The Two Paths.

Have you ever broken someone’s heart by choosing someone else over them? Maybe you took a friend’s viewpoint over your brother’s or decided to go out with the guys instead of your girl or listened to a coworker instead of your parents. If you are like me, there have been many times someone I loved got hurt because I chose poorly.

God says over and over in Scripture that his followers are to choose him first above everything else. In Exodus 20, where you find the Ten Commandments, the very first one is “No thing or other god is to come before me.” Jesus restates that in Mark 12:30-31 where he says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength…no other thing is more important than that.

Sadly, you and I put things in front of God every day. They are things we put our faith in but they all fall short. What we discover is that false gods promise what only the true God provides. We look for happiness, joy, peace of mind, and reassurance from things like money, possessions, sex, relationships, degrees and accomplishments but all of things fall short of what they promise.

Elijah has some words for us in 1 Kings 18 when he says, “Stop wavering between two opinions.” He then goes on to say “sell out” to the thing you truly believe in…if it’s money, then go all in…if it’s anger and entitlement, bet the house…if is that addiction you don’t want to shake, cash in but if you believe God will provide all things, then choose him! Stop going back and forth and follow the one person who has your back in so many ways. Follow the one true God who truly loves you and wants what’s best for you.

There is this epic showdown between Elijah and 450 false prophets in 1 Kings 18. At the end of the story, the false god, Baal, doesn’t answer his prophets at all while the true God sends fire down from heaven to liquidate Elijah’s sacrifice. It’s in that moment all of Israel proclaims that YHWH is the one true God. You might be saying, “Well yeah. If I been there and seen that, I would have most definitely believed.” But we had something even better.

2000 years ago, Jesus, not fire, came down from heaven and we know that story to be true. It changed everything for us. We now know true love and we have joy and peace and hope in our life for a beautiful tomorrow.

So the call is that you and I would say yes to Jesus and allow the false gods sitting on the throne of our hearts to melt away. It’s time to quit wavering…it’s time to choose Jesus. You and I want a better life and Jesus is the only one who can offer that to us. Blessings on your journey.

Do You Like Me?

We often wonder if our friends really like us…if our coworkers admire us…if our boss respects us. So many of us are addicted to the disease to please. It’s a human condition to desire others to like us but how far will we go to make that happen?

There are three flags that might indicate you desire people to like you over and above the normal. If you obsess about what other people think about our clothes, your job, what you drive, your social media posts, you might find yourself in that position. If you are overly sensitive to criticism you might just care too much what others think. If you have a hard time telling anyone “no”, you probably will go to great lengths for others to swoon when you walk in the room.

King Solomon said in Proverbs 29:25, “Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety” That word “trap” in the original language could be translated as a noose to catch wild game or a nose ring for a cow. Hoping for people’s approval can led you to an invisible prison. See, becoming obsessed about what other people think about you is the fastest way for you to forget what God thinks about you.

The Apostle Paul said in Galatians 1:10, “I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.” Paul had given up on what people thought of him. He had lost so many friends and family because of his conversion to Jesus. He had placed himself under and in submission to Christ which meant his call was to live for him, not other people.

See, pleasing people is a form of idolatry. You may be saying you don’t have any real idols in your home you bow down to but anything you put in front of God becomes an idol See God wants to be your everything and if you are consumed with what other people think about you, there is no room for God.

But the good news is that the approval of God sets us free from the disease to please! Think about how freeing it would be if you just didn’t worry about what other people thought. You only recognize who God has said you were and that would be enough. Your worth is not based on what your family thinks of you or your coworkers or even your spouse. God has already said how worthy you are when he sent Jesus to earth.

You are not what others think or say about you. In Jesus, you are God’s workmanship. You are an adopted chid of God. You are a prisoner set free from your past. You are an overcomer. So, don’t think about how the world views you. Enjoy the freedom you have in Christ. Blessings on the journey!