As For Me

2 days ago
13 min read

Everyday is filled with choices.

As Born Again, Spirit-Filled, Anointed of God, Servants of the Most High, Children of God, Kingdom Builders, the Universal Church Members, and Followers of Christ Jesus are we taking up the cross daily in word only or truly manifesting a surrendered Christ-like life?
As Christians, what image are we showing to unbelievers?
What and Who motivates our daily choices?
How are our personal choices affecting others?
Why are we choosing to obey and serve God, follow the ways of this world, or live purely for self?
What are the benefits or consequences of our choices?

Serving God involves integrity and help from God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 26:11 But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.

Psalm 41:11,12

By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. ¹²And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face forever.

Isaiah 59: 21

As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and forever.

Jeremiah 26:12-15 (The prophet Jeremiah chooses to obey God, speak the truth, and face the consequences)

¹²Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard. ¹³Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. ¹⁴As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you. ¹⁵But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.

Joshua 24:14-15 Being Present and choosing to Serve and Worship God wholeheartedly versus other worldly idols

¹⁴Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. ¹⁵And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Commitment to God is easier said than completed. It takes steadfastness and a willingness to push past the obstacles and temptations of life.

Psalm 28:9-28

And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation.¹⁰All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee,which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?

¹¹False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.¹²They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.¹³But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.¹⁴I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.¹⁵But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not:¹⁶with hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.

¹⁷Lord, how long wilt thou look on?rescue my soul from their destructions, my darling from the lions.¹⁸I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.

¹⁹Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.²⁰For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.²¹Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.²²This thou hast seen, O Lord: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me.²³Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.²⁴Judge me, O Lord my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.²⁵Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up.²⁶Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me.

²⁷Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.²⁸And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (Generational Love for God in the home)

⁴Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: ⁵and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. ⁶And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: ⁷and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. ⁸And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. ⁹And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

1Chronicles 22:6-13 see also: 1 Chronicles 28:2-8 (King David had one plan but God had alternative plans).

⁶Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the Lord God of Israel. ⁷And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God: ⁸but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. ⁹Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. ¹⁰He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. ¹¹Now, my son, the Lord be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the Lord thy God, as he hath said of thee. ¹²Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the Lord thy God. ¹³Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.

Isaiah 55: 8-10 (God's ways/thoughts, plans/purposes, {see Jeremiah 29:11} toward us)

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. ⁹For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Jeremiah 29: 11-13

¹¹For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. ¹²Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. ¹³And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Joshua 1:6-9 (God's charge and instructions to Joshua)

⁶Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. ⁷Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. ⁸This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. ⁹Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Joshua 23 (after heeding to God's commands for years, an elderly Joshua speaks to the people of God and warns the people about serving and worshipping other gods)

And it came to pass a long time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age. ²And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age: ³and ye have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the Lord your God is he that hath fought for you. ⁴Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the great sea westward. ⁵And the Lord your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the Lord your God hath promised unto you. ⁶Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left; ⁷that ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them: ⁸ but cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day. ⁹For the Lord hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day. ¹⁰One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you. ¹¹Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God. ¹²Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you: ¹³know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you. ¹⁴And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof. ¹⁵Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the Lord your God promised you; so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you. ¹⁶When ye have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.

Psalm 69:13-18 Why I pray to God: He is Merciful, Loving, Kind, Good, my Savior, Redeemer, and Deliverer

But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me,

in the truth of thy salvation. ¹⁴Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. ¹⁵Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up,

and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. ¹⁶Hear me, O Lord; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. ¹⁷And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. ¹⁸Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies.

Psalm 55:16-18 Benefits of a Relationship with God

As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. ¹⁷Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. ¹⁸He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me.

Daniel 2:27-30 (Another benefit of a relationship with God: He is the revealer of secrets and future events)

²⁷Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; ²⁸but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; ²⁹As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. ³⁰But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.

Ezekiel 9:8-10 An example of the Consequences of Bad Choices

⁸And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord God! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? ⁹Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not. ¹⁰And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.

Psalm 73:1-3 Admitting wrong choices, confessing to missing the mark, and falling short in God's eyes

Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.²But as for me, my feet were almost gone;

my steps had well nigh slipped. ³For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

1 John 1:9 God's Forgiveness

⁵This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ⁶If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: ⁷but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. ⁸If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Psalm 25:4-21 Seeking the Lord

Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.⁵Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.⁶Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.⁷Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord. ⁸Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.⁹The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach his way.¹⁰All the paths of the Lord are mercy and such as keep his covenant and His testimonies.¹¹For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.¹²What man is he that feareth the Lord? Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.¹³His soul shall dwell at ease; and His seed shall inherit the earth.¹⁴The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will shew them his covenant.¹⁵Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for He shall pluck my feet out of the net.

¹⁶Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.¹⁷The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.¹⁸Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.¹⁹Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.²⁰O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.²¹Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.