Joshua 24:15 …choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Every day you will be confronted with two fundamental choices that underlie every decision you make in life – the choice of going God’s way or the choice of going your own way. Since the creation of mankind, these two basic choices, as represented by the two trees In the garden of Eden, still exist. Following God’s way leads to experiencing the abundant life God intended for you and following your own way leads to experiencing the exact opposite – the death God never designed for your life.
We all love to hear the promises of God over our lives. But, in order to walk in these promises, we must choose to follow Him – His ways and His plans. In the garden of Eden, God had two basic conversations with mankind – Adam and Eve. In the first conversation God bestowed on them a blessing – to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and have dominion over all living things. (Gen. 1:28) In the second conversation God gave them a commandment – to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Gen. 2:16-17) In order to experience the fulness of God’s blessing, they had to obey God’s commandment.
Every day you will be confronted with two fundamental choices that underlie every decision you make in life – the choice of going God’s way or the choice of going your own way.
Underlying every choice you make, a spiritual battle is being waged over the promises of God for your life. While God clearly instructs you to meditate on His Word day and night so that you will empowered to believe and obey it, prospering in all your ways, satan entices you to follow his words of death camouflaged by a picture of a happy, joy-filled life, something better than what you are experiencing or could ever experience by going God’s way. (Joshua 1:8; Ps. 1:2-3; Gen. 3:2-5) When you hear these two opposing words for your life, you need to understand that God’s commandments originate from His heart of love for you, while satan’s words originate from his extreme hatred for you, because you bear the image and likeness of God. You give satan permission to steal, kill, and destroy your life and all that belongs to you as you believe and obey his deceptive words rather than God’s Word, just like Adam and Eve did. (John 10:10)
Deuteronomy 30:19 clearly express these two basic choices – “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” In every choice you make, God desires you to choose life, His Son Jesus Christ. How do you do this? By choosing to follow the way of God, His love commandments. (Joshua 22:15)
By Jesus choosing to do exactly what the Father commanded Him to do, He set an example for all of us to follow. (John 14:31) Loving God and obeying His commandments are two side of the same coin, as demonstrated not only by Jesus’ life but by His words. Jesus said, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” John 15:10
Where the first Adam failed to obey God’s love command, the second Adam, Jesus Christ, fully obeyed all of God’s commandments, being obedient even to death on the cross. Through Jesus’ death He made a way for you to live once again in the fulness of the blessings and commandments of God as revealed by Psalm 1.
To follow God’s way, it is crucial for you to know and believe God’s Word, His blessings and love commandments.
LEARN MORE
“Your Choices Determine Your Destiny” session 7 of Choices Determine Your Destiny teaching series (video, audio, PDF notes)
POWERFUL PRAYER
Psalm 1 – Pray and declare this powerful personalized prayer over your life, so you are strengthened to choose God’s way.