Did I Really Do That?

How do you make decisions? When things come up do you pray about it and try to consider pros and cons, to make the best decision possible? Or, do you make your decisions on the fly and go with your gut instinct of the very first thing that pops into your head? I will be honest here, with me it has more often been the latter and that has been a mess, but it has sometimes worked out with a very good outcome. I have sometimes been flabbergasted (old person’s word) of how good that bad decisions sometimes work out!

I am not telling you to go out and randomly make bad decisions because it sometimes works out for me. The general rule is that these stupid decisions have bad outcomes! But then, those bad outcomes, if I look to the past, I can see where those things have made me grow spiritually and walk closer to God. I can look back and see that in those times, even when I was reeling with the outcome at that time – I can see that God led me through those times and I now know to try and avoid certain situations and it draws me closer to Him.

Why do we make all these stupid mistakes though? I will tell you this, people have constantly made stupid mistakes all throughout history, but through those mistakes everyone else continues to learn. We learn not to do those things but we also learn to lean on God through them. So we learn by history that all men make mistakes! If you are human you are going to make mistakes.

The very first mistake, of course, was Eve taking a bite of the fruit that the serpent offered her. Then Adam, not willing to be outdone by Eve’s stupidity, took a bite himself, thereby plunging us all into a world of sin.

Then Cain got mad at Abel because Cain was too lazy to actually do what God had commanded about offerings and committed brothercide. Not to outdo himself he thought he could outsmart God and pretend like it had not happened.

After everyone in the whole world had committed such atrocities that God decided to erase everyone but one family and start over again, Noah got off the boat and proceeded to get drunk! 

God decided then that he would create a group of people that could be an example to the world of what would happen if people would just follow Him, so he decided to create the Israelites. That even got off to a rocky start when Abraham decided to start lying and telling kings of hostile lands that his wife was his sister and almost caused that king to sin with his wife because he was being chicken. 

David, who is called a man after God’s heart in the scriptures, sent one of his captains into a place of battle where it was pretty much guaranteed that he would get killed because he had gotten jiggy with the man’s wife.

What’s all this about? We all make mistakes! Even the people that are after God’s heart make mistakes. Yes, even Christians make mistakes! After the mistakes, there’s the rub! There is when you pick up and rely on God and His promises to get you going again! Learn from the mistakes of those people in the Bible. After you make them, pray for God’s grace and go on with life, fulfilling what we as Christians have been appointed to do – point others to Christ.

And, oh yes, about all these mistakes I have made and it seems that the Lord still continues to bless – I think my father-in-law summed it up the best of anyone I have ever heard, “The Lord takes care of fools, and babies.”

AE

and continuing…

Romans 7:11-20

For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.

Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

Was then that which is good made death unto me?  God forbid.  But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.

If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.

Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.  

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing:  for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

For the good that I would I do not:  but the evil which I would not, that I do.

Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Watching the news now days, I often think to myself, “How can anyone be so stupid? This idea completely defies logic, reason, and common sense.” And I just sit and wonder how anyone can be so completely and utterly confused. And then I decide that the people who believe a certain way must have absolutely no reasoning skills. They must have no ability to think logically. And then I begin to read learned professors who have reasoned themselves into absolute moronic ideas, and I decide that reasoning is faulty, and that I should not even rely completely on my own ability to reason.

So I think perhaps just good old fashioned mom and pop common sense is what I need to lean on.  But then I read through the thoughts of many a mom and pop who have much in the way common sense, but no logic, and only their own “common sense” on which they rely.  

Perhaps when we begin to look around and see such poor reasoning skills, such loss of common sense, such depraved morality…just perhaps…we begin to feel a bit morally superior.  The whole world has lost it’s ever loving mind, we think.  I and my small little crew are the only ones left standing for truth.  Watch out for that sense of self-satisfaction.  It will be our undoing.  

The only truth, the real truth, is God’s word.  The only one who actually has the abiliy to follow God’s law to the letter is Jesus himself.  We are unable to keep the whole commandment of God.  His love for us is all that saves us from ourselves.  Without him we are NOTHING.  We can gather truth from staying in his word.  We can make better decisions when we ask him for help in making those decisions.   But we need to be honest with ourselves the way that Paul was honest with himself.   “For the good that I would I do not:  but the evil which I would not, that I do.”

Let’s face it.  We live in the flesh.  Doing hard things is hard.  Only through God’s strength can we do those hard things.  Dig in, grit your teeth, stand firm, and beg God for strength.  Time to buckle up and stay firmly planted in God’s word.  Do the hard things.

GA