Hebrews 11:24-26 – By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
THEME OF THE DAY: THE DECISIVE CHRISTIAN LIFE. The main character in today’s scripture serves us well as a role model on how to not only live the Christian life, but to evaluate the quality of our Christian life. His name is Moses and he is included in the “Hall of Fame of Faith” chapter in our Bibles. His leadership over the Israelites as well as his confrontations with the unbelieving Pharaoh of Egypt are superb examples of a man who knew and trusted his God in the severest of trials. When life gets tough and it will, look at Moses. The God of Moses, who came through for him, is also our God and will come through for us. Yet, there is something else about Moses leaving us a worthy model to follow. It happened before he became the great leader of Israel. This excellent quality in him is found in today’s scripture. It was his decisiveness when it came to living out his walk with God.
This man of God had all the high privileges of royalty. There was nothing under the sun he could not have obtained for his good pleasure. Yet, we find these words of Moses, “choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” What a staggering statement. It is one thing to say “no” to fleshly pleasures. It is another thing to say “no” to pleasures and “yes” to Godly suffering. And the model of Moses is the key for us to live the Christian life both honoring to the Lord and for our joy in the Lord. The key? Being decisive. Make conscious choices that are driven by God and His Word instead of ourselves and this world.
When it comes to the Christian life, it is easy to view it in a “calendar” format. For instance, it is not uncommon to be in the company of Christians and the question arise, “How long have you been a Christian?” Nothing wrong with such dialogue, but really, the Christian life is not measured by longevity. It is measured by Godly qualities and character. And those will only be developed if we are decisive in the Christian life. The Christian life isn’t really lived year-by-year; month-by-month; week-by-week; or even day-by-day. It is lived decision-by-decision. We make decisions every day on the use of our time, our money, the attitudes we display, the speech we put forth, and the actions we take. All those decisions will be guided by how we view our lives. Colossians 3:1-4. Where are hearts and minds reside – spiritually in heaven or worldly in the earth will determine the decisions we make in life. And our decisions reveal two things; the quality of our walk with Christ and what is most important to us; things of the earth or things in heaven.
Moses modeled not only faith in trying times, but being decisive in his walk with God. He choose the best thing and remained true to his decision. If we are going to leave our mark for Christ in our families, churches, and communities, it will rest on just how decisive we are in saying “no” to the world and “yes” to the Lord. For sure, we live the Christian life by the decisions we daily make. Let’s ensure they are rooted in heaven and eternity, not this world and the temporal.
PRAYER: “Lord, let me see each day through the lens of eternity and make decisions from there.”
QUOTE: “The Christian life is not lived day by day but decision by decision.”