Title Choose to be happy!
Contents
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Deuteronomy 30
15. Behold, I have set before you this day life and blessing and death and evil.
16. I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, so that you may live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are going to enter. Inira
17. But if you turn and do not listen, and are tempted to bow down to other gods and serve them,
18. I declare to you today that you will surely perish, and your days will not be long in the land that you will cross over the Jordan to acquire.
19. I call heaven and earth today to testify to you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse, so choose life that you and your descendants may live.
20. Love the LORD your God, obey his words, and submit to him. He is your life and your longevity. You will dwell in the land the LORD swore to give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Philippians 4
4. Rejoice in the Lord always, I say again, rejoice
5. Make known to all your generosity, for the Lord is near.
6. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7. Then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Content
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Title: Choose to be Happy!
Text: Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Philippians 4:4-7,
There is a saying that ‘happiness is a choice, not an emotion’. What does it mean that happiness is a choice? This is the end of the farewell sermon of Moses, the man of God, in the plains of Moab. “Today, I call heaven and earth to testify against you. I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; choose life that you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). He said that we have a share in what God does. That is a choice. This means that you must choose life among ‘life and death, blessings and curses’. The specific content of obedience before God's sovereign providence is the 'choice of life'. These are the words to cast away death and choose life, and to cast away curses and choose blessings. The beginning of the Old Testament text makes this even clearer (Deuteronomy 30:15).
The main purpose of Moses' farewell sermon was for the happiness of the chosen people of Israel. “Will you not keep the commandments and ordinances of the LORD, which I am giving you today for your happiness?” (Deuteronomy 10:13). This is the condition for the fulfillment of the promise of universal blessing to Abraham, the father of faith and blessing (Genesis 12:1-3). This is why ‘the choice of life is the choice of happiness’. Richard Foster's Divine Yes contains this choice. Joel Austin's 'Your Best Life Now' is one concrete way to do this. These are the seven steps to living the best life possible for us who were created in the image of God. 1) Raise your vision! 2) Cultivate a healthy self-image! 3) Discover and use the power of creative thoughts and words! 4) Free yourself from the ghosts of the past! 5) Find strength through adversity! (Psalm 119:67,71; Ecclesiasts 7:14). 6) Live a life of giving! 7) Choose to always be happy!
The life of faith is not limiting the power of God, but training the wings to believe and obey as He said. This requires training to raise expectations. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). We believe in God as our Father who sees our faith and makes it happen according to our faith. Without this kind of faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). However, the faith that pleases God is the faith that has “growth of faith from faith to faith” (Romans 1:17). This faith training is the task of the entire process of training (reading, copying, memorizing, obedience) through the Word of God (Romans 10:17). This is why he rebuked the small faith (Matthew 14:31) and rejoiced in the great faith (Matthew 15:28). Only then will the words of ‘According to your faith be done’ (Matthew 9:29) become the gospel.
The final task of growing faith is joy. It is a life training to choose to be happy anytime, anywhere. Today's New Testament text (Philippians 4:4-7) is another expression of happy choice. “Rejoice always in the Lord. I say again, rejoice...
Do not be anxious about anything... and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” 'The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,' is the peace of God that transcends all circumstances. . God's will for us in Christ Jesus is to 'rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in everything' (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Let's choose happiness, praising God, who allows us to taste and live the eternal life that we can fully enjoy there at that time because of the love that cannot be cut off from heaven and earth (Romans 8:35-39).