“’Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?’ . . . Jesus replied, ‘If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.’…. ‘All these I have kept,’ the young man said. ‘What do I still lack?’ Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’”Matthew 19:16-22

Have you ever been asked to relinquish something you treasured dearly? As a youngster, immigrating to Canada, I had the unavoidable task of choosing what personal possessions to leave behind. Our family’s belongings had to fit a small shipping. Reluctantly and agonizingly, I confronted the crucible of choice — selecting, surrendering, and submitting to this unsolicited predicament.

In Matthew 19, Jesus encounters a man inquiring about eternal life. On the surface, the man’s reply indicates that he has met the criteria for righteousness, but Jesus discerns that the man’s possessions are an obstacle preventing him from fully following Him. So Jesus asks him to surrender the obstacle.

Jesus doesn’t plea bargain for the man’s heart because He knows that “… where [his] treasure is, there [his] heart will be also.” In a life-changing moment, the man confronts the crucible of choice — assessing the value of his possessions. Regrettably, he concludes that his possessions are non-negotiable and he rejects Jesus’ proposal.

Are you willing to relinquish anything preventing you from experiencing deeper intimacy with Jesus? Ideally, as Christ followers, we should surrender anything that hinders relational intimacy with God. Daily, every believer must confront the crucible of choice, and re-evaluate his or her treasures. Jesus knows surrender and submission are heart conditions and decisions. They are the unavoidable and non-negotiable cost of fully following Jesus.

Lord, create in me a transparent heart. Help me to reevaluate my heart’s treasures — discerning if there is anything in my life that hinders relational intimacy with you. Empower me with the resolve to choose wisely when I confront choice and to daily surrender my heart to your word and will. Amen.

By Allan Mitchell
Used by Permission

RELATED READING

• Choices – Being a Chooser!
• You Have a Choice
• What Faith Looks Like – A Choice to Trust

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“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”  2 Corinthians 5:17, 18

A friend of mine, recovering from a deep depression, said his turn-around came when he realized, “I have a choice. I can continue to blame my upbringing, past traumatic experiences, and life’s injustices for the emotional mess I’m in, or I can focus on today and begin to take small steps of recovery.”

Like him, I got myself out of a pit of self-pity and despair by focusing on the fact that if Jesus Christ lives in me, I am a new creation. I can leave the old thought patterns behind and claim my new position in Christ. But it was a choice I had to make many times a day.

When a negative thought or temptation would come, I would say,

“That doesn’t belong to me anymore. I’ve died to that way of thinking and acting. In Christ I have received a new nature, the very righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). I am a new person.”

Then I’d replace the thought with a truth from Scripture or a song. I’d write it out and carry it in my pocket so I could say it often.

God has given to each of us the privilege of making choices and the responsibility of living with the consequences of those choices.

“Every choice we make takes us down a certain path. Either to a person that is in harmony with God and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow creatures, and with itself,” writes C.S.Lewis.

You are not born a winner. You are not born a looser. You are born a chooser.

Dear God, today I want to see myself as a new creation in Christ and make choices that honor You.

By Helen Lescheid
used by permission

FURTHER READING

• Up From Depression
• Depression Story – There is Hope
• Place of Struggle

The post I Have a Choice appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways”. Proverbs 4:26

I don’t recall why, but I when I was around four-years-old,  I decided to run away from home. Problem: I wasn’t allowed to cross the street.  So I trudged around the block with my little pink suitcase in one hand and my stuffed lion under my arm. Within twenty minutes I had circled the block and ended up back at home in tears.

What made me recall this incident I won’t  reveal how many decades later? While preparing to give a talk to some churchwomen, I found these children’s letters to God online. This one in particular spoke a deep truth.

“You don’t have to worry about me. I always look both ways.” (DEAN)

As a small child, I had strict boundaries and knew the rules. It appears Dean does as well. As long as he looks both ways before crossing the street, nothing bad will happen to him, right?

If only life was so easy. As adults we get used to weighing the odds and making all the decisions. We set the rules. We decide our actions. We plot our course. Problem is, we can’t predict the future.

Sometimes we assume the way is clear. We quickly glance first then head out. WHAM – life hits us unexpectedly. Didn’t see that coming. Didn’t detect it, hear it, smell it, or even fathom it.  A tornado siren sounds one minute and your whole life ripped apart the next. The phone rings. A routine blood test comes back with bad news. A pink slip lands on your desk.

But after the shell shock, we may realize that someone was watching out for us. Something prepared us in ways we never knew. A hand held on and yanked us out of the way, or drew us closer.

A  quiet thought, steadfast rule, or profound statement embedded in our subconscious begins to acts as a lifeline. We cling to it. Such as  Romans 8:28 or Philippians 4:6-7 or Psalm 121:3-8.

Or my mother’s admonition to never cross the street alone.

Perhaps we adults need to be more childlike and go back to the basics.  Ask permission. Seek guidance. Wouldn’t it be more wise to look again–just in case–instead of being so sure of ourselves as little Dean is? Maybe we need to grab Daddy’s hand more often, no matter how big we feel we are.

By Julie Cosgrove
Used by Permission

https://wheredidyoufindgodtoday.com/

FURTHER READING

Prayer for God to Make a Way

A Prayer to Stay on God’s Path

The Path of Life

Staying on God’s Path

The post Do You Look Both Ways? appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” Revelation 5: 13

“And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24: 15

The 2024 political campaigns are nearly complete and the national and many local and state elections are but hours away. Republicans and Democrats have had their say, leaving the public to determine which one has the answers to questions, concerns and uncertainty facing our nation, and the path forward through our own individual struggles.

While uncertainty, disbelief, anxiety, doubt, and fear begin to reign instead. Which one to choose to kneel before, bow to, and embrace. In which one to put our faith and trust either, or any.

As we turn to look and wonder whether there are any other choices. How about this One?

The One to whom the Apostle John refers in Revelation that “every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: ‘Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

The One to whom the Apostle Paul points to in Philippians as to whom “every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

The One Joshua reaffirms at the end of his life that “…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” That choice. That One. The Lord God Almighty. At the end of all the ages, these kings will all bow down.

Presidents and royalty, faces to the ground. There will be no doubt that Jesus Christ is Lord. And I’ll be there to see Him, seated on His throne. There will be a holy roar, as the saints sing to their Lord.

Answers. Faith. Trust. Peace. Direction. Hope. Eternal assurance.

The one choice for all things, now and forever—The Lord of Lords, the King of Kings.

Jesus is the one choice.
by Scott Whitaker

used by permission from John Grant

FURTHER READING

• • Bad Examples in High Places by Retired Senator John Grant
  • Vote For the Anointing by Francis Frangipane
  • Leaders Need Jesus Too!  “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. …
  • How to Pray for our Leaders

Devotionals Archive

The post Remember—The One Choice appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” James 1:19b

I was at boarding school for most of each year, so I grew up without family dinners. I had a table of peers to eat with at the end of the day. But there was no one who really listened and took an interest in how my day had gone.

Is it any wonder that I was bursting to express myself and be heard? I thought if I could only explain myself, I would be understood and validated. Yet no matter how hard I tried, many of my efforts backfired. They caused me pain and alienated me from others. I often felt trapped in anger and hurt. I had things I wanted to say!

Last year a friend said to me, “I realized I didn’t have to say what I wanted to say.” Slowly, I let that seep in. She was releasing her right to say what she wanted to because that sacrifice made a significant contribution towards peace in their home.

As I re-read Proverbs, I saw that the writer claims beautiful rewards from this sacrifice of not speaking. “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life…. When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lip is prudent. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver …. The lips of the righteous feed many.” (Proverbs 10:11a; 19-21, ESV)

Does your heart yearn for freedom from the tyranny of having your say? Do you long to bring health and life to others? There are times when we need to speak up, but there are also moments when we would do well to hold our peace. Would you like to join me in the sacrifice of not always having to say the words we want to say?

Gracious, compassionate, and merciful Heavenly Father, would you grant me the grace to let go of “my right” to speak and to only speak in ways that honor and bless others as made in your image. Amen.

By Sue Braid
Used by Permission

Further Reading

• Why is What I say So Important?

• Who is My Behaviour Affecting?

•  Salvation Explained

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“Let not your hearts be troubled. Trust in God.”  John 14:1

It’s just the way I am. I can’t help it. I’m a worrier by nature. I’m too old to change.

Do any of those phrases sound familiar to you? Do you find yourself excusing your tendency to worry or your lack of discipline? Unfortunately we have too often allowed ourselves the Privilege of Excuse to mask areas in our lives which need change or improvement. We do not hesitate to challenge our children when they use excuses to cover their poor performance in school or their disobedience, but we frequently are far more lenient with ourselves when it comes to matters between us and God.

Jesus speaks to his friends in the hour of their greatest need, when they are about to witness their beloved Savior being beaten and killed. How preposterous of him to say they have the ability to not be troubled. Don’t they have every “right” to be agitated (the primary meaning of the word troubled)? Their world is about to crumble in front of their eyes. Their future is bleak. The one they have trusted to give them hope and a future is about to be murdered.

When Jesus uses the words “let not,” he is telling us that we have the power of choice. We need not be victims of our personalities or human tendencies or backgrounds. The road to victory is rocky and uphill, but God gives us the pattern for that victory:

“Do not be anxious about everything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-8)

Precious Lord, I confess that it is much easier to make excuses for myself than to intentionally grow in faith. Help me face myself honestly, confess to you my lack of discipline, and then trust you to give me wisdom and strength to change.

by Marilyn Ehle
Used by Permission

Further Reading

•  Morning Grumpiness Problem
•  The Everlasting God – By Stoddard
•  Salvation Explained

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Read: Psalm 1

The Bible declares the Lord’s great power and majesty while also revealing His deep mercy and love. He is worthy of wholehearted, passionate submission, but He doesn’t often get it. Are you among the few who offer themselves to Him without reservation?

Complete obedience is a choice to follow God regardless of the consequences. This means that we obey the Lord even if our friends choose a different path or when suffering or embarrassment is guaranteed. Seeing His will done is more important than our own comfort or personal ambition. We commit the consequences to God and cling to His promises: He will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5), and He makes good out of every situation (Romans 8:28).

Notice the word ‘commitment‘ in the title of today’s devotion. I’m not writing about obedience that is born of the moment (as in, I choose to follow God in this instance) but about submission as a way of life. Setting restrictions on compliance is so tempting–we want to be able to change our mind when obeying upsets our lifestyle, the final result is unclear, or we’re just plain scared. But let me ask you this one sobering question: If Jesus is the Lord of your life, what right do you have to limit how and when you’ll do His will?

Believers have no right to set their own limits; their one criterion for making decisions should be, What does God want me to do? The answer at times may cause suffering, but obedience is always right. And following God in all things is the surest path to favor and spiritual growth.

By Dr. Charles Stanley

Used by permission
https://www.intouch.org/

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