I am back on the choice topic again. Because we have choices to make, it comes down to a simple but true understanding of these things. A choice is either a conscience decision or a sub conscience one. Choices are made either by learned behavior or just based solely on feelings. We do not realize just how many choices we make a day.
Let me list some examples:
My alarm goes off, I wake enough to turn it off, yes it wakes you, but I have a choice to get out of bed or to hit the snooze. I hit the snooze, again the alarm goes off, again I have a choice to make. I turn the alarm off, now I have a choice to either get out of bed or lay there. Now if I choose to lay there, I am making a choice that it doesn't matter if I fall back to sleep, because I already know that is a possibility. See we blame things on circumstances all the time, instead of looking at the root cause. The root of the issue was, I made a choice to lay there with no alarm, knowing full well I could fall back to sleep, but ignoring that, because I was thinking only of me.
See that seems like a simple choice that I could blame on, oh I was too tired to get up, but the truth of the matter is that I made a choice to put my feelings first, instead of actually saying, I will get up and get ready for the day. I thought only of me, I didn't think of all the impact I have on others, based on my one simple choice. I know for me, it is easy to blame my lateness on the traffic or other people which is a choice and a lie. The choice is to say it was all the traffic, but the truth is if I got up on time, that traffic wouldn't have been as bad and I would have made it to work. Me blaming other people may seem like the right choice to make, but it is actually a lie. How can I say that? Well, the problem may be traffic, but that hides the truth, the truth is I rolled over and feel back to sleep. That is the truth, which me blaming the traffic is a deciption and that is sin. My simple act of trying to blame other uncontrollable factors is actually a sin, because the root cause was me.
Have you ever been in a situation where the problem was ultimately yours, but there was other factors involved and it was easier to blame them, instead of saying it was my fault. I am sorry and then asking forgiveness from God? See we seem to think that God thinks like people do, but He knows it all, He knows our hearts, He knows our choices.
I think being conscience of our choices is very important. God meant His words in the Bible, He didn't just say them to fill it with words, He said them so we could actually work to becoming closer with Him. So when He said in Luke 6:31 "Do to others as you would have them do to you." He knew how we would act and treat other people. He knew that we would make life about self and He is saying life is not about you, but about Me, it is about how you treat others. To be a representation of Jesus, we need to stop living for self. Self tries to cover up wrong, because who likes to admit fault, but Jesus says that if we admit it, we start living according to how He wants us to live.
This rings true in every aspect of life. When we are young to when we are old. In our marriages, we need to stop making it about self and making it about what God wants. It can't be about me, it has to be about God then my spouse. The higher calling is to look at our hearts and start to see who is in control, is it God or self? If we are in control, we don't really care about what God says in His word, we think that will wait or He will understand, but what does God say? He didn't just write it in there for our amusement, He wrote it in there so that we will have a guide, a tool to help us through. Isn't it time that it is no longer about self and giving Jesus the thrown of our hearts.
If you are having issues doing this, it isn't a God issue, it is a heart issue. It is time to make the choice to say Lord I have sinned and fallen short of your Glory, I have been living for self and not living for you. I have been trying to rule, instead of allowing you to rule, when things have gotten difficult, I forget to seek you and instead I seek the things of the world, the things that I want. Lord I need your forgiveness, because I want you to rule my life, not me. I want to allow you to direct me and I will follow no matter the cost. Please forgive me for being selfish and making life about me, when I need to be making it about You. Lord I need your help, but today I am repenting and turning it over to you. Help me to chose you in every circumstance and to stop looking at what is best for me, give me strength and wisdom Lord. Forgive me. Thank you Lord for your grace and mercy.
Saying that is a choice, meaning it is a heart choice. If you say those words, you have to be willing to make the change, you have to turn from yourself to God. It is a heart issue, every moment put Him on the thrown and every time you put yourself up there, it is a sin, because you are not trusting God. Isn't it time to trust Him, follow His teachings, His instructions. Stop making life about you and start making it about following. Self says you can't, but God says you can. Self says I am too tired, God says He is our strength, our hope, and so much more. Isn't it time to make the right choices instead of basing choices on feelings on the world and base them on what God wants.
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Jesus Bore My Sins
Sunday during church, we sang a song about how Jesus bore our sins on the cross at Calvary. And it got me thinking. I don't know if you ever have seen the Passion of Christ, but if you haven't it is something that really rings true to thinking about my sins. He bore my sins, He hung there knowing what sins that I would commit and He still loves me to this day.
His arms tied to the cross before they pounded the nails into his palms, He was aware of me, because He has chosen me from the foundations of the earth, I was called. So He knew every time they hit the nail and it wasn't just one pound like when you are sticking a knife in butter, it was so painful, my sins hung with Him, that is why He did it, for my sins, for your sins. Every excruciating slam of the hammer and I don't know about you, but I miss when swinging a hammer, maybe they missed too, He bore it for me. I can hear the hammer ringing in my ears, hear the sound of a nail being driven into wood and it wasn't just one nail, but four.
It is easy to just say it is just a lie, who cares, it is just a little deceit who cares, but it is all hanging on the cross, that is why Jesus went to the cross, to save us from ourselves. Our sins that we just fluff off, because they may seem so petty compared to the life we live, but they hung on that cross and then the battle was just beginning. Can you fathom, the battle was just beginning, because God allowed His son to hang on the cross. God loves us so much, He chose to give up His son for my sin and for yours. Wow, what a realization, that God still loves me, even through all I have done in my life. He chose me knowing all of it, He chose me seeing me and still chose me. He wants us to want to know Him too.
He hung on that cross, alone and separated from God, for me. Then He had a spear stuck in His side and blood and water flowed, He did that for me. He was dead and gone, alone separated from God for that time. Yes, He rose again, but during the time in the grave, can you imagine the torment that He faced? He was separated from His Father, because He wanted to give us the choice for freedom, for forgiveness of sins.
As humans we still commit sins, we still fall short of the glory of God, but He says come to Him, confess our sins and He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins. I still sin, but I need to confess those sins to Jesus and He is faithful and does forgive me of them. But true repentance comes from turning from those sins, not doing them again and again, yes we will fail, but Jesus knows our hearts, He wants us to turn from our sins and walk in freedom, freedom from the wrongs, freedom from the sin, so that we can walk the way He wants us to walk. We will fail, but we shouldn't expect to fail, but we should strive each day to live a Christ centered life, the more we focus on how does those words affect my relationship with God, before I actually say them, then we are working on honoring God above all else. If we want to honor flesh, we are just like the world.
Today I think about a harsh word and it hits me, does that honor God? Am I sinning against Him? Am I pounding the nail into His hand? Isn't it time to actually realize the pain I am causing Jesus, is it more important to me, then myself? Who is more important, Jesus or self? Hard truths, but He wants us to want Him more than we want to bring honor to self.
His arms tied to the cross before they pounded the nails into his palms, He was aware of me, because He has chosen me from the foundations of the earth, I was called. So He knew every time they hit the nail and it wasn't just one pound like when you are sticking a knife in butter, it was so painful, my sins hung with Him, that is why He did it, for my sins, for your sins. Every excruciating slam of the hammer and I don't know about you, but I miss when swinging a hammer, maybe they missed too, He bore it for me. I can hear the hammer ringing in my ears, hear the sound of a nail being driven into wood and it wasn't just one nail, but four.
It is easy to just say it is just a lie, who cares, it is just a little deceit who cares, but it is all hanging on the cross, that is why Jesus went to the cross, to save us from ourselves. Our sins that we just fluff off, because they may seem so petty compared to the life we live, but they hung on that cross and then the battle was just beginning. Can you fathom, the battle was just beginning, because God allowed His son to hang on the cross. God loves us so much, He chose to give up His son for my sin and for yours. Wow, what a realization, that God still loves me, even through all I have done in my life. He chose me knowing all of it, He chose me seeing me and still chose me. He wants us to want to know Him too.
He hung on that cross, alone and separated from God, for me. Then He had a spear stuck in His side and blood and water flowed, He did that for me. He was dead and gone, alone separated from God for that time. Yes, He rose again, but during the time in the grave, can you imagine the torment that He faced? He was separated from His Father, because He wanted to give us the choice for freedom, for forgiveness of sins.
As humans we still commit sins, we still fall short of the glory of God, but He says come to Him, confess our sins and He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins. I still sin, but I need to confess those sins to Jesus and He is faithful and does forgive me of them. But true repentance comes from turning from those sins, not doing them again and again, yes we will fail, but Jesus knows our hearts, He wants us to turn from our sins and walk in freedom, freedom from the wrongs, freedom from the sin, so that we can walk the way He wants us to walk. We will fail, but we shouldn't expect to fail, but we should strive each day to live a Christ centered life, the more we focus on how does those words affect my relationship with God, before I actually say them, then we are working on honoring God above all else. If we want to honor flesh, we are just like the world.
Today I think about a harsh word and it hits me, does that honor God? Am I sinning against Him? Am I pounding the nail into His hand? Isn't it time to actually realize the pain I am causing Jesus, is it more important to me, then myself? Who is more important, Jesus or self? Hard truths, but He wants us to want Him more than we want to bring honor to self.
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