Decision Making

Decision Making

Revelation 17: Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came to me and said, “Come, and I will show you how the famous prostitute is to be punished, that great city that is built near many rivers. ² The kings of the earth practiced sexual immorality with her, and the people of the world became drunk from drinking the wine of her immorality.”

 

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Being out on my own felt great! I was free to make my own decisions and had no one to tell me what I could and could not do. The first night of my freedom led me to a party where everyone would get drunk. I joined in. The next morning I woke up, opened my door and there was a woman, passed out on the floor, outside my door. “Wow!, I’m going to like this place!” I said to myself!

 

• I wanted to be part of the drunken parties.
• I wanted to take part in the sex.
• I wanted to do “what everyone else” was doing!

 

John, the disciple JESUS loved, was addressed by one of the seven angels who held the bowls. The angel explained that whatever was causing the world to make bad decisions would be punished.

 

My Observations:

• My decision making needed some guidance from GOD.
• Following the world can cause me to get in trouble with GOD.
• My clearest thinking includes times and ways to follow GOD.

 

Bad decisions seem easy to do and are plenteous these days. I mean, it seems like bad decisions are placed in front of me more that me searching them out. News and other media portray terrible ideas as the right thing to do. Meanwhile, morality gets questioned and even raised in heated debates. BUT GOD sees what’s going on.

 

JESUS knew you and I would choose the immorality versus HIS purity. HE never sinned, even though HE was tempted in the same way you and I were temped. HE died for our sins and was raised from the dead. All authority has been given to HIM. HE will judge the tempter, not the tempted, for those who believe in HIM. I am grateful for salvation from my sins.

 

Challenge

• Why do you think the writer was noticed?
• Have you ever wanted to be free to sin as much as you want?
• Will you ask GOD for self-control and for protection from yourself, so HE can guide you to HIS Way, Truth and Life today?

So They Say

So They Say

1 Corinthians 10: ²³ “We are allowed to do anything,” so they say. That is true, but not everything is good. “We are allowed to do anything”—but not everything is helpful. ²⁴ None of you should be looking out for your own interests, but for the interests of others.

 

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“It’s alright to drink” people convinced me as they cited numerous reasons. I cautiously bought in. One night on a business trip, we went out drinking, We drank 18 pitchers of beer between 3 people. I was driving and somehow we made it back to the hotel in one piece.

 

Many messages were at the front desk for us. The 9-1-1 emergency system that we programmed was down and we had to go into work immediately. I was not in a good position to work or drive and I was putting people in danger.

 

• There have been many times when I allowed myself to do anything.
• There have been many times when I bought into things without knowing limits.
• There have been many times when I did not assess if “this” thing was good for me or not.

 

Paul seems to be addressing “fitting in.” “They say” implies there was an argument placed in front of those who were trying to live a life for CHRIST, but did not know how. He agrees, “We are allowed to do anything – but not everything is helpful.”

 

• GOD says to me “I have forgiven you for all your sins.”
• GOD says to me “I have remove your sin from you as far as the east is from the west.”
• GOD says to me “I will wipe away your tears.”

 

JESUS gives me some amazing promises I can truly rely on with no catch. I mean, HE doesn’t say “I forgive you”, then blasts me with “But you didn’t follow the rules that one time on Tuesday at 12:34 PM.” HE truly forgives me. HE then gives me the HOLY SPIRIT, who cannot stand any sin I do, and places HIM inside me to comfort me, instead of judging me.

 

Now, I have a choice. I can feed the HOLY SPIRIT inside me, or I can feed the lust inside me. Both are there and are fighting with each other. I can also choose to limit myself or maybe even do without. The HOLY SPIRIT also says to me “forgive” when my flesh wants to hold onto past hurts. I am not good at limits or forgiveness, BUT GOD shows me the way, little by little.

 

• Do you feel free to do anything, but may be doing some harmful things?
• Do you know you are forgiven, yet are blatantly still doing some habits that may not be pleasing to GOD?
• Will you run every thought past GOD so the HOLY SPIRIT will guide you in your actions so the interests of others can be for HIM today?

Permanent Solution

Permanent Solution

1 Corinthians 6: ⁷ The very fact that you have legal disputes among yourselves shows that you have failed completely. Would it not be better for you to be wronged? Would it not be better for you to be robbed? ⁸ Instead, you yourselves wrong one another and rob one another, even other believers! ⁹ Surely you know that the wicked will not possess God's Kingdom. Do not fool yourselves; people who are immoral or who worship idols or are adulterers or homosexual perverts ¹⁰ or who steal or are greedy or are drunkards or who slander others or are thieves—none of these will possess God's Kingdom. ¹¹ Some of you were like that. But you have been purified from sin; you have been dedicated to God; you have been put right with God by the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

 

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“Maybe I can use a coat hanger” was my first thought in repairing the hatch back door on my jalopy of a car.  Of course the hanger did not fit properly. It was too thin to snugly connect the hatch to the car and if I doubled the hanger, it was too thick. I needed a permanent solution.

 

• There have been many times when I looked at temporary solutions as permanent.
• There have been many times when I declared something as “fixed” when it was still broken.
• There have been many times when I argued about my patch work, justifying why I repaired it the way I did.

 

Paul explains the reason it is frivolous to take legal action against another believer in JESUS. He, however, does it in a strange way. He explains that anyone who sins in any way, will not receive the kingdom of GOD. The sines he lists are temporary solutions to a deeper problem, namely the lack of a relationship with JESUS for salvation.

 

• GOD wants me to turn from temporary sin and replace it with a permanent solution, namely JESUS.
• GOD knows I cannot resist sin, so HE gave me a permanent solution, namely JESUS.
• GOD saw all the sins I would ever commit, and HE forgave me with HIS permanent solution, namely JESUS.

 

Trying to pick apart the list Paul writes, points to a deeper problem which is surrender. I mean, if I think “I” am not on the list he writes about and that I can tell someone else to straighten up because “their” actions are sinful, then I am the one with the serious problem. All have sinned and need a permanent solution to sin.

 

JESUS is that permanent solution. HE not only saves me eternally, HE guides me daily through the HOLY SPIRIT. When I want to use sin as my solution, the HOLY SPIRIT warns me and provides a way out. I don’t always take the way out, so HE pleads for me when I sin. I am grateful GOD’s grace is sufficient to cover my sins.

 

• Are you trying to fix your life with temporary sin?
• Do you think you were “born that way” and are unwilling to surrender your life to JESUS?
• Have you fallen for the lie that if you have committed a sin, GOD will not forgive you, or worse yet, you do not feel you need to be forgiven?
• Will you consider the love of JESUS and ask for forgiveness of any sin so HE will be faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and cleanse you of all unrighteousness today?

GOD keeps HIS promises

2 Kings 8: ¹⁶ In the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah. ¹⁷ He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. 

¹⁸ He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. ¹⁹ Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever.

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“I’m done with church” I said to myself. Seeing the hypocrisy was too much. “Now what do I do?” was the decision I had to make. My first night on campus, there were parties, drunkenness and nudity!  “I know… I’ll try that” I thought to myself excitedly.

• Many times I have tried to leave GOD when I wanted my way.
• Many times I blamed the church for not being perfect.
• Many times I thought could make it on my own without consulting GOD.

Leaving church and stopping my efforts of following GOD seemed like a good idea at the time. I mean, the people in the church were acting like the people they called “worldly” only they were sneakier about it. I figured this would give me the license to leave them alone and do as I pleased. BUT GOD had something different in mind for me.

• GOD saw me in the middle of my sins and decided to rescue me.
• GOD saw me committing evil in HIS eyes yet HE held to HIS promise of mercy for me.
• GOD saw me doing the opposite of what HE wanted and went to HIS death in my place.

GOD cannot back out of a decree. Once HE says something it HAS to happen. HE said the wages of sin is death, so someone had to die. HE decided it would be HIM instead of me. HE also said “No one can pluck you out of MY hands”, so HE allows me to sin BUT rewards me the more I follow HIM.

HE allows consequence to happen in my life and chastens me. BUT he has saved me from eternal separation from HIM.

• Are you in the middle of sin?
• Have you stopped following GOD?
• Do you realize HIS grace is sufficient?
• Can you stop thinking you have to be clean in order to have a relationship with GOD?
• Do you realize that no matter how deep in sin you have fallen GOD forgives you?

Where was I when HE found me?

1 Timothy 1: ¹² I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. ¹³ Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. ¹⁴ The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

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As I sat at the bar on another Saturday night with “friends” I thought to myself “what am I doing here?” I mean this is definitely not fulfilling! After being popular it seemed like I was living out a sentence of reclusion in a “Podunk” town. I was in the middle of a crowd feeling lonely but this time not lonely for people.

What was missing? People invited me out so that wasn’t it. We had laughter so that wasn’t it. We had shallow meaningless conversations so that wasn’t it. What could fill my emptiness?

• When I try to fill my life with sensuous pleasure I may be running away from something.
• When I try to surround myself with frolicking I may need to face something.
• When I go to the extreme to make myself happy I may need to deal with something.

What was I missing?  I was “the man” on campus then I wasn’t “the man” in this small town. Was it the town that was the problem? Nah! GOD had a different path that HE wanted me on.

• No matter what my past was GOD wants to pour out HIS love on me.
• No matter what I’ve done GOD wants to show HIS faithfulness to me.
• No matter where I’ve wandered to GOD wants to give me grace in abundance.

Somehow GOD saw right through my sinful façade. HE dug to the core and considered me trustworthy to carry HIS message. HE appointed me to HIS service in the middle of my ignorance and unbelief. HE found me when I wasn’t looking for HIM.

• Is your heart empty?
• Are you unfulfilled?
• Is your life out of control?
• Can you look to CHRIST to fill the hole in your heart?
• Won’t you give up that lifestyle for one that is fulfilling and full of GOD?