The Beauty of CHOICE

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. - Galatians 1:3-5

I don't pretend to know Greek, but I can read the writings of others who do. So tonight, I decided to do that. The Greek word for will here is thelema. "So what?", you might be thinking. But then I read this: "equivalent of CHOICE."

CHOICE: "an act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities. (a). the right or ability to make, or possibility of making, such a selection. (b). a range of possibilities from which one or more may be selected. (c). a course of action, thing, or person that is selected or decided upon."

You know what that means? It was God's CHOICE to rescue us. He didn't have to. He was not forced. Rather, he had a desire/will and acted upon that. With choice comes yearning/longing. In other words, whether or not you are a Christian, God's desire for you began with him choosing. If you are reading this without a relationship with Christ, I pray that this moves you closer to receiving his gift of rescuing. If you do know Christ, I pray this both humbles and ignites you once again.

I'm not sure if this does anything for you, but it has caught fire within me once again.

Still Struggling with Martha

Read the following from my journal from this morning: "I thought that I would have this amazing quiet time this morning because of how much I need [God]. However, I've read your word and nothing. I've even read out of Psalms to get away from just doing Acts, and nothing." Did you see that word right before "Acts"? Doing. I have preached on the difference between Mary and Martha. I have shared with others how important it is to be like Mary, just willing to sit at Jesus' feet. And the problem that I'm realizing is this: I don't like to sit still — not even with Jesus. I am so about producing that I am not resting. I am so about doing that I am not being with Jesus.

Kind of humbling to be shown the same thing once again.