I am posting parts 1 & 2 of The Word for Today devotional from yesterday and today. Saturday November 22 “Daniel resolved not to.” Da 1:8 NIV Life Is about Choices (1) When Daniel was taken prisoner to Babylon, he was quickly promoted to leadership in the king’s palace. But as a Jew he refused to “defile himself with the royal food and wine.” Could his choice have affected his career, or even cost him his life? Absolutely! But what we choose to do under pressure results from one of two things: (1) Clearly established convictions we live by. (2) Fuzzy convictions we’re willing to compromise for personal gain. Hard times don’t make you, they reveal you! In Leadership Gold John Maxwell writes: “After visiting twenty cities in seven days, it was good to be coming home! As the small private jet approached the runway, we were celebrating the success of the week. Then, in a moment, everything changed. The plane was hit by wind shear and dropped straight down to the runway, the wheels hitting out of balance. All conversation stopped and our eyes widened as we realized we were in danger. The pilot, without hesitation, pushed the throttle and launched the plane back into the air…We all realized that could have been it! We sat quietly as the plane circled the airfield, and a few minutes later we landed safely.” As he got off the plane, John asked the captain, “When did you make the decision to put the plane back into the air?” He replied, “Fifteen years ago.” He went on to explain how as a young pilot in training, he decided in advance what decision he would make for every possible air problem. His decision was made long before the crisis. So have a game plan in place before the problem arises. 11-23-2014 Sunday November 23 “Give your servant a discerning heart to…distinguish between right and wrong.” 1Ki 3:9 NIV Life Is about Choices (2) Choices—they’re the determining factor in how your life turns out. When Solomon came to the throne as a young man, he prayed for wisdom to make the right choices in life. Legendary basketball coach John Wooden said, “There’s a choice you have to make in everything you do. So keep in mind that in the end, the choice you make, makes you.” Some of us make life harder by making bad choices; others move through life more easily because they make good choices. The truth is, you don’t always get what you want but you always live with the consequences of your choices. Observe: (1) Your choices reveal who you really are. Theologian H. P. Liddon observed, “What we do on some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are; and what we are will be the result of previous years of self-discipline.” (2) The higher you rise, the more difficult your choices become. King Solomon could have had any woman he wanted. Sadly, he chose women who turned his heart away from God (See 1Ki 11:4). (3) Your choices change you for good or evil. Once you choose, you become a servant of that choice. It impacts your life, and often the lives of others. C. S. Lewis said: “Every time you make a choice you are turning the central point of you, the part…that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or a hellish creature.” So you must make your choices prayerfully and wisely.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 02:58:55 +0000
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