DECISIONS, DECISIONS.

Our world as created by Yahweh God is operated on decisions. Some decisions He has set in place and are everlasting as the ordinances of the sun and moon or which way a tree grows. Up, down towards or away from light. It is the same for seeds and some life species. They migrate seasonal times of the year, swim miles to come to shore to lay eggs, even the tide of the oceans keep a rhythm according to the decisions put in place for them by God. All creations of God know and follow the decisions He made for them; except humans who are supposed to be wiser than them and only a little less wiser than angels. Our body functions follow decisions or ordinances God has programmed. Whether it is simply ones’ as a woman’s menstrual cycle or transference of DNA makeup from parent to offspring. We cannot deny the preset decisions God has instituted. So much so, that medical researchers know that if they can decipher the bodies decision making pattern and process, they can tap into it to achieve a result. Almost like diverting the path of a river. Yet the part of human existence decisions that is left in their control is commonly against God’s plan. Some, if not all human decisions, He has made for us and left us to choose whether we follow them. Some people may think this freedom to choose is the same as us making the right decision i.e. what we deem to be right according to our understanding is right. That is not the case. He and only He can set the criteria for what is right whether we accept it or not. For example, with Adam and Eve in the garden, God had set the right thing to do was not to touch the tree of knowledge. Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Whether touching the tree was right or wrong was not Adam’s or Eve’s decision to make. Their decision was limited to whether they believed God and positively acted on that belief for their good. In other words they were to choose whether to obey or not. They were not to decide what is the right thing to do. That is always the pattern and criteria. Including from Noah’s generation and all subsequent generations. With Noah’s it was God saying He was going to bring about a thing, a flood from rain, which they had never seen. To be saved from it they were to enter into an ark. No one except Noah and his family believed. So only they were saved. We do not hear of God telling Noah’s family; but they chose to believe Noah. Their father, father inlaw or husband. Adam and Eve made the wrong decision better described as choice. Used their own eyes and suffered the consequences. Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. Noah, despite having evidence that appeared reliable, chose to wait on God’s instruction before leaving the ark. He left all decisions to God and simply followed them. Gen 8:10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; Gen 8:11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. Gen 8:12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more. Gen 8:13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. Gen 8:14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. Gen 8:15 And God spake unto Noah, saying, Gen 8:16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. I will not repeat the account of Abraham’s faith from Gen 15 as I am sure you know it. Abraham’s faith in God’s words was counted to him for righteousness. Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. So you see the pattern in those individuals’ lives was to choose the decision God had made for them. Those who did were blessed and those who acted on they own “decision” were not. When you follow a road already made, you get to the destination of that road. It could lead to peace and joy or regret and pain. Almost like the roads of which Yahshua spoke. The broad one to destruction o r the narrow one to salvation. In individuals’ or nations’ lives, God has set them at the start of a road and simply says follow it. Their decision is the same as the one set to their predecessors. Follow God’s road or not. With Israel, God’s first born and only national son, He rescued them from Egypt, took and led them along a road for a certain distance through Moses, the pillar of fire and cloud. Then gave them a decision to make whether to continue on that road or not. Deu 30:15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; Deu 30:16 In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. Deu 30:17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; Deu 30:18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: Deu 30:20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. Life and good, death and evil was set before all these previous people Adam, Noah, Abraham and Israel. They were not told to make the right decision; but choose it. They only had to choose not decide. Each were urged to choose life. Even though Abraham was prosperous with servants and wealth, God was still able to be his “exceeding great reward” as it says in 15:1. God knew Abraham’s want was a heir from his own loins and since he sought first the kingdom of God through his obedience, God in a sense rewarded him with his desire. Similarly as He did with Solomon in 1Kings 3:11 and He offers us. 1Ki 3:9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? 1Ki 3:10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 1Ki 3:11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; 1Ki 3:12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. So what decisions has He made for us and where do we find them? They are in His instructions which have been compiled into a type of manual that we call the Torah or Bible. When it comes to making decisions the first thing to do is decide whose authority you will recognise and follow, God’s, another human or your own. You should not decide on the authority after you have faced the choice; but before as many problems can arise if you do it the other way round. Similarly to a child tempted to disobey their parent and follow enticing suggestions of others. An employee faced with a problem. Do they follow the hierarchy of the establishment or act on their own volition? From a biblical standpoint we are given directives and precedents. We are told to follow God’s given manual and have a way of remembering which way to turn when faced with a choice of decisions to make. Num 15:39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: Deu 12:8 Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. Deu 5:32 Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. We also have examples of those who did exactly that as with Daniel Dan 1:8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Dan 3:15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Dan 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. Dan 3:17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. Dan 3:18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. I said some if not all decisions have been made for us. Though the bible does not cover every single choice / decision we may have to make, for those it does not specifically address, it gives an indication Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment. Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 1Ti 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 1Ti 1:10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine. God’s way is a pattern of His sound doctrine of how to treat Him, our fellow brethren and even the earth as the Sabbath years of its rest law. Here are some decisions / choices we may be called to make in our lives. 1) What to Eat. We can eat everything except what God says not to. Here are a small example; but you can read Leviticus 11 for the rest. As regards animal meat. a) It must not contain any blood: Gen 9:4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. Also Lev 17:14 b) It is not to have been offered to any false god. Exo 32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. Exo 32:7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: Exo 32:8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. c) It is to be internally “Clean” beyond water washing: Lev 11:3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. Lev 11:4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.... Lev 11:9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. Lev 11:10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you: 2) Where and When to work: You can probably work anywhere Godly legal as long it is not on God’s Holy days of Ex 20:8 and Lev 23. You can probably also employ others to work providing it is neither on those days. Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: Lev 23:4 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons..... 3) Where to Live: It is not so much where; but how one lives. Abraham and others moved around from country to country even at God’s command. He put some in exile as Daniel in Babylon. Yet they kept the way of God. Dan 6:5 Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.Dan 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. Dan 6:13 Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. 4) Who to Marry: Though God gave instructions on who Levite priest can marry, the only limitation I find he gave others is they must not be from both the same parents i.e. you have the same mother AND father. Abraham made efforts for Isaac to marry within his Hebrew household; but many others did not. He married Keturah, Moses married an Ethiopian, Jacob the maids of Rachael and Leah, Joseph an Egyptian pagan priests daughter etc. I do not think the cultural origins are the question; but their effect on your faith. Tamar, presumably a Canaanite woman, was wife to Judah’s son and even bore him two sons. Yet she is said by Judah to have been more righteous than him (Genesis 38). Ruth was a foreigner who accepted the Hebrews God as did Cornelius in Acts 10. Paul in 1 Corinthians 7 gave some advise on who to marry. A major thing to remember when choosing who to marry, is that it is for life. There is no divorce as today’s practice. Neither is God’s marriage or union of male and female based on mans’ traditions of a church wedding and piece of paper i.e. see Deut 22:13-29. Which brings me briefly onto how to marry. Do we follow the traditions of the world and buy expensive or any engagement ring, wedding ring, lavish outfits and spend money or do we consider ourselves married as God decided? In His way there were no rings, frills and the expenditure that couples think is mandatory. Imagine if all that expenditure was instead put on acquiring a house or footing for life rather than a debt or enriching numerous merchants. It is surprising how many believers fail to understand the ways of their God. He does not give you or ask you to spend of things that lose money; but that increase in value. Land, animal stock or equivalent. The moment you leave the shop with an engagement or wedding ring it has lost value. You try reselling the normal such ring. You almost never get back what it cost, especially when accounting for inflation. Do you need a ring to remind you that you are married? Do you need to show to others you are married via a ring or is it a type of boasting like those women in the bible with children over the ones that did not? Do you become unmarried when the ring is off your finger as some people take them off to get up to no good? In this increasingly violent society is it not making oneself a target for street robbery? Christians are like non Christians. Spending on cars etc that lose money, that keeps them working rather than relaxing or retiring. By believing the world and its ceremonies make a marriage is to choose its decision over God’s. That does not mean we do not simply register our marriage in the registers of the country. In God’s eyes, are those with rings more married than those without? Do those with rings have less divorces? What about the exploitation of children in countries to get diamonds and gold. Think of all the exploitation that can be eroded if Christians did not buy such rings. 5) How to raise Children: I will not comment on the world’s concept of having children out of wedlock. Meaning what the world deems as marriage over God’s; but it is something you may wish to consider. For this section I shall keep it simple, Pro 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. You may also consider Proverbs 13:24 and chapter 23. 6) Social Invitations: Friends or family invite you out on a Friday evening, to a Christmas dinner or event, or there is advertised a Valentine’s day event. Do you Go? If you have decided to let God’s decision be your choice, the answer is no. Anything in honour of a historical pagan event you do not attend even if the group does not know of the day’s association with paganism. As regards doing a social event on any of God’s holy days of Leviticus 23 Isa 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Isa 58:14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 2Co 6:14 ... for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 2Co 6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 2Co 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 2Co 6:17 ... touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, Suppose you, as a husband or father of a damsel hears you wife or child has committed to going to such events, do you for peace allow it. Num 30:3 If a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father's house in her youth; Num 30:4 And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand. Num 30:5 But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her. Num 30:6 And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul; Num 30:7 And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand. Num 30:8 But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect: and the LORD shall forgive her. 7) When to Worship: We can worship God anytime. Our lifestyle should be a constant worship to Him, almost like the continual burnt offering and light He instituted for His temple. We should be the temple of God. However, He has set in place specific appointed times when He created the world (Genesis 1:14) and added others to be memorials of events as Passover. We cannot substitute that decision with our choice to worship at other times. All religious systems have their chosen days of worship to their god. You can tell the deity one worships by the day(s) they hold in reverence. Not necessarily by any other laws as murder and adultery as many religions forbid such actions. 1Co 8:5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) Rom 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Yahweh God states we are to have holy convocations on certain days He has decided as His Lev 23:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. Exo_31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. Eze_20:12 Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them. Isa 56:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Isa 56:5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Isa 56:6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; Isa 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. The holy convocations are listed in Lev 23. Sabbaths plural are His sign i.e. the weekly and annual ones not simply the weekly one. Only He can designate a period holy. Periods are marked by the set ordinances of the sun and moon i.e. between the 6th and 7th sunset. We cannot change the ordinance of the sun, so no other period can be the same as another. By forsaking to meet on these decided convocation times of God you are making the wrong choice of disobeying. Unless, like in Elijah’s and Ahab’s time, there is no congregation keeping them. 8) Where to Worship: Do we choose according to the music and choir, because they speak in tongues, believe in the resurrection or Jesus, have a big lavish venue, it is convenient, etc. The first and primary criteria should be the when do they worship as stated above i.e. the days. Next should be do they obey and keep God’s commandments. Most Christians put most of the emphasis on the Messiah, Jesus to them. They have yet to grasp he was to reconcile us back to God. The focus should be on God not the son. Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 2Co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. They think Messiah was from the New Testament and to believe and follow the Old is to deny Him. Scripture says “the spirit” and “Word” of God was in the Old testament. He baptised them as they crossed the Red sea, gave them water to drink from His rock, and led them in the way. He was in the Old Testament as much as He was in the New. The spirit simply became flesh for a while in the New and then left to be replaced with the invisible Holy Spirit again. As to the resurrection being a deciding factor, many religions believe in a resurrection or reincarnation. That was not a divisive issue in the bible. Both Pharisees and Sadducees worshipped in the same temple or synagogues. So in essence, no matter what else the place has, if it does not have the sign of the proper convocation periods they may not be in God’s system. Many systems, even pagan ones, can have music, choirs, tongues and even read from God’s scriptures. No sign, no recognition. No badge, no identification. It is just a good or bad copy. 9) I will not go through all the categories as how to dress, names on which to call, etc. Learn the laws of God and you should find a directive. God’s laws are not as restrictive as the devil would like us to think. Did David not have fun dancing in the street when bringing the Ark back. Yahshua attended a marriage celebration and God’s appointed times are celebrations as in 1 Sam 20:5. From the outset we see the devil misrepresenting God and making His way seem narrow and restrictive rather than wide. Getting us to focus on the little we are not to do for our own health rather than all we can do for our enjoyment. Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Gen 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: Gen 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 10) Decisions were for God and His chosen representatives. They used the Law to make decisions between the people i.e. the appointment of judges to help Moses who “made them know the law”. When no law or guidance on the matter was given i.e. the daughters of Manasseh, Moses took it to God to decide. In 2 Chronicles 19:10 the king sent out Judges to decide cases. How were they to decide? By comparing the problem to God’s solution i.e. choose which law applied to the situation. Saul when he chose to do the sacrifice in Samuel’s absence did not decide wrong; but chose wrongly. God had already decided who was to do sacrifices as He also did in 2 Chronicle 26:19 when king Uzziah’s hand turned leprous. We are to recognise God’s righteous decisions and choose to follow them regardless of our status or wealth. Zacharias who climbed up a tree and chose to pay a certain sum if it was found he had cheated anyone. God had already in the law said what that sum was to be. Zacharias simply chose to follow it. To which Yahshua stated “Luk 19:9 “this day is salvation come to this house”. Zacharias chose to follow the law of repentance as decided by God, i.e. in Exodus 22:1. David meeting Saul in the cave could have decided it would be fair and just to kill Saul; but he chose to follow God and let God be the judge of Saul’s guilt for persecuting him. David was not going to make the decision as to when he would be made king i,e, on Saul’s death at his hands; but left it to God’s timing. Even as king when he took Bathsheba, he did not change the law to make it permissible. He knew God sets the standard and he had chosen wrongly. For that he repented. Another factor that usually deprives us of God’s help is our intelligence. We are too wise, infact, we are wiser than God. We know more than God and so we make His option a secondary. Most time, we get angry at His offers and turn it down, that’s why we frequently forfeit the opportunities to access His astounding Help. Remember Naaman who said 2Ki 5:11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are we to decide for God or He is to decide for us? Of course, His decision is the supreme. Is there any way we have been teaching God on how to run our lives? Joseph thought he knew better when he interfered with God blessing the younger son through Jacob. God has told us not to work on certain days; but we think we know better and need to those hours to keep up with others. We can learn to submit to His will today so that we can prosper our ways. I pray that every stony heart in us shall be removed and be replaced with submissive and obedient hearts. In all the areas where we are suffering for our haughtiness, the Lord shall show us mercy and renew our minds to one pleasing to Him. So I repeat, these are not decisions to be made but choices. If you get stuck and there is definitely no biblical guidance on which way to go or what to do, let God choose as with Gideon with fleece Judges 6:37 or Moses with Korah Num 16:7 And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. Act 1:24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, God has made right decisions for us, the deceiver, devil has made wrong decisions for us. The decisions have already been made. We simply choose who to obey. And by our choice it shows whose children we are. We choose the way and road to eternal life or that to the second and eternal death. The writer of the book of Hebrews warns us: Heb 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. Heb 12:17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. Disciples of Yahshua are children of Jacob, not children of Esau. Our animal nature does not rule us. We belong, not to our appetites, but to the Master. Our heads must rule our hearts: 1Co 6:13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. Like Abraham, Isaac obeyed Yahweh and, indeed, was blessed by God for it. “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father” (Genesis 26:3). This shows us the wisdom of seeking the Lord for solutions to our problems and not necessarily repeating what our father before us did, or what seems the logical answer. God may ask us to stay in a situation when everything and everyone is telling us to get out fast! If God is instructing us to stay, then even in a raging fire, we can be a blessing by providing His Living Water. Gideon could have listened to the voice that spoke to him; but he made sure it was of God. Jepthar could have used his logic not to keep his vow by saying God knows I did not mean that; but he kept to the vow and the law of vows. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.” (Isaiah 55:8). I do not know how you are to test to see if the thought in your head or voice you hear is really of God. The devil can talk to us and put thoughts in our heads too. He did it with Peter and Judas. Even John said in 1 John 4:1 to test the spirit impressing a though to you. I know Moses, Gideon and prophets used tangible verifiable things like a censer, or fleece and required a miracle that only God could perform i.e. getting seven coins and asking God to make six of them fall as heads when you throw them in the air. That does not mean you repeat the action until you get your desired result. If God is truly in it, it would only take one go. That method is not for when God has given us clear directives in His Word. We cannot say God told me to attend or stay in this church when it is clearly on the wrong days according to His written word. Such a choice does not require a test. Gods decisions identify what is good or evil, sin or righteousness. Our choices identify us as sinners or righteous. Our wrong choices are generally based on our greed and envy of others. That is why God indentified snare to us and stipulated a guidance Exo 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. It could be funny how it was at that point the people did not want to hear any more and told Moses to hear the rest. In the New testament it states Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Jas 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. The cure is not to develop an appetite for things. Have the attitude you can do without them and do not have to keep up with others. Whenever we allow our appetites to rule us we are on the road to sin and death. A disciple of Yahshua should not let their desire dictate their decisions. Opportunities to honour or dishonour God pass before us on a daily basis. We are constantly placed in positions where we must decide or should I say choose, between what we crave and what is right. A person controlled by their appetites is a godless person. All forms of materialism and greed fall into the same category. Some people desire power, control, and prestige. Others will find that physical addictions and substance abuse dictate their choices in life. For many men and women, sexual fulfilment is the “desire” and thus the temptation for which they are willing to compromise their spiritual birthright and destination. All of these are signs of the wrong spirit in us. Return to the world God created by creating your own world within the one the deceiver has corrupted. Eph 5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; At creation in Genesis 1 God wanted light. So He said, "Let there be light." He used His Words to get that image from the inside to the outside. What you need to use as the basis for your inner image and the world in which you live is the Word of God. The Word has supernatural power and if you fill that Word with faith and speak them constantly, it will work in anything you directed it. So dig into the Word of God and recreate your life and your world. Shalom.