O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. (Jeremiah 10:23) Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)
"God has given us the right to choose between good and bad, but we do not have the right to determine what is good and what is bad!" Very hard statement to accept but very true. God placed the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" in the garden of Eden, and commanded the man and woman not to partake from it, or in other words not to believe "his" lies. But the woman was tempted, and when confronted by God, responded “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:13) God created the good and the bad, for His own purpose, but He has given us the commandment and the ability to abstain from the bad: Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
Just like Eve, we are not perfect and we will make mistakes and give into temptation, more times than we'd care to admit. But we don't have to as often, and prayerfully less and less often over time, as we continue to grown in our faith: No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (I Corinthians 10:13)
We have been given a lot of liberty and freedom by God, through our faith in Jesus Christ: Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage... For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. (Galatians 5:1, 5-6)
Let us choose to trust God to lead us in the right and good way, and to live in true liberty, the liberty that doesn't lead to bondage and regrets. We can not allow the lies of this world to cause us to lose the eternal blessings God has for us: For when they [false teachers] speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.” (II Peter 2:18-22) Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. (Psalm 25:12)
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