Your Choice

1Thessalonians 4:1-8 Our Scripture today can be summed up succinctly in these 3 statements about how we live as Christians: 1. Live a God-pleasing life. 2. Your sanctification is God’s will. 3. To reject this is to reject God. From the moment of salvation on, the Christian life is a life of giving as much of yourself as you know to as much of God as you understand. When you’re first saved, it’s easy, because you know all the things you have repented from. Lying, Cheating, Stealing (blatantly), Sexual Immorality. But then as you move on, the Holy Spirit begins to teach you. The little white lie to avoid hurting someone’s feelings is still a lie. That creative accounting you did on your income tax is dishonesty. All those pens and tools laying around the house from your workplace are Stolen Property. That anger, bitterness and unforgiveness you find in your heart; Jesus said it’s murder. That temptation that you gave in to. You sinned. So it becomes a little more complicated. But you pray, ask for forgiveness, and you move on. You choose to do that. Every time you deal with the stuff that the Holy Spirit reveals, and choose God’s way, you’re choosing God. And that pleases Him. Sometimes it’s hard to take that step. It’s hard because you have to wrestle and come to a decision. You have to choose God’s way over the ways of the World.