I can't get away from this word 'choose' and all you followers have been very quiet! Maybe you are choosing great and your life is just peaches and cream and you are speeding down life's road with gusto catching the downhill wind that is preparing you for the hill ahead - I have been biking and those hills make you want to prepare!!!
But, just in case you are like me and wondering why some things in my life just don't seem to change fast enough and 'could it be' that my 'choices' are part of the equation that will turn those things around for the good???? Just questions the Lord has been prodding my little brain with. So lets keep talking about "choosing".
I read this little scripture and thought - wow - maybe this is some of the answer.
Luke 8:22 - "NOW IT HAPPENED, ON A CERTAIN DAY THAT HE GOT INTO THE BOAT WITH HIS DISCIPLES. AND HE SAID TO THEM, "LET US CROSS OVER TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LAKE." AND THEY LAUNCHED OUT."
If you keep reading before and after this verse you see that Jesus had just told His followers that they were His 'brothers and sisters' and everything seemed to be going just great. He was sharing 'secrets' with them and they were in the 'in' crowd. Then they got into the boat with Him! I don't know what that would be for you but for me it was to .................say 'yes' to following Jesus which lead to marrying Jerry, becoming pastors, moving several times in our lives...........you name it! After saying 'yes' to Christ and getting into His boat that's when it all started! It seemed like Jesus went to sleep and the storms started to blow!!! Sometimes I have wondered if I got in the right boat!
Ultimately, Jesus just promises to give us 'life that you may live', where there is not death, and that life more abundantly. Hanging on to Him and crying out for Him is what we do in that storm. We have to go through it knowing that it will end - and then another one will come and it will end AND Jesus will be right there beside you saying "Choose LIFE - ME"!!
We are living for the furture - not just for today. Our future after we choose Christ is forever and how we live our today will predict our future. Also, my choice to follow Christ and to get into His boat has given me more choices along the way. Will I trust Him in the storm or fear the storm itself? Will I support the other disciples in the boat or cause them to doubt their choice for Christ? Maybe you can think of more examples. Take a minute and share them with the rest of us!
Have a great day - and if you live in Lincoln - come out tonight for Pastor Jerry's "Heaven" encounter!!!
3 comments:
Hi, Susan,
I do want to reply to your word today on CHOOSE. Sometimes, when we look at others’ lives and they seem so free of worry and problems, etc., we then look at our life, which may have had ongoing problems, or one thing after another, and we wonder, ‘Did I choose the right way”? I believe with all my heart, that when we know Christ, even though it might not be in a mature way, (like when we’re young), his Holy Spirit leads us. He gives us the sense that we are doing the right thing, or going in the right direction, even though we can’t see every move He makes in our lives. The positive thing is that if we continue to walk in the path we are in, He will guide us, He will grow us up, He will always be there through thick and thin. I always think of Helen Miller in Danville, with her daughter, who is now in her 60’s with a mind of a 4 year old. How has she done it for over 60 years? At first it wasn’t quite so hard because she had a devoted husband who could handle that daughter perhaps better than she could. But he died more than 10 years ago, probably 15. It was up to her to then handle that girl by herself, and she can be a real handful of stubbornness, self-will, etc. I told Helen when we were last in Danville how I admired her walk with the Lord in spite of all the years of a tough life. She began to cry and said, “It is only the Lord who has made me able to do it. Maryann has been a real handful, but He made me able to go through with it, a day at a time." I couldn’t have done what she has, but then, the Lord didn’t require it of me. He gave us 4 healthy, wonderful children. My testings came in other ways. How many homes have we lived in? How many cities and countries have we lived in? I don’t even count, because the Lord led us and we CHOSE to go His way.
So, cheer up! The best is yet to come! Have a great day, and choose LIFE!
Mom
Hi
Wanted to comment about what Eleanor said about chosing wrong. Sometimes we make the wrong choice without realizing it...We pick the wrong insurance and don't know until we need it. We chose wrong when shopping, or in our food choices because of lack of knowledge or foresight. It is good to remember God is a God that is full of grace and knows our heart. If our heart is purposed to honor Him He has a way of working out the details and providing knowledge to do better in the future and help us deal with the bad choices in a way that brings maturity. When we honor Him and seek His kingdom first we can make decisions with confidence and peace instead of fear or worry. An important thing that I have learned is that it is completely fine to choose to do nothing until that peace comes in a decision especially when we are facing difficult circumstances. God is a God of peace not panic or uncertainty.
Both of these comments are great. The thing I am realizing is that "the choice is ours"!
And we sometimes choose wrong. But I know that my greatest lessons have been learned from my wrong choices or bad choices. God does look at the heart, Crystal, and not all hard choices are the right ones either. Some of the right choices are the easy ones and for one reason or another - usually rebellion - we choose the harder one. God is out for our good though and sooner or later we usually come around if we have had good seed put into us along our path of life.
Post a Comment