MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICES
Dylan Blanton
Today’s Scripture: “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” Romans 1:24-25, ESV
Theme: Choosing lies over Truth hurts us, yet God allows us to choose.
KEEP YOUR LEASH ON
I've had dogs my whole life. I love them! Dogs are so fun, they're loyal, but if we leave them to just do their own thing, they have a tendency to destroy things or get into other types of trouble. That is one of the reasons that we keep them on leashes when we take them on a walk. If we let them do their own thing, act on their own instincts, they may run off to chase a squirrel, run into the road, get into the flower bed, etc. We don't keep them on the leash as a punishment; we do it as protection. We keep them safe because their instincts could lead them into trouble. We can train them to listen to us and follow our directions, so they know what to do, but sometimes they still default back to instinct. People are exactly the same.
MAN'S NATURE IS TO SIN
Yesterday's Scripture shows us that people claimed to know better than God. They replaced Him with other things. Today we see the direct consequences of those choices. Man's base nature leads to sin. It is only with God that we can resist sin. In the same way that we train our dogs to follow our commands, God gives us the commands to follow to help us resist temptation and fight against our baser natures. When we choose not to follow Him, this is what happens. God doesn't want us to make wrong choices, but He gives us free will anyway. This is why it is important to train yourself to stand against your nature.
HOW TO MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE
The good news in all of this is that there was an example set for us to aspire to! Hebrews 4:15 (ESV) says, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." Jesus was tempted just like every other person on earth, yet He never gave in. Instead, we see multiple instances of Him praying to the Father! It can be really easy to fall into the trap of human nature. It is literally who we are as people, but God can help you overcome this. Romans 12:2 (ESV) says "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…". In other words, let God completely change you from the inside out; let Him change the way that you think; let Him help you when you're tempted. Keep Christ above all things, pray and ask for strength and guidance, and follow His commands that He left for us in His Word! This is how we overcome our natures, and become the person that God created us to be. It won't always be easy, and you will make mistakes, but God will always be there to help you get back on track.
Pray: God, thank You for Your Word that guides us towards You! Thank You for allowing us to make the choice to follow Your commands. We ask that You help us when we struggle; keep us focused on growing closer to You! Help us to make the right choices, and admit when we make mistakes, in Your Name! Amen.
Read: Romans 2:22-25, Hebrews 4:14-16
Weekly Memory Verse: “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.” Romans 2:13, ESV