I was talking to a good friend this morning about the fall of Adam. How Paul points out to Timothy that where Eve was tricked by the serpent, Adam was not. As I think more and more about that story I'm struck by several things. There was a time in which Eve was fallen and Adam was not. Whether that was a single second or some time, Adam weighs his options, knowing full well what has happened and in the end he chooses Eve over God. And to be perfectly clear, Romans tells us that sin entered the world through Adam - not Eve. We all have the things in our lives that happen to us and around us. Sometimes they are wretched, evil things that wound us in profound ways but often the things that truly define us most are the decisions we make ourselves. It's not the wound that drives us down dark roads, it's the vow we make in response. It's not the genuine deception that usually kills our hearts, it's the lie we recognize - and choose to believe all the same. Take a look at this picture on the left. Do you see a cross or a sewer? Is Christ welcome in your gutter moments or only your mountaintops? Can we decide to walk in freedom, never again to put on the yoke of slavery? We've shared this video with you before - I think it's some kind of YWAM commencement speech - but I wanted to share it again. (see at the end of the post) It's a manifesto on a deliberate, intentional, uncompromising walk with Jesus. What are the decisions that define us today? The whole text is listed out below if you prefer that but here are a few excerpts:...We've decided we're a battleship not a cruise-ship. An Army not an audience. Special Forces not spectators. Missionaries not club members...What decisions will define you this week? Will it be passivity or engagement? Will you trust God with everything, following that call that's been nagging at you for nine years, or will another year come and go as your heart grows ever colder? Today, like each day, the Lord sets before us life and death. I, for one, choose life.