hballinger1 Comment

Choices – Life or Death Decisions

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Deuteronomy 30:19‭-‬20 NKJV

Yes, God made us with the ability to choose between life and death. We are not robots following a lifeless script – we have the freedom to respond to life’s circumstances as we see fit. Our hearts desires influence our decisions and choices, and we get to choose moment to moment where we are headed – towards life or towards death.

How we choose to live demonstrates what we value – sin that leads to death – or living, obeying, and clinging to the Lord.

How will we live today? Wisely or foolishly?

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Little Children

Do you ever ponder over the things of God? Do you wonder about His ways? What about the little children? What is their fate? What is ours?

children-are-innocent-childrens-world-16382924-670-405

INNOCENCE

See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. – Ecclesiastes 7:29 ESV

But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 19:14 ESV

And said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 18:3 ESV

But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” – 2 Samuel 12:23 ESV

Autosomal-recessive-inheritance

INHERITANCE

The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. – Ezekiel 18:20 ESV

For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. – 1 Corinthians 7:14 ESV

And as for your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. – Deuteronomy 1:39 ESV

Knowledge

KNOWLEDGE

For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. – Isaiah 7:16 ESV

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. – James 4:17 ESV

Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright. – Proverbs 20:11 ESV

The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. – Psalm 58:3 ESV

I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. – Romans 7:9-11 ESV

Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord’s offering. – Exodus 30:14 ESV

The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. – Psalm 14:2-3 ESV

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. – John 3:6 ESV

For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. – Romans 7:14 ESV

quote-David-Herbert-Lawrence-this-is-the-very-worst-wickedness-that-90120

SIN

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. – Genesis 6:5 ESV

Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. – Ephesians 2:12 ESV

salvation

SALVATION

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, – Romans 4:1-25 ESV

And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. – Genesis 8:21 ESV

Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. – 1 Peter 1:18-19 ESV

Zech4_6

POWER

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. – 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV

That according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being – Ephesians 3:16 ESV

For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. – 1 Corinthians 4:20 ESV

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, – Colossians 1:11 ESV

That your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 2:5 ESV

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. – Isaiah 40:29-31 ESV

repentance

REPENTANCE / RIGHTEOUS JUDGEMENT

Ezekiel 18:1-32
The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.

“If a man is righteous and does what is just and right— if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman in her time of menstrual impurity, does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, does not lend at interest or take any profit, withholds his hand from injustice, executes true justice between man and man, walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord God.

“If he fathers a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things (though he himself did none of these things), who even eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor’s wife, oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, lends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself.

“Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise: he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, does not oppress anyone, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, withholds his hand from iniquity, takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, and walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father’s iniquity; he shall surely live. As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity.

“Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

“But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.

“Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?

“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.”

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Song of Moses,

“Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak,
and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
 
May my teaching drop as the rain,
my speech distill as the dew,
like gentle rain upon the tender grass,
and like showers upon the herb. 
For I will proclaim the name of the Lord ; ascribe greatness to our God! 

“The Rock, his work is perfect,
for all his ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
just and upright is he. 

They have dealt corruptly with him;
they are no longer his children because they are blemished;
they are a crooked and twisted generation. 

Do you thus repay the Lord ,
you foolish and senseless people?
Is not he your father, who created you,
who made you and established you? 

Remember the days of old;
consider the years of many generations;
ask your father, and he will show you,
your elders, and they will tell you. 
When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,
when he divided mankind,
he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. 
But the Lord ’s portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted heritage. 

“He found him in a desert land,
and in the howling waste of the wilderness;
he encircled him, he cared for him,
he kept him as the apple of his eye. 

Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
that flutters over its young,
spreading out its wings,
catching them,
bearing them on its pinions, 
the Lord alone guided him,
no foreign god was with him. 
He made him ride on the high places of the land,
and he ate the produce of the field,
and he suckled him with honey out of the rock,
and oil out of the flinty rock. 
Curds from the herd,
and milk from the flock,
with fat of lambs, rams of Bashan and goats,
with the very finest of the wheat—
and you drank foaming wine made from the blood of the grape. 

“But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked;
you grew fat, stout, and sleek;
then he forsook God who made him
and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation. 
They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods;
with abominations they provoked him to anger. 
They sacrificed to demons that were no gods,
to gods they had never known,
to new gods that had come recently,
whom your fathers had never dreaded. 
You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you,
and you forgot the God who gave you birth. 

“The Lord saw it and spurned them,
because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters. 
And he said,
‘I will hide my face from them;
I will see what their end will be,
for they are a perverse generation,
children in whom is no faithfulness. 
They have made me jealous with what is no god;
they have provoked me to anger with their idols.
So I will make them jealous with those who are no people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. 
For a fire is kindled by my anger,
and it burns to the depths of Sheol,
devours the earth and its increase,
and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains. 

“‘And I will heap disasters upon them;
I will spend my arrows on them; 
they shall be wasted with hunger,
and devoured by plague and poisonous pestilence;
I will send the teeth of beasts against them,
with the venom of things that crawl in the dust. 
Outdoors the sword shall bereave,
and indoors terror,
for young man and woman alike,
the nursing child with the man of gray hairs. 

I would have said,
“I will cut them to pieces;
I will wipe them from human memory,” 
had I not feared provocation by the enemy,
lest their adversaries should misunderstand,
lest they should say,
“Our hand is triumphant,
it was not the Lord who did all this.”’ 

“For they are a nation void of counsel,
and there is no understanding in them. 
If they were wise, they would understand this;
they would discern their latter end! 
How could one have chased a thousand,
and two have put ten thousand to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
and the Lord had given them up? 
For their rock is not as our Rock;
our enemies are by themselves. 
For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah;
their grapes are grapes of poison;
their clusters are bitter; 
their wine is the poison of serpents
and the cruel venom of asps. 

“‘Is not this laid up in store with me,
sealed up in my treasuries? 
Vengeance is mine, and recompense,
for the time when their foot shall slip;
for the day of their calamity is at hand,
and their doom comes swiftly.’ 

For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants,
when he sees that their power is gone
and there is none remaining,
bond or free. 

Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods,
the rock in which they took refuge, 
who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let them rise up and help you;
let them be your protection! 

“‘See now that I, even I, am he,
and there is no god beside me;
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. 
For I lift up my hand to heaven and swear, As I live forever, 
if I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand takes hold on judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
and will repay those who hate me. 
I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword shall devour flesh—
with the blood of the slain and the captives,
from the long-haired heads of the enemy.’ 

“Rejoice with him, O heavens;
bow down to him, all gods,
for he avenges the blood of his children
and takes vengeance on his adversaries.
He repays those who hate him
and cleanses his people’s land.”
Deuteronomy 32:1-43 ESV
http://bible.com/59/deu.32.1-43.ESV

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What is required?

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 NLT
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. And you must always obey the lord ’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
——————————————–

1) Fear/Respect/Hold in Awe the Lord your God
2) Live in a way that pleases God
3) Love and serve him with all your heart and soul
4) Obey the Lord’s commandments

And some may say, but that is Old Testament. I’m under grace.

Yes, grace is sufficient. But let’s be sure that we know grace. Grace isn’t just acknowledging the existence of Christ and then turning our backs to live a life chasing sin. If we have the Holy Spirit in us, won’t He convict us and guide us and lead us in His ways and in His Truth?

So let’s be sure that we aren’t only claiming to be his children, but we are living as his children. Let’s be sure that we are alive in Christ, not dead in sin. If we are saved, we weren’t saved so we could teach others how to sin and to die separated from Christ in their sin – we are saved to be set apart from the world, to love and serve others and to despise and avoid sin in our own lives, and to be a light to others.

FEAR GOD

Yes, if we are not in a close relationship with God, we have much to fear. If we are walking close with him daily, even moment to moment, it shifts more to awe and respect. But even if we think that we are walking hand in hand with God, we should respect and honor God as worthy of our awe that the creator of everything, the Almighty God, the Alpha and the Omega, would take interest in such a creature as ourselves. Humility in the presence of God.

Matthew 10:28 KJV
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Luke 1:50 KJV
And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

LIVE IN A WAY THAT PLEASES GOD

We are to do good and share what we have. We are to renew our minds and present our lives as a living sacrifice, loving and helping others. Repeated offerings for continued sin isn’t what pleases God, but a repented life of mercy and love and forgiveness and service unto others is a pleasing aroma to God.

Hebrews 13:15-16 ESV
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Romans 12:1-2 ESV / 4 helpful votes
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 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.

LOVE AND SERVE GOD

What an amazing opportunity! We get to serve God! In the days of Moses, many served the people, but only the high priest got to interact with the presence of God. Only one man, once a year got to go into the presence of God once a year. Now, we who have Christ in us have the opportunity to draw near to Him ourselves. We don’t have to be theologically trained in order to share our own testimony! We don’t have to get approval from anyone to love and serve others in the name of Jesus Christ and for the honor of God, we just have to put down the chips and the TV remote and get to work loving and serving others and telling them about our Jesus.

1 Samuel 12:24 ESV
Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.

Colossians 3:23-24 ESV
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

2 Corinthians 9:7 ESV
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

OBEY

It is clear that we do not receive Christ in order to remain the same in our sinful lives. But He flips our perspective. When we were evil and in darkness, we despised the list of religious rules, we didn’t want our lives and our desires brought into the light. But when we are his, we love this book of helpful instruction, we want this old filth from our old lives swept out so this temple is equipped for his use and his dwelling with us. Godly obedience is in our hearts, not just in our outward actions. If we follow the rules begrudgingly, we might just be practicing religion. But if we appreciate the guidance and the help as our lives are cleaned up by a repentant heart, that is the type of obedience that meets the mark – change within our hearts and attitudes.