Is. 41-42
Funny – it is all so obvious. The LORD is God and there is no other. Things made by man and even things made by God are not gods. They cannot do what God does; cannot know what God knows. He knew all and declared all before it ever happened, so we know that we can trust Him. To choose God is to choose life, but anything that moves away from Him is death, for there is no life without Him. And if this God, this only God who is above ALL else, is for us, than nothing can stand against us. Obvious. He has given us the proof. Why, then, is it still so hard to choose Him completely, without turning aside to our own fears and desires?
Rom 7
Aha! Paul speaks of this very struggle! We know what is right and we desire to serve God. But like Paul, “I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (Rom 7:15b). There is a struggle between what we know in our minds and what our flesh, which is bent toward sin and death, desires.
Paul says that, though the law is good, it gives power to the sin in us. That is why it is so important that we understand that when we chose Christ we died to the law, so that sin no longer has power over us through the law. We now live in the Spirit, who gives us the power to overcome our fleshly desires. However, though I believe we choose Christ once for salvation, I also believe that we have to make a daily choice to live our new life in the Spirit and not fall back to our old, fleshly ways. It goes back to living intentionally and being conscious of where our choices lead us.