"We have no control"

Lord, I know that our lives do not belong to us.

   We have no control over what happens.

Jeremiah 10:23 ERV

I love the simple phrasing of the “easy to read version” of the Bible. It cuts right to the chase. This verse from Jeremiah really is eye opening. We in our arrogance tend to think that we are independent and self-assured, but really we aren’t our own. Our lives truly don’t belong to us, they belong to whomever we give ourselves to. Really there are only two that we give ourselves to, God or the god of this world. The only true control we exert over our lives is whom we serve. This is the one place we really do have control.

The world goes on around us and events come and go whether we are cognizant of it or not. Every day we make the choice of who will be our master. Who our lives will belong to. If we choose wisely, we serve God. But if choose foolishly, we serve satan. So either way our lives do not belong to us. We have to choose the one that we will give control of our lives over to.

Faithfully following the master we choose has its rewards. Eternal life if we follow God or eternal condemnation if we follow satan. Think about it, we only have two choices and yet we are hard pressed to choose at times. Many things color and cloud our decision making. We have a tendency to be reactive to life’s circumstances, but we need to learn to be proactive in our defense in all circumstances.

Daily we must strike preemptively against  bad choices. We must choose everyday to follow the one that offers hope and freedom, not follow the one that offers slavery and death. We must choose whom we will serve.  “But maybe you don’t want to serve the Lord. You must choose for yourselves today. Today you must decide who you will serve.  “But maybe you don’t want to serve the Lord.” “You must choose for yourselves today. Today you must decide who you will serve.” Joshua 24:15a,c ERV

Choose carefully.

© 2013 Leo J. Woodman

"Like a tree"

So they grow strong,  like a tree planted by a stream—a tree that produces fruit when it should and has leaves that never fall. Everything they do is successful. 

Psalm 1:3 ERV

Why does a tree grow strong by a stream? It grows strong because it has all the nutrients it needs to be healthy and produce fruit. Proper nutrition is important to all living things. Without it strength fails, life eventually ebbs away. A tree planted where water is plentiful will grow tall and strong. Dig it up and move to arid place and it will soon die.

Jesus said; “But anyone who drinks the water I give will never be thirsty again. The water I give people will be like a spring flowing inside them. It will bring them eternal life.” John 4:14 ERV In order to have that life giving water one must come to Jesus and live in him. They need to be planted by that stream that provides eternal nourishment, Jesus.

How can one find this everlasting stream if are they wander about rather than obediently following Jesus? Jesus has called us to be like him, to follow his example. In order to do that we must honor the Father. Honoring the Father means worshipping the Father. How can we worship if we don’t attend worship with the saints, the children of God? We are to gather weekly to worship our Father. Yet many find many other places to be and many other things to do. The Hebrew writer wrote; “We should think about each other to see how we can encourage each other to show love and do good works. We must not quit meeting together, as some are doing. No, we need to keep on encouraging each other. This becomes more and more important as you see the Day getting closer.” Hebrews 10:24,25 ERV When we meet together we encourage one another and strengthen one another. We cannot do that for one another if we are not together.

When we cease to meet and worship with our brothers and sisters we cease to think about them and the encouragement they need. When we don’t gather with the church on the Lord’s day we are not thinking about others, we are being self centered. We don’t worship God as we should and ignore his family. When we’re not in worship we are in an arid place and we will begin to wither and die. The body we should be with will be weaker because of our absence.

Today, let’s consider how we can encourage others and grow stronger together. Let’s purpose in our hearts to gather with the saints this coming Sunday. Let’s encourage and be encouraged by one another before our Father.

© 2013 Leo J. Woodman