Deuteronomy 30:19-20 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Salvation and blessing are choices. That might seem like a strange thing to say, because who doesn’t want to be blessed? Who wants to go to destruction? Sadly, the answer to both of those is, many people. It’s not that we choose the negatives directly, but that we choose the things that lead us to those negatives. Our flesh and the devil can make a deadly “tag team,” convincing us that various pleasures are preferable to what God offers us. The theme of the readings from today is Repentance. Repentance and forgiveness are absolutely essential to every human being, because we all stumble and fall. The issue isn’t whether we will do so, but what we do when that happens. 1 John 1 is a marvelous chapter on the subject, written in the full knowledge of the atoning work of Christ on the cross, but the principle of repentance goes all the way back to Creation. That’s why Revelation 13:8 speaks of “the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.” God had to provide the legal justification for forgiveness, because nothing less than the death of His Son was sufficient. However, it all comes back to our choice. God doesn’t force anyone to be His child, to live in eternity with Him, but He makes that outcome available to all who will choose to acknowledge their sins and repent, so that they may be cleansed. (1 John 1:9) For those who have discovered that cleansing, telling others about it becomes a matter of utmost urgency, because our time and opportunity to choose is limited. We can’t force anyone to choose life, but at least we can let them know that the choice is available.

I too am constantly presented with choices, and sometimes I choose wrongly. Sometimes my repentance has been instant and genuine, and sometimes it has perhaps been suspect. However, as Paul quoted to Timothy, in his last letter that remains to us, “If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13) He has been growing me over the years, and I am certainly not the person I was before. There’s a light and breezy, almost cheesy chorus that says this very accurately, but I think many people miss the truth in it (if they know the song) because of its mood and tempo. At this point in my life people have trouble believing I was as I used to be, but God certainly knows, and He is more than gracious. I am never to think I have outgrown susceptibility to the devil’s lies, but always be actively submitted to Christ alone, listening to Holy Spirit and not the devil, choosing God’s kingdom and His righteousness at every turn, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. You’ve given me a message on listening to You to deliver this morning. With COVID, flu and the like we’re going to have very small physical attendance, but others will be watching online. I pray that my choices every moment would put me in perfect line with You so that Your word may flow clearly and cleanly through me into many hearts, changing them as You know they need, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!