Palm Beach Lakes church of Christ March 23, 2008 Stan Bronson, Teacher

 Joshua 24:15 – And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.  Isaiah 56:4 - For thus saith Jehovah of the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and hold fast my covenant  Their choice represents an “adoption” of alternatives

 As many alternatives exist as we can invent  New born life  Three years old  Building our stories  Formulate Our Truth  We will do almost anything to reinforce our meanings by intensifying our stories  We believe one alternative is absolute truth and we adopt that meaning

 No exceptions  We get because we choose, what we get has consequences,  Therefore, we choose our consequences  The entire key to having a workable life is to choose workable consequences  We sell ourselves short be choosing “seed” and not choosing “fruit” – Galatians 6:7-8 - Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life.

 We are responsible for our actions  We are responsible for our choices  Therefore, we are responsible for consequences that occur from our choices  Why do we blame others?  “It must be someone else’s fault”  “I am never wrong, ever!”  What else do we use as excuses for assigning blame?

“The Victim”  I can’t because they won’t let me  They are against me  It is my duty  It is my obligation “The Victor”  I can  I lead  It is my opportunity  I get to… David, a victim turned victor – I Sam. 30:1-19