pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: decision


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A Better Way

Reading: Genesis 29: 15-28

Verse 25: What is this you have done to me? … Why have you deceived me?

Today’s reading is an interesting turn of events.  Poor Jacob is tricked by his uncle and ends up with the older, less beautiful daughter.  But before we feel too bad for Jacob, let’s remember why he is here.  Jacob has fled from his home to escape the wrath of his father Isaac and his brother Esau.  He tricked the very elderly Isaac into giving him, the younger son, Esau’s birthright.  Maybe, just maybe, Jacob deserves what Labsn has done – a little taste of his own medicine, so to speak.

But before we jump on that bandwagon, we’d better take a little stock of our own lives.  Yes, we have probably been in a place like Jacob finds himself in.  We have been let down by someone we trusted.  We have had agreements and arrangements broken.  Maybe we were a faithful employee for years and years, only to see the new and younger person receive the leadership role.  Maybe we have seen a long-term friendship evaporate when someone new moved to town.  We have all been where Jacob finds himself.  We know the anger, the hurt, the frustration.

When we stop and reflect, though, we’ve all played Laban’s role as well.  Maybe we haven’t slipped the older daughter into a drunk man’s bed after he had worked for seven years for the other daughter, but we have made decisions or manipulated or crossed the line a time or two.  Maybe it was as simple as choosing how to reword something or to embellish it or to leave a detail out – to best insure our desired outcome.  In any event, we have been there and done it.  We too have made others shout, “What is this you have done to me? … Why have you deceived me”?

When we take stock, when we reflect on those moments, we realize there is a better way for us and for others.  It is the way of love, the way of the servant, the way of Jesus.  Lord, help me to be righteous, bringing honor and glory to you in all I do and say and think this day and every day.


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Honor Creation

Reading: Psalm 8

Verse Six: You made him ruler over the world of your hands, You put everything under his feet.

Psalm 8 opens with praise for God.  It then shifts to acknowledge the glory and wonder found in the works of His hands.  Mankind enters the picture in verse four.  “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” reminds us that relative to the heavens, moon, and stars, mankind is a little less.  Yet we are still deeply loved by God.

Verses six through eight establishes the hierarchy here on earth.  Verse six reads, “You made him ruler over the world of your hands, You put everything under his feet”.  This verse clearly establishes mankind as the ruler of the earthly world.  The word “everything” is pretty inclusive.  The list that comes next covers it: flocks, herds, beasts, birds, fish.  Psalm 8 closes with its opening line of praise, but perhaps this time it has a slightly different tone.

Over the years, mankind has indeed ruled the earth.  How well the collective “we” had ruled is debatable.  At times we have practiced things that were bad for the earth.  While at times “we” have harmed the earth, the general trend has been to care for it.  I do not think anyone could argue that we have we cared for it as well as we could have.  Certainly we could have been more diligent in our forethought.  There are things we should have avoided doing but failed to.  This is revealed in our long history of harming the earth and then trying to fix or at least mediate what we did.  Too often progress and the profit margin have led the way and we have done great harms to our waters, land, sky, and the populations of many plants and animals.  The extinction list, for example, has way too many names on it.

If we do indeed praise God and bring honor to the creation of His hands, how do we reflect that in our choices and decisions?  As Christians, we can make choices and decisions that help the earth or do it less harm.  As followers of Christ, we can stand up to protect the earth when we should.  As those in charge of the creation, we can love it as God loves us – caring well for the earth.  It is a monumental task to care for the earth, but it is well within our abilities.  May we love and care for this amazing creation well as we honor God’s work.


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Choice

Reading: Deuteronomy 30: 15-20

As the Hebrews stand on the edge of the Promised Land, they face a whole new life.  It is a life unlike any they have known or heard about.  It is a life that contains options, choices, freedom.  All of the stories they heard as children were of slavery in Egypt and of God’s redemption.  As slaves, the people had to follow Pharaoh’s orders or they died.  Even when God redeemed them and Moses led them out of Egypt, they were ‘free’ but we’re very dependant on God.  They wandered for forty years in the vast desert, dependant on God for everything.  On the occasions when they tested out freedom, like when they built and worshipped the golden calf, the consequences were dire.

What lay ahead was the land of milk and honey.  The land would provide their food.  The toil of their own hands would also play a role in what seemed to produce the crops.  Instead of being the only people isolated together in the desert, now rheyb would live in and amongst many different tribes.  Each of these tribes brought and offered choices.  Who to fight with, who to intermarry with?  Who to shun as outsiders, whobto kneel beside at the altar to an idol?  The Hebrews entered a new land flush with choices and freedoms.

We too live in a land flush with choices and freedom.  We too live as aliens amongst many different tribes.  Not only this, but we live in a world of tolerance and acceptance.  The ‘just do it’ and do whatever you need to to find success mentalities are poor examples of these good ideals.  And to add to this, the list of what our culture idolizes is long.  It is a tough time and place to be a devout Christian.

Each day, we too face the choice that Moses presented to the Hebrews: choose life through God or choose death through the world.  When we choose God, we are choosing the narrow road.  Our choices are not unlimited but are bound by God.  All of our choices and decisions must be filtered through lens of ‘What is God’s will in this’?  How we speak, act, and do must also be aligned with God’s will.  When we choose life through God we are choosing life in Christ.  When our choice is Jesus and we choose to declare Him the Lord of our life, we hand it all over to Him, surrendering all that we are.  When we choose life in Christ, we are choosing to become slaves to His love, hope, mercy, compassion, …  And what a life of freedom it is!  There is a choice to be made.  What is your choice?


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In Christ Alone

Reading: Colossians 2: 6-19

In order to both stay strong and to grow in our faith, we must be well connected to Christ.  We accomplish this by being in a close personal relationship with Him.  As God incarnate, Christ came to earth and lived among us so that we could better relate to Him and could better connect to His example and teachings.

Today’s reading gives us three ways to see our connection to Christ.  The first is that of a tree.  Christ is the soil that nourishes our faith and allows us to grow in Him.  We, like a tree, need to sink down deep roots.  The winds of life will try and blow us this way and that.  If we are not deeply rooted in Christ, we can be easily swayed and perhaps could even topple over.  When we are deeply rooted, we can pull from deep within ourselves to withstand what life brings.

The second metaphor is that of a house.  In this example, Christ is our strong foundation.  Christ and His teachings are the solid rock upon which we build our lives.  The solid foundation of our faith keeps us anchored when the storms of life come.  The trials and struggles will surely come.  But when we are rock solid in our faith and our foundation is built on Christ alone, then we can handle the things that happen that will test our faith.

Christ as the head is the third way we need to connect to Him.  In our own bodies the brain controls everything.  The brain controls all function and thought.  The brain is the complete control center.  We do not do anything without impulses, thoughts, and decisions passing through our brains.  In our lives, Christ needs to function in the same way.  All we do and say and think needs to come through Christ dwelling in us.  All must be filtered through the ‘what would Jesus do’ question.

Each day we need to be in the Word, to spend time in prayer, and to reflect on God’s will and direction for our lives.  Each day we need to take His teachings and go forth to be the light and love our world so needs.  Each day may we be firmly rooted in Christ, standing strong upon the foundation He provides, so that we may humbly and faithfully be His hands and feet in the world.


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Bold as Peter

Reading: Acts 5: 27-32

In life we often face decision points.  One choice leads to this outcome and the other choice leads to that outcome.  This choice may anger or alienate or negatively impact this person or group and that choice will do the same for that person or group.  Even though in our heart and mind we come to what we think or feel is the ‘right’ choice, not everyone will necessarily agree.

Often these choices are not big and impactful, but at times they are.  In these situations, the pressure to make the ‘right’ decision can be huge.  This is especially true when both choices have a number of positives and negatives.  But in some cases there is a clear correct choice.  Yet even these are not always free of possible consequences.  Such was the case when the apostles were again called before the Sanhedrin.

The apostles had been instructed to stop teaching in the name of Jesus.  What they were teaching did not please the Jewish religious authorities because it was a way different from their way.  The apostles were drawing people to Christ instead of to Judaism.  Peter’s response is awesome: “we must obey God rather than men”. What a tough statement to argue against!  Who could know more than or argue against God?!

The obvious answer to this question is one we must remind ourselves of when the voice of the world or the voice of self competes with the voice of God.  In these times that will surely happen, we must trust in the voice of the Holy Spirit, in what we read in the Bible, and in the promises of God to love and protect and bless us.  May we be as bold as Peter.  May we obey God.


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Decisions, Decisions

Each day a person makes many decisions.  Depending on how you define ‘decision’ it could be thousands.  In the decisions like ‘what to wear today’, most of the time these decisions do not have lifelong implications.  But for some, each day decisions are made that are on this level.  Certainly we all make major decisions at times in life.

Each of us must apply due diligence in making the big decisions – Do I marry?  What college?  Do I pursue that job?  Do I blur the lines?  We must each weigh the positives and negatives and think through our decision in light of who we are.  Sometimes we seek the counsel of trusted friends, mentors, or family members.

When the disciples came to the point of replacing Judas, they thought through what this person must offer and what the requirements for the job ‘apostle’ were.  After this and after searching for a candidate they came down to two qualified men.  They did not then flip a coin or vote on who to select – they went to God in prayer for the final decision.

This pattern of doing what we can and then taking time to seek God’s will and direction should be our standard course of action when we face the big decisions in life.  Sometimes we may even need to involve God when we cannot sort our options out on our own.  God desires good for all who love Him.  Invest in time with God when making life’s big decisions.  Listen for His voice, feel the nudges, trust in Him.

Scripture reference: Acts 1: 21-26


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Faithful Followers

During my quiet time in the morning I can focus pretty well on God.  As I read, pray, ponder, and write faith is at the center.  But as the rest of the day unfolds, I can lose that focus on God for periods.  He pops back in here and there, but I should seek His presence and direction on a more regular basis.

It is easy to plunge into the day, seeking to check things of my “to do” list instead of seeking Him.  It is easy to get caught up in a “what if” moments instead of getting lost in Him.  It is easy to wallow in indecision instead of bathing in His guidance and direction.  Each of these is a choice.

So how do we choose wisely and in a way that honors God and develops our relationship with Him?  Paul offers us some suggestions in 1st Thessalonians.  First, prepare ourselves for the day by putting on faith and love as our breastplate and the hope of salvation as our helmet.  Arm ourselves with God as w begin to face the day.  Come back regularly as we feel a chink developing in our armor.  Second, encourage and build each other up.  Knowing we have support and having the right outlook goes a long way towards helping us walk the path that God intends for us.  This day, through His strength and through the support and with the prayers of our Christians brothers and sisters, may we be the faithful followers we are called to be.

Scripture reference: 1 Thessalonians 5: 6-11