Romans 11: 33-36 Doxology

” Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!

Who has known the mind of the Lord?  Or who has been His counselor?

Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.

To Him be the glory forever!       Amen. “

Ezekiel 18: 31-32 ” Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live! “

Repent and live!  A simple and very straightforward command…so why don’t we heed it?  A sinful person’s heart is full of wickedness and fails to see the truth.  By hardening their heart and mind against God, they refuse to ask for forgiveness and turn their lives around, thus forfeiting eternal life.

Proverbs 3:7 ” Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.”

We think that we’re far too intelligent to fall for the schemes of the devil…or that we’re too clever to be pulled into a compromising situation.  We blithely  go so far as to dabble in the gray areas of sin, thinking we have the good judgment to stop any time we want.  Being too wise in our own eyes can show just how foolish we really are.

Ephesians 4: 22-24 ” You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Our old self wants anything that’s forbidden, immoral, or unrighteous.  It wants its way, and won’t take “No” for an answer when it comes to feeding those evil desires.  But we are to discard that old self and put on the brand new self when we accept Jesus as our Savior…becoming a new creation, redeemed by His blood, and full of truth and goodness.

Hebrews 3: 3-4 “…just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.”

It’s probably said best in Genesis 1:1, ” In the beginning God created the heavens and earth.”  At the very start of time, the Lord created everything…out of nothing. With all His creative power, He took nothingness and made magnificence.  From out of that void of blackness, He spoke, and  everything came into being.

I Samuel 15:22 ” Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

All the Lord wants, is to have us attentively listen to that still small voice of the Holy Spirit, and heed His Promptings.  The only offering desired of Him,  is yourself and your love and obedience.

Matthew 26: 39 “…Yet not as I will, but as You will.”

I had a very insightful conversation with someone concerning a life decision .  What they thought they were going to do with their life was suddenly turned upside down when God very emphatically said “No!”   Wisely they sought out counsel, and this was the question posed to them…Was this something you, yourself wanted to do, and you were  simply asking the Lord to bless it, rather than asking God for His Will in your life and what He wanted?  Not my will, but Yours should be a important part of  our prayers.

I Samuel 12:21 ” Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless.”

Social media, the world-wide web, and advertisement has led us to believe we need status labels and designer brands to fill our vanity powered ego.  We fall for the superficial guise that somehow these certain labels and brands will be the answer to make us more popular, prettier, or more intelligent looking. But sadly the only thing they do is play on our self-absorbed, conceited self…not changing anything inside.  No certain brand will change your life… only being branded by the blood of Christ will ever change you.

Exodus 23:20 ” See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to a place I have prepared.”

The Lord will go before you, directing your path, making ready and providing all that you need along the way.  And as He guides you through this journey, He will always be watchful and protective of you…until you reach the final destination that He has lovely planned for you before the beginning of time.

Isaiah 50:10 ” Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of His servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.”

The Lord can bring us out of darkness into the light of His truth.  He will break off the chains that have bound us, and release us from the devil’s power.  No more will we have to walk in darkness and fear, for our trust will now be in Him.