“Former president Ronald Reagan once had an aunt who took him to a cobbler for a pair of new shoes. The cobbler asked young Reagan, ‘Do you want square toes or round toes?’ Unable to decide, Reagan didn’t answer, so the cobbler gave him a few days. Several days later the cobbler saw Reagan on the street and asked him again what kind of toes he wanted on his shoes. Reagan still couldn’t decide, so the shoemaker replied, ‘Well, come by in a couple of days. Your shoes will be ready.’
“When the future president did so, he found one square-toed and one round-toed shoe! ‘This will teach you to never let people make decisions for you,’ the cobbler said to his indecisive customer. ‘I learned right then and there,’ Reagan said later, ‘if you don’t make your own decisions, someone else will.’” – Source unknown.
A farmer hired a man to work for him. He told him his first task would be to paint the barn and said it should take him about three days to complete. But the hired man was finished in one day. The farmer set him to cutting wood, telling him it would require about 4 days. The hired man finished in a day and a half, to the farmer’s amazement. The next task was to sort out a large pile of potatoes. He was to arrange them into three piles: seed potatoes, food for the hogs, and potatoes that were good enough to sell. The farmer said it was a small job and shouldn’t take long at all. At the end of the day the farmer came back and found the hired man had barely started. “What’s the matter here” the farmer asked. “I can work hard, but I can’t make decisions!” – Source unknown
Yes, sometimes we all have trouble making decisions especially as we think of the possible consequences of such decisions. Do you ever have that problem? God has given His children His Word to help us make the best decisions we can. Here are some additional questions that you might want to ask yourself:
Right? Is it right, wrong, or indifferent? (James 4:17; 1 John 3:4; Romans 4:14; 1 Timothy 4:4) Do I have “Christian liberty” to do this? Would I be abusing my liberty? Is it my aim in life to serve God and other people or myself? (Galatians 5:13)
Led? Is the Holy Spirit leading me to do this? (Romans 8:14; 3:8) How can I be sure? (2 Corinthians 6:14) Am I rightly related to Him? How am I ordering my daily life? (Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:16, 25) Am I grieving or quenching Him? (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19)
Appearance? Would my doing this have the appearance of evil? (1 Thessalonians 5:22) Do I want to be doing this when Christ returns? (1 John 2:28) What would happen if others followed my example? (1 Corinthians 11:1)
Twisted? Would I be twisting the truth to justify my actions? (2 Peter 3:16; 2:1) Heresy involves the misapplication of truth. (Romans 3:8; 6:14) It is a work of the flesh. (Galatians 5:20; Titus 3:10)
Counsel? Have I sought godly counsel from maturing Christians? (Hebrews 13:7, 17; Psalm 1:1) Does their advice for me line up with the Scriptures for New Testament believers?
Sinless? Did you know that Christians don’t have to sin? (1 Corinthians 10:13) But God knows that we will sin periodically. (1 John 2:1; 3:4, 9, 10) When we do, we should confess our sins quickly to God the Father. Once we’ve done this, we should accept His forgiveness so we can be restored and feel at ease (“abide”) in His presence again. (John 15:4-10)
Fellowship. We have fellowship with God when we walk in the light as He is in the light (1 John 1:3-7, 9). Walking in spiritual darkness will lead to a believer’s premature, physical death but not the loss of his salvation. (1 John 5:16; James 5:19, 20; Romans 8:35-39)
Tired? Are tired of living a defeated life? Believe me, it’s no fun. Let us share some Biblical information with you to help you live a victorious, joyful life right now. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
Enemies. Did you know that Christians have three spiritual enemies: the devil, the sin nature, and the diabolical world system? This means that we must use three separate methods to overcome them. Don’t blame the devil for everything. Our own sin nature is the cause of most of our problems.
Unbelievers. If you are an unbeliever, you can have all your sins forgiven and be at peace with God when you place your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for your salvation. (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 5:1) He died for your sins…and rose again bodily from the dead on the third day (Acts 16:31; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Luke 24:33-43). Will you trust Him right now? Would you like to have assurance of your salvation before you die? You can. (1 John 5:13).
Closing Thoughts. “If in doubt, don’t do it.” (Romans 14:23) “When you need to make a choice and don’t make it, that in itself is a choice.” “A man can’t go anywhere while he’s straddling a fence.” Joshua said, “…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). What about you?
If you have questions and/or comments, call us at 805-238-3549 or visit our web site where we have “God’s Simple Plan Of Salvation” in 24 languages and other information for Christians to grow spiritually so they can serve Him effectively. Go to www.kelseypeach.com.
These weekly articles usually correspond with our talks on Sunday mornings.