Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

These 100 Spiritual Steps are all about moving from one place to another – in the spiritual realm, which effects the physical realm.

The other day, I wrote about a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step.
Today, I’m taking a first step.
Today, I am starting the Daniel Fast – because I can’t fast with no food, and because I need to bring my body under subjection.
This is a first step for this year, to effect change in me.

There are changes that need to be made in me:

• Heart
• Soul
• Mind
• Strength

Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this [is] the first commandment.

Everything and everyone changes.
Moving is Change and change is moving!

Some change just happens.
Some change is a choice.

Change is scary!
Sometimes change is because of a lack of a choice.
Not choosing is giving up your power to allow someone or something else to choose for you.
SCARY!

In this context, CHANGES could be replaced with CHOICES.
We have a CHOICE about how we react or respond to CHANGE.

From our birth, things have changed – in us and around us – and for the first years, we had no choice in the matter.
When we started becoming aware, we started to make choices, and our choices brought consequences, whether desirable, or not.
WE SHOULD HAVE LEARNED FROM OUR CHOICES.
SOME CHOICES DETERMINED THE DIRECTION OF OUR LIVES.

You can choose to move….

Gen 12: 1 & 4 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
:4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram [was] seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

Or be moved….by your choices:

Gen 3:23-24 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

The key is – the choices have their consequences:
Abraham:

Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Adam and Eve:

Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed [is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat [of] it all the days of thy life;
:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return.

We are asked to make a choice for our heart’s devotion, and that gives us a direction in which to go.

God, through Moses, asked the Israelites to make a choice before moving on towards the promised land:

Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, [that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
:20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, [and] that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he [is] thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

God, through Joshua, asked the Israelites to choose whom they would serve before moving forward:

Joshua 24:14 Now 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.
:15 And 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.

Jesus asks us to make a choice, and change our direction, and follow Him.

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand.

Jesus asked the rich young ruler to make a choice:

Mark 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

Jesus lets us know there is a cost:

Matt 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

I think of that poor rich young ruler. He’d done everything right, EXCEPT give his HEART to Jesus – his heart was tied up in his things.
I also think about the 10 virgins – they were all waiting for the bridegroom to come, they had all fallen asleep – but when it all came down to when it counted – there were five that had paid the price to have enough oil….

Matthew 25 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

When the cry went out that the bridegroom was on the way, they all awoke, and five realized they didn’t have enough oil. Five refilled their lamps. The foolish five had to go buy oil – and while they were off doing that, the bridegroom came, the door was opened, the wise five went in…and the door was shut. Not to be opened again. Those that had not paid the price to be prepared, were left out.

The moral of the story?

Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Choices have consequences, and determine where we can go.
In our spiritual life – choices have spiritual consequences, and determine where we will spend eternity.

I am suffering the consequences of choices that I made many years past.
Some are visible, some are not.
Some are physical, some are not.

But the first step is to move away from those choices, and to choose to make a change.

Matt 3:2 Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

The word repent here, in the Greek, means:

to change one’s mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins

That is also the first step of salvation.
It is also, the first step for change.

In Christ, I am a new creation. (2 Cor 5:17)
In Christ, I have gone from darkness into light. (Eph 5:18)
I have to choose to put off the old man, and put on the new man. (2 Cor 5:17)
But, thank God – I can do it just one step at a time.
This journey, of however many steps, starts with ONE STEP.
I just have to be stepping in the right direction!
I have to CHOOSE to MOVE!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

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