It’s your choice
Part 7 of the series
“Stairway to Heaven”
Previous posts are
published on this blog.
It’s
all right if you’re thinking, Well, if it was that straightforward and easy
to do, I would have done it already! Realize
that the ability to change your character, the makeup of who you are, rests not
in yourself, using your own will power, rather, it depends on whether you allow
the Spirit of God within you, given by Our Creator when you accepted Christ for
your salvation, to guide you in the choices you make. These are words of God spoken to the prophets
of ancient times that also apply to you, an adopted child of God: 36
It is not by force nor by
strength, but by my Spirit, says the LORD
Almighty.37
Take courage and work, for I am
with you, says the LORD Almighty. My Spirit remains among you, just as I
promised …38
Out of the stump of David’s
family will grow a shoot—yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old
root. And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the
fear of the LORD. He will delight in obeying the LORD.39
God’s wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, and
might are within you to affect your decision making that will lead you through
a transformation of your character—if you
are willing.
Your
decisions, right or wrong, affect the course of your life. You are the one who selects the choice; the
difference in the course it takes depends on whether you invoke your will or
His perfect will. Allowing the Spirit of
God to guide you requires that you remove from your options the choices that
glorify you rather than Him. Choices
that glorify Him are His perfect will; they are the choices that God would make
for you if you surrendered all of your will to Him.40 Unfortunately,
your self does not know what God is thinking. Your self knows only your
desires, and your own heart, without God’s Spirit living within it, is ruled by
self-will—corrupt and wicked.41 No one knows the mind of God except
the Spirit of God,42 and it is with His divine power within you, not
your will power, but the power of His Holy Spirit given to you when you
accepted Christ as your Savior,43 that you attain godly character
that results in behavior glorifying God, your Creator.
Don’t copy the behavior and
customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing
the way you think. Then you will know
what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect
his will really is.44
a
Praise
to Our Father for the words He has given me. ~Jeff
Cambridge
Written
June 10, 2004
Copyright
© 2004, 2005, 2016 by Jeff Cambridge, Stellar Rhema Ministry
Footnotes
All
Scripture quotations unless otherwise noted are from The Holy Bible, New
King James Version, copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.,
Publishers.
Verses
marked NLT are Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New Living
Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Verses
marked NIV are Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International
Bible Society. Used by permission of
International Bible Society. “NIV” and
“New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States
Patent and Trademark office by International Bible Society.
Stairway to Heaven - 7
36.
Romans 8:12-17, Ephesians 1:3-5
37.
Zechariah 4:6 NLT
38.
Haggai 2:4-5 NLT
39.
Isaiah 11:1-2 NLT
40.
John 7:18, 16:11; Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:20-24, 5:17;
1 Peter 1:13-16, 4:1-2
41.
Psalm 37:4, Romans 1:18-32, Ephesians 4:17-24
42.
1 Corinthians 2:10-12
43.
Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians 4:7, 12:9-10; Ephesians 3:20
44.
Romans 12:2 NLT
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