Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 10:12-16
He requires you to … obey the Lord’s commands and laws that I am giving you today for your own good. Deuteronomy 10:12-13
“YOU KNOW,” Carmen insists, “I want to do what’s right. But I hear so many things from so many people that I don’t know what’s right anymore. I’m like a little kid playing baseball. I’ve got coaches and teammates and my parents and the other team all yelling at me at once. I need to know what God wants.”
Confused as Carmen is, she’s taken a huge step toward obeying God: She wants what God wants. Truth is, the struggle isn’t figuring out right and wrong. It’s deciding God’s version of right and wrong is better than your own or anything anyone else yells at you. Once you have decided to follow God’s absolute best, here’s a step-by-step plan to figure out what he wants:
- Consider the choice. Through Jesus Christ and the words of Scripture, God has revealed his absolute standards for right and wrong. You have many big choices to make in life, but the biggest is deciding whose version of right and wrong you will live by.
- Compare it to God. Your next step is to compare an attitude or action to who God is and what he has said about it.
- Commit to God’s way. God has promised that when you submit to him as Savior and Lord of your life, he will pump you full of his power to live according to his ways. Here’s how to get filled:
a. Turn from your selfish ways and confess your sin (see 1 John 1:9). Sincerely turn your back on sin and claim God’s free forgiveness.
b. Turn control of your life over to the Lord. If God can keep planets spinning, rivers running, and seasons coming and going, don’t you think he can keep your life in order if you give him control?
c. Trust God to fill you and lead you by his Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Holy Spirit means he directs your life and gives you his power to resist temptation, gain courage, make right choices, and deal with whatever happens to you.
d. Keep walking in the power of the Spirit. As you live in the power of the Holy Spirit, you can live more consistently day after day.
4. Count on God’s protection and provision. Living according to God’s way brings countless spiritual blessings-like freedom from guilt, a clearconscience, the joy of sharing Christ, and, most importantly, the love and smile of God.
REFLECT: Are you seeking God’s version of right and wrong for your life? How do you see that happening in your daily decisions?
PRAY: Ask for help to apply God’s standards to your attitudes and actions.
