Enjoying the Journey
Posts Tagged ‘Choices’
How NOT To Choose A Mate
When I was a young man someone told me, “Choose only a date who would make a good mate.” That was good advice. A casual relationship can quickly turn into a serious one. Friendships often become lifelong commitments. There are many choices in life, but few have more lasting consequences that who you will marry. In Genesis 6:1-2 the Bible describes an ancient society where “the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.” This would set in motion a chain of events that eventually led to the worldwide flood. Civilization was destroyed because of evil imaginations and carnal desires. What can we learn from this…
Read MoreFinding Your Way
Frequently I hear it said of someone that he is still trying to “find his way” in life. Our world is full of aimless drifters and empty souls. Another toy. Another trip. Another lover. Everyone just trying to find their way – but, to where? Many people have traveled all of life on a certain path only to discover that it did not lead to the destination they had hoped. How do you find your way, the Lord’s way, for life? God has given us a guidebook for the journey. Only Scripture can show us the plain and right path. Bible principles point the way. Proverbs 22:6 is often quoted and rarely understood. Solomon, filled with the wisdom of the…
Read MoreAre You Seeking God’s Direction For Some Decision?
At every stage on the journey we face crossroads – choices that will have long-lasting effects on both ourselves and others. Direction determines destination. There is never a day that we do not need God’s wisdom and never a season of life that we can afford to make decisions on our own. Week after week I meet people in every place where I travel who are trying to find the Lord’s will. What should I do? Who should I marry? Where should I go to college? How should I deal with this problem? When will the time be right to make a move? Perhaps the greater question, the question that helps to answer all of the others, is: How do…
Read MoreTake The Day Off!
Take the day off…Those are beautiful words. (Since you don’t work for me you should probably still show up for work today!) Why is it that we only seem to apply these words to areas of responsibility? For sure it is exciting to think about “a day off” from the normal routine, but what if we took a day off in other things? Is there any thing that it would benefit you to take the day off from today? What if… We took the day off from television? We took the day off from social media? We took the day off from unnecessary texting and phone usage? One day “off” may help us to get back “on” in real face-to-face…
Read MoreA Reminder for 2018
Today is the last day of the first week of a new year. Imagine each year as a puzzle with fifty-two pieces. The first piece is now in place. Recently I heard someone talking about “chance.” Christians should not view life as an accident. Life is about choices. There are two kinds of choices: There are choices God makes for us. These we must accept. There are choices God gives us to make. These we must act on. Each piece of the puzzle is either providence or a personal decision. If God allows us to live and tarries His return, in just a few weeks we will again be celebrating the conclusion of another year. The picture that we view…
Read MoreCounsel to Young People and to Those Who Counsel Them
It is my privilege to work each week with hundreds of middle school, high school, and college age young people. It is fascinating that the older I get the younger they seem! Not long ago (in my mind) I sat where they sit. Making decisions and seeking direction. Recently I spent several days just meeting with kids, listening, talking, praying. Full of hope for their future, every one of them is in the middle of a season of decision. Decisions that will alter the course of their life. Perhaps I am more concerned than they are because I have seen so many poor choices and sad casualties. Meeting after meeting it seemed that the conversation returned again and again to…
Read MoreThe Influence of a Good Friend
The wisest man who ever lived teaches us that “he that walketh with wise men shall be wise” (Proverbs 13:20). Friends have tremendous influence. For many years I have counseled teenagers to choose their friends carefully, not to let their friends choose them. Standing near the mid way point of life (at least from my perspective) I suddenly have realized that this counsel is not just for youth. It is for me. It is for all of us. When you choose a friend, you are choosing the influencers of your life. Look for men who are wise enough to obey God. True wisdom is the wisdom of obedience. It is more than knowledge, more than talk. True wisdom is seen…
Read MoreThe Luggage of Life
It is my privilege to do a great deal of travel. Through the years I have learned it is best to travel light. Luggage slows you down and weighs you down. Especially on airplanes! The journey is much more enjoyable with as little baggage as possible. This principle is true in all of life. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14). Perhaps you think the man who wrote these words had no terrible thing to…
Read MoreOur Theme for 2013
Today has been a wonderful Lord’s day – the last Sunday of the year. Some Sunday will be our last Sunday on earth. The dawn of a new year will be nothing in comparison with the dawn of a new age. Jesus is coming! Pastor Sexton unveiled the new year’s emphasis for Temple Baptist Church and Crown College to our people today. Hudson Taylor was famous for saying, “God is always advancing.” This is our motto for 2013. God’s people are not to “hold the fort”, they are to charge “the gates of hell” with the gospel of Jesus Christ. While it is easy to bemoan the sad decay of society and the moral cliff our own nation has gone…
Read MoreThe Tale of Two Brothers
This is a true story. I know that it is true because God told it in His Word. It is remembered as one of the saddest stories in all of history. Sadder still, it is being repeated in homes everywhere. Cain and Abel were the first brothers. They must have been close to one another and their parents – there was no one else to talk to! Their story has gone down in history as the first murder. Cain killed Abel. I have one sister. She is a great blessing to me. There were times growing up when we did not get along, as we should have. Years have passed and our relationship means more to me than ever. You…
Read More
