Choices

The choice for Abram was about what was best for everyone; and how to keep peace in his family. Even the hired help was causing a lot of division. Abram's suggestion to part company and go separate ways was meant to salvage relationships among everyone.

For Lot, the choice was about profit and gain. Abram gave Lot the choice of direction to go and which land to claim. Lot chose that land which was, to him, the best and healthiest parcels. His motives weren't as pure as Abram's.

Life is filled with opportunities and choices. Have you ever regretted a decision you made? It is so easy to spout off the top of your head, a decision. Choosing to decide without weighing the consequences can lead to regret and pain. The saying, "Let's sleep on it," is a wise thought. How often I change my mind after having opportunity to pray about something. It is during this prayer process that I think things through thoroughly, weighing the ups and the downs.

When Abram and Lot decided to go their separate ways, Lot looked around and saw where the most promising and well-watered land existed and chose to move there. He took the best share of the land even though it meant living near Sodom. Life is filled with choices and at times our choices bear spiritual consequences.

Abram settled in Canaan and God blessed his choice. “for all the land which you see I will give you and your descendants forever.” (Genesis 13:15)

Is there a choice you are struggling with today?  Perhaps this text could help you make a good decision and become a fruitful path for you.


Genesis 13:8-12

Prayer is Working

Psalm 118:22-24 (NIV) The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;  the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.  This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.    

Just because those in authority say something, doesn't make it so.  When a leader, someone in power, makes a decree, that doesn't mean there is truth to back it up.  Position doesn't dictate perfection; sometimes it only indicates the pursuit of an agenda.  Jesus encountered this when He was up against the Pharisees.  These leaders, religious leaders even, had an agenda and it did not include the things Jesus was teaching.

We all experience rejection at some point in time.  A friend might reject our point of view, a family member could reject our advice, or our peers may reject us when we are given some authority over them.  This is all natural and only means we need to explain ourselves better, or perhaps change our attitude.  When we suffer rejection at the hands of those who we feel should be supporting us, maybe it is time to double check our motives.

But, for Jesus to be rejected by the religious leaders it is apparent these leaders' motives may not have been so pure. Reject usually only means hurt feelings or lost opportunities.  But when Jesus was put through the ultimate rejection, when we was put to death, His opponents caused the the doorway to Heaven be opened.  The rejection of Jesus turned into the acceptance, the salvation of Jesus' followers.

Now we can sing, "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."    Amen.


Read/Listen to Psalm 117,118,119

Hebrews 1:1-3, 13; 8:1-12 - Jesus Serves in Heaven

Don't you love to read the words, "I will be their God, and they will be my people."  There is such comfort in these words.  Given the times we live in, and the newspaper and online headlines which shout that evil reigns, we know better.  As Christians, we know there is evil, that Satan is prowling but we also know that God is there for us.  He is as close as we allow Him to be.

Hebrews 8:10 (NIV)
This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 

When Jesus ascended into Heaven He sent the Holy Spirit to us.  The Life Application Bible Notes lists four promises initiated by the Holy Spirit's presence in us.

1. Reminds us of Christ's words 
2. Activates our conscience
3. Influences our motives
4. Makes us want to obey

The fourth point is one I pray for often.  When I struggle with my desire for food and pray to "want to" practice good eating habits.  Any behavior I have a desire to change requires that I get my "want to" in line.  I want to do the right thing.  Do you struggle with your “want to?”  

Read Hebrews 1:1-3, 13; 8:1-12

Listen to Hebrews 1:1-3, 13; 8:1-12

1 Corinthians 16:1-24

How do we do everything in love?  Two words come to mind when pondering this question; motive and attitude.  Dictionary.com defines these two words this way.  

Motive is something that causes me to act in a certain way, do a certain thing.
Attitude is manner, disposition, feeling, position, with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, especially of the mind: a negative attitude.

We might hear a child say, "It was an accident, I didn't mean to do it."  Sometimes when speaking to God we say the same thing. Our conscience may be convicting us of a wrong doing, and a prompting to make amends pushes us to act with a contrite heart.  When my heart is in the right place and my motives pure, but my actions didn't live up to my intentions.

There was a time when my attitude was not the best, I would allow some one else's actions affect my attitude for the day.  For example, if I were cut off in traffic and experienced a close call, that action could make me crabby the rest of the day.  Getting off on the wrong foot would make look at the day as a lost cause and it had barely begun.

Paul is teaching us to be on our guard, to stay close to Jesus.  My motives and my attitude change when I stand firm each day.  Sensing a closeness to Jesus give me a new and fresh faith every day, it gives me courage and strength I didn't know was possible.  I not only can do everything in love - I want to.  This sounds awfully simple, and it is.

"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love."
(1 Corinthians 16:13-14)

Read the 1 Corinthians 16:1-24 text here.  Listen to an audio reading of 1 Corinthians 16:1-24 here.

Acts 8:5-25

God knows our heart.  That is a frightful concept if your heart is anything like mine. When I read the scripture for today I am given pause to examine my heart, my motives.  I must constantly stay on top of my intentions; making sure I am acting with pure love and humility.  There are times I get to feeling like I am something pretty special when in fact I am just the opposite.

When Simon told Peter he would be willing to pay for the gifts Peter experienced, Peter recognized that Simon's heart was not right with God, his motives were for self-advancement and not the spreading of the Gospel. "When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 8:18-19).


I wonder at times if my heart is filled with a desire to point to Jesus or to point to me. Do you ever wonder the same?  As a sorcerer, Simon used magic to draw crowds to him and when he saw the kind of deeds Phillip was performing Simon thought it too was magic. What Simon didn't realize is that the source of his power was Satan and the source of Phillip's and Peter's power was God.


Lesson for me today is to check my motives and question who the source of my actions is.  If God is the driving force, I am on the right road.


Read Acts 8:5-25 by clicking here.

1 Corinthians 13:1-7

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." (1 Corinthians 13:1) This verse is one of the more recognizable verses in the Bible. You hear it read at weddings often and even some funerals and memorials services.

When I read these verses, they mean to me that no matter what I do or what I say, if my heart is not filled with love I am just a lot of noise. The motive behind all actions must be love or the actions are meaningless. Could you just imagine what our world would be like if we all loved, if every move we made was motivated by love?

This sounds so simple, so easy to do.  Why is our world in the condition it is in? Why do so many reject love while embracing greed and suspicion? Why do so many of God’s children go to bed hungry every night?

I have come to realize that change must happen with me first. I cannot expect you to love me if I do not love you. As the sixth and seventh verse of 1 Corinthians 13 reads, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."  It has to begin right here, with me and I tell you I love all of you reading this right now.  God loves you too.

Read the text for today here at Biblegateway.