Your Incredible Freedom of Choice. Par4] 07/21/2024 (Morning thought)

Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Jacob had learned from his mother of the divine intimation that the birthright should fall to him, and he was filled with an unspeakable desire for the privileges which it would confer. It was not the possession of his father's wealth that he craved; the spiritual birthright was the object of his longing. With secret longing he listened to all that his father told concerning the spiritual birthright; he carefully treasured what he had learned from his mother. Day and night the subject occupied his thoughts, until it became the absorbing interest of his life.

When Esau, coming home one day faint and weary from the chase, asked for the food that Jacob was preparing, the latter, with whom one thought was ever uppermost, seized upon his advantage, and offered to satisfy his brother's hunger at the price of the birthright. “Behold, I am at the point to die,” cried the reckless, self-indulgent hunter, “and what profit shall this birthright do to me?” And for a dish of red pottage he parted with his birthright, and confirmed the transaction by an oath.

A short time at most would have secured him food in his father's tents, but to satisfy the desire of the moment he carelessly bartered the glorious heritage that God Himself had promised to his fathers. His whole interest was in the present. He was ready to sacrifice the heavenly to the earthly, to exchange a future good for a momentary indulgence. “Thus Esau despised his birthright.” In disposing of it he felt a sense of relief. Now his way was unobstructed; he could do as he liked. For this wild pleasure, miscalled freedom, how many are still selling their birthright to an inheritance pure and undefiled, eternal in the heavens!

Psalms 32: 8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. 9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle….

May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!

Your Incredible Freedom of Choice. Part [13] 07/21/2024 (Evening thought)

1st Thessalonians 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

If it turns out that situations were to turn sour in November, would we be positioned intelligently, to make decisions in harmony with God’s will? Are we still tethered to the debt bandit, in ways that will make it difficult for us to extricate ourselves, if  we suddenly needed to? Are we so rooted and grounded in Christ and the truths of God’s word, so that we cannot be shaken, as the winds of strife begin to blow?

Do we still trust God with reservations, time frames and deadlines, or are we learning to trust Him with no holds barred. Many persons are searching for leaders, others are searching for answers, and some are at their wits end, as persons only see bad choices on the menu. Therefore, it is at such a time as this, that the real leader, even Jesus Christ is to be lifted up as the One and only One who could be trusted to lead us in our decisions.

Let us therefore try by God’s grace to cultivate that humble and teachable spirit which is necessary for Christ to lead those who are willing. Let us not, like Isaac, try to force our way through, if we know that something is not God’s will, for who knows, He may choose not to prevent us, for, as we have studied, God honors our incredible freedom of choice.

1st Thessalonians 5:4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!