ConsequencesWritten by Joyce C. Lock
God has moments of anger, like as do we. However, some have misconceptions about His response. There's an unspoken law of consequences between forces of good and evil, a result of being born into a sinful world. In observing my daughter, as a very young child, whenever she was disobedient … if I didn't discipline, she'd suddenly become injured or some other mishap. It was as if God was punishing her, or so I thought. Once God gave me an example of how it really is. Imagine yourself standing between sidewalk and curb. Your hands are tied behind your back, with your arms wrapped around a tree. A car is coming and your child runs into street. You've no physical means of reaching that child. Hearing speeding car, first thoughts come faster than you can verbalize, "No! The car will hurt you!" You scream a plea, with anything you think might cause that child to change their direction, before it’s too late. That is how it is with God. Were it any other way, He'd have to take away our freedom of choice.
| | A Man of His WordWritten by Joyce C. Lock
Suppose we make a promise that seems fully reasonable. Though later, circumstances arise in which we have to neglect someone in need in order to fulfill that promise. Maybe, a person came to visit and was just leaving in time to fulfill original promise, but they slipped and fell; being injured and in need of medical attention. Do we leave injured person, unattended, because we made a promise? Of course not. But, what if we aren't doing what God called us to, because we are busy keeping our word elsewhere, and miss opportunity to meet a spiritual need? Isn't that same thing? The only difference is where wound is located. Perhaps, we gave our word and later realized God wasn't calling us to it. Do we ignore what God is calling us to in order to meet previous obligation? Does He come first or second? In such cases, we have a choice. Is our word God? Is law our God? Is what people think our God? Or, does God's will for us come above all gods? If we make a promise only later to realize our error, in order for God to be first, we just might have to eat humble pie. But, therein is a lesson to be learned. The error in making such a promise wasn't God's.
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