A Free, Self-Determining Will.

From my morning Bible reading and prayer

“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn from the way that I am commanding you today, to follow other gods that you have not known.” — Deuteronomy 11:26-28 NRSV.

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“Verse 26. Behold, I set before you—a blessing and a curse. If God had not put it in the power of this people either to obey or disobey; if they had not had a free will, over which they had complete authority, to use it either in the way of willing or nilling; could God, with any propriety, have given such precepts as these, sanctioned with such promises and threatenings? If they were not free agents, they could not be punished for disobedience, nor could they, in any sense of the word, have been rewardable for obedience. A STONE is not rewardable because, in obedience to the laws of gravitation, it always tends to the center; nor is it punishable be cause, in being removed from that center, in its tending or falling towards it again it takes away the life of a man.

“That God has given man a free, self-determining WILL, which cannot be forced by any power but that which is omnipotent, and which God himself never will force, is declared in the most formal manner through the whole of the sacred writings. No argument can affect this, while the Bible is considered as a Divine revelation; no sophistry can explain away its evidence, as long as the accountableness of man for his conduct is admitted, and as long as the eternal bounds of moral good and evil remain, and the essential distinctions between vice and virtue exist. If ye will obey, (for God is ever ready to assist,) ye shall live; if ye will disobey and refuse that help, ye shall die. So hath Jehovah spoken, and man cannot reverse it.” — Adam Clarke (1762-1832), Commentary on the Whole Bible.

A PRAYER.

O God,
Creator of the universe,
Source of all being
Light Uncreated,
Beyond our comprehension,

You have conferred upon us
the ability to choose.
You have given us
moral responsibility.

We are not stones,
we are not puppets.

There is much we cannot control
But, we can choose life.
We are filled with natural passions and drives,
But, You have said:
“Choose this day who you will serve.”

Free us from our false gods,
free us from our tendency to drift with the crowd,
free us from our sin and selfishness,
free us from our addictions.

Set us free to serve You with our whole hearts.

Today we choose You and Your will.
By the power of Your Spirit,
Enable us to truly live the life of faith
And find Your peace and blessing.

We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ,
Our Savior and Lord. Amen

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“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the LORD swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” — Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NRSV.