All tagged choose

Has God called you to believe and/or to serve Him in a way that requires you to sacrifice something you own, or of yourself? Are you at a place in your walk of faith that requires you to make a choice between believing and having faith in Him, and Jesus, or returning to where you once were in faithlessness? Well, every believer comes through such forks in the road, and it separates the true believers who go to the right, from the nonbelievers who turn back to the left. Sometimes it occurs at the first moment of our belief when we must decide who Jesus is, or maybe at other more sacrificial times when we must answer or not answer a challenging call from God.

Yesterday we spoke of being the friend of Jesus in the context of placing him before us in all things, but today we will look at what kind of friend the groom has chosen for His best man. What kind of friend should we truly be?

 

“He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.”

John 3:29 KJV

God doesn't force us to seek and worship Him; our freedom of choice is paramount in our relationship with Him because He desires a true, not contrived, relationship with us. We have asked ourselves many questions over the past years, not the least of them were… Have we dedicated ourselves to the Lord in such a way that we are considered consecrated? And, have our actions and prayers sought out righteousness and allowed God to sanctify us and make us holy? However, an equally important question is this… Do we love Him freely, just as He loves us?

I have been thinking about some thoughts presented by Pastor E.M. Bounds' in his devotional message this morning. I have been contemplating a couple of statements he made that I found quite thought provoking and revealing; the first is "The end of trouble is always good to God." And the second was "Trouble proves a blessing or a curse, depending on how it is received and treated by us." These fit nicely with a conclusion I reached a long time ago. I came to the realization that man is the source of trouble in creation. Let me explain my thoughts...

There comes a point in our faith when we have given ourselves over to God, and we trust so completely in Christ, that the struggle for righteousness ends, and our faith becomes as natural as taking our next breath. Is this what you seek, or do you fight daily with your nature in an attempt to walk the fine line between your earthly life and heaven... not becoming a resident in either place…attempting to be a double citizen?