THE FREEDOM OF CHOICE

Freedom of choice, a freedom almost as old as time. We can trace it all the way back to the earliest written records of history: And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:15-17 We Americans, of all people, should understand the freedom of choice. You know “land of the free”, fireworks, hot dogs, apple pie, and Fourth of July. I think you can find in every American history book words, which express our freedom of choice: “freedom of speech”, “freedom of religion”, “freedom of press”, “freedom to assemble”, “freedom to sin”. Well ok, maybe not freedom to sin, but though its not written, it is surely practiced throughout society today.

Sin entered this world through a choice. To eat of the tree, or not to eat of the tree? Sin continues to enter by the same door. It prospers and grows under the disguise of polite labels polluting every level of society. Every time you encounter sin, you make the choice to side with sin or God. Do I choose to watch, listen, participate, tolerate, or just politely ignore, all ways of siding with sin. Or do I turn the program off, walk out of the room, state objections, or fight back?

Sin always starts with a choice and with each wrong choice a new brick is laid that begins to block our view to God a little more. The deeper we entertain sin, the harder it becomes to see the right choice. Blindly we play right into Satan’s plans; plans to steal, kill, and destroy. Choice upon choice, brick upon brick and the Right Way becomes dimmer and dimmer. Joy is stolen, hope is killed, and lives are destroyed. And when sin becomes such that it is exposed in its ugliest raw form, no longer able to hide under the polite labels we once afforded it, Satan further fogs our view entertaining us with thoughts such as I couldn’t help it, I didn’t have a choice, what else could I do? As our vision deteriorates, lies become truth. We do the same as our oldest grandparents did; we point the blame to someone or something else. My kids were driving me crazy, and so I hit them, I got so nervous and so I drank this, ate that, took this. I have worked so hard; I needed a little fun, a little relaxation. Since the basic theme of this article is about being honest, I have to be honest with you and tell you that this article is written from experience. I have dappled, entertained, and wallowed in sin, all by choice. Also, in all honesty I am one who has experienced the delivering power of the blood. Even now, God is delivering me, and suffice it to say, He will always be delivering me from something. You see the closer you come to God, the further away you realize you are. The more you are forgiven, the more forgiveness you realize you need.

We are flesh. We are weak. We all sin. That means we all make wrong choices. So, should we just give up? No, there is help, but you have to start with honesty. Sin is a choice. Unfortunately, the consequences of sin do not just disappear with the right choice. Sometimes they remain and have to be dealt with. Broken relationships, broken health, hurt lives, lives that have fallen apart, a chasm between you and loved ones, a chasm between you and your Father.

So where do we start? Travel back up the road of salvation. Go back to that old rugged cross. Isn’t being delivered from sin called being saved? Jesus is our Savior! He saves, delivers. The resurrection is ours to claim everyday! We are new every morning! So, start under the canopy of grace; recognize your responsibility in relation to your sin, repent and receive the saving grace and power of Jesus to forgive.

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Romans 3:23. Being a Christian, you know that. But you also know that “For God so loved the world (which includes you) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.

I Corinthians 15:3, “Christ died for our sins.” Your sin is no surprise to God. It is no surprise to Jesus. Jesus took our sin on the cross, our sins of yesterday, today and tomorrow. And so acknowledge the sin, acknowledge the saving power of the cross, ask for forgiveness, and ask for help to make the right choice. Satan knows our weakness, he will try to get you with the same sin repeatedly, but the good news is “through our weaknesses He is made strong”. We live not through our own strength, but through the strength of God! In Genesis, we see that “God spoke and it was”. That is real power! Claim it! Hold onto it! Overcome with it!

If you are saying, “ sure, but things have gone too far, are too lost, too impossible.” Well I hate to say this, but you are right, for us they are. In our own strength, we are lost! But don’t stop there! We have a redeemer, a substitute batter. Nothing is too big for Jesus. Let your Brother step up to bat. You can’t loose!

So if you are in an impossible situation recognize your sin, repent and get in good company. Overcome in Jesus. It will not always be easy. Nevertheless, it is not impossible. “All things are possible through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

Start your day with a shower of grace and a powder of mercy. Claim the power of the blood in your life. Become an over-comer in the one who overcame for us!

For the wages of sin is death, But the gift of God is eternal Life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

May Jesus carry out His victory through you! And may your sins be overcome by the power of Elohim, the Creator of heaven and earth!

Shalom,

Cindy

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