"Is It Up To Me?"

"They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul." (Psalms 56:6) Let's understand something right from the start, God is the one who is in control; no matter what we think is going on around us, or what we don't even know, it is God that makes the call on our life; He is the one who says whether or not it's time to come home. Now, as to the lie, David was just a man; he might have been one of the most spiritual kings that Israel had, but he was just a man, and he had no righteousness of his own to compare with the righteousness of God. None of us do, and we all fail the test when it comes to being holy. The whole point of God's word is to show us how imperfect we are, and how much mercy and grace God has for us. There are some who can read the Bible and come away thinking that God is like a mean kid in the sky, scorching ants with his magnifying glass, and wanting nothing to do with Him; but that is not my God; my God took my place on the cross, dying for my sins, and paying the penalty that I could never pay on my own, ever! That is why God can say over and over in His word, Do Not Fear, because we should not sweat the little stuff, He has everything under control. The main point from yesterday was one of living in the Spirit, which requires us to not lean on our own understanding; which means, we do not really know anything when it comes to the spiritual life that is going on all around us, only what God shows us, and even then, it's not enough for us to fully comprehend. But one thing is for sure, if we walk in the flesh, then we are drawn to care more about the flesh than we do about the Spirit; even though the spiritual life is more a reality than the fleshly life, our life in the flesh will appear more real. That is why prayer is so important, because God is in control, and there is nothing that is up to me, it's all up to God...
"And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (Mark 16:15-18)