through Adam, sin entered the world and with it came spiritual death. With it also came spiritual blindness because of the deep darkness of evil.
"In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." John 1:4-5.
What came out of Adam and Eve's selfish decision has cursed all mankind since, save our Savior who is Christ the Lord. No sin was ever found in Him.
He was and is the Light that came into the world. As written the people enjoyed His light while they had it. The Jewish leaders hated it. So stuck on what was right in their own eyes they couldn't see the work of God that was right before their eyes.
Even one who had been healed, who was inevitably kicked out of the Temple because of what he said, hit the nail on the head. "If this man weren't from God He could do nothing".
Before us, each and every day, are two distinct spiritual paths. God's way and the way of the world.
We must choose to follow Jesus each day we've been given.
In reading in Jeremiah 43-44, the blindness of the spiritual forces of this world is extensive. People who ought to have known better attributed the Lord's judgment as their disobedience to their gods. That because they weren't worshipping their gods that all the persecutions they had endured was why they were scattered as they were, in spite of all that Jeremiah had told them that the Lord Jesus had said to them.
We can be the same way. We can misread the signs of the times in our lives. We can mislead ourselves by believing that which isn't right Biblically. We might go through rough times but this is not Jesus punishing us. It's also not things like karma coming after us.
We can indeed go through life with great difficulties and it not be anything but our Savior leading us through the dark valley's of life.
David was running from Saul for years. David easily could have taken the wrong path and given up. Several times it says that he strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
We choose...the cross of Jesus Christ brought choice. We choose to pick up our own cross and follow Him or we put it down. Satan's going to do whatever he is permitted in order to get us to put it down. To take the world's way through this life.
Jesus said that this world would increasingly be people full of doing what was right in their own eyes. Just as it was in the days of Noah.
Talk about loneliness. He was the only one among probably billions of people living life as Jesus intended. Noah probably knew hundreds if not thousands of people. They certainly made themselves known to him by their mocking him and ridicule of his beliefs in the Lord his God. The Bible says that it only was Noah who was found worthy. Not his family, but, his family was necessary for the plan of God to proceed with the global Flood.
You stepping out into today you have two choices.
To carry your cross or to leave it behind. As Christians we are to be lights in this world. If your cross is left at home so is your light. Won't mean that the world will leave you alone. Satan's schemes are hoping you feel this or feel that and try to go it alone.
When you choose to worship Jesus regardless of what is happening in your life it ruins Satan's plans.
Much has been attributed to Satan's schemes in many people's lives, yet, in truth it's simply people not taking Jesus with them into the world.
David could not strengthen himself in the Lord with him leaving the Lord back at his camp.
We choose to live life in our own eyes or we choose to take up our own cross.
"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every person according to his deeds." Matthew 16:25-27.
"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." John 15:1-5.
Will you head out into life today with Jesus or without Him? Think you got this on your own, that it won't be that bad? If you only call on Jesus when you are in trouble then you're always in trouble.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6.
When you look back over your life it's only going to show that either you lived life on your terms or Jesus's.
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.
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