God always gives us a choice

As I was reading the other day I was struck by a phrase I read in Jeremiah 21:8, which says: ". . . See I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death . . ." There is incredible truth in those few words . . . God does give us a choice. He will set the options before us and let us choose.

We are not forced to choose a certain path - God leaves it up to us. He may tell us the consequences of choosing of a certain path, but He still leaves the decision up to us. If we choose, knowing full well what the consequences are, to go our own way, God will let us. He is not going to force us to go His way. He may nudge and encourage us to go in the direction that He chooses, but He will not force us to go His way.

Really when I think about this, it makes me realize again how much God actually loves and cares for me - for you - for us. He loves and cares for us enough to allow us to make our own choices, even if we make the wrong ones far too often. That is pretty amazing!

And when we choose the wrong path and realize it and turn back to Him, He welcomes us with open arms. We will probably still have to live with the consequences of having chosen that wrong path before, but we will not have to walk through it alone. God will be there with us in the midst of those consequences and He will help to provide us with the tools to choose the right path next time.

give me Jesus

So I have come across tis song that fits so well with my desire for this coming year. It is a very simple song and yet it describes an incredibly profound desire. It is called Give Me Jesus.




I especially love the chorus: Give me Jesus, give me Jesus, You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus

don't let today take up too much of tomorrow

So, usually when I read one of those church signs with a cheesy saying I just dismiss them without a second thought. But, every once in a while it sticks in my head and makes me start to think. Today was one of those times. I was driving along and I read the sign outside a church that I pass often when I go to my parents.I did not think much of it at the time, but it is something that I have had rolling around in the back of my head since then.

don't let today take up too much of tomorrow

I read it once and thought: "oh, that's nice". But then I thought some more and realized the significance in what it was saying. Read it again:

don't let today take up too much of tomorrow

I wonder how many times we do exactly what this is cautioning us not to do. Something happens in our day - whether good or bad - and we take it into the next day to such a degree that we forget about the day we are currently having. Granted it is much easier to do this when it is something bad that happens. But we do this all the time.

Our today takes up most of our tomorrow. Or, to put it another way, yesterday takes up so much of today. When we live this way, we miss so much of life. We are so caught up in what has happened that we do not see what is happening now.

In Scripture, Jesus reminds His listeners that each day has enough trouble of its own so we should not worry about tomorrow. I think we can also say that because each day has enough of its own stuff, we should not be dwelling on and worrying about the past.

Yes, our yesterday could have an influence on our today, and our today could have an influence on our tomorrow. But, we must be careful that we do not get so caught up in it that we miss today - that we miss what God has for us today!