Decision Points That Make Us

We live by the decisions we make, and by the decisions made for us.

As parents, we “bend” our children into certain directions… You know the scripture. Raise up a child, when he is old he will not depart. Could we make mistakes? Sure. We do our best, but at some point, they reach the age and focus that takes them down their own path. Of their own choosing.

As adults, we face life and choose this way, or that, and hope we’ve made good choices. I’ve lived with these choices. Married, Texas, Alaska, Texas, Alaska, Washington… And now?

Where will I be buried? Decisions may be out of my hands.

As a pastor, I face tough choices dealing with people, their lives and decisions. The business of running a church is less important than touching lives… And I hope that any decisions I’ve made will not affect negatively.

God gave me this thought yesterday, and I am just thinking it through, but I feel I must share.

Our Decision Process

There are right times, and wrong times, to make decisions. We’re living in the middle of one of these times right now. Christmas. Who do you buy for, versus who you have to buy for! Debt load? Parties?

But what about the reason for this season? It’s not about kids, gifts, homeless, or disadvantaged. It’s all about Jesus, and him coming at the right time!

But when the fulness of the time was come,
God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Galatians 4:4 KJV

God had a plan for the future, and when it was time, he made the choice for action. Now.

But we each face our own moments of decisions… Wise timing, popular choices, or even unpopular decisions? Hard choices? Is now the right time? Could it be this is just not a good time?

Everybody has decisions to make. Every day! All the time! Do not discount the importance of recognizing that everyone is facing life just like you are! Scripture deals with this over and over, but this one thought really rings home to me.

There are many, many people in the valley of decision.
The day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
Joel 3:14 (GW)  

What are the moments we choose to allow our decisions to make us into the person we are? Can you look back at your life and know there are moments where you made decisions that created “you”? What moments made you who you are, and where you are going? Can you identify the decision you need to make today?

Let’s consider some prime examples we all know.

Saul…

How did Saul pop up on the scene in Acts 7? What made him a part of the crowd? Was he somewhere at the wrong time… Or was he there at the right time? For him?

I’m not reading too much into this…but… Why mention him now? I suspect it’s simply part of his decision tree…

Stephen defends his position and testifies of their culture, from Abraham to Moses, through David, Solomon… And directly to Jesus. The council was upset!

 “When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” 
Acts 7:54 -60

Something flared within Saul’s life! It pushed him forward, made him choose his path, and probably without even thinking it through!

Stephen’s Death precipitated Saul’s actions!

And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.  And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
Acts 8:1-3 (KJV)  

Let’s pound through the followers of Jesus! We must stop them! Destroy them!

What summarizes Saul’s life to this point?

Label him if you must, but understand that many of us are just like him. Something defines us from our past and then reinforces it in the present. We could easily become like Saul. A zealot firmly ensconced in the idea of who we are. Carry the cross of our foundation and become strongly focused. We fight, defend, and attack and think we are doing everything right.

But then, something happens, and our entire focus changes. He could choose to ignore it, but it was a decision that makes life different.

Saul gets permission to do in Damascus what he was doing around Jerusalem. Acts 9 tells the entire story. We know it so well because it is the decision point that gives us the Apostle Paul.

Saul is stopped by a miracle of light, a voice from heaven, recognition of who he’s talking to, submission to a larger plan, and three days of blindness. (Acts 9:3-9)  

What do you think he was doing these three days? Refreshing his mind on what had happened. But wait, was he persecuting the Lord? Yes! He was kicking against the prodding of God? But now, he is ready to do whatever God wants him to do! Simply put, he’s waiting on God’s deliverance, ready to choose a new path.

This Happens All The Time

Jonah called by God, agrees to the direction, but flees in the opposite. Storm. Punishment. Belly of a fish. Three days covered with stomach juices. Accepts God’s plan, and gets vomited out on dry land. Preaches to Nineveh and then gets upset when the repent!

Israel is finally entering the promised land. Joshua tells them to make a choice. Choose God, or the gods of the place you been, or the lands you are living in. (Joshua 24:14-21) God forbid, cries out the voice of a nation. But it’s as soon as the first chapter of the book we find they are struggling with following God’s plan. (Judges 1:28)

Sometimes the plan works for good, and sometimes we continue making bad choices.

The words of our choice and decisions…

We need moments of clarity in the midst of confusion. Challenges distract us all the time, and we end up making some wrong choices.

What moments of decision points that make you who you are? The Valley of Decisions contains every one of us… Every day. All the time. Remember. You are defined by how you choose to respond! Yes. It’s a choice!