The Spirit of the Lord God is planted in our hearts and grows upward and outward as we trust and believe Him. He builds us into a dwelling place for His Spirit from the inside out.

He told Moses…”Look at what I’ve done for you today: I’ve placed in front of you Life and Good,  Death and Evil.¹ I call on heaven and earth as witnesses today that I have offered you life or death, blessings or curses. Choose life …²

God still offers us the same choices today!

Everything is different today than in the days of Moses and yet nothing has changed. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.³ And we are blessed or cursed by our choices.

I’ve said this before, recently. Our first choice is always, “Will I continue to be the center of my own life?

Ask yourself, “Am I in crisis and pain more often than not?”

If your answer is yes, the next question becomes, “Do I really, really want to continue day after day in crisis, depression, pain, frustration…whatever?”

Who does?

Now I won’t pretend that as the world around us grows darker and darker every day suffering people aren’t being offered every form of fix imaginable. There is astrology, the occult, mysticism and mayhem available and it’s all wrapped in pretty packaging, tied with a bow and promoted by some “talking head” who will assure you, “this is THE fix!”  We are told we can diet, exercise, meditate, hypnotize, analyze and improvise ourselves into a state of well being. “Just buy this….”

There are support groups for everything from addictions to sorrows. There are mountain-top monasteries, fat farms, funny farms and the ever popular spa experience all telling us they have the answer. And of course, failing success with any of the above, one can always look for answers in the myriad of chemical substances available on every corner, either legally or illegally. One of these will undoubtedly clear everything up right away.

BE-e-eep! Wrong Answer!

So…where does one turn for answers when it becomes painfully obvious the self-absorbed answers you’re presently using aren’t working out so well?

I can tell you, without reservation, having tried a number of those answers myself, Jesus is THE ANSWER.

But wait…I’m not talking about the Jesus you’ll meet in many of this century’s watered down religious experiences. I’m not talking about the sweet boy child smiling up from the manger outside your neighborhood church during the Christmas season. I’m not talking about the broken and pathetic figure looking down from the cross where some religions keep him suspended and powerless. I’m not talking about the big ATM in the heavenly places, where people are told if they ask for anything using the name it will be granted – up to and including a new Lexus in every driveway.

I’m talking about the resurrected Jesus Christ of Revelation, whom the Apostle John witnessed alive in Jerusalem after multitudes saw him crucified, dead and buried.  I’m talking about your advocate with God the Father, who said, “I am the first and the last, the living one: I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hell.”  Rev.1:17-18

Believe me, in the darkness of today’s world having those keys is critical.

Many of the people we’ve met over the years have told us that having their lives filled with pain and crisis is as close to hell as they ever hope to go. The world around us is filled with death and violence, crisis, depression and pain−and Jesus has the keys to turn them off and lock them out of your life for evermore!

However, in order for Jesus to begin doing that, a choice must be made.

God said, “I set before you this day, life and good, blessing and curses, death, and evil….”

YOU CHOOSE!

¹ Deut, 30:15 (The Message Bible)
² Deut. 30:19 (God’s Word Translation)
³ Hebrews 13:8