“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20, ESV

God gave Israel a choice. “Life and death, blessing and curse.” They could choose to follow the Law and God and live, or to follow their own ways and die. It seems like an easy choice, right?

But they failed so miserably. We fail miserably, too. We have a simple choice. The way of the cross, or the way of the world. We can choose to live the way Jesus did and have life, or we can choose to live the way the world did and have death.

We are saved fully by repenting of our sin and believing in the saving work of Jesus Christ, but what we do after salvation still matters. While what we as Christians do in our day to day life does not give real life or cause real death, it can definitely bring life or death to our relationship with God and with others.

So as you go about your day and your week, make a point to choose life. Choose the way of Jesus. Meditate on His Word, follow His teachings, draw close to Him, but know that there is still grace abundantly for when you fail.

I just want to emphasize that as a follower of Jesus, when you don’t choose life, it is as simple as just getting back up again. Choosing “death” for you does not mean death, so choose life as much as you can, and brush yourself off when you fall.

If you are not saved, you can choose life by choosing to repent of your sin, believe that Jesus is your Savior, and ask Him to be the Lord of your life. I would ask you to genuinely look at the Bible and see what it says. Read the Gospel of Mark and see why Jesus is better than any other god that could be followed. Talk to a pastor or a Christian that you know who can love you and tell you about the wonderful love that is found in Jesus. I hope to call you a brother or a sister and know you in eternity.

I hope you do your best to choose life today and every day, but are not discouraged when you do not.

Grace and peace

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