Encouragement
I. God has given us the dignity of choice -- (Deuteronomy 30:11-17)
~God created us in His own image --
A part of this image is free-will and the ability to choose.
These choices can be good or bad -- make them good.
Salvation in Christ helps to sharpen our ability to choose, so that our choices are good.
~This means that there are cross-roads in life.
Not so much left nor right, but upper...and lower...roads. (Matt. 7: 13-29)
John Oxenham said, "To every man there openeth a way...and ways....and a way...and the high soul climbs the high way and the low soul gropes the low, and in between on the misty flats, the rest drift to and fro. But to every man there openeth a high and a low and every man decideth the way his soul shall go."
IT IS UP TO US!
A mother said to her son, a famous painter:
"Remember my son, you were a Christian before you were a painter."
God has given us the dignity of choice...
don't disappoint Him nor underestimate yourself.
II. There is also the danger of choice -- (Deut. 30:18-19)
~The danger of choosing the good over the best.
The 'bad' is not the enemy of most of us....
but being satisfied with the 'good' instead of the 'best'....is!
The epitaph of one man was, "He did the best of things in the worst of times."
~The danger of a selfish choice:
a) Choosing money over ministry. Money is not the root of all evil, but the love of it, is.
How much money does it take to satisfy? Just a little bit more.
In getting what money can buy, make sure you get what money can NOT buy:
Love
Peace
Joy
Salvation
Heaven
Eternal Life
b) Choosing time over Eternity.
Too many people live just for earth...and not with Eternity in mind.
They end up with short term pleasures, but long term consequences.
They prepare for everything except death.
c) Knowledge over wisdom -- It takes both, but don't leave God out.
Wisdom comes only from God and helps us assimilate and properly use our knowledge.
Education must have Christ and morality in it...or it will fail as it did in Nazi Germany.
A critically burned soldier in Korea, said to the Chaplain before he died...
"This is the result of too much chemistry and not enough Christ."
The Bible is plain, "Seek first Christ and His rule in your heart." (Matt. 6:33)
The highest knowledge is:
"That I may know Him...
and the power of His resurrection...
and the fellowship of His sufferings." (Philippians 3:10)
III. There is the destiny of choice -- (Deut. 30:15-20)
1) Verse 15a: Good or evil....Choose good!
2) Verse 15b: life or death. Choose life!
John 3:16 says 'You can have eternal life"....and unique quality of life now....
but John 10:10 says that THAT life is "ONLY in Christ!"
Jesus said in John 14:6:
"I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes unto the Father, but by Me."
Thus:
without the Way, you cannot go...
without the Truth, you cannot know...
without the Life, you cannot live!
Do you know of a better Way, Truth or Life? If so, share it....if not, believe it!
3) Deut. 30:17 -- God or idols?
You will become like the god you worship. See Ps. 115 and Isaiah 44:6-20.
4) Deut. 30:19 -- Blessing or curse?
Remember Galatians 6:7 says, "You will reap what you sow." That can be good or bad!
Sow good seed....and have a good harvest. The ultimate good harvest is Heaven.
The ultimate bad harvest is hell. You will spend Eternity in one of these places.
THE DECISION IS YOUR'S!
CONCLUSION:
You can exist or you can really live....THE DECISION IS YOUR'S!
In Shakespeare's Macbeth:
"Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing."
Another said:
"Life is the jail sentence which we get for the crime of being born."
THE DECISION IS YOUR'S!
When the great missionary David Livingstone died, his body was returned to England for burial. People stood in long lines to pay their respects and one elderly man was heard sobbing aloud.
The man had been Livingstone's boyhood friend and had scorned Livingstone's choice to serve in Africa.
With a life of selfish interests behind him and regret before him, the man cried out...
"I put emphasis on the wrong world!"
You can be a victim of your choices!
THE DECISION IS YOUR'S!
Sam Hadley (Director of the Water Street Mission) said,
"The night I was converted, I went out and looked up at the stars. I had not seem them for 16 years....a drunkard never looks up. It is a man's privilege to relate himself to God through Christ, that he CAN look up!
Live so that you can:
~look inward with respect
~look outward with sympathy
~look back with satisfaction
~and upward with faith!"
THE DECISION IS YOUR'S!
Make the right decision NOW, as tomorrow may be too late!
Due to:
~the economic situation in our country (as well as the rest of the world)
~wars and unrest in SO many countries
~terrible weather-related storms around our world that have affected people's lives
IT IS SO IMPORTANT that we seek God's Face as we step into the voting booth next month to elect a new President for our Nation!
THAT DECISION IS BETWEEN YOU AND GOD.
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This is what our hearts need to talk about--to people during this critical month!
I pray our Lord Jesus's richest blessings of health and peace---upon you, sister La Moyne, and all your family..Amen!