The Power of Choice

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Gen 2:15-17 (KJV)

Our text reveals that man was created as a free moral agent. That is to say that he was given the privilege of choice and immediately presented with an option to exercise it. The skeptic may ask why would a loving God who is all-knowing put man in such a position. Why put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden if you know that man is going to eat from it? I believe the answer has to do with the power of choice. Nature is a system of causality. That is to say, what is happening is the result of what has happened and what will be is based on what is. One thing leads to another by necessity. As the earth rotates on its axis, it will appear that the sun will rise and set continuously throughout time. We will have a continuing stream of day followed by night. This is the way it has been, this is the way it is, and this is the way it will be until time ceases. The beasts of the air and those of the field are continuously driven by instinct to survive and multiply. They make no plans to do anything but that. It was in the midst of this orderly display of nature that God placed a creature that had been fashioned in his image and after his likeness. This creature would not simply conform to the pattern of nature and move in a predictable orderly fashion. This creature would have the power of choice. This creature would be capable of changing the very face of nature


I. Choosing comes with Responsibility

II. Choosing is a Privilege

III. Choosing produces Consequences

IV. Nature displays a System of Causality that Man chooses to exempt Himself from by exercising Choice

V. The essence of Choice reflects the Image of God in Man

Every new phase of life brings a person to a point of decision. A choice has to be made that will have a lasting effect. Unlike beasts that are instinct driven, mankind must make decisions. When a lion wakes up on the plains of Africa, its instincts will drive it throughout the day. If a person wakes up on that same plain, they have an inexhaustible list of options available that will be set in motion by the first decisions they make that day. A person’s life is often the sum total of all of the decisions they have made and the consequences that resulted. Joshua as well as Elijah demanded that Israel choose to follow the Lord. The power of choice presupposes that man has the ability to affect his own outcome. The only outcome desirable is what God has provided for us. Jesus should always be our first and only choice. However, we do err because we have a tendency to do so. When this occurs, God has provided the opportunity to make another choice. If we are lost, Jesus says come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. If we are saved but have erred, God says if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. No matter what choice you made yesterday, you can make another decision right now. Choose Jesus.


Robert C. Hudson
May 24, 2009

Praise for the God-fearing Woman

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates. Proverbs 31:30-31

The Book of Proverbs is often attributed to King Solomon. Although King Solomon is named as the author of most of the proverbs recorded, there are two other authors identified as writers who contributed to the book. One of those authors was named King Lemuel. Since he is identified as a king, then it is believed that he was a non-Israelite contributor. It should be noted that King Lemuel attributes the wisdom in his writing to the prophecy of his mother. There is much that can be said about that, however, we won’t address it at this time. If any person knows a woman’s character, undoubtedly it would be another woman. I believe that it would do us well to observe carefully the words of King Lemuel. As he ends his writings, which end the Book of Proverbs, he describes a praiseworthy woman. The writings certainly bring into question our society and those we choose to honor and praise for all of the wrong reasons. We have beauty contests at all levels to select someone to be honored and to represent us locally, at the state level, nationally, and even globally. We tend to admire people that are well connected in society. Again, we honor those who know how to network and become a part of the “in crowd”. But these things are quickly dismissed as the wrong indicators of those who deserve to be praised.


I. Deceitful Favor (There’s more to life than being a part of the “in crowd”.)
A. People can Pretend to Like You
B. People can Pretend to be Your Friend
C. People can Pretend to have Your best Interest at Heart

II. Vain Beauty (Your looks are an insignificant part of who you are.)
A. Exterior Beauty can Attract but not Keep
B. Speech says more than Looks
C. Actions speak louder than Words

III. Characteristics of the God-fearing Woman
A. She is Enterprising
B. She Shows Good Judgment
C. She is a Wise and Loving Counselor
D. She is Respected by Others
E. Her Works are a Testimony of Her Character

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. On the sixth day, God created Adam in his own image and after his likeness and placed Adam in the Garden of Eden to take care of it. On the seventh day, God rested from all his work. We are not told if it were the second week or sometime later but God observed Adam and said, It is not good that the man should be alone. God took great care in rectifying man’s social situation. He did not hurriedly create a helper for Adam. Instead, God brought all of the beasts of the field and fowl of the air to Adam. Adam named each one but there was not a helper found that was fitting for him. That’s when the first human surgery was done. God administered a divine anesthesia that caused Adam to enter a deep sleep. Then he removed a rib from him and sutured the flesh. With that rib God fashioned a woman and brought her to Adam. Adam recognized her as his own flesh and said that she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. Since that day, there have been as many women born into the world as there have been men. Like men, some have excelled in character and some have not done so well. When sin entered the world through Adam’s disobedience, it did not discriminate between genders. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But God ordained that there would be a remedy for our sin condition. The remedy would not involve man at all but it would come by way of the seed of a woman. One of those praiseworthy women was Mary from Nazareth of Galilee. Nazareth was a place of which the question was asked “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Mary was a good thing. She feared God and thereby became a vessel to bring forth God’s only begotten son, Jesus. Like Mary, who came from humble beginnings, there are many mothers today that are God-fearing and deserve to be praised for their character. We salute mothers on this special day and offer double honor to those who fear God and set an example for others to follow.


Robert C. Hudson
May 10, 2009

Work, Witness, and Worship

Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. John 12:1-3

Jesus is the guest of honor at a dinner that has a most unusual setting. The host for this dinner is known as Simon the leper. Leprosy was such a dreaded disease that it caused immediate social isolation for the person diagnosed with it. It is assumed but not scripturally stated that Simon’s leprosy had been cured. Perhaps, Simon was one of the many lepers that Jesus had cured. There were ten cured at one time when one returned to show gratitude. There was another time when Jesus touched a leper and cured him. Of course, touching a leper was considered an unclean thing to do. But Jesus had a special touch. For all of us who were once covered by the leprosy of sin, we know what a touch from Jesus can do. And here Jesus is at a dinner in the home of Simon the leper. But not only that, Jesus is sitting at the table with a man who had died, his body had begun to decompose, and was subsequently raised from the dead after four days. The scripture says that a holy person should not be around the dead. But there are no instructions for how to interact with a person who was once dead and is now alive. This is the setting for an honorarium dinner for Jesus.

I. From the gospel accounts:
A. The dinner was given in Simon’s House (Matthew, Mark)
B. Simon was a leper (Matthew, Mark)
C. Mary anointed Jesus’ head also (Matthew, Mark)
D. The Ointment was worth more than 300 pence (Mark, John)

II. Martha the Worker
A. Notable that the Scriptures indicate that Martha Served
B. We need Christian Servants
C. Jesus had referred to Martha as Worried and Upset about many Things

III. Lazarus the Witness
A. The Scripture notes that This is after Lazarus was Raised from the Dead
B. His new Life is a Testimony of What Jesus can Do
C. He communes or shares at the Table with Jesus
D. He is a Silent Witness (Many believed on Jesus because of him.)


IV. Mary the Worshiper
A. Her Worship caused a Problem at the Party
i. She was Accused of being Wasteful
ii. She was Accused of being Insensitive to the Poor
B. Jesus defended Her
i. Let her alone.
ii. Why are you bothering her?
iii. She has done a good work (Matthew, Mark)
C. Jesus defended his right to be worshiped
i. Jesus’ bodily presence should be acknowledged
ii. You can always help the poor
D. She did what she could
E. Her worship memorialized her
F. She worshiped by Faith (preparation for Jesus’ burial)


I believe that there is a lot we can learn from this Bethany family of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. If you are a worker, there is never enough help but you should work anyway. If you are a witness, your new life in Christ should do most of the talking for you. If people are not convinced by your life, they might not be persuaded by your words either. No matter how much God does in providing you with a new life in Jesus, there will always be some haters who are not in favor of your healthy outlook or general wellbeing. In spite of all of this, you should still take time for communion with Jesus. When you worship Jesus, Jesus is your shield and protector. Worshiping Jesus is a good work. Jesus deserves all of the praise and worship we can give. There is no limit to praising him. You might not sing like others but you should sing anyhow. If no one else is lifting holy hands, you should lift yours when your soul is moved to worship God. You have to learn to do what you can. Worship should be an act of your faith. Not only do you have a right to worship God, but if you know that he has done something for you, you have a reason to worship.


Robert C. Hudson
May 3, 2009