“Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.” – Galatians 6:7-9
Every choice you make in life is either a step in the right or wrong direction.
Every time you come to a fork in the road, or you have to make a decision, or a temptation to disobey God comes, who or what do you turn to for the answer?
Do you base your choices on what feels good?
Do you ask your friends or family?
Do you use your own logic and reason by following your heart?
How Do You Know Which Way To Go?
The world says, “listen to your heart” but God says, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things and desperately wicked.” (Jeremiah 17:9)
As Christians, God doesn’t want us to lean on our own understanding.
He wants us to lean on His.
Many times in life you may feel lost, frustrated or confused, having no idea which way to go.
Instead of waiting for God’s answer, you may try and figure it out all by yourself.
Perhaps you can relate to how I sometimes try to process choices:
“Okay self, this way makes more sense. This idea seems more reasonable. I think this. I feel that…”,
But that is not how God wants us to make decisions in life.
God wants you first and foremost to go to Him, and then wait for His answer before you make a move.
“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” – James 1:5
Many times we go faster when we see a yellow light and do a “California roll” when we see a stop sign. But God wants us to wait until we get His green light before we move forward.
He doesn’t want us to stress and guess what to do.
God wants us to wait until we get His green light before we move forward.
He doesn’t want us to take an option poll.
This is not politics, it’s your personal relationship with Almighty God!
He wants to give you the wisdom to know exactly what to do.
Because as your Good Shepherd, it is His job to direct your steps.
The wisdom, knowledge and understanding in life here on earth don’t come from your opinions, logic, heart or mind.
It comes from God.
It’s given to us through His Word.
And for us to know His Word we need to be in His Word.
Don’t Sell Your Birthright For A Bowl Of Stew!
Esau was the firstborn son to Isaac and Rebekah, but he made a bad choice. (See Genesis 25:29-34)
A bad choice that cost him everything.
Esau took the temporary pleasure offered to him by his twin brother Jacob to satisfy his hunger, a bowl of stew.
In doing so, he forfeited his future inheritance.
He chose the now instead of what was promised to come.
He chose the temporary pleasure by forfeiting the eternal blessing promised to him as the firstborn son.
Don’t let this happen to you!
Satan will tempt you with temporary highs.
- Sex before marriage
- Adultery during marriage
- Addiction/ substance abuse
- Gluttony
- Pride
- Doubt
- Greed
- Discontentment
- Idolatry
- Lust
- Envy
- Hate
But anything and everything that displeases God is called sin.
And habitual, unrepentant sin separates us from God and leads us away from God’s perfect will for our lives.
The choice to give into temptation also grieves the Holy Spirit and hinders the work of God in and through your life.
It prevents you from receiving all that He has for you this side of heaven, and it compromises your prayer life.
Isaiah 59:1-3 shows us how sin is no laughing matter to God.
“Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you,
nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.
It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.
Because of your sins, He has turned away and will not listen anymore.”
Galatians 5:19-21 lists all the sins of the flesh considered to be an abomination to God. Proverbs 6:16-19 also breaks down what God hates.
God doesn’t hate the sinner. After all, He sent His Son to die on the cross for sinners like you and me.
Sin is anything you choose to do, think or say that displeases God, and causes division between you and Him.
If you know what you’re doing is wrong, you need to stop doing it.
“For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.” – 2 Corinthians 7:10
Do you see the difference here between the choice of true repentance versus the choice to continue living in habitual sin?
True repentance is your choice to turn away from sin as if making a literal U-turn away from it.
It’s your choice to start going in the other direction, away from the sin, and in the direction of God.
Your choice to surrender everything to God and lean upon His understanding, grace, and strength to resist the temptations the enemy will throw your way.
Because apart from God you can’t stop sinning!
The Bible says, that “ALL sin and fall short of the glory of God!” (Rom. 3:23)
We all have struggles. We all have weaknesses. And we all have areas in our lives that need Jesus’s blood to completely cover, erase, and make clean. (See Isaiah 1:18)
We are all sinners desperately in need of a Savior.
So with God’s empowering of His Holy Spirit inside of us, we have no excuse for our bad choices! (See John 15:22)
Because with Him, you can say no to sin and yes to God!
You can choose to wait for His best, not give in to His second best!
Because, “We can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us!” (Phil. 4:13)
God Will Help You Choose His Best For Your Life!
So if you’re at a place in your life where you feel stuck and don’t know which way to go or what to do, you haven’t been left alone to figure it out for yourself.
“For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” – Proverbs 2:6
God has an answer for you and wants you to come to Him for it.
He doesn’t want you to follow your heart or follow the crowd.
He wants you to follow Him because you are either for Him or against Him. (See Luke 11:23)
When you open your Bible and ask God to reveal His perfect will to you directly, He will.
Isaiah 55:8 tells us, “God’s thoughts are nothing like your thoughts and God’s ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”
The Bible is your blueprint and has all the answers to your questions.
So if you don’t read God’s Word consistently, it will be impossible for you to know God’s will for your life.
This is so important and you need to take this seriously.
So many Christians forfeit their callings in life because they fail to seek God and walk in obedience to Him.
They choose the temporal over the eternal, the comfortable over the spiritual.
They choose the permissive will of God over His perfect will.
All because they fail to wait on the Lord for His purposes and predestined perfect plans for their lives.
Don’t Choose God’s Second Best By Making Bad Choices
This is the advice I can share with you when it comes to making decisions:
- Always seek God’s will before making any moves
- Always pray for God’s will before making any decisions
- Always look for God’s will in His Word before making any choices!
You’re living in the last hour of the last days. Now is the time to get serious about your relationship with God.
Satan wants to destroy you!
He wants to rob you of your blessings and ultimately destroy your destiny.
So make that choice not to let the enemy win!
Stand on God’s Word and seek God’s will!
Follow God’s path for your life instead of creating your own for you are, “more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus!” (Romans 8:37)
The plans God has for you are good!
They are for a future and a hope! (See Jeremiah 29:11)
Surrender your plans, hopes, and dreams to Him because your God is faithful!
Take Him at His Word, trusting that He will not lead you astray or let you down.
When you have a choice to make, don’t choose to go against God’s will or God’s Word.
Take the time to hear His voice, get His guidance, then follow after His footsteps by obeying His choice.
Hello,
Thank you so much for posting this powerful message. I went through a serious of unfortunate events while growing up in a Christian household and made so many bad choices. I certainly reaped the evil things I did. Very true how we can loose our inheritance for the bad choices we make, but more true that God always opens his arms for us and his hand is never too short.
Amen and Amen! Thank you so much for your response! Yes, I too made SO many bad choices and well, don’t always make the best decisions in life now..but you’re so right!
God is always there with opened arms waiting for us to come back home to Him….similar to the story of the prodigal son and father. There is nothing we can do that God wont forgive if we truly ask Him to! It’s amazing how much He loves us, unconditionally.
For the longest time, I would condemn myself and beat myself up for bad choices I’ve made…but God would always remind me…that is why He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross….because as human beings…we are not perfect…and are sinners saved by grace!!
I love Romans 3:23 “All sin and fall short of the glory of God”…how if we were perfect….we would be self-righteous…but we aren’t! Praise God it is by faith alone, through grace alone, amen!? =] =] God is so good!
Praying God continues to be the lifter of your head and director of your path. =] God bless you!
Amanda
Proverbs 3:5-6
Hello,
Thank you so much for posting this powerful message. I went through a serious of unfortunate events while growing up in a Christian household and made so many bad choices. I certainly reaped the evil things I did. Very true how we can loose our inheritance for the bad choices we make, but more true that God always opens his arms for us and his hand is never too short.
Amen and Amen! Thank you so much for your response! Yes, I too made SO many bad choices and well, don’t always make the best decisions in life now..but you’re so right!
God is always there with opened arms waiting for us to come back home to Him….similar to the story of the prodigal son and father. There is nothing we can do that God wont forgive if we truly ask Him to! It’s amazing how much He loves us, unconditionally.
For the longest time, I would condemn myself and beat myself up for bad choices I’ve made…but God would always remind me…that is why He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross….because as human beings…we are not perfect…and are sinners saved by grace!!
I love Romans 3:23 “All sin and fall short of the glory of God”…how if we were perfect….we would be self-righteous…but we aren’t! Praise God it is by faith alone, through grace alone, amen!? =] =] God is so good!
Praying God continues to be the lifter of your head and director of your path. =] God bless you!
Amanda
Proverbs 3:5-6
God bless you
God bless you too! Praying God reveals Himself in a powerful way as you continue to drive deep into His Word. =]
God bless you
God bless you too! Praying God reveals Himself in a powerful way as you continue to drive deep into His Word. =]
Praise God. Thank you for the piece and the words of the Holy Spirit.
Hi Cherie!
Thank you so much for your response. I pray God continues to encourage you and bless you in your walk with Him. =]
Praise God. Thank you for the piece and the words of the Holy Spirit.
Hi Cherie!
Thank you so much for your response. I pray God continues to encourage you and bless you in your walk with Him. =]
This is exactly what I needed to hear! God is great! Thank you so much for this reading!
Praise God Monique! To Him be all the glory! =]
Amen ??
This is exactly what I needed to hear! God is great! Thank you so much for this reading!
Praise God Monique! To Him be all the glory! =]
Amen ??
I made some bad decisions in my marriage and we are headed to divorce court.. I believe with my whole heart that Satan attacked my marriage and destroyed it.. But I wasn’t careful enough to see his evil ways.. He attacked me personally and won…. I will always live with the regret and guilt.. Satan is very sneaky… I will be more vigilant of him now.. Hopefully my children will not be too badly affected by all of this… They are very young still… Just babies
Hi Chris,
Thank you so much for being so transparent about everything you’re going through. The truth is, we all make mistakes. Some just greater than others. The Bible says, “all sin and fall short of the glory of God.” – Romans 3:23 and “There are none righteous, no not one.” – Romans 3:10. Before I surrendered my life to Jesus…I made so many bad choices…I even got pregnant during my party lifestyle and lived so recklessly using drugs, being an alcoholic, promiscuous, you name it. And when I finally repented and asked God for forgiveness and laid all that sin down at the foot of the cross. He changed me completely. He broke all my addictions to drugs, alcohol, even pornography, and completely changed my life. But…I still had to “reap what I sowed”. (Galatians 6:7) That’s because our actions and choices whether good or bad always have a reaction…a consequence. For example, smoking cigarettes (I used to be such a heavy smoker back in the day.) If I never quit smoking….more likely than not I’d end up getting cancer. Now I can’t blame anyone or anything that I got cancer because I chose to smoke. It’s a probable consequence of my action. And that goes for all sin no matter what it is.
Being a single mom to a dad that wanted nothing to do with me or our son was so hard! I even have health issues now from the bad choices I made so many years ago. But my eternal destination changed from hell to heaven, and I’m living a life of freedom, hope, and the power of God, no longer under the power and control and bondage of satan. It took some time but God also brought me a husband who loves my son as his own…and has given me so many blessings I can’t even count them! But still, I’m far from perfection. And as Christians, we won’t be perfect until we get to heaven. We are God’s works in progress and if you let Him, He will mold you and change you and transform you completely.
So let me tell you first hand…be encouraged…nothing is impossible with God. Jesus Christ is more powerful than satan and He will give you power over sin if you ask Him to. There is always hope with Jesus no matter how hopeless it seems. Yes you’re in a bad situation…but God can restore it and change everything around! He takes our messes…what the enemy intends for evil…and can turn it all around for good! (Genesis 50:20). The only way to defeat satan and overcome temptations are by the power of the Holy Spirit and the name of Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13. It’s a spiritual battle you see. My advice would be to:
1. Start attending a Bible teaching church if you’re not already and get plugged into marriage counseling or if your spouse doesn’t want to attend, start talking which a pastor about what’s been going on. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
2. Pray – really pour out your heart to God and I promise you…He will listen to you and answer you according to His perfect will. (Jeremiah 29:13)
3. Read the Bible every single day. I cannot stress enough how important reading the Bible is to your life. Through daily bible reading you will be refreshed, revived, delivered, encouraged, strengthened, etc. (Psalm 1:1-2) This is what changed me so much, reading God’s Word every single day.
4. Living a life of full surrender. Luke 9:23 says, “If anyone wants to come after Me let him deny himself and carry his cross daily and follow Me.” SO much easier said than done but again, this is where you rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to say no to sin and yes to God.
I know this is a lot to take in but I just want to encouraged you to keep pressing on. God is with you and will help you. If you’d like prayer or counsel over the phone we have a pastor on duty here at CCSB you can call at 310-352-3333.
God bless you, Chris. 1 Timothy 6:11-12 for you!
In His Grace, Amanda
I made some bad decisions in my marriage and we are headed to divorce court.. I believe with my whole heart that Satan attacked my marriage and destroyed it.. But I wasn’t careful enough to see his evil ways.. He attacked me personally and won…. I will always live with the regret and guilt.. Satan is very sneaky… I will be more vigilant of him now.. Hopefully my children will not be too badly affected by all of this… They are very young still… Just babies
Hi Chris,
Thank you so much for being so transparent about everything you’re going through. The truth is, we all make mistakes. Some just greater than others. The Bible says, “all sin and fall short of the glory of God.” – Romans 3:23 and “There are none righteous, no not one.” – Romans 3:10. Before I surrendered my life to Jesus…I made so many bad choices…I even got pregnant during my party lifestyle and lived so recklessly using drugs, being an alcoholic, promiscuous, you name it. And when I finally repented and asked God for forgiveness and laid all that sin down at the foot of the cross. He changed me completely. He broke all my addictions to drugs, alcohol, even pornography, and completely changed my life. But…I still had to “reap what I sowed”. (Galatians 6:7) That’s because our actions and choices whether good or bad always have a reaction…a consequence. For example, smoking cigarettes (I used to be such a heavy smoker back in the day.) If I never quit smoking….more likely than not I’d end up getting cancer. Now I can’t blame anyone or anything that I got cancer because I chose to smoke. It’s a probable consequence of my action. And that goes for all sin no matter what it is.
Being a single mom to a dad that wanted nothing to do with me or our son was so hard! I even have health issues now from the bad choices I made so many years ago. But my eternal destination changed from hell to heaven, and I’m living a life of freedom, hope, and the power of God, no longer under the power and control and bondage of satan. It took some time but God also brought me a husband who loves my son as his own…and has given me so many blessings I can’t even count them! But still, I’m far from perfection. And as Christians, we won’t be perfect until we get to heaven. We are God’s works in progress and if you let Him, He will mold you and change you and transform you completely.
So let me tell you first hand…be encouraged…nothing is impossible with God. Jesus Christ is more powerful than satan and He will give you power over sin if you ask Him to. There is always hope with Jesus no matter how hopeless it seems. Yes you’re in a bad situation…but God can restore it and change everything around! He takes our messes…what the enemy intends for evil…and can turn it all around for good! (Genesis 50:20). The only way to defeat satan and overcome temptations are by the power of the Holy Spirit and the name of Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13. It’s a spiritual battle you see. My advice would be to:
1. Start attending a Bible teaching church if you’re not already and get plugged into marriage counseling or if your spouse doesn’t want to attend, start talking which a pastor about what’s been going on. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
2. Pray – really pour out your heart to God and I promise you…He will listen to you and answer you according to His perfect will. (Jeremiah 29:13)
3. Read the Bible every single day. I cannot stress enough how important reading the Bible is to your life. Through daily bible reading you will be refreshed, revived, delivered, encouraged, strengthened, etc. (Psalm 1:1-2) This is what changed me so much, reading God’s Word every single day.
4. Living a life of full surrender. Luke 9:23 says, “If anyone wants to come after Me let him deny himself and carry his cross daily and follow Me.” SO much easier said than done but again, this is where you rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to say no to sin and yes to God.
I know this is a lot to take in but I just want to encouraged you to keep pressing on. God is with you and will help you. If you’d like prayer or counsel over the phone we have a pastor on duty here at CCSB you can call at 310-352-3333.
God bless you, Chris. 1 Timothy 6:11-12 for you!
In His Grace, Amanda
I’m very lost and confused at this moment. By what you wrote and explained from personal experience that if we sin and fall victim to Satan’s temptation, then we have altered or given up said blessings that were in store for us. Please help me understand because I am at a jumping off point if God is really there or not or did I mess up to many times or is he just to busy to help me out with what I bring to him every day or is it that my faith isn’t strong enough so I don’t earn his blessings.
To be honest from your article one may take it as they have more power over the sovereign power of God if they were to sell for second best. An that God loves to redeem us and save us but still pretty upset with us all hence we don’t get the full blessing that was originally intended for us.
Hi Jared!
Thank you so much for your comment. When you surrender your life to Jesus Christ and repent from your sins, you now have the assurance of eternal salvation. That is something you cannot lose once you’ve received it because it’s a free gift of grace…not of works (whether you’re “good” or “bad”). Now God once He has you…will begin a work deep within your heart and life. He will change you from the inside out…as you read the Bible, pray, attend church, etc., you will begin to grow and mature spiritually. But that doesn’t mean you still won’t have to make choices. God wants you to ask Him before you choose to do anything! But also, He wants you to rely on His strength to resist temptation and make “good” choices that honor Him not “bad” choices that will hinder your walk with Him and ultimately cause you pain or heartache.
Again, once we choose to follow Jesus we will face temptations, trials, tests, and have choices to make because God has given us a free will. God’s Word the Bible lists so many rules so to speak that warns Christians not to give into…for example…sexual immorality (adultery, sex before marriage, pornography, homosexuality, etc.), drunkedness/ using drugs (anything that alters your mind), putting something or someone before God (idolatry), murder, lying, stealing, etc. etc. etc. Now the temptation will be there to do these things because as human beings it is our natural inclination to do them…to sin…because the Bible says “all sin and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23) But, as Christians we have something the non-believer doesn’t have….the power of God through His Holy Spirit that lives inside of us.
This power…is stronger than temptation, the devil, and when we ask for it….think of a superhero…it everything changes. God almighty enables you to resist that temptation and not give into it. But you must also chose to walk away…to flee…to get out of there as well.
“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” – 1 Corinthians 10:13
But, the urge to sin is still there. And sometimes, we do give in. Now when we give in to sin again it doesn’t mean we’re going to hell or God hates us or anything like that. But the choice does have a cause and effect. A consequence. “You reap what you sow” For example, if I choose to get drunk, and I drive home from the bar and I crash into another car and I kill someone….I’ll be going to jail. Now that wasn’t God’s plan for me. I chose to get drunk and not rely of His strength to flee from that temptation. So I’m stuck with the consequences of the bad choice I chose to make. Now say, because I’m in jail for 20 years, I’ll be missing out on all the blessings God had in store for my life…maybe He wanted me to attend a missions trip to a 3rd world country and help the poor. Or, He wanted me to share my faith with someone at work and they get saved. Etc. Etc. Etc. Does that kind of make sense? So now I’m in jail…as a consequence of my bad choice to disobey God’s Word that says don’t get drunk and I’m reaping that consequence and missing out on all the blessings God had for me. Or, what if in that car accident I was driving drunk in…I end up dying. There goes my whole life here on earth and all the plans God had for me.
You see, God is sovereign yes. He can do anything! He could have had that bar I was going to go get drunk at burn down so I wouldn’t go there. Or, He could have put someone in my path to warn me and encourage me not to go. But ultimately, it is my choice. If He burned the bar down…I could have chosen to get drunk at another one. Or, He could have warned me through that person to not go…but I could have brushed them off and went anyway. Does that kind of make sense? Now say I went to jail and didn’t die from the accident. I can always, always repent and ask for God’s forgiveness and He can forgive me…and He can use me to share my faith in prison…or He can still turn things around and bless me somehow in some way…but I’d still be missing out on the greater blessing that would have come from my obedience to not have gotten drunk in the first place. Before I got saved I used to get drunk all the time! And drive drunk! Now it’s by God’s grace that I never did get into a car accident so this ultimately shows the sovereignty of God. I truly believe God was watching over me even when I wasn’t right with Him and walking in obedience to His Word. But that was a risk I was taking. I didn’t know I wasn’t going to crash…and kill someone…and got to jail…all of that very well could have happened. So you see…it’s all a matter of your choices.
Another example is having sex before marriage. Now I can make the choice to do this…but there will be a consequence as an effect. I can get pregnant, get AIDS or another STD, end up giving my whole heart and life to the wrong person, get hurt emotionally or psychologically, etc. So yes I can sin…and ask for God to forgive me and still make it into heaven…but I’d be living a miserable life. Because when I sow to the flesh…I will reap destruction. But when I sow to the Spirit (obedience and that which is pleasing to God)…I will reap eternal life…and blessings for my obedience.
Now God is God….ultimately…He can do anything He wills to do. He can show mercy to whoever He wants and not show mercy to whoever He wants. Read (Romans 9) it really breaks this concept down. But the good rule of thumb is to do your best to rely upon God’s strength and resist the temptations to disobey Him.
NO ONE IS TOO FAR FROM GOD’S GRACE!
There is NOTHING you can do that would ever prevent God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness if you ask Him to forgive you. Heaven is not a place for perfect people…it’s a place for forgiven imperfect people.
So be encouraged Jared.
God loves you SO MUCH…just the way you are. Nothing can separate you from His love…nothing! Because His love is not based on your choices….it’s based on who you are—His creation. God is full of compassion and knows how hard it is to obey Him. The commandments weren’t given to show mankind how perfect they are…no way! No one can keep all the 10 commandments on their own! Because they were given to show how imperfect mankind is…and how desperately they needed a Savior. That’s again why God sent His Son Jesus Christ to be born from a virgin…to live a sinless life…and die a horrible death all for our sins. Paying the price for them so we ourselves wouldn’t have to. Jesus then rose from the grave…forever breaking the curse of death and enabling anyone who chooses again to simply believe in Him everlasting life in heaven. A free gift you cannot earn or lose…but simply say yes to and receive.
I hope that answered your question…if not…please let me know and I can try and explain further. I’m praying for you Jared. Know that you’re never alone and God loves you so much! If you ever need to talk to a pastor or need prayer…please don’t hesitate to call our church office at 310-352-3333. We have pastors available free of charge to help you any way they can. God bless you!
Here are some good articles that also answer your question. =] Jeremiah 29:11 for you!
https://www.gotquestions.org/repentance.html
https://www.gotquestions.org/you-reap-what-you-sow.html
https://www.gotquestions.org/consequences-of-sin.html
In His Grace,
Amanda
I’m very lost and confused at this moment. By what you wrote and explained from personal experience that if we sin and fall victim to Satan’s temptation, then we have altered or given up said blessings that were in store for us. Please help me understand because I am at a jumping off point if God is really there or not or did I mess up to many times or is he just to busy to help me out with what I bring to him every day or is it that my faith isn’t strong enough so I don’t earn his blessings.
To be honest from your article one may take it as they have more power over the sovereign power of God if they were to sell for second best. An that God loves to redeem us and save us but still pretty upset with us all hence we don’t get the full blessing that was originally intended for us.
Hi Jared!
Thank you so much for your comment. When you surrender your life to Jesus Christ and repent from your sins, you now have the assurance of eternal salvation. That is something you cannot lose once you’ve received it because it’s a free gift of grace…not of works (whether you’re “good” or “bad”). Now God once He has you…will begin a work deep within your heart and life. He will change you from the inside out…as you read the Bible, pray, attend church, etc., you will begin to grow and mature spiritually. But that doesn’t mean you still won’t have to make choices. God wants you to ask Him before you choose to do anything! But also, He wants you to rely on His strength to resist temptation and make “good” choices that honor Him not “bad” choices that will hinder your walk with Him and ultimately cause you pain or heartache.
Again, once we choose to follow Jesus we will face temptations, trials, tests, and have choices to make because God has given us a free will. God’s Word the Bible lists so many rules so to speak that warns Christians not to give into…for example…sexual immorality (adultery, sex before marriage, pornography, homosexuality, etc.), drunkedness/ using drugs (anything that alters your mind), putting something or someone before God (idolatry), murder, lying, stealing, etc. etc. etc. Now the temptation will be there to do these things because as human beings it is our natural inclination to do them…to sin…because the Bible says “all sin and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23) But, as Christians we have something the non-believer doesn’t have….the power of God through His Holy Spirit that lives inside of us.
This power…is stronger than temptation, the devil, and when we ask for it….think of a superhero…it everything changes. God almighty enables you to resist that temptation and not give into it. But you must also chose to walk away…to flee…to get out of there as well.
“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” – 1 Corinthians 10:13
But, the urge to sin is still there. And sometimes, we do give in. Now when we give in to sin again it doesn’t mean we’re going to hell or God hates us or anything like that. But the choice does have a cause and effect. A consequence. “You reap what you sow” For example, if I choose to get drunk, and I drive home from the bar and I crash into another car and I kill someone….I’ll be going to jail. Now that wasn’t God’s plan for me. I chose to get drunk and not rely of His strength to flee from that temptation. So I’m stuck with the consequences of the bad choice I chose to make. Now say, because I’m in jail for 20 years, I’ll be missing out on all the blessings God had in store for my life…maybe He wanted me to attend a missions trip to a 3rd world country and help the poor. Or, He wanted me to share my faith with someone at work and they get saved. Etc. Etc. Etc. Does that kind of make sense? So now I’m in jail…as a consequence of my bad choice to disobey God’s Word that says don’t get drunk and I’m reaping that consequence and missing out on all the blessings God had for me. Or, what if in that car accident I was driving drunk in…I end up dying. There goes my whole life here on earth and all the plans God had for me.
You see, God is sovereign yes. He can do anything! He could have had that bar I was going to go get drunk at burn down so I wouldn’t go there. Or, He could have put someone in my path to warn me and encourage me not to go. But ultimately, it is my choice. If He burned the bar down…I could have chosen to get drunk at another one. Or, He could have warned me through that person to not go…but I could have brushed them off and went anyway. Does that kind of make sense? Now say I went to jail and didn’t die from the accident. I can always, always repent and ask for God’s forgiveness and He can forgive me…and He can use me to share my faith in prison…or He can still turn things around and bless me somehow in some way…but I’d still be missing out on the greater blessing that would have come from my obedience to not have gotten drunk in the first place. Before I got saved I used to get drunk all the time! And drive drunk! Now it’s by God’s grace that I never did get into a car accident so this ultimately shows the sovereignty of God. I truly believe God was watching over me even when I wasn’t right with Him and walking in obedience to His Word. But that was a risk I was taking. I didn’t know I wasn’t going to crash…and kill someone…and got to jail…all of that very well could have happened. So you see…it’s all a matter of your choices.
Another example is having sex before marriage. Now I can make the choice to do this…but there will be a consequence as an effect. I can get pregnant, get AIDS or another STD, end up giving my whole heart and life to the wrong person, get hurt emotionally or psychologically, etc. So yes I can sin…and ask for God to forgive me and still make it into heaven…but I’d be living a miserable life. Because when I sow to the flesh…I will reap destruction. But when I sow to the Spirit (obedience and that which is pleasing to God)…I will reap eternal life…and blessings for my obedience.
Now God is God….ultimately…He can do anything He wills to do. He can show mercy to whoever He wants and not show mercy to whoever He wants. Read (Romans 9) it really breaks this concept down. But the good rule of thumb is to do your best to rely upon God’s strength and resist the temptations to disobey Him.
NO ONE IS TOO FAR FROM GOD’S GRACE!
There is NOTHING you can do that would ever prevent God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness if you ask Him to forgive you. Heaven is not a place for perfect people…it’s a place for forgiven imperfect people.
So be encouraged Jared.
God loves you SO MUCH…just the way you are. Nothing can separate you from His love…nothing! Because His love is not based on your choices….it’s based on who you are—His creation. God is full of compassion and knows how hard it is to obey Him. The commandments weren’t given to show mankind how perfect they are…no way! No one can keep all the 10 commandments on their own! Because they were given to show how imperfect mankind is…and how desperately they needed a Savior. That’s again why God sent His Son Jesus Christ to be born from a virgin…to live a sinless life…and die a horrible death all for our sins. Paying the price for them so we ourselves wouldn’t have to. Jesus then rose from the grave…forever breaking the curse of death and enabling anyone who chooses again to simply believe in Him everlasting life in heaven. A free gift you cannot earn or lose…but simply say yes to and receive.
I hope that answered your question…if not…please let me know and I can try and explain further. I’m praying for you Jared. Know that you’re never alone and God loves you so much! If you ever need to talk to a pastor or need prayer…please don’t hesitate to call our church office at 310-352-3333. We have pastors available free of charge to help you any way they can. God bless you!
Here are some good articles that also answer your question. =] Jeremiah 29:11 for you!
https://www.gotquestions.org/repentance.html
https://www.gotquestions.org/you-reap-what-you-sow.html
https://www.gotquestions.org/consequences-of-sin.html
In His Grace,
Amanda
Very good ideas! The world’s consumer-based world economy has instilled a programmed habitual influence over all our choices – so that even in our spiritual decisions, we believe that we may select, or decline, elements of our altered reality much like we choose items in a Walmart. The Bible does not teach this.
Hi Mstair,
Please be careful to believe anything that is not Biblical. Remember, even though society may try to influence our choices we still have the free will to make the choice or not. We cannot blame or justify our choices on anything or anyone else. The Bible clearly says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.” So yes! We may be bombarded with all these influences but again, we have the choice to either give into the desires of our flesh and partake in that sin….or….choose to rather rely on God’s strength to overcome it and not give into the sin. One day we will all stand before God in judgment for all the choices we made throughout our lifetime…and we will all be held accountable for our own actions…because again He has given us all a free will…..our own choices…to obey Him and His Word or not. I hope that helps! Thank you so much for your comment. =] Here’s another article about free will for a Christain. =] https://www.gotquestions.org/free-will.html
Blessings,
Amanda
Galatians 6:7
And to think that all i ever wanted for a good single man like me was to have a good wife and family that i never had since God really punished me with singleness, and it wasn’t my choice at all either.
Hi Paul,
There is a singleness talked about in the Bible but it sounds like to me…you don’t have this gift. People who have it truly have absolutely no desire to get married and have the family that you clearly desire to have. I was single for a long time and didn’t want to be. I prayed for 6 years and waited and waited for God to give me a husband. And you know what…a year and a half ago He did! He brought me my husband when I was least expecting it. On a missions trip in New York! So please don’t lose heart that you will never get married. Chances are, God has actually placed that specific desire in your heart so He can one day fulfill it. Maybe your wife is still getting prepared by God for you…or maybe God is still preparing you for her? Personally speaking….if God answered my prayer for a husband when I first started praying for one it would have honestly been a disaster for both of us. 6 years ago…we both just weren’t ready for marriage. And even now, it’s so much harder than I ever thought it would be. So be encouraged. There are so many single women here at church still waiting to get married just like you. Be patient and really wait for God’s perfect will in this okay. Serve Him and focus on becoming the best husband you can be and I promise you, when you and your wife are both ready God will open that door He’s preordained for you all along. Keep praying for a wife and a family and keep trusting His perfect timing. A brother here at church was praying and praying for a wife and a family too. He is in his 40’s and was never married and was losing hope. And then bam! Seemingly out of nowhere God brought him his wife and they’ve been married about a year and even have a little baby. So you see…you’re not alone and you’re not hopeless. Keep focusing on serving God and walking in obedience to His Word and He will give you the desires of your heart. =] Trust me…He did this exact thing for me!! Psalm 37:4 for you.
– Amanda
All my life I been an overt analytical person. Fearing everything. I never measured up to my family growing up. So I always fear making mistakes. So I am dating a wonderful girl who is Christian, so is her family and I have been openly welcomed into their church. But the fears always run through my head. I get that fear like “What if I’m with the wrong girl. What if this is not his perfect plan, what if I go to Hell for staying with her because what if it’s not that perfect plan.” I get scared of going to hell for going down wrong life path.
Hi Al,
Please rest assured that your salvation is NOT contingent on your choices or works! Ephesians 2:8-9 assures us that, “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” Once you gave your heart and life to Jesus your eternal destination is secure. =]
About your fear of marrying the wrong person, I felt the EXACT same way when I was dating my current husband. I was so scared to be marrying the wrong person too! But as I continued to pray and read God’s Word and seek His will…God comforted my heart and spoke to me about it. We’ve been married for 2 years now and it’s definitely not perfect lol marriage is SO hard sometimes. But, I truly believe I made the right choice. Sometimes you simply need to take a step of faith. Is it scary at times? Yes! Is it uncomfortable at times? Absolutely! But as you take that step of faith you believe God is leading you in…He will show Himself as faithful and provide the footing you need to stand upon the waters not sink beneath it. Amen?
A verse you can start praying is from Revelation 3:7-8: “…This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open: “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.”
In other words, the doors God opens no man can close and the doors God closes no man can open! So regarding this lady your courting…pray God if this is of You, please open the door but if it’s not, please close the door! And then trust by faith that He will.
Fear is not from God. It is a tactic the devil is using in your life to paralyze you from moving forward. When the fear comes, pray this, “Jesus, I plead your blood over my mind. Take all these thoughts captive that are not of you.” Rebuke the devil Al in Jesus name! Stop letting him rule and reign in your life. Allow the truth of His Word to speak louder in your life than the lies of the devil. God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7) God will lead and guide your life, as you seek His perfect will, and you surrender your life to Him. Every day, read His Word. And pray for Him to direct your steps.
Also, we have a pastor staff here free of charge to pray for you and encourage you. Don’t hesitate to call 310-352-3333, okay.
Praying for you! Proverbs 3:5-7 for you!
– Amanda
So what if i made a bad choice regarding a marriage partner and I am now divorced, i am feeling really lost now how do i correct that, what shld my prayer be??
Hi Annie,
Thank you so much for sharing what you’re going through. Please never think your life is now hopeless. Romans 8:28 says, “God works all things together for good for those who love God, those who are called according to His purposes”. So there is always hope no matter how hopeless it seems for God to turn things around and do a miracle. Maybe God will bring you a godly husband you can marry. Maybe He will change you and your ex-husband’s heart and you’ll remarry one day. Maybe He will give you the gift of singleness, etc. I personally knew women who have experienced those options. This is where you need to be still and seek God with all of your heart. Read His Word daily. Attend a bible teaching church and a women’s bible study. Pray without ceasing for God to encourage you and give you His will and direction and really surrender your life and this divorce to Him. Whatever you do, never ever believe the lie from the devil that your life is now over and will never get better! Again, my mom, my close friend and so many ladies here at the church have gone through a divorce and God turned it around somehow, someway.
The key is from now on….strive to make choices that honor Him and are in obedience to His word. It’s definitely easier said than done, and we will never be perfect this side of heaven, but as you draw closer to God, the more He will change the desires of your heart to align with His, and the more He will give you the desires of your heart according to His perfect will for your life
Also, we have a pastoral staff here at the church that would love to pray with you and give you some sound biblical advice. =] Please call 310-352-3333 or email us at https://ccsb3.wpenginepowered.com/contact-us. Praying God gives you peace, healing, comfort, and wisdom!
Praying for you! Psalm 37:4 for you!
<3 Amanda
Thank you soo much Amanda for this word of truth! You have encouraged me to repentant and turn away. Your a 100% correct I am saved by grace and God’s grace is so awesome!! I have been saved and filled with his spirit since I was 12. I have done something that I understand why I had this spiritual warfare dream. I am married pregnant and watched something I should not have due to my hormones raging with this pregnancy. But no excuses I will stay in my word pray and continue to ask the father for forgiveness until a change happens. Thank you so much I want to call someone at my church to pray with me but embarrassed to confront them with what I watched. I do t want my baby to be brought into this world with a spiritual attacking on him. I don’t want my husband to walk away from us because the devil thinks he’s won! I am stronger than this. I am going to study the scriptures you have listed above for temptation. Please pray for me in agreement that I am an overcomer and my sin is forgiven
Hi Rita,
Thank you so much for sharing! And trust me, you’re in good company! All of us sin and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 2:23). And you’re doing the right thing! Making the choice to turn from that sin and not keep giving into it. And, seeking God’s grace and strength to overcome it and resist it. So please, don’t beat yourself up and condemn yourself. The Bible says, “there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus”. So pick yourself up, ask for forgiveness and keep moving forward. Praying for you sister!
Proverbs 24:16 for you!
<3 Amanda
I believe God has used my most horrible mistakes for my good. I don’t live in regret. It may not seem like God has a purpose for your mistakes, but revisit this 10+ years later and see how if it wasn’t for those mistakes you wouldn’t be where you are. My most horrible sins that I made before I turned to God ended up being how I tesitified and led similar folks to him, so I do believe that going through those years in the dark where predestined and vital for my journey. Just have faith that God is in control. I also don’t believe in free will as much as a lot of Christians just because of all the meaningful coincidences I’ve seen in my life.
Hi Sadie,
Thank you so much for your comment! In the Bible, it says, “God works all things together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes.” – Romans 8:28 It’s one of my favorite promises from God because it reminds me, God truly is in control of all things. I too look back on my life and see how so many mistakes I made [especially when I wasn’t walking with the Lord] He has turned around for good. Last year I was asked to share my testimony at a women’s retreat in front of 300+ ladies and I was completely transparent. And even though they were all mistakes…drinking, partying, drugs, etc…so many ladies were blessed by the work God did in my life to transform me from the person I was, into the person I am today, just like He’s doing in your life as you share your testimony.
But, was God happy with or did He predestine me to live a life of sin and rebellion. Definitely not. That was my free will choice, and even though God turned some of those bad choices around for good [eventually] I still had to reap the negative consequences they brought into my life. (Gal. 6:7)
For example, when I wasn’t walking with the Lord and got pregnant at 21 from a guy I didn’t even know at a party…that was a bad choice I made right? I wasn’t married to this guy. We weren’t in a serious relationship. Etc. I was just living life how I wanted to; giving into the desires of the flesh. Fast forward to now, 9 years later, my son is a blessing to my life! I love him more than I’ll ever be able to express and am so thankful for him! But being a single mom for 7 years was hard! I had to drop out of college. Had to live at home with my parents because I couldn’t afford my own place. etc. et. etc.
People who sin think it only affects them, but it doesn’t! It affects those around them too! My son, for example, grew up without a dad and to this day has no idea who his biological father is which caused/causes him insecurity, trouble submitting to authority figures, a struggle between him and his new dad (my husband I married 2 yrs ago), issues in school, plus other negative results stemming from my personal choice to have sex outside of marriage.
So you see. Yes, I made a bad choice (sleeping around while intoxicated and getting pregnant). Did God turn it around for good…eventually…Absolutely! Do I regret that choice I made…no way! Because I love my son and wouldn’t trade him for anything! But, it has been an extremely difficult journey as a consequence of that choice.
So yes, you’re right. God will use situations in our lives to further His kingdom and bring Him glory. But again, He will not encourage us to sin or predestine us to make a “bad choice”. Something that goes against His will and Word. And, we still may have to suffer the consequences of those bad choices.
The same with a person who smokes cigarettes their whole life and then is delivered from it when they come to Jesus. Can God turn it around for good? Absolutely! But, a natural consequence of that bad choice is getting lung cancer.
Do you kinda get what I’m saying?
The past is in the past and there’s nothing you can do about it now. Except pray and hope and trust and believe somehow, someway, God will turn it all around for good. But we need to be careful not to justify sin or our bad choices now. If you know something is sin and wrong, by God’s grace and strength, resist and don’t give in. Because sure, God can turn it all around again someday, but you will reap the negative consequences that a bad choice brings. As Christians, let’s strive to “be holy as He is holy” (1 Peter 1:16) and resist the temptations not freely give in to them, amen?! Because again, God may very well turn it around for good someday…but, we will reap any negative consequences they may bring.
“Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.” – Gal. 6:7-10
Also, James 1:13-15 says, “And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”
<3 Amanda
God is amazing… Im happy to have taken the time to read this… God is continuous showing me I am a child of God.. I give thanks to God for everything.. thank you