Application:
1.
To those whose lives are “undisturbed”
(Judg. 5:31), that is, things have been and are “good” right now...Beware! Don't let down your guard! Your life can spiral
downhill
with only one
bad choice. The worst choice is to trivialize
God and live your "good" life in violation of His commands.
2.
To those who are in bondage, bitterness and brokenness because of
one or more bad choices.... Not every
negative event in your life necessarily
means you left God or that He is displeased with you. Life has some hard moments that happen regardless
of your standing with God. Before you clamp down on that truth, consider that it could
be that you're not right with God. It could
be. Call it what you want – running from God, rebellion against Him,
taking Him for granted, avoiding His presence, etc. Perhaps it's time for you
to “cry unto the Lord.” Have an honest, straightforward talk with Him. Tell Him everything He already knows is true about you, your
situation, and how you're handling it (or not). What will you discover? “Let
the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his
thoughts; and let him return to the LORD,
and He will have compassion
on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly
pardon.”
(Isa. 55:7)
Showing posts with label Choices. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Choices. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Monday, June 30, 2014
The Choice, The Consequences And The Cry (Judg. 6:1-6) (Part 4)
Observations:
1. Your consequences always outweigh your choices. Israel made one choice, but that one choice had at least three major consequences.
2. Your consequences, though hard to accept and deal with, have a built-in blessing. Those who are smart will let their consequences drive them toward God. Don't be the one who gets pulled away further because of bitterness or stubbornness. If it's already not going well with you, why would you aggravate things by continuing to exclude God?
3. Your consequences last longer than your choices. How long did it take for Israel to do “evil in the sight of the Lord” – enough that He had to respond? We're not told, but let's guess and say it was a year's worth of consistent, provocative, outrageous behavior. How long was the consequence for such violation? “...and the LORD gave them into the hands of Midian seven years” (Judg. 6:1b). It might be that God repaid Israel seven times.
Tomorrow's post will contain application for our lives.
1. Your consequences always outweigh your choices. Israel made one choice, but that one choice had at least three major consequences.
2. Your consequences, though hard to accept and deal with, have a built-in blessing. Those who are smart will let their consequences drive them toward God. Don't be the one who gets pulled away further because of bitterness or stubbornness. If it's already not going well with you, why would you aggravate things by continuing to exclude God?
3. Your consequences last longer than your choices. How long did it take for Israel to do “evil in the sight of the Lord” – enough that He had to respond? We're not told, but let's guess and say it was a year's worth of consistent, provocative, outrageous behavior. How long was the consequence for such violation? “...and the LORD gave them into the hands of Midian seven years” (Judg. 6:1b). It might be that God repaid Israel seven times.
Tomorrow's post will contain application for our lives.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
The Choice, The Consequences And The Cry (Judg. 6:1-6) (Part 3)
The last thing I want you to notice is the CRY
of the people. “...and
the sons of Israel cried to the LORD”
(Judg. 6:6b). What happens
when someone cries? He
expresses pain, sorrow, tenderness or frustration with the hope that
the one who notices will offer solace or relief. God
always hears the cry of His people! “This
poor man cried, and the LORD heard
him and saved him out of all his
troubles” (Psa. 34:6). “The
eyes of the LORD are
toward
the righteous and His ears are
open to their cry”
(Psa. 34:15). Tomorrow's post will contain three observations about choices and consequences.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
The Choice, The Consequences And The Cry (Judg. 6:1-6) (Part 2)
The second thing I want you to notice is the
CONSEQUENCES from that choice. There were
three major consequences to
the people's choice. The first major
consequence of the people's choice was DOMINATION. “...and
the LORD gave
them
into the hands of Midian
seven years” (Judg.
6:1b). God
temporarily
withdrew His protection,
but He didn't
relinquish responsibility,
love or calling. Why did
God withdraw His protection? Was He being cruel? Much
later, Jesus would state it this way: “No
one can serve two masters;
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will
be devoted to one and despise the other”
(Mt. 6:24). When
the people refused to serve and obey God they, by
default,
were agreeing to serve someone else.
The second major consequence of the people's choice was DEVASTATION. “The power of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of Midian the sons of Israel made for themselves the dens which were in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. For it was when Israel had sown, that the Midianites would come up with the Amalekites and the sons of the east and go against them. So they would camp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel as well as no sheep, ox, or donkey. For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, they would come in like locusts for number, both they and their camels were innumerable; and they came into the land to devastate it.” (Judg. 6:2-5). These devastated people were overwhelmed, overcome, outnumbered and outcast. That sounds grim, doesn't it?
The third major consequence of the people's choice was DESPERATION. “So Israel was brought very low because of Midian...” (Judg. 6:6a). The King James Version says the people were “greatly impoverished.” The idea behind the Hebrew is that they were exhausted. Ignoring God's instructions to pursue what we think is better always leaves us weary, worn and spent. We began as princes and ended up as victims who are tired – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually tired. Isn't it time to come back to God?
Domination, devastation, desperation – Things looked bleak, no doubt, but the story didn't end there. There was still a spark of hope! Tune in for tomorrow's post.
The second major consequence of the people's choice was DEVASTATION. “The power of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of Midian the sons of Israel made for themselves the dens which were in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. For it was when Israel had sown, that the Midianites would come up with the Amalekites and the sons of the east and go against them. So they would camp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel as well as no sheep, ox, or donkey. For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, they would come in like locusts for number, both they and their camels were innumerable; and they came into the land to devastate it.” (Judg. 6:2-5). These devastated people were overwhelmed, overcome, outnumbered and outcast. That sounds grim, doesn't it?
The third major consequence of the people's choice was DESPERATION. “So Israel was brought very low because of Midian...” (Judg. 6:6a). The King James Version says the people were “greatly impoverished.” The idea behind the Hebrew is that they were exhausted. Ignoring God's instructions to pursue what we think is better always leaves us weary, worn and spent. We began as princes and ended up as victims who are tired – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually tired. Isn't it time to come back to God?
Domination, devastation, desperation – Things looked bleak, no doubt, but the story didn't end there. There was still a spark of hope! Tune in for tomorrow's post.
Friday, June 27, 2014
The Choice, The Consequences And The Cry (Judg. 6:1-6) (Part 1)
The first thing I want you to notice is the
CHOICE of the people. “Then
the sons of Israel did what was evil in the
sight of the LORD...” (Judg. 6:1a). The King
James Version says, “the sons of Israel did
evil”. Don't
think they were passive victims. It wasn't
that evil happened to them; rather, it was that they
manufactured the evil. In
their performance, they provoked God.
With such provocation, you know there will be fallout. That's tomorrow's post.
With such provocation, you know there will be fallout. That's tomorrow's post.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
I Snooze, You Lose (Jonah 1:12)
You've heard, "You snooze, you lose." Here, it is "I snooze, you lose."
Consider this storm from the perspective of the sailors.
Not every "storm of life" is due to some action of yours. That's possible, but it's not the only explanation. Some storms are the result of someone else's actions.
Your choices affect others. God help us to live carefully.
Consider this storm from the perspective of the sailors.
Not every "storm of life" is due to some action of yours. That's possible, but it's not the only explanation. Some storms are the result of someone else's actions.
Your choices affect others. God help us to live carefully.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The Impact of One (Rom. 5:12-21)
Everyone has an impact. Adam had an impact, Moses had an impact, Jesus had an impact, and you will have one too.
Impact is determined by choices. Adam chose to rebel and eat the fruit. Jesus chose to lay down His life. You will make choices too.
Your impact outlives you. Without promoting generational curses, let me just say that your choices will affect those around you.
The consequence, positive or negative, is greater than the choice. Adam chose to eat the fruit. Result? Death. Jesus chose to lay down His life. Result? Eternal life for those who believe in Him.
Make wise choices with God's help. Do you think Adam would like to have a mulligan in that fruit situation?
God's choice is greater than man's choice. There is still a consequence for choosing poorly, but the consequence is not the end. Because of God's choice to love and Jesus' choice to die, you can live. You can be forgiven!
The time will come when you have no choice (Phil. 2:9-11). You will bow. You will confess. Gladly choose Jesus now. When you die, it's too late.
Impact is determined by choices. Adam chose to rebel and eat the fruit. Jesus chose to lay down His life. You will make choices too.
Your impact outlives you. Without promoting generational curses, let me just say that your choices will affect those around you.
The consequence, positive or negative, is greater than the choice. Adam chose to eat the fruit. Result? Death. Jesus chose to lay down His life. Result? Eternal life for those who believe in Him.
Make wise choices with God's help. Do you think Adam would like to have a mulligan in that fruit situation?
God's choice is greater than man's choice. There is still a consequence for choosing poorly, but the consequence is not the end. Because of God's choice to love and Jesus' choice to die, you can live. You can be forgiven!
The time will come when you have no choice (Phil. 2:9-11). You will bow. You will confess. Gladly choose Jesus now. When you die, it's too late.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Other Sets of Eyes
You don't really think you can go it alone, I hope. Case in point: Mexico vs. Argentina last Saturday.
I know the referee made a bad call (re: Argentina's first "goal"). Team Mexico knows the referee made a bad call. Everyone watching on TV knows the referee made a bad call. Even fans and players for Argentina know the referee made a bad call.
Everyone makes mistakes. The bad call is not the issue. The issue is that the call stood. There was a brief moment when even the referee seemed to question his call. With stakes so high, the right thing to do was not to be right but to get the call right. Other sets of eyes were not brought into the situation.
One bad call created momentum. Argentina never looked back and Mexico never recovered (from the distraction). Could the outcome of the game have been different had the right call been made?
There is a game with much higher stakes. It's the game of life. Many bad calls in life can be avoided simply by including other sets of eyes. Lesson: Let people speak correction into your life. Easier said than done.
I know the referee made a bad call (re: Argentina's first "goal"). Team Mexico knows the referee made a bad call. Everyone watching on TV knows the referee made a bad call. Even fans and players for Argentina know the referee made a bad call.
Everyone makes mistakes. The bad call is not the issue. The issue is that the call stood. There was a brief moment when even the referee seemed to question his call. With stakes so high, the right thing to do was not to be right but to get the call right. Other sets of eyes were not brought into the situation.
One bad call created momentum. Argentina never looked back and Mexico never recovered (from the distraction). Could the outcome of the game have been different had the right call been made?
There is a game with much higher stakes. It's the game of life. Many bad calls in life can be avoided simply by including other sets of eyes. Lesson: Let people speak correction into your life. Easier said than done.
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