Who Do You Love - A Devotion

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NLT)
“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the LORD, you will live long in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

When given the choice between life and death, it would seem only logical that one would choose life but this is not always the case. If a doctor discovered cancer in your body and you were given the choice to live with chemotherapy or allow the disease advance until you died, what would be your choice? In most every case, the individual would choose treatment over death. However, there are some who in the midst of the symptoms and side effects of chemotherapy with excessive vomiting and exhaustion that may question their choice. When radiation causes horrific burns and the outer flesh gives was to festering blisters and sores naturally one might wonder if death would be a relief. The choice between life and death, blessings and curses, and heaven and earth seem so obvious but in the reality of life, such a decision poses a great dilemma for humanity. For some it seems to be the lesser of two evils rather than the victorious occasion it really is. The Lord invites you to choose life today. To do so is a commitment to love the Lord your God, obey Him, and commit yourself firmly to Him. This IS the key to life with the promise you will live long in the land. Who do you love today? Have you made the choice to love the Lord your God?

With life come blessings and heaven, but death only offers curses ending on this earth. How does one discern between the two when all we know is this life? With a God we cannot see and a Lord we cannot visually perceive, how can we move our commitment from what we see to what strictly what we know? It will require faith in the unseen and hope that keeps us firmly trusting the Lord. But I have often wondered why God gave us a choice? The angels do not have to choose between life and death. The angels were created to serve God. They are not given the privilege of being called Children of God that His People are. As a citizen of Heaven, the angels live in a civil relationship with God whereby God has absolute power over them and controls their life, liberty and fortune. When an angel defies God, he is immediately chained in darkness to wait for Judgment Day. There is no grace to free them. (Jude 1:6) However, God created people to be His Chosen Ones. You were created with the express purpose of adoption by grace! We are given to freedom of choice so that we may have a relationship with God.

Psalm 33:12-15 (NLT)
What joy for the nation whose God is the LORD whose people he has chosen as his inheritance. The LORD looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race. From his throne he observes all who live on the earth. He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do.

To love without a choice is not love, but an obligation. Love is a commitment. Who wants someone to love them because they have to? God gave people everything that they need to discover His Unfailing Love, Mercy and Grace. The rest is up to us. God has placed eternity in the human heart even allowing us time to discover it (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and given us a measure of faith to see Him and know Him by the Power of His Spirit and His Word. (Romans 12:3) We have everything we need to make an informed choice yet many will still chose to walk in darkness and remain blinded to the Light.

Isaiah 9:6-7 (NLT)
For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

Jesus Christ represents God’s Passionate Commitment to be the One who you choose. Jesus is a Wonderful Counselor and will speak volumes into the life of those who love Him. He is the Mighty God always working on your behalf. He is the Everlasting Father who would stop at nothing to see you come home. He is the Prince of Peace who will fill your heart with joy by faith even in the most trying times. His Peace will never end for those who choose to love Him because they know what is to come and live for it. Confident hope keeps them firmly anchored in their relationship with the Kingdom of God knowing there is more to life than this and choosing to receive it as their inheritance. The world is unfair, unjust and uncaring. The only way to rise above the darkness and oppressing is to make the move from life to death choosing to live for Heaven rather than earth. Such a decision will release the blessings of God in your life breaking every curse you were born under because now you have a new family. It is the Body of Christ.

John 14:26-27 (NLT)
“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

When Jesus died and ascended to the Throne of God to prepare for His Return, He did not leave His People alone to figure it out. God gave us Eternity in our heart and a measure of faith to start with. Jesus became the foundation in which faith would be committed. Now it can grow, but He went even farther to give us His Spirit the very essence of His Being to live inside of us and cultivate our faith to illuminate Eternity making it relevant and real in our life. This allows a believer to live for Heaven rather than earth and choose life over death. His Spirit floods us with revelation knowledge which are God’s Secrets for His Beloved Children. He brings the Word of God to life so we recognize the Hand of God working which had otherwise been ignored. Faith begins to make sense as His Love and Plan expand over our life. We make better choices enabled by the Wisdom of God that comes by His Spirit. (Proverbs 80:17-18) When God’s Wisdom (His Spirit) enters your heart it is instantly filled with joy! Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. “God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace.” (I Peter 1:2)

Romans 8:28-30 (NLT)
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance and he chose them to become like his Son so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

We were created to be Children of God. He has called us to come. Sadly, not everyone will do it. Jesus said, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” This seems confusing. If God picked us and called us, why are few chosen? It is not a God issue but a people problem. God has made a way where there was no way. Jesus is totally accessible by faith which God gave us too. He put a compass in our hearts set for Eternity. We are given a choice to love the Lord, obey God and commit our life to Him. The problem is despite the Lord giving us His Kingdom as an inheritance, and clearing the way for our arrival some choose not to love God back. Even Christians who profess to love the Lord, live contrary to their promise. Religion tells us that we have to do this and that. Our relationship with Jesus makes us love, obey and commit to Him because we want to. You will leave the darkness behind because you love Jesus. You will make every effort not to sin because you want to honor that choice to live for Him. You will love others because you are asked to do so even if it means constantly forgiving and apologizing when you have done nothing wrong just to love like Jesus did. God’s final decision is not based on His Choice but who you chose to life and love in this life. “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” (I Peter 1:14-16) – Who you love is represented by how you live.

Galatians 1:15-18 (NLT)
But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being. Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus. Then three years later I went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter and I stayed with him for fifteen days.

God chose Paul to receive His Marvelous Grace before he was born as Saul. This is important for Children of God to comprehend completely. If you have been called to receive “His Marvelous Grace” that means God knew you would make mistakes and experience failure before you were born. He is not shocked or taken by surprise by your sin. Instead, He has already provided your escape. However, when faced with moving from death to life there will always be a choice to make that can be very difficult. I know a man who was saved many years ago. He has served the Lord fervently and fallen away miserably over and over. He has had many wonderful pastors, leaders and teachers to guide him and counsel him. They have supported him, loved him and attempted to show him the way. However, he can never seem to fully give his heart, mind, body and soul to Jesus running back forth between the darkness and the light. This man is at great risk if Jesus were to come back today. Many people struggle with this very same problem. They can never seem to fully give their life to Jesus Christ. When Paul decided to give his life to Jesus Christ and serve the Lord preaching the Gospel, it was not an overnight transformation. It would be a complete lifestyle change from opulence to oppression. Pride would have to fall to humility. The world would no longer love Him and Paul would now have to rely solely on Jesus Christ. Now what? It took Paul three years to return to Jerusalem to get to know Peter. God’s Grace will give you sufficient time to come to know, understand and accept God’s Amazing Love and His Plan for your life. But unless you make the choice to live life according to His Word, Will and Way choosing everlasting life over daily comfort – you have chosen the wrong master. If your life is consumed with worrying about what you will eat, what you will wear, where you will work and making more money, then my friend, you have chosen the wrong master.

Matthew 6:24 (NLT)
“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

God has given you a choice today. To choose is the power, right and opportunity to pick one’s preference. Do you prefer to know God more, obey His Word, and serve Him faithfully? How much time do you spend doing this? How much energy is invested in the endeavor? If you have chosen to love the Lord with all of your heart, mind, soul and body, then I must ask you do you have a great attachment to Christ with intense affection and a passionate desire to serve Him well. How is your life portioned today? Jesus defines love as this: “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)Who has your life today? It is easy to tell. What consumes your thoughts today? Who are you out to impress? God has provided everything you need to be His Child. The choice is yours today and every day until He comes back. Will you decide to live for this world or enter the Kingdom of God and bring His Power to earth? “The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.” (John 15:19) If you are not facing any opposition in this life, it is safe to assume one must make a better choice!

Hebrews 2:10 (NLT)
God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.

Choose to make an informed choice to love Jesus today. He is the fulfillment of everything God has prepared for you and promised to give you when you choose to love, obey and give your life to Him. His Spirit enables you to make good decisions according to His Will, Way and Word. You have everything you need to live in an intimate, passionate and personal relationship with Jesus Christ so you will be known by Him when the Lord returns. Don’t miss out on such an amazing opportunity. The Great Physician is ready to heal your broken heart and wipe out the sin is trying to kill you. Let Him work in your life today. Answer the question once and for all – who do you love? This is what it means to choose life and all the blessings of Heaven with it!

Ephesians 1:3-5 (NLT)
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.