It’s a New Day: The Choice is Yours

My co-worker and friend Mike encouraged me with a random email the other day.  This email was infused with the Gospel and was another reminder that  "Because of Calvary, I'm free to choose!"  How amazing is our God that He paved the way for us to live victorious lives today.  And this was not because any of us choose Him, but because He chose us so we could be free to choose Him.

As confusing as that sounds, it's really not at all.  Put simply, people (who are all born physically alive yet spiritually dead can't choose life; death has no capability of choosing life.  All a dead person can do is lay there on the side of the road until someone comes along and brings them back to life.  That is gospel - it's amazing grace that saved once spiritually dead people like you and me.

Blessings!

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Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose.

I choose love. No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.


I choose joy. I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical... the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.


I choose peace. I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.


I choose patience. I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite Him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.


I choose kindness. I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.


I choose goodness. I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.
 

I choose faithfulness. Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.


I choose gentleness. Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice, may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.


I choose self-control. I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.


Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.


~ When God Whispers Your Name


Excerpted with permission from the Let the Journey Begin by Max Lucado, copyright Thomas Nelson 2015.
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