All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
2 Timothy 3:16
Christ is the visible image of
the invisible God. He existed before
anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God
created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things
we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen
world. Everything was created through
him and for him. He existed before anything else, and
he holds all creation together. Colossians 1:15-17
These two passages are the ruler by which I measure all
my thoughts and deeds. Paul’s admonition
to Timothy reminded the young Pastor that Scripture would keep a person on the
right track, an informed, humble allegiance to God. Paul’s letter to the Colossian believers outlines
the primacy and supremacy of Jesus Christ, the One who created, sustains, and
has prior claim, on everything.
Scripture is entirely focused on God’s Messiah, Jesus
the Christ, from Genesis through Revelation.
That is His clearly-stated declaration in Revelation:
“I am
the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the
end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always
was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.” Revelation 1:8
It doesn’t get clearer than that. And with that clarity, we are left with two
choices, we can believe, or not. Because
we are given free will, Heaven hangs in the balance of the choice to serve Him;
rejecting makes Hell the alternative.
At the risk of being redundant, I want to point out that
God has given each of us free will to choose, and with that responsibility we
are also blessed (or cursed) by the choices we make. Isn’t that ever the way? If you decide to put your hand in the fire,
there are scorching consequences. If you
decide to feed a hungry child, nothing that ever happens can take away the
inner peace that you did the right thing.
Choose poorly and you can’t forget it; choose wisely and you sleep well.
As a young person I chose to serve God by trusting in
Christ’s sacrifice for my sin. Although
there have been some very difficult times in my life, I have never regretted
that decision. I have made some poor
choices at times, and the consequences have been correctional in nature, with God getting my attention, showing me my
errors, and how to get back on track.
(Sometimes, depending upon my stubbornness factored-in, it took a little
longer than necessary). However, the two
principles I chose to follow, God’s Scripture is true, profitable, and without
error, and…Jesus Christ is the embodiment of Scripture, and I will honor him
with all my words and deeds...these principles have never failed to bless,
comfort, strengthen, and enlighten me for more than the past 60 years.
So, this is my introduction to what I would like to say
about choosing life over death from cradle to grave. My hope is that you’ll stay with me the next
two or three days as we comb-out a few bed-head-hairs of misconception about choice.
For You Today
If you openly declare that Jesus is
Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are
made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are
saved. Romans 10:9-10
You chew on that as
you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!
There are about 2,000 devotional
posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions
library. To dig deeper on
today’s topic, explore some of these:
Life Off-Track and Choosing; and being able to live
with the Choices
Images: Title
image Pixabay.com Images without citation are either personal
property of the author, or in public domain.
Unless noted, Scripture quoted
from The New Living Translation©
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