"Above All Else" -Too

"God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods." (Psalms 82:1) Much like Joshua's statement, "Choose you this day whom you will serve," it all comes down to making a choice, 'Am I going to serve God, or not?' We can't have it both ways; although there are plenty of people who think otherwise. This verse is speaking more to the one's within leadership, such as those who might have occupied a position within the Temple; but it is also something we should all keep in mind for ourselves, because God will not be fooled, but we can. Jesus made some pretty bold statements, making it very clear who He was, and why He was sent here. The part that gets me about what He said, is that He "did not come to judge the world, but to save it." As crazy as this might sound, He came to be judged in our place; with one big difference, He passed! So, whether you like it or not, unless you can pass also, you had better hitch your wagon to a Star, The Bright and Morning Star! About that 'fly on flypaper' comment from yesterday, it is really quite simple how that stupid saying can work to our benefit; because it is our sin that gets us into trouble, but if we know the truth, it is our sin that makes us stick to the truth. We could not get free, even if we wanted to, because our freedom to sin has been nailed to the cross. That's the part that we get us in trouble, more often than not, thinking that it's alright to sin; we must act sinless and sin less! I think we get the feeling that our testimony really does not matter much, so why should I strive to be holy, and then we just do what we want. But God sees our heart, never mind that He sees our sin, He looks much deeper than that, He sees our intentions. Besides, our testimonies matter a whole heck of a lot; more than you could ever know or realize. Basically, what I am trying to say, is that once you have committed your life to the Lord, you are committed to live as a child of God; not because we have any special qualities that make us a child of God, but because Jesus has given us that position, and now we are stuck there...
"And furthermore, it is not angels who will control the future world we are taking about. For in one place the Scriptures say, "What are mere mortals that you should think about them, or the son of man that you should care for him? Yet made them only a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them authority over all things." Now when it says "all things," it means nothing is left out. But we have not yet seen all things put under their authority. What we do see is Jesus, who was given a position "a little lower than the angels"; and because he suffered death for us, he is now "crowned with glory and honor." Yes, by God's grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone. God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation. So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters." (Hebrews 2:5-11) NLT