Choices - Which Way Do I Go

We all make hundreds maybe thousands of choices everyday beginning from the time we wake up in the morning until we fall asleep at night. Many are made without much conscious thought, like swinging our legs off the bed after we have decided to get up. The first choice we make in the morning: Do we get up or do we lay in bed and sleep a while longer?

Before we make that choice though, we should take a moment to thank God for (to quote my husband), "the precious breath of life", and we should choose WHOM we are going to serve that day. Before we get up every morning we should make a conscious choice- today I will serve God. Ask Him to help You serve Him this day and deliver you from temptation and the snares of the devil. You will be pleasantly surprised at how it will change your whole perspective for the day. (I didn't say it would change circumstances, I said it would change your perspective).

Let's discuss some other choices. We don't want to do wrong and we don't want to cause others to do wrong, so how can we make these choices?

If we choose one course of action:

1) Does it help our witness for Christ? (1 Corinthians 9:19-22)

2) Are we motivated by a desire to help others know Christ? (1 Corinthians 9:23, 10:33)

3) Does it help us do our best? (1 Corinthians 9:25)

4) Does the choice go against a specific command in scripture and result in causing us to sin?

(1 Corinthians 10:12)

5) Is it the best, most beneficial choice? (1 Corinthians 10:23, 33)

6) Are we thinking only of ourselves or do we truly care about other people? (1 Corinthians 10:24)

7) Are we acting lovingly or selfishly? (1 Corinthians 28:31)

8) Does it glorify God? (1 Corinthians 10:31)

9) Will it cause someone else to sin? (1 Corinthians 10:32)

10) Have we truly prayed - "Lord lead us not into temptation but deliver us from (all) evil (and all appearance of evil)? (parenthesis and italics mine)

Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

God gives us all free will, however, he also gave us an instruction manual to live righteously and gloriously through Him. The first choice is to accept it, to read it, to follow it, to live it. It is just as relavent today as it was when it was being written. I hear a lot of people say, "this is 2010, it doesn't apply now". That's so far from the truth, every precept in the Bible can be applied to our lives today. As Jesus said on the mount, "nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will".

I leave you with these scriptures and pray God blesses you and and gives you integrity and wisdom in your choices today.

Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

I'm far from perfect and I make bad choices everyday, sometimes I have to ask God to forgive me but the one choice I have made is to follow Him.

His servant-tawanab

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.