In Hebrews 11:24, the writer tells us that Moses “refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.” There came a point when Moses could choose to live as a prince or choose to suffer mistreatment with the people of God. This choice led him to become the leader of a people chosen by God rather than die in the depth of the Red Sea with the armies of Egypt.
Choosing righteousness is a choice and Satan will not make it easy. The devil will always present a choice that appeals to our vanity, our lusts, and our carnal desires. The choice will be like a hit of narcotics to us, appealing to what makes us feel good at the moment.
But choosing righteousness means that we will make decisions based on what we know God wants from us and not based on what feels good to us at the moment. Righteous choices will often deny self now to do what God wants us to do, even though we don’t get to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
Our righteous choices are not often the big life decisions that shape our destiny here on earth. Often, they are the small things we choose that may never affect the day-to-day living we experience, yet can affect our eternal destiny.
Here are two choices that I put before us as we consider choosing righteousness. Think about what we want versus what God wants. Consider the effect that these choices will have on our minds, our hearts, and our ability to grow into the image of Christ that God is committed to transforming us into.
What do we choose to watch on TV? This seems so innocuous, doesn’t it? How much skin is too much? How many curse words cross the line before we say enough? How much coarse jesting (dirty jokes) do we need to hear before we say it crosses the line and we turn off the TV? How much violence, hatred, evil plotting, sin, or blasphemy do we allow into our minds before we watch something else?
What we allow into our hearts through television is a choice. We invite it into our hearts. This choice hinges on two considerations. First, are we turning a blind eye to evil for our own pleasure and entertainment? Second, are we passing by opportunities for the wholesome entertainment readily available to us? It is a choice. Do we think on good things or do we think on evil things? If Jesus were sitting on the couch next to us, would that influence the choice of what we would watch?
Where do we spend our time? We all have the same 24 hours a day to spend that everyone else has to spend. Kings and peasants alike are given an equal allotment. Do we cram in hours of work beyond what we need and trade time with family and spiritual growth for more cash? Do we trade time at worship with God’s people for entertainment or sleep? Do we choose to visit places that will tempt us to sin rather than strengthen us to be more like the men and women God wants us to be? Do we choose to spend time with people who do not value God rather than brothers and sisters who are trying to get to heaven? Where we choose to spend our time is a choice we make. Do we choose righteousness?
What we choose to enter our minds as we entertain ourselves and where we choose to spend time are things that may have little impact on our lives at the moment, but over time, these choices will affect who we are and the kind of people we will become. As we think in our hearts, so are the people we become.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2 ESV).
Before you stress too much, remember...
It doesn’t matter how many missiles fall into the wrong place,
or who does or does not get elected to office,
or who does or does not run for president,
or who does or does not take over major companies...
Regardless of what happens in our world,
God has always been sovereign,
God is sovereign,
and God will always be sovereign.
If you belong to Him, then nothing else is really that stressful...
I am wrapping up the minor prophets in the Old Testament before I move into the New Testament on Friday. Much of the messages they speak are about impending judgment. The “day of the Lord” is near.
Listen to the words of Zephaniah:
“Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests.” (Zephaniah 1:7 ESV).
The prophet goes on in the next few verses to say whom the Lord will punish. But when he gets to verse 12, he says something interesting:
“At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.’“ (Zephaniah 1:12 ESV).
It seemed that the warning of the coming of the Day of the Lord was falling on deaf ears. People were complacent and not moved to repentance like the people of Nineveh were at the preaching of Jonah.
In fact, their disposition toward the message of impending judgment was that God was not in the picture at all. He wouldn’t do good or ill toward the people. He was impotent or inactive.
Jesus promises that He will return again one day to bring judgment to the people of the earth. Today, we also scoff and say,
“Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:4b ESV).
This is the same as saying, “The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.”
When the promised judgment spoken by the prophets came, people were not prepared. The question for us is,
Will we repeat the actions of the people of God who did not repent of the message from the prophets and heed their warnings?
Or will join in with scoffers who yawn at the call to repentance and expect the sun to again rise and set as it has always done before?
One day, the sun will rise but never set. Will we be ready?
That day could very well be today.
What does it mean to live in an absolute sovereign kingdom?
1. We have no input when it comes to the law.
2. The king is our ruler until death. We don’t get to vote him out.
3. We never get to put the king on trial or demand he makes a defense for his actions.
4. The king chooses the punishment and when to extend his grace.
5. The king provides all sustenance, protection, and allocation of possession. All blessings flow from the king.
Perhaps our first response is to argue against living under the kingship of Jesus because there are some aspects of sovereignty we don’t want to give up.
But until we are willing to live under His sovereign kingship, we will not receive the benefits of His kingship.
Sovereignty is often hard to submit to. Perhaps it is even harder to release to another.
“But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’“ (Luke 19:14 ESV).
Let’s be careful when we feel pressure to follow the majority...
“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” (Genesis 6:5
I started the New Testament in my Daily Bible Reading this morning. In the book of Matthew, we read about the birth of Jesus. On this joyous occasion, we see the sinister plot by Herod take root. Rather than join in the joyful occasion, celebrating the coming of the promised Messiah and King, Herod saw the child as a threat to his legacy.
When the wise men from the East came to Herod, they asked him where the King of the Jews who was born was. The next verse is troubling:
“When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;” (Matthew 2:3 ESV).
I guess it isn’t troubling that King Herod was troubled. Perhaps we understand why. Jesus represented to him a threat to his kingship. But what was troubling was that all Jerusalem with him was troubled.
Yesterday, I wrote that we need to be careful when the majority pulls us to their way of thinking if that way is evil. Matthew 2:3 reminds us that we also need to be careful that we don’t let those in power and influence shape our thoughts.
All of Jerusalem should have been glad when they heard about the promised birth of the Messiah, the coming King of Israel. Instead, they were troubled because their current king was troubled.
In the end, their king would die and this infant would inherit a Kingdom and having conquered death, rule the Kingdom forever.
Let us be careful about which voice of authority we listen to and not allow those with influence to cause our hearts to trouble with theirs when God’s purposes get in their way.
Imagine that war came to our soil.
Everyone is forced to choose one side or the other.
Remaining neutral is not an option.
We must choose to fight for our homeland or fight for the invading army.
This war will be a war until there is one victor and one vanquished.
It is a fight to the death.
Before you make the choice, here is one piece of information you might want to consider.
The invading force has the power to make it invincible. There is no way our homeland can win against it.
No hope whatsoever.
Which side do we choose?
The Kingdom of heaven is fighting the power of the god of this world.
We must choose a side.
Remaining neutral is not an option.
If we fight for the god of this world, it will be a popular choice, but it will lead to our death.
If we fight for the King of kings, the Lord of lords, then we will be assured victory, but those of the homeland will accuse us of being a traitor and will hate us.
What side will we choose today?
Will we choose life or death; will we choose the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of Satan?
Will we choose victory or defeat?
The war’s end is a foregone conclusion.
Which choice will we make?
“You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.” (Luke 21:16-19 ESV).
Well, Jesus didn’t come yesterday, on His, the Lord’s day.
Perhaps the Father is about to give Him the word this morning to come.
With our thoughts in full planning mode for Thanksgiving, perhaps we are planning for the thing that may not occur.
If so, have we planned for the event that really matters for our eternity?
“For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:38