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Make Up Your Mind! |
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| Have you ever been to a place, maybe a “buffet-style”
restaurant or a potluck supper, where they had so many good, tasty things to eat that it
was truly difficult to decide what to put on your plate? The fried chicken looks good but
then you spy across the table some yummy looking meatloaf and, oh, there is a bowl of
mashed potatoes next to a casserole dish filled with your favorite macaroni and cheese.
You ask yourself: Will there be enough room on my plate? (Or we ask: Will there be enough
room in my stomach for dessert? They have pecan pie!) Decisions, decisions! I distinctly
remember as a child being lost in thought trying to choose between all the different
flavors of ice cream at the local ice cream parlor. Of course, these aren’t the most important decisions we face in our lives. As we grow up and mature, we must decide such things as: how much or how little education we wish to pursue, what our occupation (job) will be, and where we plan to “set down roots” and make a home for ourselves. There also comes a time where we have to choose between remaining single or getting married and starting a family. All of these are significant decisions, and they require some careful thinking and contemplation. Yet, what about our commitment to God and His service? That is the most important choice of all. Are we putting as much thought and serious reflection into that decision? It should be at the top of our list. Sadly, at times, we may hardly give it “a second thought.” In regard to our service to Him, God expects us to “make up our mind” and make a choice. This message is found throughout the scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments. Our Heavenly Father will not accept a “half-hearted” commitment! There are only two (2) choices: we either will obey and serve God or we will serve our ourselves, which, in essence, means we will serve Satan. There is no middle ground; there is no third (3rd) choice. We cannot “straddle-the-fence”! Joshua makes this very clear when he exhorts the “children of Israel” in Joshua 24:14 – 15. As the one who led them into the “Promised Land” of Canaan, he tells them that they have to “make up their mind” about who they would serve: “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for your-selves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” [NKJV] The prophet Elijah offers a similar, stirring admonition when he confronts the Israelites and the prophets of Baal and Asherah on Mount Carmel. In I Kings 18:21, he tells them that they have to make a choice: “…‘How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’” Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, too, makes this point crystal clear in His “Sermon on the Mount.” We have to decide who will be our master. We cannot serve both God and this world because: “No one can serve two masters;…” (Matthew 6:24). So we need to take the time and “make up our minds” about our commitment to serving God. And we need to do it today! We never know when we will die or when Christ will return – then, we will face the judgment (Hebrews 9:27; I Corinthians 15:51 – 52). Thus, we cannot afford to dawdle or waste our time. We need to remember what Ananias told Paul (then named Saul) in Acts 22:16. He said: “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” The non-Christian needs to become a Christian by following the biblical, scriptural plan of salvation: Hear and read God’s word (Romans 10:17), Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (John 8:24), Repent of your sins (Acts 17:30), Confess your belief in Christ before witnesses (Matthew 10:32), Be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38; Galatians 3;26 – 27), and then be faithful to your commitment for the rest of your life (Revelations 2:10). The erring Christian needs to come back to the faith with a repentant attitude and be restored (I John 1:8–9; Galatians 6:1–2). Faithful Christians need to stay strong in the faith by daily Bible study and prayer, having proper fellowship with their brethren, and attendance at times of worship (II Timothy 2:15; I Thessalonians 5:17; I John 1:7; Hebrews 10:25). Make your decision – “make up your mind”, today! Don’t put it off! For “Behold now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (II Corinthians 6:2). Erik Smith Please Stumble this Article! Do you enjoy reading articles? Return to the main Articles Page |
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