Caught in the Conflict, Carried by the Cross

A true believer is one who has been made new by God's grace through genuine faith in Jesus Christ. Trusting in him alone for salvation, united with him, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This new life begins with repentance and continues with repentance. And as they do, they pursue holiness and even perfection while humbly acknowledging that they can never attain the standard set by Jesus Christ. And yet they press on. They run the race with endurance, and they discipline themselves into submission so that their transformed heart increasingly produces obedience to God's word. [00:37:38] (57 seconds)  #TransformedByGrace

However, even with these concrete restful facts, the conflict of the soul is the choice between God's way and our own. And too often, we choose ease over edification. My dad often tells me, and told me more when I was making terrible decisions in my life, that your life is a collective collection of choices, so make some good ones. But making good choices is difficult. Rarely is the right choice the easy choice. The right choice has a cost that comes with it often. [00:12:16] (50 seconds)  #ChooseRightNotEasy

Maybe you're facing a choice today that's difficult for you. You don't have to do it alone. In fact, if you're following Jesus, you aren't alone in your choice. And we make these choices because we want to be found blameless when Jesus comes, and we don't know when that's gonna be. So we must be prepared all the time for his return because it can happen at any time, and we want to be found with a good collection of choices. [00:13:07] (32 seconds)  #ReadyForHisReturn

I mean, Jesus has trouble choosing the right thing because the right thing is the hard thing. He's in the garden. That medical term, hematidrosis, that's just so fun to say. He's sweating drops of blood because he's so stressed out and he's and he's pleading with the father. He says, if there's any other way at all, please let this cup pass from me. And he prays the boldest prayer, in my opinion, in all of scripture. He says, but not my will, Lord. Your will be done. [00:16:45] (40 seconds)  #NotMyWillYourWill

Assurance is strengthened through obedience, not passivity, and the word of God is your comfort is your compass. It's not your feelings and it's not your experiences. God's word is the North Star. Chapter two, we learned that discernment is not optional. It's so important that Peter, reviewed that in chapter three, which I discussed last week. And we need to understand that not everyone that is speaking for God is from God. [00:02:12] (35 seconds)  #WordIsOurNorthStar

Following Jesus is a choice that impacts your life. It does. It's the most important decision you'll ever ever make in your entire life. But more importantly, your decision to follow Jesus Christ impacts other people's lives. It's not about us. It's about other people. It's about God and others. And if we wanna say that we're high enough to be third on that list, we're third. [00:25:55] (28 seconds)  #GodAndOthersFirst

False teaching is not rare. It's inevitable. It often looks appealing, looks confident, might even look freeing. God will judge it, so don't envy it. And a changed life is the evidence of true knowledge in Jesus Christ. And chapter three rounded out that we we live our lives now in light of what is coming. So we're eternally focused, not temporary focused. [00:02:47] (38 seconds)  #LifeChangeIsProof

You see, we're not alone. We're we're not alone. You're not alone in your choice. Jesus sent his helper to empower us. Jesus can relate to you with your difficulty to choose. Jesus provides us a hope, an unshakable hope. Matthew seven teaches that knowing the words of him and doing them allow us to withstand the rains and waves of life. Otherwise, we cannot stand. [00:16:03] (42 seconds)  #BuiltOnTheWord