Sermon Illustrations on Choice

Sow Your Destiny

"Sow a thought, reap an action.

Sow an action, reap a habit.

Sow a habit, reap a character.

Sow a character, reap a destiny."

Quote from Talmadge.

Choosing Joy

Christians can choose to be joyful, and Philippians shows how.

I. Joy is a choice made by those who discipline their attitudes.

A. Paul commands us to be joyful.

1) How is this possible?

2) It is an attitude that determines feelings, not a feeling

that determines our attitude.

B. It is not automatic, but work.

II. Maintain a grateful heart.

A. Think of how God has used you to bless others.

B. Remember God's blessings on your family and friends.

C. Glory in even the simplest things.

D. Learn to see God's goodness, because times of drought will come.

III. Focus on future hope.

A. Paul kept his future rest in mind. 1:21

1) He saw the final good, the final victory.

B. Jesus is an example of such hope. 2:5-11; Heb 12:2

C. Hope winches us out of despair.

1) Think beyond the present.

2) Think beyond yourself.

IV. Pursue godly goals.

A. Keep your spiritual goals clearly in mind. 3:8-11

B. A forward focus doesn't leave time for depression and

disappointment.

C. Set our minds on heaven.

V. Pray.

A. Impulse to pray when in trouble is almost automatic.

1) We see it as our right to grumble.

B. Pray about everything.

1) It is the alternative to anxiety.

2) Joy doesn't just wait for answer, but grows through prayer

itself.

3) Prayer carries a promise: peace. 4:7

VI. Think godly thoughts.

A. Tragedies tend to focus our minds and stifle us.

1) But we can choose what to think about. 4:8-9

2) Instead of being obsessed, we need to back off and give it

all to God.

3) Substitute pure thoughts.

B. Thoughts are best disciplined in action.

VII. Learn contentment.

A. Find contentment in what you have, rather than despair at what

you don't.

1) Jesus encouraged us to get busy in the present. Matt 6:34

2) Contentment in not in amount, but in attitude.

3) Dissatisfaction breeds anxiety and frustration.

B. Discontent happens naturally, but contentment is learned.

1) Exercise discipline and self-control.

2) Seek first God's Kingdom. Matt 6:3

C. Sadness is normal, but we don't have to let it gain control

of our lives.

1) Self-pity leads to enslavement.

2) The alternative can be chosen - joy.

Alan Medinger grew up with a distant father and was early-on attracted to other men. He married, had two daughters, and then entered into a secret homosexual lifestyle that lasted ten years. Except for this one great, dark area in his life, Alan had it all together. He was successful in business, a pillar of the church, and had a wonderful family, including foster children they took it. Theologically, he had it pretty well figured out. All men and women commit sin, and this was his particular area of weakness.

He tried to keep it under control but the compulsion was increasing. His marriage crumbled. His wife began attending a prayer meeting and "let go" of him emotionally and spiritually. Alan himself attended a prayer meeting and was told by the friend who invited him, "What the Lord has for you is far better than anything you could imagine." When Alan heard that a great peace came over him.

As the large group of two or three hundred people were praying and praising God aloud, he quietly surrendered his life, including his homosexuality, to Jesus Christ. He admitted his helplessness, that his life was a wreck, and that he was will to let Him do whatever He would with his life. His fantasies disappeared, he felt a love for his wife Willa that he never knew was possible, and God was no longer a faraway scorekeeper to him. He was a Savior who had come down from His heaven and brought him salvation. Alan no longer feels inadequate around straight men and has assumed headship over his family.

He avoids temptations like literature and movies that would arouse him and has found that the desires from that part of his life are steadily decreasing.

Double Life No More

By age 23, Gene Chase was dedicated to active Christian evangelism and teaching in his church - and equally diligent in pursuing furtive homosexual encounters out of town. ...

Choose Today Whom You Will Serve!

Melissa Vinson, an honors student at Seminole High School in Sanford, Florida, played a game called “Pass-Out” with two other girls. In the board game, players land on squares that read, “Take a drink” or “Go to the bar” and they recite tongue-twisters on “Pink Elephant” cards. In a two hour period, Melissa consumed most of a liter bottle of vodka. Later that night she began to convulse and blacked out on her living room floor. She was pronounced dead at Florida Hospital in Orlando. Medical examiners concluded that possibly a reaction of the vodka to a prescription drug contributed to her death.

Abraham Bininger, a Swiss boy from Zurich, came with his parents to this country on the same ship with John Wesley. His parents died on the trip and were buried at sea. Young Abraham stepped down the gang-plank alone in a strange and bewildering land. A short time later he decided to take the gospel to the natives on the island of St. Thomas but when he got there he learned that it was illegal for anyone but a slave to preach the gospel to the slaves. He wrote to the governor of the island begging to become a slave himself that he might have the freedom to proclaim the gospel. The letter was forwarded to the king of Denmark who was so touched by Bininger’s desire that he sent an edict to allow him to preach the gospel where, when and to whom he chose. [see also HolwickID #11758]

What do those stories have in common? What is the thread weaving them together? The element of choice. Melissa made a choice and it cost her life; Bininger made a choice and it led him to preach the gospel.

The people of Israel needed to make a choice. They were summoned to Joshua and he recited for them the history of God’s dealing with them beginning with Abraham and continuing through the bondage of Egypt, the exodus with its trials and set-backs, and to that very moment. God had blessed them, guided them, protected them, provided for them. Now the ball was in their court. How would they choose in reference to God? Joshua set a clear demand before them, saying in verses 14-15:

“Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

________

Story of Melissa from Albany Democrat-Herald newspaper; Bininger illustration from Paul Lee Tan, “Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations.”

The Ultimate Choice

John 15:16

Final sermon in Joshua series. Joshua's challenge. Joshua 24:15-27

===================

THE ULTIMATE CHOICE

===================

I. Our choices make a real difference.

A. Think of the choices you have made that had an impact.

B. What would have been results of other choices?

II. Choices that face us.

A. Choosing college or career.

B. Choosing spouse.

C. Choosing personal values / lifestyle.

D. Most important choice of all.

III. Why we can believe.

A. God did stuff for the Israelites. 24:17

B. Christian faith is based on real events.

IV. The dilemma.

A. We are not able. 24:19

B. Will God NOT forgive?

V. When to choose God.

A. Don't put it off.

B. The choice is not for you alone - what about your family? 24:15

C. Make your choice concrete.

The Bus Stop Decision

Job 11:8

You are driving along on a wild stormy night. You pass by a bus stop and you see three people waiting for the bus:

1. An old lady who is about to die.

2. An old friend who once saved your life.

3. The perfect man/woman of your dreams.

Which one would you choose, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car? This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application.

You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die and thus you should save her first; or, you could take the old friend because he once saved your life and that would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect dream lover again.

The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer. He simply answered: "I would give the car keys to my old friend and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the woman of my dreams."

Some problems DO have simple solutions.

*

Why Doesn't God Destroy Evil?

Why didn't God just destroy evil? Why doesn't God just step in, obliterate the devil, and cause all sin to be eradicated. Why doesn't God just go into every cancer ward and empty ever cancer ward? Why doesn't God just take away the curse from nature? Why doesn't God just destroy evil and make it impossible for people to sin?

If God were to destroy evil, God would destroy every opportunity of choice. And if God were to destroy every opportunity for choice, then God would destroy every opportunity for love. Therefore, God would destroy the highest good. Therefore, for God to destroy evil would be evil. God doesn't destroy evil, God defeats evil.

How does God defeat evil? Calvary and the resurrection. God turns every hurt into a hallelujah. God says, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." You see, God is not finished yet!

Your Most Important Decision

Luke 18:13

YOUR MOST IMPORTANT DECISION

"Choose you this day whom you will serve; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15).

Have you made this most important choice in your life? So many marriages and homes are falling apart. It is only the lives and homes that are built on the foundation of Jesus Christ and His commandments that will stand. How can you get your life on a right foundation and receive God's salvation?

1. ACKNOWLEDGE that you are a sinner. It is your sin that separates you from

fellowship with God. (Luke 18:13; Romans 3:21)

2. REPENT of your sin and turn away from it. (Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38,39; 3:19)

3. CONFESS your sin to God and He will cleanse you and forgive you. His

forgiveness is complete. When He forgives, He forgets! (Psalm 32:2;

I John 1:7,9; Romans 10:9,10)

4. FORSAKE your own way and determine to follow God's ways. (lsaiah 48:18;

55:7; Mark 8:24-38)

5. BELIEVE that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is the Son of God. He is the One

who has borne the punishment of your sin. (John 3:16; Mark 16:16)

6. RECEIVE His great salvation that He has purchased on your behalf. (John

1:12)

7. THANK Him for His great salvation and His blood that He shed for you.

Receive Him gladly and ask Him to take control of your life.

8. DETERMINE that you and your household will all serve the Lord.

(from a gospel tract)

*

Mark Twain's Quotes On Life

Quotes by Mark Twain

====================

"It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them."

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."

"Always do right. This will surprise some people and astonish the rest."

"The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up."

"Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of a joy, you must have somebody to divide it with."

"Speaking honestly is better. It takes a lot of stress out of our lives. If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything, but if you don't tell the truth you have to remember what you said."

Daily Bread (4/12/99)

"Put It To The Test"

Every Christian must make many moral decisions. We cannot expect all control and discipline to be exerted from the outside. No one can do all our thinking for us. The Christiain is most stable when he has the maturity to apply principles taught in Scripture to his own problems. Consider these guidelines for determining when a practice is right or wrong.

THE PERSONAL TEST: Will doing this make me a better or worse Christian?

THE SOCIAL TEST: Will doing it influence others to be better or worse

Christians?

THE PRACTICAL TEST: Will the results of my doing it be desirable?

THE UNIVERSAL TEST: If everyone did this, would it improve or degrade

society?

THE SCRIPTURAL TEST: Does the Bible endorse it, or expressly forbid it?

THE STEWARDSHIP TEST: Will my doing this waste the talents God gave me?

THE MISSIONARY TEST: Will I have the proper influence to bring others to

Christ?

THE CHARACTER TEST: How will it influence my moral & spiritual stamina?

THE FAMILY TEST: Will it bring honor or embarrassment to my family?

THE PUBLICITY TEST: Would I want other Christians to know about it?

THE COMMON SENSE TEST: Does it agree with plain, everyday common

sense?

THE FINANCIAL TEST: Will it rob me of my financial ability to do good?

THE FAIRNESS TEST: Is it honest, and is it practicing the golden rule?

--Mastin Lake Family Newsletter, Huntsville, AL

Feathers Or Fur

A long time ago, when the world was young, the birds and the beasts

were engaged in a bitter war. The bat, not wanting to be, on the

losing side; whichever that might be; tried to be on both sides.

Whenever the birds won a battle, he would fly with them, telling

everyone he was a bird. When the beasts won, he would walk around,

assuring everyone that he was a beast. It didn't take long for the

bat's hypocrisy to be discovered. He was rejected by both the birds

and the beasts. From that day on, the bat has had to go into hiding.

To this day, he lives in dark caves, only daring to come out at night.

--Aesop's Fables

We must choose what we shall be--a Christ server, or a Christ

rejecter. We drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils.

Goodbye To God

At Princeton there is a tradition about Aaron Burr, how one night

when the college was shaken by a revival he shut himself in his room

saying that before the night was over he would decide the matter of

his relationship to God. Late at night, the students living near him

heard his shutters thrown open, and a loud exclamation, "Goodby God!"

The echo of this cry is heard in many quarters today and with more

or less enthusiasm. Those of us who are of the household of faith are

reluctant to admit the sweep and range of the present anti-Christian

movement. It proceeds under two forms: first open and avowed atheistic

propaganda or the worship of no God; second, and much more dangerous

and subtle, the cowardly compromise with unbelief on the part of

religious leaders of our day. --McCartney

Signing Away One's Interest In Christ

It was in a country store one evening. A number of young men

were sitting together about the stove, telling what they didn't

believe and what they were not afraid to do. Finally the leader

of the group remarked that, so far as he was concerned, he would

be willing any time to sign away his interest in Christ for a

five-dollar bill. "What did I understand you to say?" asked an

old farmer, who happened to be in the store, and who had

overheard the remark. "I said that for five dollars I would sign

away all my interest in Christ, and so I will."

The old farmer, who had learned to know the human heart pretty

well, drew out his leather wallet, took therefrom a five-dollar bill,

and put it in the storekeeper's hand. Then calling for ink and paper,

he said: "My young friend, if you will just step to the desk now and

write as I direct you, the money is yours." The young man took the pen

and began: "In the presence of these witnesses,

I,________, for the sum of five dollars, received, do now, once

for all and forever, sign away all my interest.." Then he dropped the

pen and with a forced smile said: "I take it back. I was only

fooling."

That young man did not dare to sign that paper. Why? He had an

accusing conscience. He knew that there was a God. He believed in

religion. He meant to be a Christian some time. And so do others.

Notwithstanding their apparent indifference, their trifling conduct,

their boasting speech, they would not today for ten thousand dollars

sign away, if such a thing were possible, their interest in Jesus

Christ. --Congregationalist

(untitled)

Joshua 24:15

A sheep found a hole in

the fence and crept through it. He was so glad to get

away! He wandered far and lost his way home. Then he realized that he

was

being followed by a wolf. He ran and ran, but the wolf kept chasing

him. Just

as the wolf was about to catch the sheep, the shepherd came and

rescued him.

He lovingly carried the sheep back to the fold. In spite of everyone's

urging,

the shepherd refused to mend the hole in the fence. from Anthony

deMello, The

Song of the Bird (God's respect for human freedom) \reference{Josh

24:15}{Joshua 24:15}; \reference{John 10:11-12}{John 10:11-12}

Quote

"Between two evils, choose neither; between two goods, choose

both.

- Tryon Edwards

- _Instant Quotation Dictionary_, p. 58.

A WISE CHOICE

On his birthday, a very wealthy man in London called his servants

together to give them some presents. He had a Bible and some

twenty-dollar notes. The servants were to make a choice between the

Bible and the notes.

First came the gardener, who said, "I would like to have the Bible,

but my wife is very sick and I need the money. I will take the note."

The cook said, "I can't read, so the Bible would not do me any

good. Give me the money."

The coachman said, "I would appreciate having the Bible, but I have

some pressing obligations. I believe the money will help me more."

Finally the errand boy came for his gift. The old gentleman asked,

"Son, which will you take?"

The boy replied, "I really need the money, but my mother, who has

gone to heaven, used to read to me from the Bible. I will take that"

The old gentleman was very much pleased with this choice. As he

handed the good Book to the boy, he said, "God bless you, my son, for

your wise choice. I present this Book to you with all it contains."

All the servants were still sitting in the presence of their

master. The boy slowly opened the pages of the Book. A shining twenty

dollar gold piece dropped out This the boy picked up and handed to the

donor of the Book.

"No," said the old man, "did I not give you the Book with all that

it contained?" The boy continued to turn the pages, and all along

through the Book he found large bank notes. When these were counted,

they proved to be quite a fortune. The other servants sat back, quite

abashed in the presence of the boy whose' choice had meant more than

he had known.

So it is when one chooses Christ. If we are true, it means

salvation, peace and happiness in this world and a mansion in the

better world through all eternity.

By William Moses Tidwell, "Effective Illustrations."

It's Me, Jesus

At a religious meeting in the South of London a timid little girl

desired the prayers of Christians for herself that she might be saved;

so she said to the gentleman conducting the meeting:

"Will you pray for me in the meeting, please? But do not mention my

name."

In the meeting that followed, when every head was bowed silently in

prayer, this gentleman prayed for a little girl who wanted to come to

Jesus, and he said:

"O Lord, there is a little girl who does not want her name known,

but Thou dost know her; save her soul, Lord."

There was perfect silence for an instant, then away in the back of

the room a little voice said:

"Please, it's me, Jesus -- it's me!"

She did not want any doubt or uncertainty. She wanted to be saved,

and she was not ashamed to arise in that meeting, little girl as she

was, and say:

"It's me, Jesus, it's me."

Are we willing to confess our needs and make our wants and wishes

known? -- SELECTED

OH, TO BE AGAIN AT the CROSS ROADS!

A man related this experience which led him to decide for God and

for everything that is highest and best. He saw himself old and

infirm, leaning on a staff and with uneven step tottering toward an

open grave. His hair was long and white, his face and hands were

wrinkled with age and worry. Just before he slipped into a yawning

grave he looked back upon the long pathway of his life. He saw a point

away back in his youth where the road forked. One road led up and up,

till it reached the land of peace and of God's glory; the other road

led down and down, till it entered the open grave.

He saw that he had made the wrong choice in his youth and he cried

aloud, "Oh, to be again at the cross roads!" With this cry he awoke,

for he had been asleep. He looked at his hands, they were not wrinkled

and old; he felt his brow, it was not furrowed with care; he examined

his hair, it was not long and gray; he was not leaning upon a staff --

it was a dream. He was not old, but was still young; his life was all

before him and he was "at the cross roads." After such a vision, it

did not take him long to decide to choose the right path.

By William Moses Tidwell, "Effective Illustrations."

WHEN CONVERTED

Often people have said, "Brother Tidwell, at what age were you

converted?" Well, I will give you a word of experience and let you

decide. when I was six years of age I attended my first funeral. Aunt

Tabbie Fulgum had died and the funeral was conducted at the old

Methodist church in the country. I shall never forget how "Aunt

Tabbie" looked in that country "coffin." Then I saw my first grave. I

can almost see that country vault dug so deep in that red clay. Then

they sang the old song, "O come angel band, come and around me stand,

O bear me away on your snowy wings to my eternal home." I saw the

grave filled. I was profoundly impressed. I understood that Aunt

Tabbie had gone to heaven and that if we would see her again we must

be good. I did not understand all. But when we went home, although I

was only six, I sat on the old fashioned country wood pile and prayed

the best I could. I felt better. I felt happy and decided to love the

Lord and meet Aunt Tabbie. That was a child's experience but dear to

me. Th en, when I was nine years of age I attended the old-fashioned

revival where they prayed, shouted and sang "Away Over in the Promised

Land." They went forward to the "mourner's bench" and stayed and

prayed through. I sat in the back of the church and cried. I wanted to

go forward but no one spoke to me. How I wished they would. I felt

that if I went they would think that I was too young. So I did not go.

One night the burden became almost unbearable and I cried and prayed.

As I did so, the burden went away and I was happy for days. Of course

I did not tell of my experience, for I feared folks would think that I

was too young. But from that time on I would pray. I have gone to the

old-fashioned country play parties, but as others played I would slip

out into the darkness and pray and ask God to forgive me for being

there. Then, when I was about seventeen years old I felt that I was

not ready to die. I was greatly burdened. I prayed much; in the field

at work; in the old log barn loft on the hay, and in fact about

everywhere. One day, as I called on the Lord, the burden was

completely lifted and I was profoundly happy. You say, "Did you get

converted on the woodpile after the funeral, or at the revival meeting

at nine years of age, or at seventeen when you prayed in the field and

barn loft?" Well, I will let the reader decide that. But one thing I

do know, and that is that I did get it many, many years ago and best

of all I know I have it right now! As I think of these experiences the

fire burns and I feel like saying, "Let me love Thee more and more,

till this fleeting life is o'er, till my soul is lost in love in a

brighter, brighter world above."

By William Moses Tidwell, "Effective Illustrations."

Not Too Young To Die

A small girl desired to unite with the church. On account of her extreme youth there was decided opposition. She became insistent, and declared her intention to unite that day.

A friend whom she loved and who exercised great influence over her was appealed to to dissuade her if possible. The utmost was done to accomplish this. But one reason was given -- "You are too young."

When the last argument was made, she said with childlike simplicity, "I am not too young to die."

All opposition was withdrawn and she was received. A short time elapsed and the great Shepherd sent a band of angels to remove His lamb from the sterile soil of earth to the richer pasture lands above. Her dust awaits the resurrection in one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the "Blue Grass Region" of Kentucky.

On the cold marble marking her resting place are chiseled these words: "I am not too young to die"

How impressive, eloquent and true. What a lesson! May the multitude of children who gaze upon the silent words on the monument or read them in this brief narrative be influenced by them to do as she did, and be prepared to meet her in heaven. For, like Abel, she "being dead, yet speaketh."

________

William Moses Tidwell, "Effective Illustrations."

Moved!

Mark 5:15

Dr. G. Campbell Morgan relates the following experience: “One day one of the young men of my church came to see me and said, ‘Dr. Morgan, I want you to go with me to the home of a drunkard.’ When we arrived at the old rickety building, where the drunkard lived, we saw two dirty, ragged children running away from us. We walked up on the old porch and a poorly clad woman with a bruised place on her head came to the door and said, ‘Excuse the children for running but when they heard your footsteps they thought it was their father coming home drunk.’

“The woman invited us in and soon the drunkard came in; not so drunk as common. We had prayer and invited the drunkard to the service that night. He promised to come. He kept his promise. That night I did not preach at him but to him. I told him that Jesus could break every fetter and set the prisoner free. At the close of the service he came and knelt for prayer, and arose and declared the burden was gone. He was saved.

“About two or three months later the young man, who had taken me to the home of the drunkard came and said, ‘Dr. Morgan, I want you to go with me to the home of the ex-drunkard.’ We started but in another direction. I said to the young man, ‘You are taking me another way!’ ‘Yes,’ said the young man, ‘they have moved!’

“That is great! So many folks seem to get religion but they never move. when we reached the home it was a neat cottage and as we walked up the gravel walk we heard this old song, ‘Jesus lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly.’ It may have been rude of us but we looked through the window and there before the cozy fire, we saw the ex-drunkard sitting with one child on one knee and the other child on the other knee, and they were singing this old song. The mother came to the door, but there was no bruised place on her head. All were neat and clean and they were all happy.”

“Yes,” Paul said, “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are passed away and all things are become new.”

A Cubic Choice

Our choice in life must be a cubic choice. It must have three

dimensions. First, it must be very high -- as high as I can reach with

my life. Next, it must be very broad, covering all the powers of my

life -- mind, voice, hands, feet. And then it must be very long -- run

out seventy years, if that be the sum of my days on earth. I cannot

afford to swap horses in the middle of the stream. I cannot afford to

change my course at thirty or forty. We are to make the choice the

highest, the broadest, and the longest. -- Alexander McKenzie, D.D.

By J. Wilbur Chapan, "Present Day Parables."

I'd Rather Have Jesus

It was in the thirties. Business curves were still heading downward

and there was rumor of a salary cut at the New York insurance office

where 22-year-old Beverly Shea was employed as a clerk. Possessor of a

deep melodious voice, the young man was offered a radio contract and

immediately saw opportunities for fame and possible riches in his

regular appearance on a secular program.

Shea had been pondering the matter for several days when he sat

down to the piano early one Sunday morning to rehearse a hymn he was

to sing in church that morning. As he played and sang his eyes fell on

a piece of paper, on which was written:

I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold,

I'd rather be His than have riches untold!

The poem, by Mrs. Rhea Miller, had been placed where Beverly would

see it by his mother, a minister's wife, who knew of the offer her son

was pondering. Above all, she wanted her son, a Christian, to become

wholly consecrated in His service. His eyes raced over the words:

I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause

I'd rather have Jesus than worldwide fame

The sentences struck his very heart. His fingers unconsciously left

the tune he was rehearsing and began to find the melody which is today

known to millions.

Several days after, the director who spoke to Shea in behalf of the

radio network was amazed to receive a firm "no" in response to the

offer. "No" was a strange word to the director's ear as thousands of

singers would have leaped at such an opportunity as was proposed to

the young bass-baritone. From that time forward, the words of the poem

"I'd rather Have Jesus" set to music became his testimony. --Power

Over the Line

Drawing his sword, Pizarro traced a line with it on the sand from

east to west, Then, turning towards the south: "Friends and comrades,"

he said, "on that side are toil, hunger, nakedness, the drenching

storm, desertion, and death; on this side ease and pleasure. There

lies Peru with its riches; here Panama and its poverty. Choose, each

man, what best becomes a brave Castilian. For my part I go to the

south." So saying, he stepped across the line. --C. H. Spurgeon

Say Your Prayers In Fair Weather!

On board a vessel that sailed from an Eastern port, was a sailor

who made himself notorious for his blasphemy. He took delight in

inventing new and fearful oaths. In a terrible storm that arose soon

after leaving port, the captain going down into the forecastle found

him on his knees praying. He took him by the collar and jerked him up,

exclaiming, "Say your prayers in fair weather!" Soon after, the sailor

left the vessel. Four years later, this captain came into the harbor

of New York one Sabbath morning, and was invited by a friend to go and

hear a famous sailor minister. Upon entering the door, it being late,

the minister stopped in the midst of his sermon, and exclaimed, "Say

your prayers in fair weather." Then he told the above story,

concluding with, "I was that blaspheming sailor." That sentence had

clung to him, and he began immediately to serve the Lord. Every reason

impels us to give our hearts to God on the covenant of His love; and

these reasons are stronger in the fair weather of youth and health.

Then, not in the storm, in sickness, in danger, is the time to choose

who we will serve. --Peloubet

Why He Surrendered

The Rev. T. E. Ruth of Sydney, Australia, relates that when

just in his teens he went to a church where the curate preached

on the text, "Choose you this day whom ye will serve." The

sermon made him thoroughly disgusted with himself, and, annoyed

with the curate. He went to another church. To his surprise, the

same curate ascended the pulpit and preached the same sermon. At night

he went to a third place of worship, where the preacher

proved to be the same curate, and his text was, "Choose ye this

day whom ye will serve." "It was too much for me," said Mr.

Ruth. "That night I surrendered to the love that had sought me

in three places." --The Christian Herald

(untitled)

Choices...What if a demon were to creep after you one night, in your loneliest aloneness, and say, "This life which you live must be lived by you once again and innumerable times more; and every pain and joy and thought and sigh must come again to you, all in the same sequence. The eternal hourglass will again and again be turned—and you with it, dust of the dust!" Would you throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon? Or would you answer, "Never have I heard anything more divine"?

Quotes On Decisions and Choice

Mark 15:1

"You'll never have all the information you need to make a decision. If you did, it would be a foregone conclusion, not a decision."

-- David Mahoney, philosopher, cited in BITS & PIECES (B&P)

Dwight D. Eisenhower once warned John F. Kennedy that "as President, the only decisions you'll be asked to make are the hard ones. That's because the people working under you will keep all the easy ones for themselves!"

"Between two evils, choose neither; between two goods, choose both."

-- Tryon Edwards

"When yu' can't have what you choose, yu' just choose what you have."

-- Owen Wister

"A man is too apt to forget that in this world he cannot have everything. A choice is all that is left him."

-- H. Mathews

"He who chooses the beginning of a road chooses the place it leads to. It is the means that determine the end."

-- Harry Emerson Fosdick

"Life often presents us with a choice of evils rather than of goods."

-- Charles Caleb Colton

"in literature, as in love, we are astonished at the choice made by other people."

-- André Maurois

"When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that in itself is a choice."

-- William James

"Women now have choices. They can be married, not married, have a job, not have a job, be married with children, unmarried with children. Men have the same choice we've always had: work, or prison.

-- Tim Allen (http://www.bigwacko.com/)

"When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never tried before."

-- Mae West (http://www.bigwacko.com/)

"It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

-- J. K. Rowling, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", B&P 5/20/03

"In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing to do. The worst thing you can do is nothing."

-- Theodore Roosevelt (1858 - 1919), 26th U.S. President, Bits & Pieces

"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it."

-- General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Quotes From the Masters, 2/25/02

“When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.”

-- Roy Disney, Walt Disney's brother and business partner, Dynamic Preaching

"When I've heard all I need to make a decision, I don't take a vote. I make a decision."

-- Ronald Reagan, QFTM 6/5/04

The Fence

There was a large group of people. On one side of the group stood a man, Jesus. On the other side of the group stood Satan. Separating them, running through the group, was a fence. The scene set, both Jesus and Satan began calling to the people in the group and, one by one — each having made up his or her own mind — each went to either Jesus or Satan. This kept going. Soon enough, Jesus had gathered around him a group of people from the larger crowd, as did Satan. But one man joined neither group. He climbed the fence that was there and sat on it. Then Jesus and his people left and disappeared. So too did Satan and his people. And the man on the fence sat alone.

As this man sat, Satan came back, looking for something which he appeared to have lost. The man said, “Have you lost something?” Satan looked straight at him and replied,

“No, there you are. Come with me.”

“But”, said the man, “I sat on the fence. I chose neither you nor him.”

“That’s okay,” said Satan. “I own the fence.”

Two Realms

John 10:1

How sad it is when a family watches a child walk away from the faith in which he or she grew up. And worst of all is to see sadness replace the joy that child once had. One woman saw her daughter go from loving and trusting God to a life of sin and rebellion -- but then back to the joy of a walk with Jesus. The daughter's sad, empty expressions during her time of running from God changed to an open, joyful happiness when she returned to fellowship with Him. The mother said the difference was like turning on a light that dispelled the darkness. In John 10:10, we read of the contrast between the joy of life with Jesus and the anxiety of life in the realm of Satan. He comes deceptively as an "angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14), but he wants to ruin us. He is described as a thief who steals, kills, and destroys. But Jesus is presented as the One who gives life -- abundant life. These two realms are constantly in a battle for our hearts. We have this choice: the light of life with Jesus or the depths of darkness in the devil's lair. Life or death? Light or darkness? Contentment or anxiety? Both realms beckon us. Whom will you choose to trust with your life? The thief or the Savior? -- Dave Branon The devil is subtle, deceptive, and sly -- He's clever and tricks us to swallow his lie; But his cunning methods we're sure to discern If we make God's warnings our daily concern. -- D. De Haan God's truth is the best protection against Satan's lies.

I Choose

Galatians 5:22

I CHOOSE

It’s quiet. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming. In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of the solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race.

The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met. For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now that I must make a choice. And so I choose:

I CHOOSE LOVE…

No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I CHOOSE JOY…

I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical… the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I CHOOSE PEACE…

I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I CHOOSE PATIENCE…

I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Rather than complaining that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I CHOOSE KINDNESS…

I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone, kind to the rich, for they are afraid, and kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I CHOOSE GOODNESS…

I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will see the good in others when it is hard to find. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.

I CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS…

Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.

I CHOOSE GENTLENESS…

Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice, may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I CHOOSE SELF-CONTROL…

I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot rule the eternal. I choose self-control.

LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL…

The Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek God’s face. And then when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

One Or the Other

Luke 16:13

Every morning on the way to my daughter’s school, we pass a mailbox with this cryptic inscription: 809 OR 1591. Each time I see the mailbox, I wonder what it means. Do the residents use one address on even-numbered days and the other on odd? Are they trying to choose between the two numbers and want to try them both out first? Maybe they moved and brought the mailbox with them, adding the new numbers to the old. But I really wonder, “How many addresses can one house have?”

I often find myself stuck in the middle, wavering between two alternatives (sounds a little like the presidential election, doesn’t it?). Questions like “Cake or ice cream?”, “Blue shirt or green?”, “Ford or Chevy?” can be answered either way with no real consequence. In fact I can answer one way this time and the other way later because questions like these don’t require an absolute choice (no hate-mail from Ford or Chevy partisans, please).

But Jesus seemed to speak fairly often of absolute choices, decisions which swing to either end of the scale and provide absolutely no middle ground. While we might believe that we serve Christ in some cases and our own financial interests in others, Jesus clearly taught that each of us will serve either God or money, but not both. When the score is counted, one or the other will be your Lord.

Jesus taught that a man’s life follows one of two roads: a narrow road which travels His way, or a wide road, which seems easier but ultimately leads to destruction. There is no third road; you are traveling one or the other right now. Do you know which you are on?

Jesus’ description of the Judgment Day was equally clear: the saved will be on his right, the lost on his left. Reward or punishment will be the result, with no middle ground, no “undecided” possible. And He made it quite clear that there is only one way to wind up on the right: “No man comes to the father except through me.”

It’s much easier to float in the middle than to choose. It’s easier to believe that you are “close enough” when it comes to serving God, that you are putting him first “most of the time,” that you are honoring him while also serving yourself. But Jesus seemed rather blunt, almost rude in his demands: “Choose me or choose something else, but do not try to choose both.”

Jesus OR…

What is your final answer?

It's Your Choice!

Psalms 36:9

With You is the fountain of life. — Psalm 36:9

Hold it! Before you read another word, go get your Bible and read Psalm 36. Did you do it? I’m sure you saw immediately that it is a well-developed contrast between God and a wicked person.

The evil person has no fear of God (v.1), flatters himself so much that he can’t even see his own sin (v.2), speaks wickedly (v.3), and plots evil day and night (v.4).

By contrast, God’s love and faithfulness reach to the skies (v.5). He is righteous and fair (v.6), and He keeps the world going (v.6). He protects His people (v.7), and He provides for their needs (v.8).

Making the choice between the way of the wicked and the way of God. Anyone in his right mind would choose to go with God over the wicked person described here, right?

Wrong! Lots and lots of people continue to make the wrong choice. Even David, the man who wrote the psalm, did so more than once. You’ll remember his sin with Bathsheba, and his ill-advised numbering of the people (2 Samuel 24).

Sometimes it’s a matter of “my way” versus “God’s way.” My college friend Erv was in that position of choice. He was in his second year of preparation for the ministry. Then he got a job in a local drafting room. An outgoing, fun-loving guy, he soon became popular with his fellow draftsmen. He enjoyed the acceptance they offered him. Gradually he found himself going deeper and deeper into their world of alcohol, cursing, and vulgar talk. By the time summer vacation rolled around, he was living the same lifestyle as his new friends.

The point of choice came when the company offered him a fulltime job with good pay and benefits. Which would he choose: the Lord or the world? After 2 days of intense spiritual battle, he chose the Lord. He repented, straightened out his life, changed jobs, and went on to become a successful pastor. But how easily it could have gone the other way!

You are faced with a lifetime of such choices. Every time you opt to follow God now will make it easier in the days ahead. It’s your choice! – D E

REFLECTION

• Am I hanging around with people who are influencing me strongly toward the world? Why am I going along with them?

• What if I wrote down some of the things God has done for me? Would it help make these choices easier?

• Which people in the Bible chose God over evil?

To make wise choices, choose the wisdom of God’s Word.

Choosing

Joshua 24

His name was Steven, but we called him “Spike.”

Spike was a freshman living at the end of the hall during my sophomore year in college. We christened him “Spike” simply because his appearance was anything but wild, and we suspected he would never live up to the outrageous-sounding title.

We “helped” Spike adjust to college life. We assisted other dorm residents in playing practical jokes on him. When clouds of crickets invaded Abilene that fall, we gathered up forty or fifty dead ones and placed them in a semi-circle around his door, like tiny worshipers gathered at a religious shrine. We made prank phone calls to his room. We gave him bad advice on purpose.

Besides being an incredibly good sport and putting up with a lot of stupidity, Spike did one thing that truly impressed me. Late one night, we jammed his door shut. We expected him to get up the next morning, realize he was going to miss class, and begin banging on the door for help. If nobody responded, we assumed he would just sit in his room and skip class, figuring he had a pretty good excuse.

Spike did no such thing. Instead, he jumped out the window, a very high window, rather than miss class. I think that was when I realized that Spike had a little more “spike” in him than we thought. He had decided what he was going to do, and nothing was going to stop him.

After almost a decade in ministry, I am still amazed at people. I see people coming to church who have no business coming to church. They get up early, get ready, and drive here in spite of health problems that would stop most of us. They make it here because they want to be here.

I see people giving money to this church who have no business giving money. Their own finances are precarious at best, yet they still choose to honor God in their giving, simply because He matters to them.

I see people whose lives are such a mess they can hardly cope, people who have taken the very worst that life throws at anyone, people who have no business trying to help others because they are fighting just to stay afloat themselves… I see these people ministering, caring, serving, simply because they choose to.

I see the other side as well, those with amazing gifts who are unwilling to serve, those with incredible talents who simply won’t use them. The excuses always sound reasonable, and even practical, but I sometimes wonder whether the excuses are real, or just convenient. Of course, sometimes I am the one making the excuses.

In the end, I have come to believe that most of the time, most people manage to do what they really want to do. We usually find a way to make life work the way we want it to work, and we usually find a way to get out of doing the things we truly dislike.

Life is a series of choices. Take control of your life, quit making excuses, and do what really matters. That choice is up to you.

Joshua 24: 14-15 — Now, then, fear the LORD, and serve Him in sincerity and truth. And put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served Beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Of Dogs and Babies: Cruelty and Outrage

Job 5:23

Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia isn’t known for mincing words on the Senate floor. Still, even by his standards, his recent comments about a crime in the news were especially impassioned.

He repeatedly called the alleged crime “barbaric” and even volunteered to attend the execution of the accused. He told his colleagues that he is “confident that the hottest places in hell are reserved for the souls of sick and brutal people who hold God’s creatures in such brutal and cruel contempt . . .”

What prompted the senator’s ire? Genocide? Ethnic cleansing? No, cruelty to animals, specifically the indictment of NFL star Michael Vick.

As you probably know, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback was recently indicted in connection with a dog-fighting ring allegedly operating out of his home in Virginia. The indictment included shocking details about the cruel way in which dogs that could no longer fight were disposed of.

Public reaction to the indictment was so strong that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell took the unusual step of telling Vick not to report to the Falcons’ training camp. If he had reported, Vick would have seen dozens of picketers outside the camp holding signs reading “Kick Vick” and “Sack Vick.”

Let me be clear: The allegations, if true, are barbaric, and whether the defendants plea bargain or are tried, if convicted, they should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Still, as former Congressman J.C. Watts noted, something’s “out of whack” in this response. He wrote that people get “more worked up over the admittedly brutal and inhumane treatment of soulless dogs” than “the brutal procedure known as partial-birth abortion.”

Writing in the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, Watts quoted CNN’s Nancy Grace, who said that the dogs “can’t defend themselves.” He then reminded readers that unborn children are even more defenseless. “If only,” Watts continued, “animal-rights [advocates] would acknowledge the more precious worth of human life.”

Watts’ explanation for this moral blindness is that “cultural degeneration” has so skewed our priorities that we decry “the mistreatment of innocent animals, while we turn a collective and legislative blind eye to the premature and yes, barbaric killing of human life in the name of ‘choice.’”

He concludes by saying that “once — just once,” he would like to see people express the same level of outrage at the taking of innocent human life as they do over the mistreatment of animals. “Absent that, [he weeps] for them and for our culture.”

The blindness Watts describes is the result of the two most destructive ideas in our culture. The first is the belief in radical autonomy which exalts “choice” and blinds us to the reality of what is being chosen. Choice, after all, is just a process. What matters is what you choose.

The second is the denial that there is anything inherently special about man — he is just an especially clever primate. Thus, there’s no reason to get more upset over the death of humans, however barbaric, than the death of animals.

Combine the two and you have sad irony that Watts noted — an irony whose contempt for human life should make us all weep.

________

Gay By Choice?: Wait A Minute…

Jude 1:7

For years we have been told that homosexuality is something people are born with — like the color of one’s skin — and that it can’t be changed. Gay-rights activists insist this is so, because, they say, if people don’t choose to be gay, it would be wrong to discriminate against them in things like marriage, adoption, and legal benefits.

And heaven help those who disagree. Just ask actress Cynthia Nixon, who in a recent New York Times Magazine article, had the gall to admit that she chose to be gay.

Nixon, who played one of the characters on the old “Sex in the City” television series, was involved in 15-year relationship with a man that produced two children. Now, however, Nixon has moved on to a so-called “gay” relationship with a woman. In the article, Nixon is quoted about her sexual life, “For me, it is a choice. I understand that for many people it’s not, but for me it’s a choice, and you don’t get to define my gayness for me.”

Curiously, gay activists, who in almost any other instance would celebrate a “woman’s choice,” are really upset. “Cynthia did not put adequate thought into the ramifications of her words,” said Wayne Besen, founder of Truth Wins Out, which opposes programs that seek to cure people of homosexuality. “When people say it’s a choice,” Besen added, “they are green-lighting an enormous amount of abuse.”

No, what Nixon is green-lighting is the dangerous idea that people make choices about their sexual lifestyle. And that’s a clear and present danger to the agenda of the gay-rights movement. That agenda seeks to prove that the gay lifestyle is natural and inevitable. But friends, there is absolutely no proof, and there’ll probably never be any proof, that people are “born gay.”

University of California, Davis, psychologist Gregory Herek, an “expert on anti-gay prejudice,” admits, “The nature vs. nurture debate really is passé. The debate,” he said, “is not really an either/or debate in the vast majority of cases, but how much of each. We don’t know how big a role biology plays and how big a role culture plays.”

Wheaton College’s Stan Jones, who has written extensively on the subject, says the best research reveals that homosexual attraction is the result of a complex and mysterious interaction of biological, psychological, and environmental factors that produce different results for different people. Jones, and anyone else who has looked at the evidence in an unbiased way, says that there is no “gay gene.”

Thus, the project to — in the words of one pro-gay writer, “make homophobia as inexcusable as racism” — has failed. For some people, homosexuality is a choice, and to whatever extent that is true, the fact is we all have a choice about how we will respond to our various sexual inclinations and express our sexual brokenness.

And, contrary to what we hear, the different sexual choices people make are not all equal. Only one conforms to nature and nature’s God.

No, God’s Word does not give us a definitive word about the cause of homosexuality, but it is crystal-clear that we need to reject homosexual behavior as sinful, to embrace sex only in the context of marriage between a man and a woman, and to treat everyone we meet — homosexual or not — with love and respect.

________

The Weight of Too Much “Choice”

John 7:17

Regular listeners to the weekly Breakpoint This Week podcast know that my co-host Maria and I are fans of the reality competition show Alone. Ten wilderness experts are dropped in the middle of nowhere, usually a place that is cold and full of bears, forced to fend for themselves. Whoever stays the longest wins.

In the latest season, a military veteran with strong survival skills and extensive experience overseas seemed poised to win. Instead, he called it quits just a few weeks in. In an interview afterwards, he explained, “When I was in the military and separated from family, I didn’t have a choice. Out here... I had that opportunity to get on the radio or the phone and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to go back to where I’m comfortable.’” In other words, having the choice to go home made staying much harder.

According to conventional wisdom, at least the kind accepted in this cultural moment, the opposite should have been true. More control and more choices are supposed to bring easier and more satisfying lives.

That misconception is, in fact, a feature of life since modernism. For most of human history, humans held no illusions of being masters of their own fate. Writing back in 1976, American sociologist Peter Berger identified what changed, especially for Westerners. Because of the dramatic progress brought by science and technology, humans in the modern period began to believe that the world would eventually be fully understood. And if understood, it could also be mastered, as well.

“What previously was experienced as fate now becomes an arena of choices,” Berger wrote. “In principle, there is the assumption that all human problems can be converted into technical problems ... the world becomes ever more ‘makeable.’”

A mark of our late postmodern era is the obsession with having choices. The higher the stakes, the more acute is the illusion of freedom. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy described this impulse in his now overturned Planned Parenthood V. Casey decision, when he wrote that “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.” In his view, the “freedom of choice” extends to even choosing what is real. Is it any wonder that people now believe that choice extends beyond sexual behavior to sexual identity?

However, if happiness truly comes from the control made possible through infinite choices and the ability to “make the world,” why did the military officer competing on Alone find the opposite to be true? Why did his freedom of choice turn out to be too much of a burden? Why do so many studies show that we are less happy than ever?

The postmodern assertion that we can “make the world” exploits a weakness inherent to our fallen humanness and especially acute today. We struggle to delay gratification. We might fool ourselves into thinking that we can, in fact, define our existence or choose our gender. We may think our decision about whether to stay married or whether to bring an unborn child to birth is based on deep reflections. However, because we can, we tend to choose comfort now at the expense of flourishing later. If we have the option, we call the producers and tap out.

Justice Kennedy was wrong. No matter how many choices we have, we cannot remake the world. Everywhere we turn, we butt up against the limits of creation. According to a Christian worldview, this is actually good news. God created the world with limits: physical and moral laws, bodies, certain geographic locations and times in history, and not other ones. He gives us specific parents and siblings and children, whose specific needs constantly impose limits on our choices.

Even if, in modernity and postmodernity, such limits are anathema, to be resisted and fought against with all the science and technology we can muster, true freedom is found by recognizing and resting in God’s good limits, both physical and moral. If God is good, then the limits He imposes are not burdens. They’re blessings.