Hope (August 11, 2009)

Every day we face challenges. Sometimes they are the same challenges and
temptations that we have faced for years. At other times, we may encounter
something we've never been faced with before. There is an opportunity in
every challenge, temptation and struggle that we face. Shortly after or even
immediately as we face these challenges, a battle ensues. For every obstacle that we face, we make a decision. Of course we don't always make the right ones. To put things in perspective, think back five or ten years or more; try to remember a crucial decision you made then. It could be a good or bad choice. How is your life affected today by the choices you made then? Every day we have a chance to make life for our future selves a little bit better and easier. The bottom line is that our decisions today plant a seed. That seed may take years to grow, it may take minutes to grow. As a child I learned very early on that my decisions had consequences. Good choices were rewarded, bad decisions reaped punishment. Today I have no parents to answer to, nor do I have the small rewards and punishments. Today, you and I have much heavier results for our choices. Proverbs 11 says; "Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free." I wish I could say that I am constantly making good decisions. I am a broken weak individual. My flesh is so weak, and I have no worth and no value and no purpose outside of my life in Christ. Without His love and His mercies that are new every morning, I would have nothing. That is the somber truth. Because of His love and his mercies that are new every morning, I have a life of great worth and of great value through Christ. It is a constant struggle for us. We win many battles and we lose some as well. What would our lives look like if we won say 75 percent of the battles? 85 percent? 95 percent? We are called to be like Christ. When the temptation finds you today and tomorrow and the next day, plant a seed that will reap positive results. God is merciful and loving, but at some point we need to grow and move in the proper direction because of that love and mercy. I challenge you today, try to go the whole day planting only beneficial seeds. Thank God for His love and mercy.