Choice

 

2 Kings 22:1-2

"Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left."
NKJV

Josiah's grandfather, Manasseh, and his father, Amon, were two of the worst kings of Judah. They killed prophets, sacrificed their children, and rebuilt places of idol worship - even placing them in the house of the Lord. Josiah chose to do differently. He chose to walk in the ways of the Lord. That is just it, friend. We get to choose. People will say that you are doomed to follow in the sins of your father. Josiah proves that is not the case. You may be predisposed to those sins, but you get to make the choice. Maybe you watched your father get drunk every day of his life - that does not mean you have to. Even when you choose not to walk in the sins of your mother or father, you will still have to deal with it just as Josiah did. You will have to make the decision of whether you follow or choose something better.

 Corinthians 10:13

 "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." NKJV

Maybe your father followed Jesus and lived his life for the Lord. If so, what an awesome privilege; those are great footsteps to follow. For others, their childhood was full of parental failures and disappointments. The trail blazed was bleak. Be encouraged. You may face the temptation my friend, but God has provided the means by which you can overcome and choose a better way. It would have been easier for Josiah to continue in the way that was paved by his father and grandfather; instead, he chose a better path. What path will you choose?

Life Lesson: Christianity offers you the power to make a free choice.

Dear Father,
Thank You for loving me even in my failures. Thank You for forgiving me. Help me to make wise decisions by looking to Your Word to receive Your counsel and instruction. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Living to tell what He died to say, Pastor David McGee   My comments: We all have choices to make everyday and some are easy, some are really hard choices like who we marry and who we follow. Today I was told a story about a man who fought in a war and he was ordered to shoot anyone who moved in a certain area no matter who it was. A real dilemma. He was raised Catholic so this gave him great pain and he felt he could never be forgiven. If he shot innocent women, children and others. It was murder. If he did not do it he was disobeying superiors and the Bible tells for us to do what they tell us to do (this same dilemma happens on both sides who are fighting).   He had 6 children and a wife back home and if he did not shoot the innocent people and obey his superior then he might be court marshaled at the least or shot as a traitor right there and his family would suffer. No father, no bread winner, disgrace and probably no one would ever hire him to support his family. He followed his superiors and did what they told him (though he did not like it).   This man was tormented for most of his life and he was in his late 70's at the time he was relating the story. He related it to a Pastor friend of mine at  Calvary Chapel Church. My Pastor friend told him that Jesus died for just as him. He died for us all to remove our sin so we could one day stand before the King as white a snow and we only need to accept the gift of life, the gift of freedom. It is a choice only we can make. This man after a life time of pain in his soul, came to the Lord and found blessed peace in the one who accepted him with open arms as He waits to do for the whole world.   My husband has a choice to make and it will determine when he goes home to be with the Lord because he knows he is saved and the Lord will be coming for him soon. Maybe before He comes for the rest of us in the clouds if we have not passed on before His second coming. My hubby's choice was to take and extend his life for a couple of months by having dialysis. This way would bring surgery, pain and recovery might not happen before the cancer, or encephalopathy releases him to go home. Or he could choose to forgo the surgery and pass on in a couple of weeks. Nothing other than a miracle from God would give him more time. His choice was did he want to have tremendous pain and suffering or allow God to just take him peacefully. That is what would happen if he did not do the treatment. The treatment would not have been a cure. There is no surgery, no drugs to cure and time will not cure what was destroying his body. He was excited to go home to be with "My Lord." Yet he wanted it to be God's choice. At that time the medical teams (3 ) would be coming in the morning for his decision. No he was not asking or even thinking of suicide or assisted death. He was asking the Lord how He wanted him to proceed to glorify Him who created Him so he coud finish his race well (as Paul the Apostle says). (Note: when this was written this was the choice he thought he had to make. God is good. The choice was taken out of his hands. He did not have more time He passed on October 2, 2012 as I slept near his side and I heard him slip away to be with Jesus.)   Maybe some of you have had to deal with choices like these or others equally hard to make. Maybe you wonder can you go to heaven and be with the Lord if you make the wrong choice. Or maybe your worried your sin is too big for Jesus' sacrifice to remove it.  Whatever your concern about the choices you have made or the ones you are making now, know Jesus died for all of us and all sin and all we have to do is choose to acknowledge Jesus as our Savior and He will do the rest. Some of my favorite stories in the Bible (and there are many) are about regular people who were faced with the choice to follow God or to follow their own desires.   Ruth had the choice to follow after Naomi and choose Naomi's God and her people and listen to Naomi when she told her what to do. Christ Jesus came to us because Ruth made the correct choices. Abraham the father of Israel made the choice to follow a God no one else knew and because he did we have a Savior and the seat of David has always been filled. Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers and he could have tried to run away or become bitter and try to get back at them. When he became powerful he could have sent men to kill his brothers or gone back to his father but he chose to stay and work where the Lord placed him and because he did all Israel was saved. Jesus was sent to us from the Father to be a sacrifice for our sin once for all and He knew what He was looking at. He even said if this cup could pass away yet thine will be done oh, Lord. He willingly went to the Cross to be sacrificed as the Sacrificial Lamb of God. Because of His choice we have salvation and will one day stand before God the Father with the Righteousness of the Son, Jesus. We have the choice to accept His gift of not.   What choice have you made? What choices are you wrestling with? What are you being told to do that you know is not right? Take it to God and He will help you make the correct choice. Accept the gift of God and Live forever. It is your choice.   Abba I pray you will help us all to make the best choices with our lives so we will honor You in all we choose to do with our lives no matter how long they may be. Help all of us and our loved ones to understand how you want them to come to You gracious King. Guide us to a full knowledge and understanding of You and what You require of us and the choices you want us to make for Your glory. We praise and glorify You Father God and here and now we make the choice to follow all Your precepts and live a life pleasing to you. Amen Rebishka