How to make tough decisions

The most difficult thing in the world can be making a good decision. We all struggle with this regardless of our age, place in life, etc. We have all made bad decisions and we suffered the consequences of these bad choices. I can personally identify here in that I left a good job and started my own business and while I grew through the process I can look back and know that I made several bad decisions. Andy Stanley just completed a four part series titled "Your Move". This series dealt with some steps to making good decisions. As usual it was full of insight and how I wish I had heard this series when I was twenty instead of nearly sixty. I will try my best to keep this summary as short as possible, but my desire is that you could learn from this study. You can download this series at www.northpoint.org.

Andy spent four Sundays asking four questions to help us in making good decisions. I will list the four questions with a few comments:

1. Question #1: Am I really being honest with myself? Ask yourself this question when making a decision. Am I being honest about my desire for a particular thing. An example would be a newly wedded couple who are trying to decide on a new car. They have a desire to purchase a Hummer. Yep, 4 to 6 mpg but on the other hand, plenty of room, can be driven in all sorts of weather (big issue in ATL) and besides it is an impressive automobile. It will draw lots of attention.....I am sure these all sound like great features, but this couple makes about $60,000 between the two of them and the payments over five years are only $595/month with a fleece (lease). In Andy's words "we are on a happiness quest, not on a quest for what is best." Andy pointed out that the heart is deceitful above all things" Jeremiah 17:9.
2. Question #2: What Story Do I Want To Tell? When we make a decision we will later be telling this story to others about the results of a decision. My own story includes a bad business decision that impacted my life forever. What story do we want to be able to tell? Andy's illustration was from the book of Genesis where Joseph was tempted by Potiphar's wife and he withstood the temptation though he was thrown into prison as a result. Later though he could retell this story and explain that because he did the right thing he was in prison but the Lord restored him in a higher position through which he restored his family and saved Egypt from starvation, etc. So when you make a decision think about the story you will tell as a result.
3. Question #3: Is there a tension I need to pay attention too? When you are making a decision do you feel a tension in your heart? Is something telling you to hold on and reconsider the decision? This is a tension you should pay attention to. Christians will tell you that something didn't fit or add up and this was a red flag. Andy used the story of David in the cave with Saul with a chance to murder the king (who was trying to murder David) but something did not feel right and he decided not to harm the King. He later was made King by God. Charles Stanley (Andy's Dad) has a quote on his office wall that says " God will take full responsibility for my life and outcomes if I am wholly dedicated to Him." So don't make a decision if you have any second thoughts or tension in your life.
4. Question #4: What would be most honoring to God?" When making a decision ask yourself what choice would most honor God? Andy's scripture references are 1 Cor 6:19-20..."Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, you are not your own, you were bought with a price, honor God with your body." Matthew 5:14-16, "Let your light shine so that glory is brought to God." Andy used examples of people downsizing in order to be able to give more to God's work of helping those in need. He also used as an example...keeping a difficult marriage together because it honors God. There are countless examples of God glorifying decisions that we make. A challenge Andy gave us was to use this criteria in every decision we make over the next few days.

In closing these are four questions to ask yourself when making decisions: to recap they are

• Am I really being honest with myself?
• What story do I want to tell?
• Is there a tension I need to pay attention too?
• What would be most honoring to God?

My hope is that we would all use these questions to help us in making the right decision....one that we can live with.

He Gave Everything He Had, that we might have everything He has

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:2

No other aspect of our faith is more important than this one message. This is a message to every person, in every city and in every country in our world. This verse does not speak of anything we do, but about all that He did. His atoning sacrifice was the once, forever, for all sacrifice that took away the sins of the world....past....present and future. One time, forever for all. It is a message that knows no limits, no borders, no particular peoples. From the richest to the poorest, the smallest to the largest, the lonely to the lovely. It is for all people everywhere.

It is much easier to preach a message that makes people feel good. Perhaps a message about financial prosperity. A message about physical healing or a message of social giving to those less fortunate. These subjects all make people feel good. In fact when we give to those less fortunate it makes us feel good....but what about the sin, what about the sacrifice, what about the Savior (who takes away the sins of the world)? As Oswald Chambers says "Paul did not say...Woe is unto me, if I do not preach what Christ has done for me, but woe is unto me, if I do not preach the Gospel." The gospel is simple...a simple message about the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. The one who is carrying this message to people everywhere, must immerse themselves in this message...He was the atoning sacrifice for our sins....not just ours, but the sins of the whole world.

Today's post is from a verse featured in Oswald Chambers epic book "My Utmost For His Highest" I take the liberty to feature this verse and to phrase my own thoughts in regard to this verse. I would highly recommend that each person read Brother Oswald's book. It has had a significant impact on my life and I feel led to share this treasure with you.

My prayer for this day: Father, may I never forget the one who gave everything He had so that I might have everything He has. When all my important things have rusted or rotted, I still have the One who never perishes, who never passes away. May we give Him praise, honor and glory this day for His atoning sacrifice that takes away the sins of the World.

Where are we to go?

In reading My Utmost For His Highest on this day, the great commission is the subject. The familiar verses found in Matthew 28:19 says "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." The key word here is GO! The question is where am I to GO? I love what Oswald Chambers said in his book. "Where we are placed is a matter of indifference; God engineers the goings, none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself....and that is how to keep going till we're gone."

One might read the great commission and feel that they must go to another land, another place in order to carry out the command of Christ. As Brother Oswald says.."Where we are placed is a matter of indifference; God engineers the goings." First Corinthians verse seventeen says; "Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him." In other words we should not be anxious to change our location or our vocation in order to carry out our calling to take the gospel to the world. I believe we are to stay right where we are unless strongly compelled by God to follow Him to another area or to a new vocation or ministry. Knowing that God is calling is the subject for another day but suffice it to say in the words of Henry Blackaby (Experiencing God).."that if you want to know the will of God for your life....then do what you know is the will of God." In other words do those things that we know God (from His Word) has called us to do. If we do this the direction, the location and the vocation will be revealed to us in due time.

Just before Christ proclaimed the Great Commission to His disciples they had joined Him in the mountains of Galilee and there they worshipped Him. In other words they spent some time with God before He called them to go (Matthew 28:16). It is no different for us. We must spend quality time with God before we are to go forth and proclaim His Word. In order to have a fresh message that is accepted by those around us we must spend time each day with God. In doing so we learn to know where God is leading us and what He would have us to do.

Now back to the GO of today's writing. We are to go to work, go to school, go shopping and go out among those people in our circle of influence. We are to live Christ amongst these people. Sometimes it will take an extended time with people before they are ready to hear our message. Having gone through various evangelistic programs including Evangelism Explosion, etc. I have found that to be to anxious (wanting to reach people on our timetable) does not always work. One first has to earn the respect of those he wants to reach out to. This is relationship building and it will in fact take some time. A second criteria is to be alert to where God is at work. I have found that many spiritual conversations with non believers takes place when the person asks a simple question about our faith or maybe something he or she heard that is in the Bible. Conversations also begin from something that occurs in our society. Patience and being alert to God at work are keys to knowing the right time to present our gospel.

So the GO is all about being prepared to do God's work in our world. Being prepared begins by spending time each day with God....in His Word. Step two is knowing that right now you are where you need to be and we need to not worry about where we need to go. When God is ready to move us to a new location or vocation, He will orchestrate this. Step three is to simply live a Godly life in front of others and to raise our spiritual antennae and be aware of where God is at work and join Him in His work. The going is not always easy but if we are not going we are standing still. As Brother Oswald says "keep going till we are gone."

The Basis For Your Beliefs

Many an hour has been spent arguing the origin of man, the days of man and the eternity of man. You and I have heard every opinion imaginable as to the answers to these questions. The questions are simply how did I get here, how are my days directed and what happens to me when I leave this world? The question begs....what is the basis of my beliefs? I will not bore you with all the theories and belief systems but they vary from an accidental creation to evolution to a creator. I again ask the question, "what is the basis for your belief system?" When I ask this question to those who have beliefs that differ from my own, I never seem to get a substantive answer. The answer is usually "this is what I believe and I really don't know why but this is what I believe."

I can say without hesitation that my basis is the Bible. I have found no other document or explanation that can answer the key questions posed above. If you the reader can answer the questions via a viable alternative I would be happy to hear your answer. The question that begs to be answered is why do I believe the Bible holds the answers to life's most important questions. The following are the reasons I believe the Bible is God's Word to man as to the how, when and why of this life we live:

• The Bible as any other belief system must be accepted by faith. I cannot produce a stack of documents to prove my belief. I accept the Bible by faith. Any other theory must also be accepted by faith.
• The Bible has survived centuries. Attempts have been made to destroy the Bible. It is illegal to own and read a Bible in many areas of the world, yet it is present in these areas. It has been fought for, died for and is owned by people throughout the world.
• The Bible is full of prophesies written thousands of years ago. These prophesies have been fulfilled on numerous occasions and are taking place before our eyes even today.
• I simply cannot accept alternatives to the answers to those questions that have been asked by mankind over the ages.
• The Bible is alive...it is supernatural...it speaks to me every time I open the pages and delve into the riches that are present in the books. My heart and soul are touched by the words written therein.
• The Bible is full of wisdom, understanding, help for the hurting, hope for the hopeless.
• The Bible is a guidebook to life. If one would simply sit down and read the Proverbs, it can change lives. It is full of wisdom pertaining to relationships, money management, decision making and other timely topics.

The question I pose to many critics is this: If you are so against the Bible and it's teachings and if you do not believe it to be truth then I would challenge you to read it! Before you are super critical of the Bible I ask you to read it. In most cases those who are adamantly against the Bible and the belief system of the Bible have never read it. They have heard from others that it is simply a fable and this belief is accepted by the critics. I challenge you to very slowly read it and absorb the words and allow it to speak to you. I would also advise you to start at the beginning as you would with any other book. Allow your mind to be open and let the words speak to you. This is a reasonable request that I would expect any critic to undertake before speaking against a subject.

I close with an excerpt from, The Hiding Place, a book written by Corrie TenBoom. Corrie's family hid Jews from the Germans during World War II. She and her entire family were captured and sentenced to concentration camps. In this living hell she and her sister lived among women from throughout Europe. Corrie was able to smuggle in a small New Testament and she kept it in a sack tied around her neck. She describes the little Bible and the impact on their lives. "Sometimes I would slip the Bible from its little sack with hands that shook, so mysterious had it become to me. It was new; it had just been written. I marveled sometimes that the ink was dry. I had believed the Bible always, but reading it now had nothing to do with belief. It was simply a description of the way things were....of hell and heaven, of how men act and how God acts. I had read a thousand times the story of Jesus' arrest...how soldiers had slapped Him, laughed at Him, flogged Him. Now such happenings had faces and voices."

There are countless similar stories told of the Bible and the impact it has had on the lives of people of all nationalities, ages, races, etc. It is alive. It is real and it is my basis of belief. This writing will probably not change many minds, but again I urge you to read it before you criticize it and write if off as just another book. Think about the history of the Bible and the fact that it lives on and is read by people all over this world. It holds the keys to eternity and is a guidebook to living out our lives here on earth.

Dan Brown...what is he all about

I finally read the Davinci Code and Dan Brown's newest book the Lost Symbol. It seems I do not always read a hot authors books in a timely manner. I also read the author's books out of order as I read the Lost Symbol first and then the Davinci Code. I am not sure why I read these bestsellers at a later date..except of course the Lost Symbol (new bestseller)? This seems to be my pattern in that as an example I never watched Seinfeld during the shows airing. I watched every episode years later and I am a bit of an expert on Seinfeld episodes. I guess it comes down to when I find the time I delve deeply into the subject.

Now to author Brown and his epic works. I hungrily read the Lost Symbol and was impressed by the Author's ability to spin a tale. He keeps your interest up though he spends a lot of time on historical information. I found myself wanting to have my laptop close by to google his writings to verify if information is true. The one thing I noted was the education into some interesting topics such as the Masons, Free Masonry, etc. In the Davinci Code I found myself wondering about the true situation with Opus Dei and the Catholic Church. Again I complement the author for his research and his ability to hold my attention. One of my biggest gripes with some authors such as John Gresham is his inability to finish a novel and keep you in suspense. His endings are terrible and he has been told this on numerous occasions though he argues that his books keep selling so he thinks the endings are quite okay.

The one factor that I found coming through loud and clear to me was that I feel Author Brown has a hidden agenda. I felt throughout the reading that He was putting forth his own beliefs in regard to the origin of man and the eventual eternity of man. I sensed in the Lost Symbol that he was promulgating his belief in universalism. He felt that all religions lead to the same path...connection with God. As a Christ follower I could not of course accept his beliefs. I by faith accept that there is only one way to God and that is through His son Jesus. In the Davinci Code he puts forth the idea that Christ was married to Mary Magdalene and that through this union a child was born. I know that this sort of idea would stir the masses and create controversy and of course book sales. But I feel that Brown may truly believe this theory and he weaves this idea along with other radical ideas in the book. The mystery, the intrigue as I said are there and keeps the reader captivated.

My only fear is that if people are not well grounded in their faith that they could jump to these radical ideas and accept them wholeheartedly. To accept his ideas is to reject the true Word of God found in the Bible. It all comes down to faith and acceptance of God's Word the Bible. This is the case in any belief system. One can argue his beliefs for hours on end but when it comes down to it...it is faith that guides our walk through this life. As I have shared with friends who are not believers, I cannot prove my beliefs. I can share what the basis is for my beliefs and whatever one believes it comes down to a question....what is your basis? What is the basis for your belief system. Think about this. If you believe that many paths lead to God...I ask what is your basis for this belief? I can unequivocally say that my basis is the Bible. I believe it, I live by it and my eternity is based upon it. I ask what is your basis for your beliefs. I wonder what Author Brown has as a basis for his beliefs? We will probably never know. I do believe that the Bible is a supernatural work of God Himself. He framed it, fashioned it and it lives on supernaturally in our world. When it is read by a true seeker, it is supernaturally opened to the reader. It has meaning in the heart of the seeker and it speaks to the seeker. It is the basis for many changed lives. It gives hope for the helpless, healing for the hurting and life to the believer. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.