Weekly Lesson 27

IT’S YOUR CHOICE

Colossians 1:13-14, For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Usually, as we enter a sports stadium, we can see many banners and pictures of the team and its heroes. Go to the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, and you see Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, Emmitt Smith, etc. Fans wear jerseys and buy items with team emblems on them. Everything screams of the team. It’s different when going to a presidential library. It’s his name on the front of the library. Inside we’ll see his pictures, his busts, and his quotes throughout the building. The library is built to honor one person instead of a team.

It’s the same with God. Everything is built and centered around One Person, Jesus. The Bible talks about a much bigger house that is made by Jesus: the house of Creation. Paul writes, in him all things were created, in Heaven and on earth, things seen and unseen, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and all things hold together in him. The adverbs are all-inclusive: all things are created THROUGH him and FOR him and IN him.

All things come THROUGH him – He created them all, so His signature is on everything. Walk into the home of a famous sportsperson – you can tell by the pictures and awards that it is his. The same goes for Creation.

But that’s not the end of it by far. Paul says that ALL things hold together IN him. That means that nothing could exist or would exist if Jesus didn’t give it the power to live or design it to live that way. He is the divine glue that keeps everything sticking together as much as it does.

Think also of the little word FOR that is used. All things are FOR Him. You might compare him to the lake at the bottom of the mountain in which all of the rivers are designed to flow to, but also the One at the top of the mountain from which the rivers all flow. He wants the fish, the birds, the music, the work, the laughter, marriage, children, sports, all to flow back to Him, and to glorify Him. Jesus preached about the birds of the air and the flowers of the field to point back to HIM.

There is one thing different from us than it is with all other things He created. We have a choice. You see, IT’S YOUR CHOICE to be on His Team! He will not force you to choose to follow Him. He created you and me for Him, but we must choose to accept Him and follow Him.

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.

Think of how Paul experienced this. In his words, ” I was a Pharisee of Pharisees.” Paul was as outspoken as one could be against Christianity. He considered Jesus to have been a false Messiah. He asked for and received special permission from the government to go to Damascus and have them put in prison. Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus in a vision. Paul heard Jesus speak to him and was temporally blinded by this vision. It was after Jesus sent one of His followers to pray for Paul, that he regained his sight. After his experience with these believers along with his “on the road encounter,” that he believed Jesus to be the Savior of all humanity. Jesus did for Paul what he could not do on his own.

It’s the same for you today. IT’S YOUR CHOICE to believe and confess that Jesus is the Savior of the world. If you have made that choice, then God has rescued you from darkness and transferred you into the Light of Jesus, In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

You see, you are the house that God made. When others see you, do they see Jesus? Are banners and pictures of Jesus hanging on the walls of your heart? They can only be there if you have accepted Jesus as you Savior and Lord. IT’S YOUR CHOICE!


Go to Romans Road to Salvation and/or Prayer of Rededication


Christ Centered Champions

Christ Centered Champions

We are more than champions through him who loved us. Romans 8:37