Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Cradle to Grave - Part 1

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

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 are ready to choose to believe Scripture, and honor Christ in all you do, here is what God’s Word says about making that decision:

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!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

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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