THE WORD IS NOT A BARRICADE
Monday, January 30, 2017
Deuteronomy
[MKJV] chapter 30 … you shall listen to the voice of Jehovah your God,
to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the
Law, and if you turn to Jehovah your God
with all your heart and with all your soul. For this commandment which I command
you today is not hidden from you,
neither is it far off. It is not in
Heaven, that you should say, Who shall
go up for us to Heaven, and bring it to us, so that we may hear it and do it? Nor
is it beyond the sea, that you should say, Who shall go over the sea
for us to the region beyond the sea, and bring it to us, so that we may hear it
and do it? But the Word is very near
you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may do it. Behold! I have set
before you today life and good, and death and evil, in that I command you today
to love Jehovah your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and
His statutes and His judgments, so that you may live and multiply. And Jehovah
your God shall bless you in the land where you go to possess it. But if you
turn away your heart, so that you will not hear, but shall be drawn away and
worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely
perish; …
Joshua chapter
24 … Now, then, fear Jehovah, and serve Him in sincerity and truth. And
put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and
in Egypt, and serve Jehovah. And if it seems evil to you to serve Jehovah,
choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served
Beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But as
for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah. …
I stopped saying “stoplight”
decades ago when Dad, my # 1 driving instructor, repeatedly firmly told me to
never think of the traffic signal as a barrier to careless stupid drivers. “A
red light or stop sign won’t brake any vehicles. Only a foot attached to common
sense will do so.” Dad didn’t just believe this. He carried scars from being
t-boned by a Lincoln while driving a Baltimore Yellow Cab Plymouth Cranbrook as
one of his extra income part time jobs.
After trusting
Christ as age 27 I soon discovered that so it is with God’s Word. God’s signals
are easily read, but they will not of themselves make me travel sensibly.
Interesting the same is true of Satan. As God will not make us do good. Satan
cannot make us do evil. As with Adam and Eve it is a matter of personal choice,
our thoughts leading to deeds that result in consequences delightful or
disastrous. (Rom.12:1-3)
God gave Adam and
Eve free will. Our ancestors, you, I, children, babies, and all to come are
endowed with free will. We decide what to do . . . and then live with the results.
A final thought:
The above is true even if we never leave our home and garden.
EBB4
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