make the right choice

Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.” (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) (Acts 1:12-19)

A lot of times you just do not know what to do. In a time of stress, people will do all kinds of things, some constructive and some destructive.

The eleven apostles met together and prayed to relieve their stress. They were quite frankly scared and didn’t know what else to do. So they prayed.

Jesus had left them and they were, at least in their minds, without the presence of God, so they sought that presence in the best way they could: prayer.

Judas also felt abandoned. He of course had brought it on himself when he betrayed Jesus and brought the anger of the rest of the group on himself. He too was without the presence of God. So he did what he felt was necessary. He killed himself.

Both of these were adaptations to stress. But one sought God, the other sought death. One sought relief, the other release.

It would have been easy for the apostles to have felt abandoned. Jesus had told them to wait until they received power, but how long would that be? It could be days, it could be weeks, it could be months, years, decades. How long?

Judas was without God and felt abandoned. He saw no reason to live. He had lost all of his friends, his job, his support group, his own sense of self-image. He was a traitor and a betrayer, one who turned on his own friends and his own teacher. He was no good.

At least in his own mind.

But when it came down to it, he did no different than Peter, except that he got paid better. Peter denied Jesus for a temporary place at the fire. Judas got thirty pieces of silver. But the action was the same. Both denied Jesus. Both got paid. But one came back and the other didn’t.

You betrayed Jesus yourself, not long ago. You can do as Peter did and return, loving Jesus once again. Or you can do as Judas did and figure it is all hopeless and leave your life behind.

Make the right decision.

daily java

Daily Java:

I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your regulations.

(Psalm 119:30) There is a choice on the part of the believer that has to be made. Unless we make that choice, we cannot see God.

Back in the ‘80’s, there was a big campaign by Nancy Reagan called “Just Say No to Drugs.” It was based on personal choice and personal responsibility.

The liberals did nothing but make fun of it. Their idea was that we cannot choose to be good or bad. we need government committees and councils and programs to show us the way to go.

Somehow the idea of individual initiative has gone by the wayside in modern day America. The rugged self-reliance is slowly being replaced by government handouts.

It is the same in Christianity. It is God who draws us and we cannot come to him of our own volition. But it is not done against our wills. We have to say yes to God and accept him. We have to choose his way and turn our backs on the way of evil. We have to choose the Lord. We are not alone in the choice, but it must be ours.

Titus 2:11-13 says For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.

The New International Version says in verse 12, It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions.

There is a choice we make in serving God. He will not drag us kicking and screaming into heaven. It must be our choice.

But we recognize that the choice is two sided. We cannot go to see him under our own power, but it must be done with him.

It is his power that we choose.

As Joshua said in Joshua 24:15: But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.
The liberals who came against Nancy Reagans’ program of personal choice and responsibility were both wrong and fools. We can say no without the government helping us. And we can choose God in our lives.

Just say yes to God and choose him.

daily java

Daily Java: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)

Could God, the holy Father and the One who is love, create evil?

God made good, he made holy, he made pure, he made joy. But he also made us able to choose to do them or not. When we do not, we come into the flip side of those good things.

That is the problem of evil. There is always a counterpart to everything. God created good and the flip side is bad. He could take away bad, but in doing so he would have to take away good.

There is no good without bad. Evil was created by the misuse of his creation. He created the capacity for bad when he made us able to choose.

I like choosing, but there is always a bad side to everything. Love of food brings gluttony, love of a woman brings lust, etc. You take the good and deny the bad.

It is kind of like the computer. I like computers and the internet. Yet there is an underbelly that is incredibly evil. It takes the form of graphic lust and pornography.

But to throw the computer away because the bad is there is to deny the good. To claim that God made the evil in life is like saying that when you have a computer, you look at porn.

God made us with the ability to make a choice. We can choose good or not. We can choose holiness or not.

The responsibility is ours. He will help us in the choice, but it is up to us to make it.

Blaming him is foolish and counterproductive. He loved us enough to give us the ability to choose.

I choose him and his grace.