The document discusses how Jesus exemplifies decision-making and models for believers by choosing ordinary and flawed individuals as His disciples, highlighting the importance of faith despite failures. It emphasizes that God intentionally selects those marginalized by society, and this choice serves to humble human pride and showcase divine grace. Ultimately, the text reassures that past failures do not define individuals, as Jesus redeems and transforms them into sources of strength within the community of believers.

1. JESUS WAS OUR MODEL FOR DECISION MAKING
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
NOTE: Jesus had to make many important decisions quickly for His time in history was
going to be limited and He would die young. He made choices as to who would be His
diciples and where He would go to preach, and who He would heal, and who He would eat
with etc. He made endless decisions and choices and become our model for living a life like
His.
John 1:43 New International Version
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee.
Finding Philip, he saidto him, "Followme."
"What we know to be true about Jesus is that He chose ordinary and
unrefined men. They were the commonestof the common. They were from
rural areas, farmers, and fisherman. Christ purposely passedoverthe elite,
aristocratic, andinfluential men of societyand chose mostlythe men from the
dregs of society."
Jesus Chooses andUses Failures
Article by Jon Bloom
Staff writer, desiringGod.org

2. “Simon, sonof John, do you love me?”
Peterwas grieved. Sitting on the beachafter breakfast, Jesus hadjust asked
him for the third time if he loved him. Peterhad already wholeheartedly
answeredyes twice. What else was he supposedto say?
With these questions, the Lord was putting his finger on a very tender wound
in Peter’s heart. Peter’s failure on the night of Jesus’trial had been simply
horrible. In the hour of his Lord’s greatestanguish, Peterhad denied even
knowing him. This sin shook Peterto the core of his being.
Jesus had told him that he would do it.1 But in the Upper Room, over the
Passovermeal, with his fellow disciples around him, Peterdid not believe it.
He could still hear himself proclaim, “I will lay down my life for you.”2
He had had no idea how weak he really was. He had imagined himself boldly
standing before the Sanhedrin side by side with Jesus, come whatmay. But
that night, as Jesus was doing that very thing, Petercouldn’t even stand
before a servant girl. “You also are not one of this man’s disciples are you?”
He had completely caved: “I am not.”3
I am not. Those words had kept Peter up at night. He was supposedto be a
rock.4 Thatnight he had crumbled into pieces. He was not who he thought he
was. Peterhad never been less confident in himself.
So when Jesus questionedPeter’s love for a third time that morning, Peter
grieved that he might have lost the Savior’s trust. He had failed. But he did
love him. All he could do was appealto Jesus’omniscience:
“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
And Jesus did. In fact, later Peterrealized what Jesus had done in that painful
conversation. He had not doubted Peter’s love at all. Rather, he had allowed
Peterto confess his love for every wretcheddenial he had made on that
dreadful night. Amazing grace.
And the Lord had a word for Peter. In the future there would be another
opportunity to confess his love publicly in the face of greatcost. And then he
said, “Follow me.”

3. Shame over pastfailures and sins can haunt and inhibit us in many ways. And
Satanseeks to stealand destroy our faith by shoving our failures in our face.
But Jesus intends to redeem us completely.
When Jesus chose you to be his disciple, he foresaw your future failures as
sure as he foresaw Peter’s. We may not want to believe that we could deny
Jesus by engaging in a sin that contradicts everything we believe. But Jesus
knows what is in us.5 So he exhorts us along with Peter to “watchand pray
that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the
flesh is weak.”6
And when we do fail, we must remember what Jesus saidto Peterbefore his
failure: “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you
have turned again, strengthenyour brothers.”7 Peterwas going to sin —
miserably. But Jesus had prayed for him. Jesus’prayer was strongerthan
Peter’s sin, and it’s strongerthan our sin too. “He is able to save to the
uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to
make intercessionfor them.”8
And Jesus is the greatrestorerof failures who repent. Jesus had said to Peter
“when you have turned again[repented], strengthenyour brothers.” And
there on the beachhe againgave Peterthe greatestinvitation any of us can
receive on earth: “follow me.” The failure was to be left behind. There was
kingdom work to do, and eternal life to enjoy.
Peter’s failure did not define him. And ours will not define us. They are
horrible, humbling stumbles along the path of following Jesus, who paid for
them all on the cross.
And Jesus specializesin transforming failures into rocks of strength for his
church.

4. John 13:38 ↩
John 13:38 ↩
John 18:17 ↩
Matthew 16:18 ↩
John 2:25 ↩
Matthew 26:41 ↩
Luke 22:32 ↩
Hebrews 7:25 ↩
Jon Bloom(@Bloom_Jon)serves as author, board chair, and co-founder of
Desiring God. He is author of three books, Notby Sight, Things Not Seen, and
Don’t Follow Your Heart. He and his wife have five children and make their
home in the Twin Cities.
RAY PRITCHARD
Why God ChoosesSplendid Sinners and Lovable Losers
1 Corinthians 1:26-31
Listen to this sermon
I am not quite sure how I came to this sermon title, except that it startedwith
an apparently random comment I heard recently when a goodfriend
confessedto being a “repetitive sinner.” I pondered that expressionbecause I
hold this friend in high esteemas a truly godly person. I see much to admire
and very little that seems like “repetitive sin” to me. And yet there it was.

5. Repetitive sinner.
In truth, that’s the way I feelabout myself much of the time. If I am honest, I
freely confess that I fall far short of what I want to be. With the Apostle Paul
in Romans 7, I declare that what I don’t want to do I do, and what I want to
do I don’t do. Which makes me a repetitive sinner and (in the language of
Romans 7), a “wretchedman.”
To put the matter that way calls to mind these lines found in the prayer of
generalconfessionfrom the Book ofCommon Prayer(written in 1662):
We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have
done those things which we ought not to have done;
Those two sentences diagnosethe truth about my own condition. I am a
repetitive sinner, guilty of sins of omissionand commission.
The particular phrase “splendid sinners” comes from something I read a few
months ago by J. C. Ryle, the famous evangelicalAnglicanbishop of the late
1800s.In his book calledHoliness, he wrote about how all the saints fall short
of perfection:
The holiestactions of the holiestsaint that ever lived are all more or less full
of defects and imperfections. They are either wrong in their motive or
defective in their performance, and in themselves are nothing more than
“splendid sins,” deserving God’s wrath and condemnation.
This is a much-needed word for a generationof Christians with an inflated
sense ofself-importance. Apart from God’s grace, evenour bestefforts are
nothing more than “splendid sins.” In my better moments, which are all too
few, I realize that even my best efforts fall well over into the “splendid sins”
category. Ryle has told the truth about the best of us and the restof us. This
side of heaven, we’re a pretty sorry lot, but that’s where God’s grace comes
in. No one will be savedby what they do. Our only hope of heaven is to run to
the cross andlay hold of Jesus Christ. And we won’t even do that unless God
helps us to do it, and even then he must give us the strength to hang on and to
keepbelieving.

6. Apart from God’s grace, evenour best efforts are nothing more than
“splendid sins.”
We are all …
Splendid sinners,
Lovable losers,
Miserable misfits, and
Fantastic failures.
During a radio interview I was askedwhy so many of the heroes ofthe Bible
had serious flaws. My answerwas simple. That’s all God has to work with. All
the perfectpeople are in heaven. The only ones on earth are the folks with
serious weaknesses. The talentpool has always been pretty thin when it comes
to moral perfection. So God works with sinners because that’s all he has to
work with. In heaven we will all be vastly improved–perfected by God’s grace.
But until then, he uses some pretty ornery people who fall short in many
ways–andhe does some amazing things through them.
Considerthe roll callof God’s imperfect heroes:
The talent pool has always beenpretty thin when it comes to moral perfection.
Noahwho got drunk.
Abraham who lied about his wife.
Jacobwho was a deceiver.
Moses who murdered an Egyptian.
Rahab who was a harlot.
Samsonwho had serious problems with lust and anger.
David who was an adulterer.
Paul who persecutedthe church.

7. Peterwho denied Christ.
If God chose only well-rounded people with no characterflaws, some ofthe
credit would inevitably go to the people and not to the Lord. By choosing
flawed people with a bad past, a shaky present, and an uncertain future, God
alone gets the glory when they accomplishamazing things by his power.
In case we don’t understand this, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 makes it abundantly
clear. If you want the message ofthis passagein one sentence, here it is: God
won’t tolerate human pride, so he chooses people who have nothing to brag
about.
I. The FactStated
“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Notmany of you
were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of
noble birth” (I Corinthians 1:26). Paul begins by reminding them of what they
were when God savedthem. The word “called” refers to their position in the
world when they came to Christ. Not many of them came from the educated
or upper classes ofsociety. Notmany had what the world calls “good
breeding.” (The term “noble birth” translates a Greek wordfrom which we
get the English word “eugenics.” The Corinthians by and large did not come
from “blue blood.”) In a sense, he holds up a mirror and says, “Take a good
look. What do you see?” Ifthey were honest, they didn’t see many impressive
people. They saw ordinary men and women, from undistinguished
backgrounds, whose lives had been utterly transformed by Jesus Christ.
Memory can be a blessing or a curse. In the spiritual life, it canbe very
healthy to remember what life was like before we met Jesus. If you remember
where you started, you’ll appreciate much more the grace of God that has
brought you to where you are today.
In the spiritual life, it can be very healthy to remember what life was like
before we met Jesus.
Our text tells us that when God chooseshis team, he starts with the people the
world chooses last. He actually prefers to choose the weak insteadof the
strong. We must not miss the implication of this teaching. It’s not as if God

8. intends to take equal numbers from every socialclassin the world. And it’s
definitely not true that God populates the church from the upper classesbut
sprinkles in a few from the lowerclasses. The opposite is closerto the truth.
God populates his church with the rejects of the world and then sprinkles in a
few wealthy and powerful people. He prefers losers. Goddeliberately chooses
the forgottenof the world and he prefers the company of the poor. He loves to
save the uneducated, the foolish, the addicted, the broken, the downcastand
the imprisoned. In short, he specializes in saving those whom the world counts
as nothing.
II. The ReasonGiven
“But God chose the foolishthings of the world to shame the wise;God chose
the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of
this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the
things that are, so that no one may boastbefore him” (I Corinthians 1:27-29).
In these verses Paul makes his teaching even clearer. Godchooses“weak
things” and “lowlythings” and “despisedthings” and even “things that are
not.” These “things” are actually people—weak people, lowlypeople, despised
people, and people who are invisible to the world. In short, God makes a
choice, and the choice he makes is to choose the people the world would never
choose. The words of Isaiah55:8 come to mind, “‘For my thoughts are not
your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’declares the Lord.” Here’s a
simple wayto remember this truth: God is different. Ponder that statement
for a moment. God is different from us. He is different in what he thinks and
he is different in what he does. He does not do what we expecthim to do
because his thinking is entirely different from ours. He nullifies the mighty by
using the weak instead. He nullifies the proud by using the humble. He
nullifies the wise by using the simple. He nullifies the professionalby using the
blue-collar worker. He nullifies the PhD by using the high schooldropout.
God’s “nullification” demonstrates how fundamentally different he is from us.
This truth—elementary as it may seem—is actuallyquite vital to a healthy
Christian worldview. Our God stands alone. He does not bind himself to do
what we think he ought to do. He is holy and he is sovereignand he is
absolutely free to do whateverhe pleases to do. He can humble the proud any
time he chooses. No one has the power to stand againsthim.

9. Our God stands alone. He does not bind himself to do what we think he ought
to do.
Considerthe implication of the text. When the world throws a party, the
beautiful people are always invited. You know the names: Ben Affleck, J-Lo,
JessicaSimpson, Jay-Z, Britney Spears, Tom Cruise, 50 Cent, Halle Berry,
Shania Twain, Jennifer Anniston, Mariah Carey, Brad Pitt, George Clooney,
Miley Cyrus, and the restof the current crop of Hollywood superstars. They
rent a nightclub and hire a security team to keepthe ordinary people out.
Only the “in crowd” makes it past the rope line. Helicopters circle overhead
and the paparazzi strain to a get a picture they cansell to People magazine.
It’s all about who shows up and who is wearing what kind of dress, and trying
to match this man with that woman. That’s how the world throws a party. But
God does it differently. Jesus told a story in Luke 14:15-24 abouta certain
man who invited many guests to a huge banquet. All the invited guests made a
series ofexcuses—theywere too busy, they had other plans, they had business
to attend to, and a hundred other “legitimate” excuses. So the master ordered
his servants to go out into the highways and byways and invite the poor, the
crippled, the blind and the lame. When that had been done, there were still
some empty seats so he told his servants to go out into the country roads and
find anyone who had been overlookedand invite them to come to the party
because the master declaredthat every seatmust be taken. If those who had
been invited first would not come, then the master would go after the outcasts
who would never otherwise come to such a fine affair. That’s how Goddoes it.
He goes afterthe people the world overlooks becausethe “beautiful people”
have no interest in coming to him for salvation.
God does it this way for three reasons:
1) To destroyall human pride,
2) So that no one canboast, and
3) So that all would be equal in God’s family.
We need to hear this word because AmericanChristianity is entertainment-
oriented and celebrity-driven. We are far too prone to swoonoverthe latest

10. “celebrityconversion” and to rush the latest“hot convert” to the pulpit so
that we can all applaud and congratulate ourselves oncatching such a big fish
for God. When I first came to the church in Oak Park, there was a certain
very important personwith a large public reputation who attended our
church. To be precise, he had attended some years earlier and had left to go
elsewhere.But he came on my first Sunday and attended another six or seven
times over my first couple of years at the church. I know how many times he
came because everytime he came, every single time, someone (usually several
people) would come rushing up to me with the news, “PastorRay, Mr. So-
and-So is here. You’d better go and say hello to him.” It was big news because
he was so well known. And I guess it made us feel better somehow that he was
here.
I experiencedthe same thing years later when someone rushed up to me and
said, “PastorRay, StevenCurtis Chapman is here today.” It was true, and I
met him, and I’m happy to report that he was a very gracious, humble,
unassuming sort of person. Not at all the celebrity persona you might have
expected. For that matter, the “very important person” from many years ago
was also quite friendly. To be clearabout it, I’m happy when anyone visits the
church, and I think it’s wonderful when well-knownor popular people come
to worship the Lord. That’s always an encouraging thing. Nothing wrong with
celebrities coming to church and nothing wrong with being glad to see them.
But I’ve been waiting for someone to say, “PastorRay, guess what? We’ve got
two prostitutes visiting the church today. Isn’t that wonderful?” Or “Pastor
Ray, there’s a man here with AIDS and he wants to know Jesus.” Or“Pastor
Ray, here’s a single mother with six children. This is her first time to visit.”
Or “PastorRay, this man just got out of jail and he came to worship with us
today.” The sin is not that we make much of the celebrities;it’s that we make
so much less ofthe other people who visit us. And while I’m on the subject, I
should mention that occasionallysomeone will say, “I wish so-and-so would
get saved. They have so much to offer,” which usually means they have money
they could give. Is God so broke that he needs another banker in his family?
Is God so confused about the economythat he needs another stockbroker on
his team? Nothing could be more worldly than valuing lost people basedwhat
we think they could contribute to God’s Kingdom.

11. III. The Purpose Explained
“It is because ofhim that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us
wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness andredemption.
Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boastin the Lord’” (I
Corinthians 1:30-31). The reasonGoddoes what he does is to demonstrate
that he alone is the source of our salvation. “It is because ofhim that you are
in Christ Jesus.”It’s not your wisdom or your intellect or your memorized
Bible verses that brought you to Jesus. And you are not a Christian because
you are a goodperson or a church member or because your father was a
preacherand your mother was a Sunday Schoolteacher. Paulsays plainly: “It
is because ofhim.” Salvationis of the Lord. God wants us to know that he is
the reasonwe came to Christ. And in Christ we find wisdom, righteousness,
holiness and redemption. If we believe this, then our boastwill be in the Lord
alone. When it comes to salvation, we contribute nothing but the sin that
makes it necessaryto be saved. Goddoes the rest. God chooseswhom he
pleases, andhe does so by choosing those whom the world overlooks.
Nothing could be more worldly than valuing lost people basedwhat we think
they could contribute to God’s Kingdom.
If we believe what this passageteaches, itwill change the way we look at
ourselves, and it will change the way we talk about ourselves. Some of us talk
so much about ourselves that we hardly talk about the Lord at all. Our real
problem is the vast difference betweenour view and God’s view.
We look at the outward. God looks atthe inward.
We value popularity. God values character.
We look at intelligence. Godlooks at the heart.
We honor those with money. God honors those with integrity.
We talk about what we own. God talks about what we give away.
We boastabout whom we know. God notices whom we serve.
We list our accomplishments. Godlooks for a contrite heart.

12. We value education. God values wisdom.
We love size. God notices quality.
We live for fame. Godsearches forhumility.
Our view is shallow. God’s view is deep.
Our view is temporary. God’s view is eternal.
We list our accomplishments. Godlooks for a contrite heart.
At the end of the day, we discoverthat God destroys human pride two ways:
1) By sending a Saviorto die on a hated Romancross,
2) By choosing the weak over the strong to be part of his family.
We wouldn’t have done it this way, but that brings us back to the
fundamental point that God is different. He doesn’t play by our rules.
When we lived in Chicago, I often heard the Chicago Cubs described as
“lovable losers,” a reference to the fact that they haven’t won the World
Series since 1908.Thatfact is a source of sorrowfulpride to Cubs fans
everywhere because a true Cubs fan says, “If it takes forever, I’m sticking
with my team.” It’s been a long time since their last championship, and even
the most loyal fans might be tempted to give up, but as Harry Carayfamously
remarked, “Any team can have a bad century.” I remember the heartbreak in
2003 whenthe Cubs were five outs awayfrom going to the World Series. How
did they manage to lose those lasttwo games? It’s still a mystery to me. I
thought about the term “lovable losers” as I prepared this message. That
strikes me as a gooddescription of those whom God choosesforhis church.
No matter where we come from, in God’s eyes we are all just “lovable losers.”
In the spiritual sense, we’re allCubs now. When God chooses members for his
team, he doesn’t look for superstars. He goes after“lovable losers” and he
picks them out one by one. “But I can’t pitch,” you say to the Lord. “I can’t
hit or field or bat. I don’t even know how to play baseball.” It doesn’t matter,
the Lord replies. “Jesus is the captain of the team, and he’s never lost a game
yet.” There is a method to God’s selectionprocess.When the team finally

13. wins, Jesus alone will getthe credit, not the “lovable losers” who played
alongside him. We didn’t do so well, but in the end, it doesn’t matter because
the Captain of our Salvation won the victory, and when he won, we won with
him.
No matter where we come from, in God’s eyes we are all just “lovable losers.”
By arranging things this way, God destroys human pride and glorifies his Son
at the same time. Only God could have conceivedofa waythat losers could
become winners through associationwith his Son.
Church of the Pathetic Losers
A few years ago during the annual Pastors Conference atMoodyBible
Institute, Alistair Begg, pastorofthe Parkside Church in the Clevelandarea,
spoke on our need to depend fully on the Lord and not on our own resources.
As he came to the close, he told the story of how King Jehoshaphatprayed in 2
Chronicles 20. As the enemy armies closedin on Jerusalem, the king cried out
to the Lord in the presence ofall the people, “We do not know what to do, but
our eyes are upon you” (v. 12). Alistair Begg commentedthat he was really
saying, “Lord, we’re just a bunch of pathetic losers. And if you don’t help us,
we’re sunk.” He went on to saythat he had discoveredthat this was the true
mission statementof the church he pastors:“We’re just a bunch of pathetic
losers and if God doesn’t help us, we’re sunk.” That’s a goodname for a
church: “Church of the Pathetic Losers.” Youwould never run out of
prospects.
I think he’s absolutely right. Apart from God’s grace, that’s all we are—just a
bunch of pathetic losers. Without God, we don’t have a chance, we don’t have
a thing to offer, and we don’t even know what to do next. Sometimes I think
the hardestjob God has is getting his children to admit how desperatelythey
need him. So let me sayit clearly to everyone who reads these words:I am a
pathetic loser. Apart from the grace ofGod, I own up to the truth that in me,
that is in my flesh, there is nothing goodat all. Whatevertalent I possess,and
whatevergoodI have accomplished, the power to do it has come from the
Lord, and he alone gets the credit.

14. Sometimes I think the hardest job God has is getting his children to admit
how desperatelythey need him.
At the same Pastors Conference, JosephStowell, then president of Moody
Bible Institute, commented that many days he is sick of himself. I understand
that and say“Amen” to it. When I mentioned that in a sermon, a man told me
he had stayed up all night wrestling with the Lord because he too was sick of
himself. A womanadded, “Sometimes I geton my own nerves.” All of us (if
we are honest) are sick of ourselves sooneror later.
I heard about a pastorwho came up with a phrase that he printed at the top
of their church bulletins even though some of the leaders didn’t feel
comfortable with it: “Blunder Forward.” After serving 27 years in pastoral
ministry, I cantestify how true that is. Even on our best days, we struggle as
God’s people to simply “blunder forward.” And some days we can’t even do
that.
Are we really “pathetic losers?”Yes, and we don’t know the half of it. And
that brings me back to the original question. Why does Godchoose splendid
sinners and lovable losers? Why are there so many miserable misfits and
fantastic failures in God’s family? The answeris two-fold:
1) God chooseslosers because that’s all he’s gotto work with.
2) God chooseslosers because thatway he alone gets the credit for anything
goodwe accomplish.
Here is the goodnews. When splendid sinners and lovable losers and
miserable misfits and fantastic failures band togetherto seek the Lord,
amazing things happen. The Red Sea parts, the walls come tumbling down,
the enemy is routed, and the church rolls on for the glory of God. Amen.
12 Disciples – How Did Jesus Choose His Twelve Disciples?
by Bob Pardue

15. Postedon
July 29, 2018
12 disciples
“Follow me.” This is the simple statementmade by Christ which changedthe
world forever. This study includes how Jesus chose the 12 disciples.
How Jesus Chose The 12 Disciples
Today’s Bible study lessoncomes from Mark 3:13-19.
It tells how Jesus chose some fishermen& a tax collector, along with others –
and turned them into His twelve disciples who became heroes of the Bible.
What are the names of the twelve disciples? I Had to Look Them Up – How
about You?
This is common question which is answeredhere along with the simple way
Jesus chose His 12 followers.
These were simple men who would accomplishgreatthings in history; as we
will learn in this Bible study lessonfrom Mark.
Jesus Chooses His 12 Disciples
And He went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself
wanted, and they came to Him.
And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could
send them out to preach, and to have authority to castout the demons.
And He appointed the twelve:
Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), and James, the son of Zebedee, and
John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which
means, “Sons of Thunder”); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and

16. Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and
Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him. – Mark 3:13-19
NASB
So, What are the 12 Disciples’Names?
No, I couldn’t name them all either. But, to refreshyour memory – here are
the 12 disciples names (not in any certain order)…
Simon – Now knownas Peter
James sonof Zebedee
John (James’brother)
Andrew
Phillip
Bartholomew
Matthew
Thomas
James sonof Alphaeus
Thaddaeus
Simon the Zealot
Judas Iscarlot
Why Did Jesus ChooseTwelve Disciples?Why Not Eight – Or More?
Just a little backgroundabout the disciples. Why would Jesus pick 12 disciples
– and not 5, 20, or even 1,000 disciples?
A footnote to this passageaboutthe disciples is that Jesus had many disciples
who followedHim. These followers wentout and spreadthe word about His
ministry.
But, the twelve disciples were the “inner circle“, so to speak.

17. Here is a Possible Answerfor Why There Were 12 Disciples
According to Matthew 19:28, the number 12 is very significant as it relates to
the twelve tribes of Israel.
And, it shows the relationship betweenthe newness of Jesus’messageand the
old religious systemunder Jewishlaw.
“And Jesus saidto them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followedMe,
in the regenerationwhenthe Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you
also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” –
Matthew 19:28 NASB
Jesus had crowds of people following him. But, He focusedmore on training
the 12 chosento be Apostles.
An Apostle is someone who represents oris a messenger. Jesusneededpeople
with the willingness to obey him. In modern times, an apostle ofthe Bible is
someone who actually saw Christ in person.
How do We Compare to the Twelve Disciples?
12 disciples
The disciples were simple people. They ranged from fishermen to tax
collectors.Mostwere not well educated. But Jesus chose them according to
God’s plan.
We may be more talented, more educated, know more people, or show more
leadership ability than many of the disciples. But, the key word in the
scripture is Obey.
These twelve men will go on to catapult the beginning of Christianity – risking
their own lives in the process.
We most likely won’t have to risk bodily harm to tell others about Jesus.
But, are we as willing as these 12 disciples when it comes to obeying Christ
when He calls us to do a task?

18. Love in Christ
– Bob
If you are curious about the love and life-changing experience of Jesus Christ,
please take a moment to look at John 3:16 to discovermore.
6 Times When Jesus Chose Solitude Over People
by Ward Cushman
There’s A Place ForSolitude In All Our Lives
T
here are two ways we learn from the Bible. The first is how you would expect,
through instructions. Forexample, we’re told, “Be angry and do not sin; do
not let the sun go down on your anger” Ephesians 4:32. This verse teaches us
that 1) angerisn’t automatically sin, 2) it’s something we have to be careful
about, 3) we’re not supposedto stay angry at people. The Bible is filled with
teaching like this to help us in our Christian lives.
A secondway we learn from the Bible is by examples, both goodand bad. The
Bible is full of stories that tell us about how people succeededand failed in
various circumstances. As we read them we learn lessons thathelp us through
life. There are some topics that the Bible doesn’t instruct us about that we
only learn about this way, such as seeking solitude. Some people rejectthe
idea that solitude is important for Christians because there’s no verse in the
Bible that says to seek solitude. Those same people, however, don’t reject the
idea of going to church even though there’s no verse that explicitly says to go
to church.

19. The way to learn about solitude is to watchwhat Jesus did
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The best wayto learn about the value of solitude is from Jesus’life. We’re
fortunate that the Bible records a number of times when Jesus separated
himself from people. In looking through these we cansee there were 6
different reasons why Jesus spenttime alone.
6 ReasonsJesus ChoseSolitude Over People
To prepare for a major task Luke 4:1-2, 14-15. After Jesus was baptized He
spent 40 days praying in the wilderness. After this He was tempted by Satan
and then beganHis public ministry.
To recharge after hard work Mark 6:30-32. Jesus sentthe 12 disciples out to
do ministry. When they returned He encouragedthem to separate from the
people who were following them to rest.
To work through grief Matthew 14:1-13. After Jesus learnedthat his cousin
John the Baptisthad been beheaded, He went awayby Himself. Yes, even the
Son of God grieves.
Before making an important decisionLuke 6:12-13. Earlyin His ministry
Jesus spentthe whole night alone in prayer. The next day He chose his 12
disciples.
In a time of distress Luke 22:39-44. Hours before Jesus was arrestedHe went
to the Mt. of Olives and went a short distance awayfrom His disciples to pray.
He was in great emotionalagony knowing what he was about to face.
To focus on prayer Luke 5:16. Many times in Jesus’ministry He spent time
alone in prayer.
Time spent in solitude with Godis not time spent alone
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20. Solitude can benefit us greatlyif we use that time to sort through with the
Father whateveris on our minds and in our hearts. Think about your day and
plan to carve out some time to spend alone with the Father.
Do you find it hard to spend time in solitude? Why is it hard to do? Leave a
comment or question below.
Why did God choose me?
Question:"Why did Godchoose me?"
Answer: In John 15:16 Jesus says, “Youdid not choose me, but I chose you
and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—
and so that whateveryou ask in my name the Father will give you.” Ephesians
1:4 says, “He chose us in him before the creationof the world to be holy and
blameless in his sight.” First Peter2:9 says, “You are a chosenpeople, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, God’s specialpossession, that you may declare the
praises of him who calledyou out of darkness into his wonderful light.” It is
undeniable that God has chosenthose who are believers in Jesus. But why? Is
there something specialabout me that led God to choose me? The short
answeris, no, God did not choose us because ofanything inherent in
ourselves. He chose us out of His love and mercy, and for His glory.
Ephesians 1 goes onto say, “In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship
through Jesus Christ, in accordancewith his pleasure and will—to the praise

21. of his glorious grace, whichhe has freely given us in the One he loves” (verses
5–6). We see that God’s choosing ofus is linked to His love. God’s choice is
something that gives Him pleasure and brings Him praise. God’s choosing of
us highlights His gracious character, notour merit. As we know from
Ephesians 2:8–9, we are not savedbecause of our goodworks but solely
because ofGod’s grace. We are all sinners who fail to measure up to God’s
glory (Romans 3:23). Apart from Jesus alldeserve death (Romans 6:23). But
in Jesus we can have life. It is not because ofwho we are that God chooses us
but because ofwho He is. As 1 Peter 2:9 indicates, the proper response to
being chosenby God is to declare God’s praise and give Him worship.
God also chose us so that we could join in His work in the world. Ephesians
2:10 says God has prepared goodworks in advance for us to do. Jesus spoke
of His followers’bearing fruit that would last. Ephesians 1:4 links electionto
being holy and blameless in God’s sight. God chose us because He has a
purpose in mind for our lives.
The Old TestamentfocusesonIsrael as God’s chosenpeople (Deuteronomy
7:6). In Deuteronomy7:7–9 Mosestells the children of Israelwhy God chose
them: “The Lord did not sethis affectionon you and choose youbecause you
were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewestof all
peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to
your ancestors thathe brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemedyou
from the land of slavery, from the powerof Pharaohking of Egypt. Know
therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his
covenantof love to a thousand generations ofthose who love him and keephis
commandments.” Once again, we see that God’s choice is not basedon the
merit of a particular person or nation, but solelyon His love and faithfulness.
Just as God chose Israelout of love and not because ofsomething impressive
about the nation, God choosesus out of love. As 1 John 3:1 says, “Seewhat

22. greatlove the Fatherhas lavished on us, that we should be called children of
God!” Why did God choose me? BecauseofHis great love, His lavish love.
The doctrine of predestination is difficult to grasp. We naturally tend to think
that those who are predestined are chosenbecause ofsome merit of their own.
After all, that is how we tend to choose.We remember picking teams for
P.E.—everyonechoosesthe tallest, fastest, mostathletic, most popular, etc., to
be on their team. But God is not like that. His criterion for choosing is not
basedon us. “Consideryour calling, brothers: not many of you were wise
according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of
noble birth. But God chose whatis foolish in the world . . . God chose whatis
weak in the world . . . God chose what is low and despisedin the world, even
things that are not . . . so that no human being might boast in the presence of
God. And because ofhim you are in Christ Jesus”(1 Corinthians 1:26–30,
ESV).
Why did God choose me? He chose you to demonstrate His character. He
chose you that you may know Him and love Him. He chose you because He is
love (1 John 4:8), He is gracious, He is merciful, and He has a glorious plan
for you.
https://www.gotquestions.org/why-did-God-choose-me.html
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES

23. Bringing Men To Jesus
John 1:42
D. Young
Jesus asksAndrew, "Whatseek ye?" and the question soonshows fruit in
Andrew seeking outhis own brother Simon. The New Testamentdeals with
spiritual things, but that does not prevent it from being full of natural touches.
What Andrew did is just the very thing which in like circumstances we might
have been expectedto do. And surely it is the most reasonable ofconjectures
that Andrew, who began by bringing his own brother, must have been the
bringer also of many who were mere strangers. Interestin natural kinsmen
would soonbe merged in the wider interest a Christian must feel in humanity
at large. Peterwas Andrew's first gift to Jesus, and he may have been the
easiest. To bring a human being into real, loving contactwith Jesus is not an
easything; but what a service, whata blessing and a joy, to every one
concerned!
I. Andrew was able to bring Peterto Jesus because HE HAD FIRST OF ALL
BEEN BROUGHT HIMSELF. Andrew had first of all been himself the
subject of spiritual illumination. God must have shined in his heart to give the
light of the knowledge ofthe glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. He had
been brought to Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah. The acquaintance had been
very short, but a great dealmay be done in a short time when the human
heart has been getting ready to meet with Christ, when there is perfect
openness and simplicity of mind - truth on one side and an eagerseekerafter
it on the other. To get other people as far as Peter, we must first of all have got
as far as Andrew ourselves. How should the blind lead the blind? We must not
wait for an Andrew. God has his ownagencyfor us. He may send some John
the Baptist, saving, "Behold!" to us. We must considerwell the obstacles in
our way to Jesus, whichnone can remove but ourselves - procrastination,
bosom sins, spiritual indolence, neglect'of the Scriptures.
II. CONSIDERWHO IT WAS THAT ANDREW BROUGHT. his own
brother Simon. So natural brotherhood is distinguished from that spiritual
brotherhood which afterwards sprang into existence as regeneratedbelievers

24. in Christ felt the strong tie binding them together. What brother ought not to
be to brother, and yet what he may very easilybecome, is shownfrom Cain
and Abel, and Josephand his brethren. What brother ought to be to brother
is shown in this seeking ofSimon by Andrew. Great opportunities are given
by natural brotherhood, mutually cherished. Give every goodthing in nature
a chance to become also a minister of grace.
III. CONSIDER WHAT ANDREW SAID TO PETER. "We have found the
Messiah."This is as much goodnews for us as it was for Peter. What Andrew
said he said at first, after a very brief acquaintance;but he would go on saying
it all the more as day after day opened up the riches of Messiah's missionand
power. Observe the plural form of the announcement. The other disciple
agreedwith Andrew in his judgment. Look out for those and listen to them
who bear the same messageas Andrew, though not in quite the same form.
We have words and acts of Jesus constantlyforcedon our attention. If we
cannot be brought to Jesus, Jesus is brought to us. All bringing of men to
Jesus must be preceded, more or less, by bringing of Jesus to men. Andrew
must have brought such a vivid and powerful accountof his talk with Jesus as
would amount practically tea bringing of Jesus. - Y.
Biblical Illustrator
Jesus... findeth Phillip.
John 1:43, 44
Moralimitation
D. Thomas, D. D.
I. MAN'S MORAL CHARACTER DETERMINESHIS DESTINY. "As a
man thinketh in his heart, so is he" in his —
1. Experience, whetherhappy or miserable.
2. Prospects, whetherterrific or inviting.

25. 3. Influence, whether useful or pernicious.
4. Relations.
(1)To God, whether approved or condemned.
(2)To the universe, whether a blessing or a curse.
II. MAN'S MORAL CHARACTER IS FORMED ON THE PRINCIPLE OF
IMITATION. This is seenin children, and the Romans, recognizing this,
placed in their vestibules the busts of greatmen, so that the young might be
reminded of their virtues. The seedof a child's actionis not teaching, but
deeds.
III. THE FORMATION OF A GOOD CHARACTER REQUIRES A
PERFECTMODEL. SirJoshua Reynolds found after years of study that he
had been imitating, not Titian, whom he desired to make his model, but a
forger. After this he resolvedto make nature his model, and thus became a
greatmaster of his art. According to his model, so will a man be. One reason
why human characteris so depraved is because the perfect model is little
known and less appreciated.
IV. THE ONLY PERFECTMODELIS JESUS CHRIST. Who is the most
imitable character?
1. He who has the strongestpowerto command admiration.
2. He who is most transparent in character.
3. He who is most unchangeable in the spirit which animates him.Conclusion:
Follow Me.
1. This is an epitome of the moral laws of God.
2. Herein is man's life and perfection.
3. Imitate Christ by inbreathing His moral spirit.
(D. Thomas, D. D.)

26. The callof St. Philip
P. B. Power, M. A.
No trumpet summoned the soldiers of the Cross to the battle-field; no hand
like that at Belshazzar's feastcame forth to beckonhim; no miracle made
them take up a distinctive post. And, yet, what a callthis was!how noble,
singular, useful, profitable I Such a call came to Judas, and he soldit.
I. THE ORIGIN OF THIS CALL WAS THE WILL OF CHRIST. Jesus "goes
forth" in searchofevery sinner. But the mere "going forth" of Christ is not
enough. There must be an exercise ofHis secretpower. This poweris
pervasive, leavening, and so works upon man's free-will that it comes into
union with the heavenly will. Without this there can be no discipleship.
II. THE POSITION IN WHICH THIS CALL PLACES THE PERSON BY
WHOM IT IS RECOGNIZEDAND OBEYED. It makes him follower, and
when man becomes a follower —
1. He abridges his right over himself, his property, time, etc.
2. He sets aside his ownwisdom, and accepts thatof His Master.
3. He follows always, evenunto the end.
III. IN THIS CALL THERE IS —
1. Exclusiveness,jealous refusalto admit of any division of the heart.
2. Mystery.
(1)It separates us from the nothingness and delusions of the world.
(2)It joins us to the invisible and heavenly.
(3)It opens up new hopes, scenes, andsources ofimmeasurable wealth.
(P. B. Power, M. A.)
Delaying Christian profession

27. Homiletic Monthly.
— The command is for instant obedience. A common objection is, "I have no
confidence in my future strength. I must wait until I am strongerbefore I
profess to have devoted my whole life to Christ." Reply —
I. YOU ARE LIVING ONLY IN THE PRESENT. The future is not. For you
there may be no earthly future, for you may die to-night. Your responsibility
is for the now.
II. DUTIES WILL COME NOT IN THE MASS, BUT ONE BY ONE.
Strength for eachis all you will need.
III. YOU WILL GROW STRONG FOR COMINGDUTIES ONLY AS YOU
PERFORMPRESENTONES.No one can step to the top of the pyramids; but
he can climb one block;and from that he can reachanother. Says Robert
Browning: "I see a duty and do it not, and therefore see no higher."
IV. GOD'S GRACE IS PROMISED ONLYFOR TIME OF NEED. No man
to-day canbe prepared for tomorrow's duties.
V. GOD'S STRENGTHIS OUR ONLY STRENGTH, AND THAT IS
PLEDGED. "Iwill be with you even to the end of the world." He "will not
suffer you to be tempted beyond that you are able, but with the temptation
will provide a wayof escape."
(Homiletic Monthly.)
The motive for following Christ
It is related in the annals Of the Ottoman Empire that when Amurath
II. died, which was very suddenly, his son and destined successor,
Mohammed, was about a day's journey distant in Asia Minor. Every day of
interregnum in that fierce and turbulent monarchy is attended with peril. The
death of the deceasedSultan was therefore concealed, and a secretmessage
despatchedto the prince to hasten at once to the capital. On receiving the
messagehe leaped on a powerful Arab charger, and turning to his attendants,

28. said, "Let him who loves me, follow!" This prince afterwards became one of
the most powerful sovereigns ofthe Ottoman line. Those who approved their
courage and loyalty by following him in this critical moment of his fortunes,
were magnificently rewarded. There is another Prince — the Prince of peace
— who says to those around Him, "Let him who loves Me, follow."
The method of following Christ
H. G. Trumbull, D. D.
Faith includes works;loyalty involves service;love carries devotedness. It is
not merely that, if we have trust in another, we ought to conform our conduct
to the directions or suggestions orwishes or example of the trusted one; but it
is that, if our trust is a reality, it will show itself in our conduct. It is folly for a
child to tell of his love for his mother if he has no regardto her wishes;it is
folly for a patient to say that he believes in his physician if he pays no
attention to that physician's prescription; it is folly for a soldier to say that he
is devoted to a commander whom he will not obey in the heat of a campaign;
it is folly for a man to sayhe has faith in Jesus if he does not seek to follow
Jesus. Jesussays, "Ifye love Me, keepMy commandments."
(H. G. Trumbull, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(43) The day following, that is, the fourth day from the inquiry by the
Sanhedrin (see John 1:29; John 1:35; John 1:43).
Findeth Philip.—Just as he was going forth from his lodging of the previous
night (John 1:39). Philip is mentioned in the other Gospels onlyin the lists of
the Twelve. The touches of characterare all found in St. John. (Comp. John
6:5; John 12:21;John 14:8.)

29. Follow me.—This command, so full of meaning, is never used in the Gospels
exceptas spokenby our Lord Himself, and is addressedto but one outside the
circle of the Apostles, the rich young man whom Jesus loved(Matthew 19:21;
Mark 10:21). In other parts of the New Testamentit is used but once, in the
words of the angelto Peter(Acts 12:8). We cannot, therefore, limit the words
to an invitation to accompanyHim on that day’s walk, though this is included,
and in that walk from Bethania to Bethsaida there came the revelationwhich
made the “Follow Me” a powerbinding for the whole of life. (Comp. Matthew
8:22.)
MacLaren's Expositions
John
THE FIRST DISCIPLES:III. PHILIP
John 1:43.
‘The day following’-we have a diary in this chapterand the next, extending
from the day when John the Baptist gives his officialtestimony to Jesus, up till
our Lord’s first journey to Jerusalem. The order of events is this. The
deputation from the Sanhedrim to John occupiedthe first day. On the second
Jesus comes back to John after His temptation, and receives his solemn
attestation. On the third day, John repeats his testimony, and three disciples,
probably four, make the nucleus of the Church. These are the two pairs of
brothers, James and John, Andrew and Peter, who stand first in every
catalogue ofthe Apostles, and were evidently nearestto Christ.
‘The day following’of our text is the fourth day. On it our Lord determines to
return to Galilee. His objects in His visit to John were accomplished-to receive

30. his public attestation, and to gather the first little knot of His followers. Thus
launched upon His course, He desired to return to His native district.
These events had occurredwhere John was baptising, in a place calledin the
English version Bethabara, whichmeans ‘The house of crossing,’oras we
might say, Ferry-house. The traditional site for John’s baptism is near
Jericho, but the next chapter{John 2:1} shows that it was only a day’s
journey from Cana of Galilee, and must therefore have been much further
north than Jericho. A ford, still bearing the name Abarah, a few miles south
of the lake of Gennesaret, has latelybeen discovered. Our Lord, then, and His
disciples had a day’s walking to take them back to Galilee. But apparently
before they set out on that morning, Philip and Nathanaelwere added to the
little band. So these two days saw six disciples gathered round Jesus.
Andrew and John soughtChrist and found Him. To them He revealed
Himself as very willing to be approached, and glad to welcome any to His side.
Peter, who comes next, was brought to Christ by his brother, and to him
Christ revealedHimself as reading his heart, and promising and giving him
higher functions and a more noble character.
Now we come to the third case, ‘Jesus findeth Philip,’ who was not seeking
Jesus, and who was brought by no one. To him Christ reveals Himself as
drawing near to many a heart that has not thought of Him, and laying a
masterful hand of gracious authority on the springs of life and characterin
that autocratic word ‘Follow Me.’So we have a gradually heightening
revelation of the Master’s graciousnessto all souls, to them that seek and to
them that seek Him not. It is only to the working out of these simple thoughts
that I ask your attention now.

31. I. First, then, let us dealwith the revelation that is given us here of the seeking
Christ.
Every one who reads this chapter with even the slightestattention must
observe how ‘seeking’and ‘finding’ are repeatedover and over again. Christ
turns to Andrew and John with the question, ‘What seek ye?’Andrew, as the
narrative says, ‘findeth his own brother, Simon, and saith unto him, “We have
found the Messias!”‘Then again, Jesus finds Philip; and again, Philip, as soon
as he has been won to Jesus, goes offto find Nathanael;and his glad word to
him is, once more, ‘We have found the Messias.’It is a reciprocalplay of
finding and seeking allthrough these verses.
There are two kinds of finding. There is a casualstumbling upon a thing that
you were not looking for, and there is a finding as the result of seeking.It is
the latter which is here. Christ did not casuallystumble upon Philip, upon
that morning, before they departed from the fords of the Jordan on their
short journey to Cana of Galilee. He went to look for this other Galilean, one
who was connectedwith Andrew and Peter, a native of the same little village.
He went and found him; and whilst Philip was all unexpectant and
undesirous, the Mastercame to him and laid His hand upon him, and drew
him to Himself.
Now that is what Christ often does. There are men like the merchantman who
went all over the world seeking goodlypearls, who with some eagerlonging to
possesslight, or truth, or goodness, orrest, searchup and down and find it
nowhere, because they are looking for it in a hundred different places. They
are expecting to find a little here and a little there, and to piece all togetherto
make of the fragments one all-sufficing restfulness. Then when they are most
eagerin their search, or when, perhaps, it has all died down into despairand
apathy, the veil seems to be withdrawn, and they see Him whom they have
been seeking allthe time and knew not that He was there beside them. All,

32. and more than all, that they soughtfor in the many pearls is stored for them
in the one Pearl of greatprice. The ancientcovenant stands firm to-day as for
ever. ‘Seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.’
But then there are others, like Paul on the road to Damascus orlike Matthew
the publican, sitting at the receiptof custom, on whom there is laid a sudden
hand, to whom there comes a sudden conviction, on whose eyes, notlooking to
the East, there dawns the light of Christ’s presence. Suchcasesoccurall
through the ages,for He is not to be confined, bless His name! within the
narrow limits of answering seeking souls, orof showing Himself to people that
are brought to Him by human instrumentality; but far beyond these bounds
He goes, and many a time discloses His beauty and His sweetness to hearts
that wist not of Him, and who canonly say, ‘Lo! Godwas in this place, and I
knew it not.’ ‘Thou wastfound of them that soughtThee not.’
As it was in His miracles upon earth, so it has been in the sweetand gracious
works of His grace eversince. Sometimes He healed in response to the
yearning desire that lookedout of sick eyes, orthat spoke from parched lips,
and no man that ever came to Him and said ‘Heal me!’ was sent away
beggaredof His blessing. Sometimes He healed in response to the beseeching
of those who, with loving hearts, carried their dear ones and laid them at His
feet. But sometimes, to magnify the spontaneity and the completenessof His
own love, and to show us that He is bound and limited by no human co-
operation, and that He is His own motive, He reachedout the blessing to a
hand that was not extended to graspit; and by His question, ‘Wilt thou be
made whole?’kindled desires that else had lain dormant for ever.
And so in this story before us; He will welcome andover-answerAndrew and
John when they come seeking;He will turn round to them with a smile on His
face, that converts the question, ‘What seek ye?’into an invitation, ‘Come and
see.’And when Andrew brings his brother to Him, He will go more than

33. halfway to meet him. But when these are won, there still remains another way
by which He will have disciples brought into His Kingdom, and that is by
Himself going out and laying His hand on the man and drawing him to His
heart by the revelation of His love. But further, and in a deeper sense, He
really seeks us all, and, unasked, bestows His love upon us.
Whether we seek Him or no, there is no heart upon earth which Christ does
not desire;and no man or womanwithin the sound of His gospelwhom He is
not in a very real sense seeking thatHe may draw them to Himself. His own
word is a wonderful one: ‘The Fatherseekethsuchto worship Him’; as if God
went all up and down the world looking for hearts to love Him and to turn to
Him with reverent thankfulness. And as the Father, so the Son-who is for us
the revelationof the Father: ‘The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that
which was lost.’ No one on earth wantedHim, or dreamed of His coming.
When He bowedthe heavens and gatheredHimself into the narrow space of
the mangerin Bethlehem, and took upon Him the limitations and the burdens
and the weaknesses ofmanhood, it was not in response to any petition, it was
in reply to no seeking;but He came spontaneously, unmoved, obeying but the
impulse of His own heart, and because He would have mercy. He who is the
Beginning, and will be First in all things, was first in this, that before they
calledHe answered, and came upon earth unbesought and unexpected,
because His owninfinite love brought Him hither. Christ’s mercy to a world
does not come like water in a well that has to be pumped up, by our petitions,
by our search, but like waterin some fountain, rising sparkling into the
sunlight by its own inward impulse. He is His own motive; and came to a
forgetful and carelessworld, like a shepherd who goes afterhis flock in the
wilderness, not because they bleat for him, while they crop the herbage which
tempts them ever further from the fold and remember him and it no more,
but because he cannot have them lost. Men are not conscious ofneeding
Christ till He comes. The supply creates the demand. He is like the ‘dew which
tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.’

34. But not only does Christ seek us all, inasmuch as the whole conceptionand
executionof His greatwork are independent of man’s desires, but He seeksus
eachin a thousand ways. He longs to have eachof us for His disciples. He
seeks eachofus for His disciples, by the motion of His Spirit on our spirits, by
stirring convictionin our consciences,by pricking us often with a sense ofour
own evil, by all our restlessnessanddissatisfaction, by the disappointments
and the losses, as by the brightnesses and the goodness ofearthly providences,
and often through such agenciesas my lips and the lips of other men. The
MasterHimself, who seeks allmankind, has sought and is seeking youat this
moment. Oh! yield to His search. The shepherd goes outon the mountain side,
for all the storm and the snow, and wades knee-deepthrough the drifts until
he finds the sheep. And your Shepherd, who is also your Brother, has come
looking for you, and at this moment is putting out His hand and laying hold of
some of you through my poor words, and saying to you, as He said to Philip,
‘Follow Me!’
II. And now let us next considerthat word of authority which, spokento the
one man in our text, is really spokento us all.
‘Jesus findeth Philip, and saith unto him, “Follow Me!”‘No doubt a greatdeal
more passed, but no doubt what more passedwas less significantand less
important for the development of faith in this man than what is recorded. The
word of authority, the invitation which was a demand, the demand which was
an invitation, and the personalimpression which He produced upon Philip’s
heart, were the things that bound him to Jesus Christ for ever. ‘Follow Me,’
spokenat the beginning of the journey of Christ and His disciples back to
Galilee, might have meant merely, on the surface, ‘Come back with us.’ But
the words have, of course, a much deeper meaning. They mean-be My
disciple. Think what is implied in them, and ask yourself whether the demand
that Christ makes in these words is an unreasonable one, and then ask
yourselves whether you have yielded to it or not.

35. We lose the force of the image by much repetition. Sheepfollow a shepherd.
Travellers follow a guide. Here is a man upon some dangerous cornice of the
Alps, with a ledge of limestone as broad as the palm of your hand, and
perhaps a couple of feetof snow above that, for him to walk upon, a precipice
on either side; and his guide says, as he ropes himself to him, ‘Now, tread
where I tread!’ Travellers follow their guides. Soldiers follow their
commanders. There is the hell of the battlefield; here a line of wavering,
timid, raw recruits. Their commander rushes to the front and throws himself
upon the advancing enemy with the one word, ‘Follow’and the coward
becomes a hero. Soldiers follow their captains. Your Shepherd comes to you
and calls, ‘Follow Me.’Your Captain and Commander comes to you and calls,
‘Follow Me.’In all the dreary wilderness, in all the difficult contingencies and
conjunctions, in all the conflicts of life, this Man strides in front of us and
proposes Himself to us as Guide, Example, Consoler, Friend, Companion,
everything; and gathers up all duty, all blessedness,in the majestic and simple
words, ‘Follow Me.’
It is a call at the leastto acceptHim as a Teacher, but the whole gist of the
context here is to show us that from the beginning Christ’s disciples did not
look upon Him as a Rabbi’s disciples did, as being simply a teacher, but
recognisedHim as the Messias,the Sonof God, the King of Israel. So that
they were calledupon by this command to acceptHis teaching in a very
specialway, not merely as Hillel or Gamalielaskedtheir disciples to accept
theirs. Do you do that? Do you take Him as your illumination about all
matters of theoreticaltruth, and of practicalwisdom? Is His declarationof
God your theology? Is His declarationof His own Personyour creed? Do you
think about His Cross as He did when He electedto be remembered in all the
world by the broken body and the shed blood, which were the symbols of His
reconciling death? Is His teaching, that the Son of Man comes to ‘give His life
a ransom for many,’ the ground of your hope? Do you follow Him in your
belief, and following Him in your belief, do you acceptHim as, by His death
and passion, the Saviour of your soul? That is the first step-to follow Him, to
trust Him wholly for what He is, the Incarnate Sonof God, the Sacrifice for

36. the sins of the whole world, and therefore for your sins and mine. This is a call
to faith.
It is also a call to obedience. ‘Follow Me’certainly means ‘Do as I bid you,’
but softens all the harshness of that command. Sedulously plant your
tremulous feetin His firm footsteps. Where you see His track going across the
bog be not afraid to walk after Him, though it may seemto lead you into the
deepestand the blackestofit. ‘Follow Him’ and you will be right. ‘Follow
Him’ and you will be blessed. Do as Christ did, or as according to the bestof
your judgment it seems to you that Christ would have done if He had been in
your circumstances;and you will not go far wrong. ‘The Imitation of Christ,’
which Thomas a Kempis wrote his book about, is the sum of all practical
Christianity. ‘Follow Me!’ makes discipleshipto be something more than
intellectual acceptanceofHis teaching, something more than even reliance for
my salvationupon His work. It makes discipleship-springing out of these two-
the acceptance ofHis teaching and the consequentreliance, by faith, upon His
word-to be a practicalreproduction of His characterand conduct in mine.
It is a call to communion. If a man follows Christ he will walk close behind
Him, and near enough to Him to hear Him speak, and to be ‘guided by His
eye.’He will be separatedfrom other people, and from other paths. In these
four things, then-Faith, Obedience, Imitation, Communion-lies the essenceof
discipleship. No man is a Christian who has not in some measure all four.
Have you gotthem?
What right has Jesus Christ to ask me to follow Him? Why should I? Who is
He that He should set Himself up as being the perfect Example and the Guide
for all the world? What has He done to bind me to Him, that I should take
Him for my Master, and yield myself to Him in a subjection that I refuse to
the mightiest names in literature, and thought, and practicalbenevolence?
Who is this that assumes thus to dominate over us all? Ah! brethren, there is

37. only one answer. ‘This is none other than the Son of God who has given
Himself a ransom for me, and therefore has the right, and only therefore has
the right, to sayto me, “Follow Me.”‘
III. And now one lastword. Think for a moment about this silently and swiftly
obedient disciple.
Philip says nothing. Of course the narrative is mere sketchyoutline. He is
silent, but he yields. Ah, brethren, how quickly a soul may be won or lost!
That moment, when Philip’s decisionwas trembling in the balance, was but a
moment. It might have gone the other way, for Christ has no pressedmen in
His army; they are all volunteers. It might have gone the other way. A
moment may settle for you whether you will be His disciple or not. People tell
us that the belief in instantaneous conversions is unphilosophical. It seems to
me that the objections to them are unphilosophical. All decisions are matters
of an instant. Hesitation may be long, weighing and balancing may be a
protracted process, but the decisionis always a moment’s work, a knife-edge.
And there is no reasonwhateverwhy any one listening to me may not now, if
he or she will, do as this man Philip did on the spot, and when Christ says
‘Follow Me,’turn to Him and answer, ‘I will follow Thee whithersoeverThou
goest.’
There is an old church tradition which says that the disciple who at a
subsequent period answeredChrist, ‘Lord! suffer me first to go and bury my
father,’ was this same Apostle. I do not think that at all likely, but the
tradition suggests to us one last thought about the reasons why people are
kept back from yielding this obedience to Christ’s invitation. Many of you are
kept back, as that procrastinating followerwas, because there are some other
duties which you feel, or make to be, more important. ‘I will think about
Christianity and turning religious when this, that, or the other thing has been

38. got over. I have my position in life to make. I have a greatmany things to do
that must be done at once, and really, I have not time to think about it.’
Then there are some of you that are kept from following Christ because you
have never yet found out that you need a guide at all. Then there are some of
you that are kept back because you like very much better to go your own way,
and to follow your own inclination, and dislike the idea of following the will of
another. There are a hostof other reasons that I do not need to deal with now;
but oh! brethren, none of them is worth pleading. They are excuses,they are
not reasons.‘Theyall with one consentbeganto make excuse’-excuses,not
reasons;and manufactured excuses,in order to covera decisionwhich has
been takenbefore, and on other grounds altogether, which it is not convenient
to bring up to the surface. I am not going to deal with these in detail, but I
beseechyou, do not let what I venture to callChrist’s seeking ofyou once
more, even by my poor words now, be in vain.
Follow Him. Trust, obey, imitate, hold fellowship with Him. You will always
have a Companion, you will always have a Protector. ‘He that followeth Me,’
saith He, ‘shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ And if
you will listen to the Shepherd’s voice and follow Him, that sweetold promise
will be true, in its divinest and sweetestsense, aboutyour life, in time; and
about your life in the moment of death, the isthmus betweentwo worlds, and
about your life in eternity-’They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the
sun nor heat smite them; for He that hath mercy on them shall lead them,
even by the springs of watershall He guide them.’ ‘Follow thou Me.’
BensonCommentary
John 1:43-44. The day following — The next to that lastmentioned, on which
he met with Peter;Jesus would go forth into Galilee — And there enter on his
public ministry; and findeth Philip — Whom he intended to chooseto be one
of his apostles;and saith to him, Follow me — Which he accordinglydid,
being secretlyinfluenced by Christ’s grace. Whenwe considerhow suddenly

39. some of Christ’s disciples left their statedemployments to follow him, it seems
reasonable to allow some singular kind of impressionon their minds, as there
was in the calling of Elisha, (1 Kings 19:19-21,)which, though for the present
it supersededthe necessityof arguments, yet it did not exclude their attending
to that afterward, which might be necessaryto defend their conduct to others.
Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew — “As it appears from the
subsequent part of the history, Philip was already acquainted with our Lord’s
character, and believed on him, this observation is made by the evangelist, to
show by what means he was brought to Jesus;his townsmen, Andrew and
Peter, had done him this favour.”
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
1:43-51 See the nature of true Christianity, it is following Jesus;devoting
ourselves to him, and treading in his steps. Observe the objectionNathanael
made. All who desire to profit by the word of God, must beware of prejudices
againstplaces, ordenominations of men. They should examine for themselves,
and they will sometimes find goodwhere they lookedfor none. Many people
are kept from the ways of religion by the unreasonable prejudices they
conceive. The bestway to remove false notions of religion, is to make trial of
it. In Nathanaelthere was no guile. His professionwas not hypocritical. He
was not a dissembler, nor dishonest;he was a sound character, a really
upright, godly man. Christ knows what men are indeed. Does He know us?
Let us desire to know him. Let us seek and pray to be Israelites indeed, in
whom is no guile; truly Christians, approved of Christ himself. Some things
weak, imperfect, and sinful, are found in all, but hypocrisy belongs not to a
believer's character. Jesus witnessed whatpassedwhen Nathanaelwas under
the fig-tree. Probably he was then in fervent prayer, seeking directionas to
the Hope and ConsolationofIsrael, where no human eye observedhim. This
showedhim that our Lord knew the secrets ofhis heart. Through Christ we
commune with, and benefit by the holy angels;and things in heavenand
things on earth are reconciledand united together.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Would go forth - Was about to go.

40. Into Galilee - He was now in Judea, where he went to be baptized by John. He
was now about to return to his native country.
Findeth Philip - This does not refer to his calling these disciples to be
"apostles," forthat took place at the Sea of Tiberias Matthew 4:18, but it
refers to their being. convincedthat he was the Christ. This is the object of
this evangelist, to show how and when they were convinced of this. Matthew
states the time and occasionin which they were called to be "apostles;" John,
the time in which they first became acquainted with Jesus, andwere
convinced that he was the Messiah. There is, therefore, no contradiction in the
evangelists.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
43. would go … into Galilee—forfrom His baptism He had sojourned in
Judea (showing that the calling at the Sea of Galilee [Mt 4:18] was a
subsequent one, see on [1763]Lu5:1).
Follow me—the first express callgiven, the former three having come to Him
spontaneously.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
All this while Christ seemethto have been in Judea, which was the most
famous province. The day after Peterhad thus been with him, he had a mind
to go into Galilee;out of that he designedto choose his disciples;and that
being the country where he had been educated, he designedin a more special
manner to honour it with the first fruit of his public ministry. There findeth
Philip (the name signifieth, a lover of horses). He callethhim to be his disciple.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
The day following,.... Notthe day after John had pointed out Christ, as the
Lamb of God, to two of his disciples;but the day after Simon had been with
him, being brought by Andrew:
Jesus would go forth into Galilee;from whence he came to Jordan, to John, to
be baptized by him; and which being done, and his temptations in the
wilderness over, it was his will, resolution, and determination, to return to

41. Galilee, the place of his educationand conversation, till this time; and
therefore chose to begin his ministry, and miracles, there, both to give honour
to it, and to fulfil a prophecy in Isaiah9:1; and besides this, he had doubtless
another end in going thither: which was to call some other disciples that dwelt
there:
and findeth Philip; as he was going to Galilee, or rather when in it; not by hap
or chance;but knowing where he was, as the shepherd and bishop of souls,
lookedhim up and found him out, and calledhim by his grace, and to be a
disciple of his; See Gill on Matthew 10:3,
and saith unto him, follow me; leave thy friends, thy calling, and business, and
become a disciple of mine: and such powerwent along with these words, that
he at once left all, and followedChrist; as the other disciples, Peter, and
Andrew, James, and John, and Matthew did, as is recordedof them, though
not of this; but the following history makes it appearhe did.
Geneva Study Bible
The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and
saith unto him, Follow me.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Expositor's Greek Testament
John 1:43. καὶ ἤγαγεναὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν. He was not contentto allow his
report to work in his brother’s mind, but induced him there and then, though
probably on the following day, as now it must have been late, to go to Jesus.—
ἐμβλέψας … Πέτρος. Jesus may have knownSimon previously, or may have
been told his name by Andrew. “Thouart Simon, Jonah’s son, or better,
John’s son. Thou shalt be calledKephas.” This name, Kephas or Peter, stone
or mass of rock, Simon did receive at CaesareaPhilippi on his confession of
Jesus as the Christ (Matthew 16:17-18);a confessionprompted not by “flesh
and blood,” that is, by his brother’s experience, but by his own inwrought and
home-grownconviction. The reasonof this utterance to Simon is understood
when it is consideredthat the name he as yet bore, Simon Barjona, was
identified with a characterfull of impulsiveness; which might well lead him to

42. suppose he would only bring mischief to the Messiah’s kingdom. But, says
Christ, thou shalt be calledRock. Those who enterChrist’s kingdom believing
in Him receive a characterfitting them to be of service.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
43. The day following]Better, as in John 1:29; John 1:35, The next day: the
Greek is the same in all three verses. We thus have four days accurately
marked, (1) John 1:19; (2) John 1:29; (3) John 1:35; (4) John 1:44. A writer of
fiction would not have caredfor such minute details; they might entangle him
in discrepancies. Theyare thoroughly natural as coming from an eyewitness.
See on John 2:1.
Follow me] In the Gospels these words seemalways to be the callto become a
disciple. Matthew 8:22; Matthew 9:9; Matthew 19:21; Mark 2:14; Mark
10:21;Luke 5:27; Luke 9:59; John 21:19. With two exceptions they are always
addressedto those who afterwards became Apostles.
Bengel's Gnomen
John 1:43. Ἠθέλησεν ἐξελθεῖν, would go forth) and He did go forth, which ch.
John 2:1 implies. By comparing with this ch. 2, especiallythe 11th verse, “This
beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifestedforth His
glory,” etc., it is evident that the word for going forth is significant. He went
forth to action, to the carrying on of His work.
Pulpit Commentary
Verses 43, 44. - On the morrow - i.e. on the fourth day after the deputation
from the Sanhedrin - he willed - or was minded - to go forth into Galilee, to
commence his homeward journey. Whether this implies an actualbeginning
of his route, or suggests, before any step was takenin that direction, that the
following incidents occurred, cannotbe determined, though commentators
take opposite sides, as though something important depended upon it. The
former supposition is, however, in keeping with the considerable distance, on
any hypothesis of the site of Bethany, betweenit and Cana. And he (the Lord

43. himself "finds;" the two earliestdisciples had soughtand found him) findeth
Philip; very probably on the route from the scene ofJohn's baptism to the
Bethsaida on the westernshore of the Lake of Galilee. And Jesus saithto him,
Follow me; become one of my ἀκόλουθοι. The arguments, the reasons, which
weighedwith him are not given at first, but we find that he soonlearned the
same greatlessonas that which the other disciples had acquired, and he
clothes them in memorable words. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city
of Andrew and Peter. This is a remark of the evangelist, who did not consider
it necessaryto sayfrom what city or neighbourhood he had himself issued.
This town has utterly perished (Matthew 11:20), although some travellers
(Robinson, 3:359; Wilson and Warren) believe that indications were found
north of Khan Minyeh, and others have identified it with Tell-Hum. Some
writers ('Picturesque Palestine,'vol. 2:74, 81, etc.)discoverit in Ain et
Tabighah, where some remains of a fountain reservoirand other buildings are
found. It was identified by Thomsonwith Abu-Zany, on the westof the
entrance of Jordan into the lake. The two pairs of brothers must have been
familiar with Philip. Some interesting hints of characterare attainable from
John 6:5, in which an incident occurs where Philip revealeda practical
wisdom and confident purpose, and againin John 12:21, 22, where Andrew
and Philip are made the confidants of the Greeks, andPhilip is the one who
seems able and willing to introduce them to Jesus. In John 14:8 Philip uttered
one of the great longings of the human heart - a passionate desire to solve all
mysteries, by the vision of the Father; but he lets out the fact that be had not
seenall that he might have seenand knownin Jesus himself. Subsequent
history shows that Philip was one of the "greatlights of Asia," and was held in
the highestesteem(Eusebius, 'Hist. Eccl.,'3:31). He must not be confounded
with Philip the evangelist, whose daughters prophesied(Acts 8; Acts 21:8).
Vincent's Word Studies
Jesus
The best texts omit.
Would go forth (ἠθέλησεν ἐξελθεῖν)

44. Rev., better, was minded to go. On the constructionsee on Matthew 20:14. On
the verb to be minded, see on Matthew 1:19.
And findeth
Note the graphic interchange of tenses:was minded, findeth. The coordination
of the two clauses,whichby other writers would be placed in logical
dependence, is characteristic ofJohn. Even where there is a real inner
dependence he uses only the simple connective particles. Compare John 2:13
sqq.
Philip
See on Mark 3:18. For hints of his charactersee John6:5, John 6:7; John
12:21 sqq.; John 14:8, John 14:9.
Saith
The best texts insert Jesus:"And Jesus saidunto him."
Follow (ἀκολούθει)
Often used in the New Testamentwith the specialsense offollowing as a
disciple or partisan. See Matthew 4:20, Matthew 4:22; Matthew 9:9; Mark
1:18; John 8:12. Also with the meaning of cleaving steadfastlyto one and
conforming to his example. See Matthew 10:38; Matthew 16:24;John 12:26.
The verb occurs but once outside of the writings of the Evangelists, 1
Corinthians 10:4. It appears in the noun acolyte, oracolyth, or acolothist, a
church-servant ranking next below a subdeacon, whose duty it was to trim the
lamps, light the church, prepare the sacramentalelements, etc. Under the
Byzantine emperors the captain of the emperor's bodyguard was called
Acolouthos, or the Follower. See Scott's "CountRobertof Paris."
Question: "What are the biblical principles for solid decision-making?"

45. Answer: Solid decision-making begins by discerning the will of God. God delights in
revealing His will to those who are eagerto follow His precepts (Psalm 33:18; Psalm 35:27;
Psalm 147:11). Our attitude towards decision-making should be that of Jesus Himself who
affirmed, “Not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42; Matthew 6:10).
God reveals His will to us primarily in two ways. First, through His Spirit: “When the
Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own
authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that
are to come” (John 16:13; see also 1 John 2:20, 27). And, second, God reveals His will
through His Word: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm
119:105; see also Psalm 19:7-9; 2 Peter 1:19).
The process of decision-making includes making a judgment about an attitude or action.
Decisions are an act of the will, and they are always influenced by the mind, the emotions,
or both. The decisions we make actually reflect the desires of our heart (Psalm 119:30).
Therefore, a key question before making a decision is “do I choose to please myself, or do I
choose to please the Lord?” Joshua set the standard: “If serving the Lord seems
undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for
me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15; cf. Romans 12:2).
God sees the whole picture—the past, present, and future of our lives. He teaches and
counsels us as He reveals Himself to us through His Word and Spirit. God has made this
promise to us: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel
you with My eye upon you” (Psalm 32:8; cf. Psalm 25:12). There will be times when God’s
will may seemundesirable or unpleasant, when our heart follows our own desires instead
of trusting God. But we will eventually learn that God’s will is always for our benefit
(Psalm 119:67; Hebrews 12:10-11).
Again, the chief key to solid decision-making is knowing God’s will and not following the
desires of our own hearts: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way
to death” (Proverbs 14:12; cf. Proverbs 12:15; Proverbs 21:2). As we put our trust in God,
rather than ourselves, we soon discover what decisions are pleasing to Him.

46. First, God blesses those decisions that He initiates and that line up with His Word: “I have
taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness” (Proverbs 4:11;
see also Psalm 119:33). Second, God blesses decisions that accomplish His purpose and
depend on His strength: “It is God who works in you to will and to act according to His
good purpose” (Philippians 2:13; see also Philippians 4:13).
Additionally, God blesses those decisions that result in His glory: “Whether you eat or
drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). He blesses
decisions that reflect His character, that promote justice, kindness and humility: “He has
showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly
and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8; see also 1 Corinthians
10:31; 1 Timothy 4:12). And He blesses those decisions that come from faith: “Without
faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He
exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
We must not forget God’s promise to give His children wisdom when they ask: “If any of
you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and
it will be given to him” (James 1:5; cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:17). And when we pray for
wisdom, we must trust God to answer our prayer: “When he asks, he must believe and not
doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossedby the wind. That
man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord (James 1:6-7). Patience is
important, too, as we wait for God’s timing: “After waiting patiently, Abraham received
what was promised” (Hebrews 6:15).
Decision-making is more difficult when it involves a painful choice. Sometimes, the right
course of action will also hurt us in some way. This is where we need grace the most. Are
we really willing to suffer for the glory of Christ? “Since therefore Christ suffered in the
flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh
has ceasedfrom sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human
passions but for the will of God” (1 Peter 4:1-2).
Making a decision today? Look to God’s Word for direction. Take comfort in the peace
which only He can provide (Philippians 4:7). Ask for wisdom, trust His promises, and He
will guide your path: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own

47. understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths”
(Proverbs 3:5-6; see also Isaiah 58:11; John 8:12).
Recommended Resource: Decision Making and the Will of God by Friesen & Maxson
https://www.gotquestions.org/decision-making-Bible.html
Question: "What does the Bible say about indecision / being indecisive?"
Answer: To be indecisive usually means to have a difficult time making up one’s mind.
Indecision can also apply to team collaboration in which no solution is reached. An
indecisive issue is one that is not clearly marked out. We are indecisive when we are
irresolute or lack strong conviction about a matter. Indecisiveness is common when we
have to make a decision that will result in unpleasant consequences. There are times when
remaining indecisive is wise. We may lack all the information, for example, or the issue is
of little importance and an opinion would only be divisive. However, for the most part,
indecision shows a lack of willingness to commit to absolute principles and to speak up for
those principles. In that sense, indecision is a weakness (John 12:43).
Several places in Scripture show the folly of indecision. Lot’s wife perished because of her
inability to decide between Sodom and obedience to God (Genesis 19:26). Joshua reminded
the people of Israel of the necessity of choosing sides concerning their worship, and he
clearly stated his decision: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether
the gods your ancestors servedbeyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose
land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua
24:15). On Mount Carmel, as the prophet Elijah confronted Ahab and the prophets of
Baal, he addressed the fence-sitting, indecisive Israelites: “Elijah went before the people
and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him;
but if Baal is God, follow him.’ But the people said nothing” (1 Kings 18:21). Under
conviction by the Holy Spirit, Felix refused to make a decision and sent Paul away until a
time more “convenient” (Acts 24:25). Jesus warned us that “no one can serve two masters”
(Matthew 6:24).

48. Romans 14:15 addresses indecisiveness about personal convictions: “One person considers
one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should
be fully convinced in their own mind.” God has given us His Word to instruct us in vital
matters (Psalm 32:8; 119:105), but He leaves room for personal opinion and conviction in
lessermatters as we strive to be pleasing to Him in all things. What the Bible does not
condone is wishy-washiness. When we pray for wisdom, we are to believe that God hears
and will answer (1 John 5:15; James 1:5). When we ask in harmony with God’s will, we
must “ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea,
driven and tossedby the wind” (James 1:6). In other words, faithless prayer is spiritual
indecisiveness.
We must seek wisdom in order to know what issues are worth being decisive about
(Proverbs 2:2–6). Social media blazes with scorching opinions on every subject, but many
of those fueling the fires would benefit from being more indecisive. Our culture has
substituted opinion for truth and passion for conviction. We need not have a hard and fast
opinion on every subject, nor feel pressured to “take a side” when we lack all the
information or education on an issue. Taking time to hear all sides of a matter is a mark of
wisdom (Proverbs 18:13, 17).
But when it comes to the basic tenets of the gospel or the infallibility of God’s Word, we
must not be indecisive (2 Timothy 3:16; John 17:17). More information is available to us
than everbefore in history, so there is no excuse for a Christian to be ignorant about God’s
standards on the moral, civic, and relational topics of our day. Much spiritual
indecisiveness is motivated by the fear of man, not a lack of knowledge (Galatians 1:10).
When we adopt the mindset that our opinion can challenge the time-tested declarations of
God, we are creating an atmosphere of indecision where it need not exist. Simply because a
biblical standard makes us uncomfortable or conflicts with political correctness does not
mean we should be indecisive about it. When nationally known preachers are questioned
about specific topics the Bible clearly addresses, it is an insult to that same Bible to
communicate indecisiveness. That is not diplomacy; that is merely cowardice. It is
interesting that Revelation 21:8 lists cowards first among those who will be cast into the
lake of fire. Clearly, God takes this seriously.

49. The minds of healthy Christians are settledon the things that matter and humbly teachable
on the things that don’t. They continue to study to show themselves approved unto God (2
Timothy 2:15) so that they form godly convictions about eventhe “gray areas” of life. They
are careful not to judge others who serve God differently (Romans 14:1–4), but they are
decisive about God’s plan for their own lives. When we live in ways that are true to those
convictions, we will not be shaken by every new idea or cultural whim (Matthew 7:24–27).
Indecisiveness about what God has declared to be true has no place in the life of a
Christian.
Recommended Resource: Decision Making and the Will of God by Friesen & Maxson
https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-indecision.html
Jesus’Modelfor Making Decisions
Cindy Spear
Leaders, Stewardship
8 Comments
Elmer Towns and John Maxwell
Our personalsuccessin our Christian lives will be governedby our
willingness to seek Godfirst. The consequenceswe meettoday are a result of
the decisions we made yesterday. And the decisions we make today will
determine our happiness tomorrow. Notice how Jesus made life-changing
decisions.
Jesus chose.The key word in making decisions is to “choose.” We are not
what we are today by accident. We are the sum total of all the decisions we
have made in our lives, plus those times we did not make decisions. We arrive
where we are in life by decisions and non-decisions, and we are responsible for
both. Therefore, it makes sense to be like Jesus and control our lives and
destinies as much as possible by choosing to choose.

50. Jesus withdrew. When we make spiritual decisions, we have to withdraw from
the world’s system so we will not make worldly decisions. Jesus withdrew
from the world so He could spend time in prayer. He went alone to think His
way through decisions. He went into the wilderness for forty days before
beginning His ministry. He prayed all night before choosing the twelve
apostles. He spent time alone in prayer before every major decisionor
circumstance in His life and ministry on earth. What Jesus did is no different
than what we also must do if we are going to made the right priority decisions
in life.
Jesus prayed. If Jesus who was God felt it necessaryto spend time in prayer,
how can we do otherwise? The urgency of His decisioncompelledHim to
pray. How much more should earthly people spend time in prayer, for we do
not have the perfection that Jesus had. As we make decisions, we should first
of all ask Godfor the wisdom from able that only He can give (James 1:5).
When confronted with a major decision, it is wise to accompanyour prayer
for wisdomwith a period of fasting (Isaiah58:8-9).
Jesus obeyed. Jesus made all decisions in keeping with the Word of God. Jesus
said, “Mymeat is to do the will of Him that sentme” (John 4:34). By this He
meant His food was to obey the Father. A gooddecisionhad to be in line with
God’s will, which is found in God’s Word. As He made decisions in life, He
did so with an underlying commitment to obey the directives of His Father.
We should have an attitude that we will always obeythe directives and
guidance of God in making a particular decision;that is settled aheadof time.
We need to study the Scriptures and seek Godin prayer to discern His will,
but we should not have to pray about doing what we already know God wants
us to do.
Jesus declared. Jesus knew anyand every decisionneeded to be declared. He
was willing to tell others what He had decided. Sometimes this step will make
us popular with others who like the consequences ofour decisions. Other
times, we will encounter oppositionand criticism. Regardlessofthe
anticipated consequences,we need to declare our decisions. When we make
proper priority decisions in life, we candeclare those decisions knowing that

51. regardless ofthe immediate consequences, ultimately our decisions will prove
to have been the best course ofaction.
How Did Jesus Make Decisions?
May 25, 2016
Decisions,decisions,decisions. ShouldI acceptthis job? Should I marry this
person? Should I listen to that person’s advice? How do I know what to do?
If I had a dollar for every time I getaskedthat question, I’d be a rich man.
Young and old, rich and poor, married and single, spiritual and non-spiritual
people – all struggle with the same question: how do I know the “right” thing
to do in the situation I’m in?
This question isn’t an easyone; there’s no simple answer. There’s no formula
that I cangive you that says “Saythis prayer, read this passage andyou’ll
know what to do.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. We aren’t
talking about math class where everything breaks down into a nice and neat
formula. We’re talking about life and life isn’t always black and white.
So how then are we supposed to figure it out?
Recentlysomething struck me about Jesus and His ministry and how He
always knew what to do. I was reading Mark 1 and in it, I realizedsomething
about Jesus that I had never fully graspedbefore. He seemedkinda
inconsistent, didn’t He?
I mean, at one point He is teaching the crowds and healing their sick and
casting out demons from among them (see verses 21-34). He is gaining
popularity and fame which would seem to be in line with His mission of
spreading the gospelto as many people as possible (see verses 14-15).

52. But then, just a few verses later, He decides somewhatabruptly that He is
leaving now and moving on to another city:
“And Simon and those who were with Him searchedforHim. When they
found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” But He saidto
them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for
this purpose I have come forth.” (Mark 1:36-38).
What happened here? Why leave so quickly? Were there no more people
here in need of teaching? Or healing? Or casting out of demons? They were
all looking for Him which seems like something that He’d like and that would
be in line with His mission. So why leave all of a sudden?
And then what’s even stranger is that after He leaves and goes to the next city,
He runs into a man suffering from leprosy. The man approaches Jesus in the
middle of the street and begs for healing. What will Jesus do?
“Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying
to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” ThenJesus, moved
with compassion, stretchedout His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I
am willing; be cleansed.”(Mark 1:40-41)
HUH? What’s going on here? Why sayno to some people and then yes to
others? Jesus was justin front of many sick people who were asking for
healing and He said no. So why say yes now to this guy?
This issue isn’t just in Mark 1 – you see it throughout the life of Christ. Yes
He opened the eyes of the blind, but there were many more blind eyes that He
never touched. Yes He healedmany sicknesses, but surely there were many
that weren’t healed. Yes He raisedLazarus from the dead, but there were
many more dead people that He didn’t raise weren’t there?
So how did He know what the right thing to do was?
The easyansweris to saythat He is God and He knows everything. Ok, that’s
true, but there’s gotto be more to it. That answerdoesn’tgive me much hope
that I canfigure out the right thing to do since I am not God.

53. WHAT DO I DO? HOW DO I KNOW WHAT'S RIGHT? HOW SHOULD I
MAKE MY DECISIONS?
Unfortunately, there’s no right answerto these questions. I have my answer
and I'll be more than happy to share it with in two ways.
First, you can read my answerby checking out THIS POST that I wrote a few
years back. Secondly, you can tune in to my scope todayat 12:30 pm EST and
hear my thoughts on the subject. I will never claim to be an expert on making
goodchoices, but I've learned a thing or two in my experience as a priest and
I'll be sharing those thoughts today.
Either way, I hope you realize that ultimately your life is nothing more than
the sum of all your decisions. Makegooddecisions andyou’ll probably find
yourself in a goodplace. Make bad decisions and you’ll find the exact
opposite. That's why the million dollar question is: HOW DO I MAKE THE
RIGHT DECISIONS?
I'll see you at 12:30 pm.
In Spiritual Growth
Tags decisions,intentional living, pleasing others, prayer, success
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54. Preview PostComment…
Q 2 years ago · 0 Likes
My normal personality is to intervene in problems of those I love until the
problem is resolvedor until the people who the fight is among see my
perseverance andsadness and halt the fight just for my sake (kinda cool, tbh!
to have people who will stop fighting just for the sake ofmy comfort).
However, I have done so in a recent situation with no resolution. I am
emotionally drained, and have completely takenmyself out of the situation. I
feel bad for doing so, and the parties involved are blaming me for doing so,
but I simply cannot continue trying to resolve this problem by myself. How do
I determine whether the point of this issue being presentin my life is to teach
me to continue persevering or to learn when to stop trying to assuage
situations around me? I've been praying for guidance as instructed by my
FOC, but I am very emotionally drained by this whole spiel. I think it's a
"gift" that the people around me try to resolve issues among them with my
intervention- am I wasting my gift by taking myself out because ofhow I am
feeling? I realize that you may not have an answer, I am mostly just thinking
out loud
Preview PostReply
Fr. Anthony Messeh2 years ago · 0 Likes
I wish I had an answerfor you Q, but I think it really depends on the
circumstances and details of your specific situation. I don't know the answer,

55. but I know that God does. So stayclose to Him and trust that He will guide
you when you do.
Preview PostReply
Martine 4 years ago · 0 Likes
Hello, I am currently reading the life of Abraham by F.B. Meyer, God spoke
to him to promise him that he will have as many children as the stars....andhe
believed in the Lord and is righteous (Rom 4:3, Gal3:6, James 2:23)how do I
apply this in my own life when I'm in a waiting period to figure out upcoming
decisions? I don't find it that simple to believe and sometimes wanna take
matters in my own hands. Secondquestion, I ask myself will I ever know if
Gods answeris delayed or simply a no? When I see how long Abraham waited
for his child, any one of us would've said that's it, not the will of God....what
do you think? I know his story is particular to him but trying to learn what to
take from it. Thanks for sharing your blog, it's a real blessing!
Preview PostReply
Fr. Anthony Messeh4 years ago · 0 Likes
Greatquestion Martine. As I mentioned in the scope on this post, the key is
cultivating one's relationship with God. It takes time and practice to hear
God's voice and, as with any relationship, the more we hear His voice, the
easierit will be to discernit. So be patient. Invest in your relationship with
God and trust that He'll speak whenneeded.
Hope that helps.

56. Preview PostReply
Martine 4 years ago · 0 Likes
Thanks Abouna, please remember me in your prayers :)
Preview PostReply
Marian 8 years ago · 0 Likes
Hi Abouna, this is so timely for the crossroads my family is at, in more ways
than one, so thanks for writing about this. I do have questions of a practical
nature re quiet time with God: one, how/when does a mother of young
children do this when she wakes up and has to hit the ground running with
feeding, pottying, etc, and two, how to keepthat attention span long enoughto
have a quiet time with God? I often feel tempted to not getup earlierthan the
kids because I'm so exhaustedand just trying to gearup for all the work that
awaits me as a stay-at-home mom...orI want to just relish the sound of
nothing and the ability to do whatever I want (and I wish that natural
inclination or yearning were time praying, etc, but most of the time it's not)
when they nap...thx.
Preview PostReply
Fr. Anthony 8 years ago · 0 Likes

57. You may want to check out this post from a few months ago. It might help you
out. http://franthony.com/2012/05/living-on-purpose-not-by-accident/
I'll be praying for you Marian.
Preview PostReply
Fr. Anthony Messeh4 years ago · 0 Likes
You may want to check out this post from a few months ago. It might help you
out: http://franthony.com/living-on-purpose-not-by-accident/ I'll be praying
for you Marian.
Preview PostReply
Youstina 8 years ago · 0 Likes
From the situations I get into, I feel that wheneverGod want something to be
done and he approves it, is that he makes the wayeasyfor us. For example, in
changing a class, if God sees that it is okayand it is right he will make things
go in my way, but if it isn't he will block things. I know that it sometimes
happens as a trial to testour faith and our patience. but one question that is
always in my mind is: how do I know that if it is a trial or it is just God trying
to stop the process because he sees it is not goodfor me? ** RecentlyI was in
the store with my parents when I saw the best book about prayer. it is called:
Did You Think to Pray, by R.T. Kendall. Since I ever saw that book I have
been wanting it so bad. It caught my attention in the store, I gotinto reading it

58. and I almostfinished the first chapter that day. Below there is a link to the
book on googlebooks.I thought it would be something good to share. Pleaseif
you geta chance look at the link. the book should start on pg. 9.
http://books.google.com/books?id=kFvzfU3qNbcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=
did+you+think+to+pray&source=bl&ots=_HKOXCFgE_&sig=Ag9ycWTw8F
tWpogLJ3Mq37SWqTA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GZlGUNTBB5DlyAHYpICABw
&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=did%20you%20think%20to%20pray
&f=false
Preview PostReply
Fr. Anthony 8 years ago · 0 Likes
Thanks for the book recommendation Youstina. I'll check it out as well.
Preview PostReply
Paul 8 years ago · 0 Likes
Just wanted to saythat I checkedout the book you posted and it was fantastic!
Greattip!
Preview PostReply
Mina 8 years ago · 0 Likes

59. The below verses speak volumes. Matthew 10:19 But when they arrestyou, do
not worry about what to sayor how to sayit. At that time you will be given
what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father
speaking through you.
"But when they arrest you" means when we have to make that tough decision,
sometimes on the spotthen the Holy Spirit gives it to us. But we should always
be in his presence.
Acts 8:26 Now an angelof the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the
desertroad—that goes downfrom Jerusalemto Gaza.”
Here is another example of how the Holy Spirit guides us.
Preview PostReply
Fr. Anthony 8 years ago · 0 Likes
Excellentverses Mina. Thanks for sharing.
Preview PostReply
Dahlia 8 years ago · 0 Likes
Since I am the worst decisionmakerever , I have learned To ask (Pray) God
to decide for me and have faith in the choices He makes for me. "Thy will be
done, on earth as it is in heaven."

60. Preview PostReply
Fr. Anthony 8 years ago · 0 Likes
Goodfor you Dahlia. May God help you.
Preview PostReply
Yonas 8 years ago · 0 Likes
The keyis to lead a prayerful life and be always in the presence of God. Yes
when a specific decisionis about to be made, we will need to put a specific
prayer about what to do.The best example is King David. He always consulted
with God through the prophet before going to war even though he was
capable. We may also ask 'How did David know how to fight Goliath as scary
as it was? Formost of us this would be a hard decision. For David it was a
piece of cake for he was always meditating and in the presence ofGod. But we
don't necessarilyhave to know the outcome of our decisions all the time, we
trust God for it.
Preview PostReply
Fr. Anthony 8 years ago · 0 Likes

61. That is a very interesting meditation Yonas. I never thought about that.
You're right - the idea of fighting Goliath is another greatexample of how
"the right thing" isn't always so easyto discern. Who would think that the
right choice was to fight a giant and almost surely die in the process?But
David knew that. How? That is exactlywhat we're trying to figure out.
Thanks for the comment Yonas.
Preview PostReply
Ibrahim 8 years ago · 0 Likes
Thank you Abouna for this challenging blog. I truly believe that the Holy
Spirit who dwells in us will lead us to the right answer. Jesus said:"But the
Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach
you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you" (Jn 14:
26) and also "But when He, the Spirit of truth,comes, He will guide you into
all truth" (Jn 16:13). We can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit inside of us or
the Holy Spirit will use our Father of confessionor a spiritual guide to lead us
to the truth. For that reason, we must be close to God, always praying, and the
Holy Spirit will find His restin us. St. Paul says "Don'tyou know that you
yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" (1Cor3:
16). God Bless.
Preview PostReply
Fr. Anthony 8 years ago · 0 Likes

62. Excellentanswer!I won't say any more than that because I'll talk more about
it tomorrow. Thanks for sharing.
Preview PostReply
Mina Beshai8 years ago · 0 Likes
how can I know the “right” thing to do in whateversituation I’m in? There
are many ways of approaching this question. The only true waythough is to
really apply Christ in the situation. WWJD. What would Jesus do. Of course
this is the typical Sunday Schoolanswerbut its real. If you have the right
relationship with Christ, you won't be ashamedof making any decisionin life.
Whether it be cutting off certainpeople from your life that distance you from
Christ, give to the poor when you're in need, not be a hypocrite and be a good
role model for others aka letting people see Christ in you. These are all valid
reasons but I speak according to the truth not myself because I have difficulty
implementing these morals to myself.
Preview PostReply
Fr. Anthony 8 years ago · 0 Likes
GoodanswerMina. There are two parts to this equation: knowing what to do
and actually doing it. You are talking about the 2nd part - actually doing what
we know we should do. But what about the first part? How do I know what to
do? Even Jesus Himself didn't always do the same thing: sometimes He
healed, other times He didn't. So we still need to figure that part out too.
Thanks for the comment Mina.

63. Preview PostReply
Claudine 8 years ago · 0 Likes
For me Abouna, if I have a consistentdaily discipline inwhich I devote a
certain time with Godin my day such as quiet time or praying with agpeya
and being consistentI am giving a window to God in reaching me now I am
Not saying that God doesn't reachme in any other time of the day, but at least
I'll be better in tune with Him in that hour whereas I've quoted my soul and
mind to Him.
Preview PostReply
Fr. Anthony 8 years ago · 0 Likes
ExcellentanswerClaudine. I agree that we need that devoted time to be with
Him daily. But we still need to figure out a way to be in tune with Him
throughout the restof the day as well. Thanks for your comment Claudine.
Preview PostReply
Dellila 8 years ago · 0 Likes

64. This is something I wonder too, I think we just have to make sure we are
prayerful and reading His Word and deciphering what to do will be easier.
Also God puts certainsituations in front of us to teachus and sometimes its
more clearthan other times what were supposedto do but in the end we
always learn from the decisionwe make.
Preview PostReply
Fr. Anthony 8 years ago · 0 Likes
Yes, that's very true Dellila - reading the Bible and prayer are two
foundational components of discerning God's voice. But there's still more to
it... Thanks for your comment.
Preview PostReply
Photini 8 years ago · 0 Likes
Hi AbunaAs usual, an on-time message. In short, I believe it's 3 main things:
1st, 'We learn'. This is a relationship that I'm in with the Lord, and I learn
more about Him as the relationship progresses. Unlike in a drive-thru where I
pull up to the widow, order, pay, getwhat I want and drive away, this
relationship takes a life-time of learning about who Christ is (and about who I
am) and what He wants of, and for me. Which brings me to the 2nd thing,
'Being Transformed'. The Word says to be transformed by the renewing of
our minds. As I learn from Jesus, my own ways of thinking changes, and I
learn to think and discern like Him. 3rd. 'Peace'. The peace ofthe Lord that
surpasses allunderstanding will guide our hearts and minds through Christ

65. Jesus / 'Peace Ileave with you...notas the world gives, but as I give.' When I
pray about making a decision, I getquiet and wait (the waiting part, veery
important), and the Lord will either give me His peace (an unexplainable
peace)or He'll take it away. :) Thanks. Looking forwardto your blog
tomorrow. See you in October:)
Preview PostReply
Fr. Anthony 8 years ago · 0 Likes
WOW! GreatanswerPhotini. I love the three tiered answer. I agree
wholeheartedlyand I'll talk about some of your points in tomorrow's blog.
Thanks so much for your comment.
Preview PostReply
Shereen8 years ago · 0 Likes
What a completely bizarre coincidence (oris it?). This morning I was
journaling about how exactly one hear's God's voice. If I’m just sending up
prayers, questions, and requests with no hope of deciphering an answerfrom
God, what’s the point? If I’m willing to surrender to His will, but I can’t hear
His instruction, so what? Don’t get me wrong, God has workedin me and
inspired events in my life. Forexample, in the stillness of prayer, I will read a
passagefrom the Bible (which I read a thousand times before) and all of a
sudden an answerjumps out of the page. I will ask God for encouragementto
make it through a trial, and my phone rings with a friend on the other end
randomly calling to see how I'm doing.

66. Perhaps one could argue these are all conicidences orjust a product of my
mind searching for an answerand therefore finding one.... So I wonder
Abouna, if the answerto your question is only explainable to those who first
take the time to become acquaintedwith the sound of God's voice?
Preview PostReply
Fr. Anthony 8 years ago · 0 Likes
Hmmm....I think I see where you're going with this and you're correct. Those
who find God's voice will - for the most part - only be those who seek it
diligently (see Hebrews 11:6 and Jeremiah29:13). Said another way, only
those who ask will receive, or seek will find, or knock will have it openedto
them. I agree with that. But now the question is for those who are asking,
seeking and knocking...how canwe discernthe right decision? Thatwill
require some more thought.
Thanks for your comment Shereen.
Jesus ConsultedHis FatherBefore Making a Decision
Laura Kazlas
Jesus neededto make animportant decisionin today’s gospel, aboutwhichof
the disciples he should choose to become his Apostles. There were practical
decisions to be made. How manyApostles did he need? How shouldhe
prepare them for their mission? Jesus wasmostcertainlyconsidering the
different traits of his disciples, andthinking about the disciples who were

67. closestto him. Whichofthe disciples had beenwith him the longestand shown
him the most loyalty? Were there some thathe coulddepend onmore than
others? Who hadthe strongest faithin him?
Jesus hada lot ofthings on his mind, but he didn’t sortthrough the decision
making process allby himself. The example ofhow Jesus handledthis very
important decision, is probablythe bestadvice we could everreceive, onthe
right way to make a gooddecisionin our ownlives too.
Why do we go to so many different people, like ourfamily members, friends or
coworkers, to asktheiropinion on whatwe should do? The veryfirst place we
turn to, should be to turn to Godin our prayers, andyet He is often the lastone
to be consulted.Who is more qualified give us advice though? Who do we know
that cangive us an honest, unbiasedopinion without any ulterior motives of
their own? Everyone seems to have theirown agenda, orsee the worldfrom
the perspective ofhow it affects them, but Goddoes nothave any suchselfish
interests. Godour Father, alwayswants whatis bestforus. He always wants
the right thing for our ultimate good. Inotherwords, Godis always onour
side.
Did you happen to notice that the gospel todaysaidthat Jesus spentthe entire
night in solitude and prayer? How oftendo we use the excuse thatwe don’t
have time to pray? Jesus made prayerthe first priority in his life. But, prayer
is often the lastthing onour mind when we have a problem, or needto make a
decisionaboutsomething. We work throughit on our own, but everything
seems so muchharder. We oftensecondguessourselves, wondering ifwe are
really doing the right thing or not? Orelse, ourimportant decisions are often
made onthe spur ofthe moment, without consulting Godat allin the decision
making process. No wonderwe aren’tsure if we did the right thing or not,
because Godwasn’tincludedin the process.
In today’s gospel, Jesus came downfromthe mountain after spending the
entire night in prayer, and the first thing he did was choosehis twelve Apostles.

68. Then a large crowdgatheredto hearhim and to be healedof their diseases. The
gospel saidthat:
“Everyone in the crowdsoughtto touch him because powercameforthfrom
him and he healedthem all.”
Even though Jesus wasbothhuman and divine, it seems like Godalso
strengthenedJesus withextra graces during the solitaryperiods he spent in
prayer. This was true during his prayers in the agonyin the garden, but it was
also true after Johnthe Baptistwas beheadedin prison too. Jesus retreatedto
the mountain to pray whenhe learnedof his death, andended up performing
two miracles that day. He fed 5,000 menwiththe five barley loaves andtwo
fish, and afterpraying alone onthe mountain, Jesus walkedonthe waterto
join his Apostles in a boaton the lake.
The source ofChrist’s poweralreadyoriginatedwithin him, but Jesus received
extra strength, graceandsupport during the solitarytimes of prayer that he
spent with his Father. He didn’t make any major decisions onhis own,
although he had every right to do so. Godthe Fatherguided his decisions, and
strengthenedhim with the grace to accomplishthe tasks thatlaybefore him.
Will He do no less withus?
We also have the ability to make our owndecisions inlife, but they turn out so
much betterwhen we carefullyconsiderthe facts ofthe situation, andseek
God’s guidance first, before we make anydecisionaboutit. We needGod’s
grace andHis strength, to see us through the challenges anddifficulties we face
in life. WithoutGod’s grace, ourbestlaidplans could fall apartif it wasn’tHis
will to beginwith. It is better to startlaying our plans, in accordancewithHis
will, right from the start, justlike Jesus did in today’s gospel.
7 Priorities that Guided Jesus'Decisions

69. They can help us in our daily choices.
By Mike Fleischmann
I
weara braceleton my wrist with four letters: WWJD—WhatWouldJesus
Do? This saying has become a guiding principle for many Christians. For me
it serves as a moral compass, helping me apply abstractelements of my
Christian faith to the practicalquestions I face eachday.
The WWJD movement started in 1989 whenthe youth group at Calvary
Reformed Church in Holland, Michigan, studied Charles Sheldon's 1896
novel, In His Steps. In the novel, parishioners preface every thought and
actionwith "What would Jesus do?" and begin to see the difference it makes.
Calvary's youth took Sheldon's model to heart and made up colorfulwoven
bracelets to wear as a tangible reminder of that powerful question. Soon
people throughout their community were wearing the bracelets, and it
mushroomed from there. By the late '90s, the letters wwjd could be found on a
multitude of books, T-shirts, and other Christian merchandise. To date, an
estimated14 million bracelets have been sold.
But the message ofwwjd should not be taken for granted due to overexposure.
As simple as it seems, sometimes the question—Whatwould Jesus do?—still
leaves me wondering. Consider these scenarios:
• I'm hustling out the door to church with the family in tow. Pulling out of the
garage, Iglance in the rearview mirror and see my neighbor across the street.
She's working alone to clearher yard of debris from a recent storm. A
thought races through my mind: Stop the car. Go back inside, and change
your clothes. Skipchurch today, and prove to your neighbor you love her.
What would Jesus do?
• With lots of neighbors coming and going, we've had many opportunities to
build strategic kingdom relationships. But for the first time, our new
neighbors are two men in a "domestic partnership." We face a quandary: If

70. we take them the same housewarming gift we've always given new neighbors,
are we condoning their lifestyle? Or are we being "friends of sinners" (see
Matt. 11:19)? What would Jesus do?
• I've been setting aside money for the construction of a new ministry centerat
our church. We're reaching people for Christ, and the expansion is necessary.
But on the day I intend to write my check, I discoverthat an unemployed
friend is in dangerof losing his house. What would Jesus do?
First Peter2:21 says that Jesus left us "an example, that [we] should follow in
his steps." So, it's admirable and biblical to ask "Whatwould Jesus do?" in
the decisions we face eachday.
However, this hypothetical question presupposes we have already answered
another equally important, yet less obvious, question: What did Jesus do? If
we don't know what Jesus did in his life, how canwe expectto guess whathe
would do in ours? I lookedat the four gospels withthese questions in mind
and discoveredsevenpriorities that guided Jesus:
1. He sought the Father
Jesus demonstratedintimacy with God by seeking him continually in prayer.
Forty-five times the gospels tell us that Jesus wentalone to pray. Every aspect
of his life and ministry was saturatedwith prayer.
Mark 1 gives us a glimpse of Jesus earlyin his ministry. His life was swirling
with people, needs, and opportunities. Jesus ministered around the clock. Still,
he would make time to commune with the Father and concentrate onhis
purposes. He might sleepless or work less, but he would find time to pray.
2. He embraced the outcasts

71. Jesus demonstratedthe love of God by accepting the castaways ofsociety.
This provokedgreat disdain from the religious establishment. But Jesus was
much less squeamish than most about embracing the sinful and sickly, the
unseemly and unimportant.
Luke 5 offers a good example. Shortly after accepting Jesus'invitation to
follow him, Levi (later known as Matthew)"held a greatbanquet for Jesus at
his house, and a large crowd of tax collectorsand others were eating with
them" (v. 29). On the social-ethicalscale ofthe day, tax collectors landed
somewhere betweena pimp and something that crawls out from under a rock.
An upstanding individual would not associate withthem at all. But Jesus not
only talkedto Levi, he askedthe man to become his disciple.
3. He restoredbroken lives
By the powerof God's Spirit, Jesus provided for people's physical and
financial needs (Matt. 14:14-21-21,17:27). He castout demons (Luke 4:36),
healed brokenbodies (Luke 5:17), raisedthe dead (John 11:1-44), and forgave
the sins of the guilty (Matt. 9:6). Jesus proved that God's poweris sufficient to
meet every need. And the Scriptures promise us that the same powerworks in
and through our lives today (Phil. 2:13).
I am by no means a miracle worker. But I do know miraculous things still
happen. I remember the day we laid hands on Judy and askedGod to free her
from the cancerthat seemedunshakable. Nine years later, his positive answer
to that prayer stands firm. And I'll never forget the time my phone rang with
an unsolicited job offer just before I'd planned to file for unemployment
benefits. Then there were the doctors who said that Cheryl couldn't have
another baby. We prayed, and God's powerproved them wrong.
Jesus operatedon the assumption that we have a wonder-working Godwho
delights in restoring lives that seemirrevocably shattered. Jesus saw the
people around him as miracles waiting to happen.

72. 4. He confronted hypocrisy
Jesus demonstratedthe heart of God by standing againstlifeless religion. He
openly confrontedreligious hypocrisy (Matt. 23:13-39), inciting great
opposition that ultimately led to his execution. Jesus repeatedlyrebuked
religious people who buried the true heart of God in their manmade traditions
(Matt. 19:3-8, Luke 13:10-17). He cleansedthe temple because people were
using God's house for their owngain (Luke 19:45-46).
I have to be very careful with this principle in my life. Sometimes, when I'm
looking for an excuse to be "righteouslyindignant," it comes in a little too
handy. When I want to blow off some steam at another's expense. I fancy
myself following in Jesus'steps. In reality, however, my outbursts have
usually been more about my angerthan God's righteousness.
What would Jesus do? He would go on record againstpeople who act in the
name of God to hurt others. He'd stand up againstcrusaders parading with
signs that venomously attack and label others. And he'd speak out against
those who profit from the oppressedbut who claim their God is full of
compassion.
5. He taught God's Word
Whether addressing curious crowds or the committed core, Jesus took
advantage of every teachable moment. He was always helping people discover
his Father. He lived and spoke the truth, a perfect expressionofGod's
character(John 1:14).
But even though he was the incarnate Word, Jesus oftendirected people back
to the written Word. When a religious expert askedJesus, "Whatmust I do to
inherit eternallife?" Jesus replied, "What is written in the Law?" (Luke

73. 10:25-26). The rich young ruler askedthe same question, and Jesus answered
him from the Scriptures as well (Matt. 19:16-21).
Many of us do not considerourselves teachers.If we don't stand in a pulpit on
Sunday or lead a study during the week, we may be tempted to think this
aspectof Jesus'life doesn'tapply to us. However, that understanding of
teaching is too narrow. Jesus taught when he conversedone on one with
Nicodemus and when he preached to thousands of people. His life shows us
that teaching doesn't demand an outline with three points that begin with the
same letter. Teaching simply requires being so filled with God's Word that it
naturally overflows from our lives into the lives of those around us.
6. He served
Service marked Jesus'life from start to finish. He served through sacrifice,
putting the needs of others above his own. At the lastsupper, he put on a
toweland washedhis disciples' feet(John 13:2-17). His life of service
culminated at the cross, where the Son of Man died to pay our spiritual debt.
Sometimes I feelI'm so busy doing God's work that I don't have time for
people. But God's work is people!His business is helping a homeless couple
find shelterbefore nightfall. His business is praying with a child for her sick
kitty and reading the Bible with a new Christian. His business is pushing a
stalled carthrough the intersectionand taking that midnight phone callfrom
a struggling friend.
7. He equipped leaders
Finally, Jesus demonstratedGod's characterby equipping leaders who
continued his mission and changedthe world after his departure. He refused

74. to let the ministry pressures of today stop him from identifying and investing
in the leaders of tomorrow (Matt. 10:1-4).
I meet weeklywith three young men. I believe eachone has greatpotential for
God's work. For me, following Jesus means passing on the Scriptures to them,
modeling a Christ-focusedlife and ministry, and helping them identify and
prepare for the mission God has designed for them.
Beyond the fad
So what would Jesus do? He would seek the Father for the strength and
wisdom to embrace, restore, confront, teach, serve, and equip the people
around him.
These sevenpriorities should drive us back to the gospels to take a fresh look
at how Jesus lived. The fad phase of WWJD may be over, but we need to hold
on to those bracelets and keepasking ourselves—WhatwouldJesus do? It's a
greatquestion. But remember: If you're not sure what Jesus actuallydid in
his life, then you're just guessing atwhat he might do in yours.
Adapted from DiscipleshipJournal (Nov./Dec. 2000), 2000Mike Fleischmann.
Used by permission. Fleischmannis senior pastorat First BaptistChurch in
Albany, Oregon.
Copyright 2003 by the author or Christianity Today/Books & Culture
magazine.
Christian DecisionMaking:7 Steps for Making Wise Decisions

75. by Mike Bennett
We are shaped by our choices, andsome have life-or-death consequences. This
Christian decision-making process canhelp us make wise decisions.
7 steps for Christian decisionmaking
Directionfrom God.
Define the problem or opportunity.
Dig out the relevant information.
Determine the alternatives.
Deliberate.
Decide.
Do.
Making wise decisions
Decisions come in all shapes and sizes.
Every day we face decisions aboutwhat to eat, whether to exercise, how to use
our time. Over the years these regular decisions generallybecome habits, and
we don’t think much about them. If we have guided these small decisions well
from the start, we don’t really have to worry about them.
When we haven’t been making wise decisions, however, eventhese seemingly
small choices canblossominto serious bad habits like procrastinationor an
unhealthy lifestyle.
We also fairly regularly run into largerdecisions that may have even bigger
immediate and long-term consequences.Whatwill we study? Where will we
live? Who will we marry? What church will we go to?

76. Then there are the moral choices we are facedwith. Will we cheaton our
taxes? Will we turn down the drugs we are offered? Will we allow ourselves to
be pulled in by the soft porn we stumble across?
How will we deal with the issues that involve ethical decisionmaking?
Steps for making gooddecisions
Whatevertype of decisionwe face, there are biblical principles that can help
us make better decisions.
For example, when a Christian recognizes a bad habit or faces a moral choice,
he or she can apply God’s command to always choose His way:
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses todayagainstyou, that I have set before
you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you
and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that
you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him” (Deuteronomy 30:19-
20).
The steps below can help with these decisions, and also with so many other
decisions that don’t have an easy, right-or-wrong answer.
So, where does the Christian decision-making process start?
1. Directionfrom God. As Christians, our overall direction in life is
determined by our commitment to God, and we must remember to ask Him to
direct our lives.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your
paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
How does God direct us? Through the wisdom He gives us in the Bible and
through wise biblical counselfrom His servants.
All of our decisions are to be in harmony with God’s laws and His plan (these
major subjects are discussedin more detail in our free booklets God’s 10
Commandments and From Holidays to Holy Days:God’s Plan for You).

77. We should pray for God’s guidance and study the Bible to see what it says
about the decisionwe are facing. Many helpful principles are presented in the
book of Proverbs, for example; it’s a book designedto teachus prudence and
understanding and the wisdom to make gooddecisions (Proverbs 1:1-4). It all
starts with understanding how much greaterGod is than we are. This
reverence for God is known as the fear of the LORD (verse 7).
As we study the Bible, we should acton what we learn. We should discard any
choices that we discoverwould compromise with God’s laws.
Sometimes it is a simple matter to know what decisionto make—simply
because only one choice wouldallow us to obey God.
But most of our decisions are not that clear-cut. Sometimes there are several
goodchoices, andsometimes none of the choices are morally wrong. The
following biblical decision-making steps canhelp us make wise decisions in
these cases.
2. Define the problem or opportunity. When our problem seems fuzzy, it can
be very difficult to come up with a solid solution. Sometimes it canbe helpful
to look at the problem from many angles in order to clearlydefine it.
What causedthe problem to erupt at this time and in this way? Who is
affectedby it? If other people are involved in causing the problem, why?
What do they getout of it?
If your decisionis an opportunity, what exactlydo you get by choosing it?
What do you lose if you don’t choose it?
3. Dig out the relevant information. We have already discussedlooking for the
related passagesin the Bible. We also need to searchout the pertinent facts
about the specific problem or opportunity.

78. Many searchtools are available in our information age, and it can be helpful
to explore everything from the library to the Internet. Look for reputable
sources with relevant expertise. Be sure to put all the information you gather
through the filters of fact checking and biblical truth.
Art Markman, in his book Smart Thinking, writes, “It is important to know
what you know and to know what you don’t know. As it turns out, it is also
important to know who knows what you don’t know” (2012, p. 103).
The Bible advises, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the
multitude of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14). Different people will
likely have different information and different perspectives that can give you
a broader understanding of the situation.
With all the facts in hand, you can begin brainstorming various options that
could solve the problem or best deal with the opportunity.
As Dr. Markmanalso writes, “It is not always easyto see the hidden
assumptions that you are making when solving difficult problems. For this
reason, it is helpful to engage otherpeople to help you during problem solving
… to help you evaluate it” (p. 201).
4. Determine the alternatives. With all the facts in hand, you can begin
brainstorming various options that could solve the problem or bestdeal with
the opportunity.
Combining and concentrating on all the information gainedfrom the previous
steps should give us severalpossible choices.
Depending on the situation, it canbe valuable to explore some outside-the-box
solutions. This is especiallytrue when none of the obvious options seemthat
good. Throwing around creative ideas and trying to see possible connections
to seemingly unrelated fields can help you generate additionaloptions.
How long should we spend on this step? That depends on our deadline and on
understanding our ownpersonality.

79. Some of us might be tempted to cut short this stage in the interest of reaching
closure as soonas possible. This can be a problem if we don’t have enough
options to pick a goodone.
Others might be tempted to continue in this stage fortoo long, out of fear that
the perfectsolution will be missed. This, too, can be a problem if we put off a
decisiontoo long and perhaps miss the deadline.
At some point, we have to decide we have enough options and move on to step
5 in the decision-making process.
5. Deliberate. Weighthe options. Make lists of pros and cons for eachone.
Weedout the worst ideas and carefully examine the best ones.
The decision-making processincludes making a list the pros and cons.
This is a principle that Jesus Christ advised His followers to apply:
“Forwhich of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and
count the cost, whetherhe has enough to finish it” (Luke 14:28). Whether
deciding to commit our lives to God in baptism or to remodel our kitchen, we
need to count the costand weighthe options.
Wise King Solomonalso pointed out the importance of looking ahead to
foresee the possible results of our decisions:“A prudent man foreseesevil and
hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished” (Proverbs 22:3).
This process ofdeliberating the pros and cons, counting costs and foreseeing
future dangers and opportunities should prepare us for the next stepin the
Christian decision-making process.
6. Decide. With all the researchand preparation, this part should be easier.
Another prayer for guidance and additional consultationwith advisers can
give us the confidence to make a wise decision.

80. 7. Do. Take action. Don’tdillydally, but implement your decisiondecisively.
If we have followedthese steps carefully and put the decisioninto practice
diligently, we will likely be happy with the results.
God gives this encouragementto those who seek His will and follow His way:
“‘Iwill never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is
my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6).
When we make a decisionto follow God’s wayand His law, we don’t have to
look back.
But with a physical decisionthat isn’ta matter of right and wrong, it is not
bad to reassessthe choice whennecessaryand adjust course.
Doing so canbe a wise decisiontoo.
Examples of decisionmaking in the Bible
There are many examples of people making wise or foolish decisions in the
Bible. Here are a selectfew that can inspire us to make wise decisions today.
Joshua’sfarewelladdress highlights an important decisionhe had made and
wanted his fellow Israelites to make:
“Now therefore, fearthe LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put
awaythe gods which your fathers servedon the other side of the River and in
Egypt. Serve the LORD!
“And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose foryourselves 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” (Joshua 24:14-
15, emphasis added).
Solomonmade both wise and foolish decisions in his own life, and the wisdom
God inspired him to record in Proverbs and Ecclesiastesmake a helpful
decision-making Bible study. Forexample, he wrote:

81. “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked
leads them astray” (Proverbs 12:26).
Solomonstarted out well, humbly asking Godfor wisdom, which God gave
him (1 Kings 3:11-12). But later Solomonignored God’s commands
(Deuteronomy 17:17)and his ownadvice and loved many women who
worshipped pagan gods, and they pulled him awayfrom God (1 Kings 11:4).
Prophecies ofthe Messiahalso point to the importance of decisionmaking
guided by God.
“The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the Spirit of counseland might, the Spirit of knowledge and of
the fearof the LORD.
“His delight is in the fear of the LORD, and He shall not judge by the sight of
His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears;but with righteousness He
shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth” (Isaiah
11:2-4).
Jesus Christ also used examples of wise decisionmaking in His parables. He
praised the “wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24). This
shows the importance of a firm foundation in construction—andin our
Christian lives.
In the parable of the 10 virgins, Jesus also praisedthe wise young women who
planned aheadand took extra oil along so they could refill their lamps
(Matthew 25:4). They didn’t run out like the foolish ones who hadn’t prepared
for the long night.
Christians must be prepared for whatevermight come in their physical
lives—andespeciallyin their spiritual lives.

82. 11 BestPrayers forGuidance in DecisionMaking
Oct29, 2018byEditor in Chief
Having the right guidance in life requires abiding by the Lord’s will and
having his discernmentin your life. These prayers forguidance in your
decision-making willofferyouthe encouragement andfocus youneed.
WisdomPrayer
FatherGod, yourword says thatif anyone lacks wisdom, theyshould ask, and
you will give them generously. Iamabout to make a huge decisionin my life,
but I don’t know how to go about it, FatherGod. Icome to you todayto ask you
for wisdom. Leadme in the waythat I should go thatI may be able to bring
glory to your holy name. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
Overcoming FearandAnxiety Prayer
DearLord, my heartis full ofanxiety. I don’t know how to go aboutthis issue.
The decisionI make todayis going to affectmy family and friends. I amscared
of failing and shaming my loved ones. Butyourword says thatyou have not
given us a spirit of fearbut of power, love, andsoundmind. Let your word
come alive in me. Letme be filled with love and powerso that I canmake bold
decisions. InJesus’name, Ipray. Amen.
Patience Prayer
Heavenly Father, remove anything in me that will cause me to make rash
decisions. Give me the patience to handle big and smalldecisions in different
areas ofmy life. Fill me with divine strengththat I may always follow your
leading. MayI take the path you are showing me evenif it seems long. Lord,
slow me down whenI rush and teachme how to make decisions calmly. In
Jesus’name, Ipray and believe. Amen.
Your Will, NotMine Prayer
Loving Father, onlyyou know my end from the beginning. Nothing I do or say
catches youby surprise. Youknow what is in my heart, goodorbad. Everyone
around me is choosing to do things their way, andit is very tempting for me to

83. do so too. ButFatherGod, Iwantyour will to be done in my life. If it is not your
will for me to take this path, then Father, give me divine strengthto acceptand
to follow your lead. MayeverydecisionImake be pleasing to you. In Jesus’
name, I believe and pray. Amen.
DiscernmentPrayer
Lord ofheavenand earth, so many things awaitme once I take this step. ButI
cannotmake this decisionwithoutyou. You are the only one who knows how
this decisionwill affectme. Icome to you today asking youto help me make
sound decisions. Lord, helpme be a betterjudge in everysituation that I face.
Open my spiritual eyes so thatI cansee who and whatI amdealing with in
Jesus’name, Ibelieve, andpray. Amen.
Obedience Prayer
Holy Lord, your word says obedience is betterthansacrifice. Father, helpme to
walk in obedience as Imake decisions aboutmy life, family, and career. Let
those decisions alignwithyour word. Show me the path you have setfor me
and how to walk in it. Where I have beenwalking in disobedience, Father,
forgive me. Let your Holy Spirit guide me in everything that I do so that I may
not go against yourword. Humble my heartso that I may be flexible. It is in
Jesus’name, Ibelieve and pray. Amen.
Peace ofMindPrayer
Lord Jesus, Iamin despair. Everyone is looking atme to make the final
decision. Myheartis full of fear. Butwe walk by faith and not sight, that is why
today I am asking youto remove everydoubt that is in my heart and replace it
with peace. Irefuse to letmy heart be troubled or afraid. Iknow that you are
with me till the end of time. TodayI choose to walk inthe same peace thatJesus
has. InJesus’name, Ipray. Amen.
When Feeling Uncertainabout Your DecisionPrayer
Almighty God, youare the greatI am, nothing is too difficult for you. Father, I
am currently facing a difficult time, I needto make a majordecisionin my life,
but I don’t know how to go about it. Uncertainty has cloudedmy mind, and I

84. feellike I am drifting away. Lord, remove hesitationfrommy heartso that I
canbe able to make the right decisions. Fillme up so that I may follow your
guidance without any fearor doubt in Jesus’name. Amen.
ProtectionfromWrong Influences Prayer
Heavenly Father, youare my refuge and hiding place that is why I am here
asking youto protectme againstthe lies ofthe enemy. Shield me from weapons
that have forgedagainst me to prevent me from making decisions thatare
within your will. Revealto me the people that the enemyis using to leadme
astrayand help me to cut them off from my life. I covermy mind, body, and
spirit with the blood ofJesus. InJesus’name, Ibelieve and pray. Amen.
Grace forEveryDecisionIMake Prayer
Gracious Father, Iam dealing with a very complexsituation right now. I need
grace during this time so that I cando the right thing. Let your grace be upon
me so that I may find favorwith the right people. Father, do notlet me be
ashamedforthose who oppose me are waiting for me to stumble and fall. Give
me a clearvisionof where to go and how to getthere. Letyour grace helpme to
rely on you fully for the glory ofyour holy name. In Jesus’name, Ibelieve and
pray. Amen.
PastDisappointments Prayer
O Lord, there are decisions Ihave made in the pastthat have left me hurt,
broken, andinsecure. Now Ihave to make anotherdecision, butthe pastkeeps
flooding my heart, and it is making me secondguessmyself. Lord, take control
of my mind. Help me to focus onyour leading and not my pastfailures. In
Jesus’name, Ibelieve and pray. Amen.
Readthe Next SetofPrayers for Guidance and Direction
SpecialPrayers forGuidance andDirection
MostInspiring Bible Verses onDirection
Psalm32:8

85. I will instruct you and teachyou in the wayyou should go; Iwill counsel you
with my eye upon you.
Isaiah30:21
And your ears shallheara word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in
it,” whenyou turn to the right orwhen you turn to the left.
Isaiah58:11
And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfyyour desire in scorched
places andmake your bones strong; andyou shallbe like a wateredgarden,
like a spring of water, whosewatersdo notfail.
Proverbs 3:6
In allyour ways acknowledgehim, andhe will make straightyour paths.
https://connectusfund.org/11-best-prayers-for-guidance-in-decision-making
Jesus Offers Hope for Bad Decisions
by Rick Warren — May 3, 2020
“If you want better insight and discernment . . . learn the importance of
reverence for the Lord and of trusting him . . . He shows how to distinguish
right from wrong, how to find the right decisionevery time.”
Proverbs 2:3-5, 9 (TLB)
For the last severaldays you’ve seensix different tests you can use when
making decisions. TodayI have them all listed here together. As you read over
the tests again, reflecton your own decision-making habits. And then read

86. what Jesus might want to say to you about the decisions you’ve made in the
past.
Ideal Test:Is this in harmony with God’s Word?
For many decisions, the Bible offers instructions or a clearprinciple to follow.
When you’re making a decision, considerwhether God’s Word speaks
directly to what you should do.
Integrity Test:Would I want everyone to know about this decisionthat I’m
making?
When you’re a person of integrity, who you are on the inside matches who you
are on the outside. Who you are in private is the same as who you are in
public.
Improvement Test:Will this make me a better person?
In your life, you often won’t be choosing betweengoodand evil, but between
better and best. Have a high standard and fill your life with the best.
Independence Test:Could this begin to control and dominate my life?
Even if something isn’t bad on the surface, it’s bad for you if it becomes an
addiction. Christ is the only one who deserves controlin your life.
Influence Test:Will this harm other people?
Our culture asks:What do you need? But God demands that you think of
other people, too. If a decisionyou make will harm other people, it’s the
wrong decision.
Investment Test:Is this the bestuse of my time?
You don’t have time for everything, and God doesn’texpect you to do
everything. Figure out the mission God has for you. Invest your time in that.
As you read through this list, you may be haunted by bad decisions you’ve
made. You may be feeling shame, guilt, regret, or remorse. Maybe you were

87. unfaithful to a spouse. Perhaps you lied to protect yourself. You may have
done something so bad that you never have told anyone what you’ve done.
Here’s what I think Jesus might like to say to you today:
“I don’t care what bad decisions you have made. You matter to me. You are
valuable to me. I love you. I will forgive you. I can restore you. I can even
reverse some of the damage you have brought on your life and the lives of
other people. I will welcome you back home with open arms. I died for those
poor decisions that you made. They’ve already been paid for on the cross.
Come to me and give me all the pieces of your life: the goodparts, the ugly
parts, the parts that embarrass you. I will take your pieces and give you my
peace. Some ofyour past decisions have causedscars andshame. I will give
you the power and wisdomto start making smart decisions that will lead to
satisfactionand significance.”
What a deal! Who could turn that down? If you’ve realized today that you’ve
been calling your own shots, give that control over to God. And enjoy the
peace that will follow.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
Talk It Over
When you lookedover the six decision-making tests today, which stood out the
most? Maybe it was one that seemedreally difficult or one that you know you
haven’t been practicing. Commit to using that test when making decisions this
week.
What bad decisionhave you never told anyone about? Confess it now to God.
He’s waiting to forgive you. Then thank him for his forgiveness and ask him
to help you start making better decisions.

88. By Mary Fairchild
Updated July 03, 2019
Biblical decisionmaking begins with a willingness to submit our intentions to
God's perfect will and humbly follow his direction. The problem is most of us
don't know how to figure out God's will in every decisionwe face—especially
the big, life-altering decisions.
This step-by-step plan lays out a spiritual road map for biblical decision
making.
10 Steps
Beginwith prayer. Frame your attitude into one of trust and obedience as you
commit the decisionto prayer. There's no reasonto be fearful in decision
making when you are secure in the knowledge thatGod has your best interest
in mind. Jeremiah29:11
"ForI know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper
you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (NIV)
Define the decision. Ask yourself if the decisioninvolves a moral or non-moral
area. It is actually a little easierto discern the will of God in moral areas
because mostof the time you will find a cleardirection in God's Word. If God
has alreadyrevealed his will in Scripture, your only response is to obey. Non-
moral areas still require the application of biblical principles, however,
sometimes the direction is harder to distinguish. Psalm119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. (NIV)
Be ready to acceptand obey God's answer. It's unlikely that God will reveal
his plan if he knows alreadythat you won't obey. It is absolutely essentialthat
you will be completely submitted to God's. When your will is humbly and

89. fully submitted to the Master, you can have confidence that he will illuminate
your path. Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,and he will show you which path to take. (NLT)
Exercise faith. Remember too, that decisionmaking is a process thattakes
time. You may have to resubmit your will over and over again to God
throughout the process.Thenby faith, which pleases God, trust him with a
confident heart that he will reveal his will. Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to
him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestlyseek
him. (NIV)
Seek a concrete direction. Begininvestigating, evaluating and gathering
information. Find out what the Bible says about the situation? Gain practical
and personalinformation that relates to the decision, and begin writing down
what you learn.
Obtain counsel. In difficult decisions, it's wise to get spiritual and practical
counselfrom the godly leaders in your life. A pastor, elder, parent, or simply a
mature believer canoften contribute important insight, answerquestions,
remove doubts and confirm inclinations. Make sure to choose individuals who
will offer sound biblical advice and not just saywhat you want to hear.
Proverbs 15:22
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. (NIV)
Make a list. First, write down the priorities you believe God would have in
your situation. These are not the things that are important to you, but rather
the things that are most important to God in this decision. Will the outcome of

90. your decisiondraw you closerto God? Will it glorify him in your life? How
will it impact those around you?
Weigh the decision. Make a list of the pros and cons connectedwith the
decision. You may find that something on your list clearlyviolates the
revealedwill of God in his Word. If so, you have your answer. This is not his
will. If not, then you now have a realistic picture of your options to help you
make a responsible decision.
Choose your spiritual priorities. By this time you should have enough
information to establish your spiritual priorities as they relate to the decision.
Ask yourself which decisionbest satisfies those priorities? If more than one
option will fulfill your establishedpriorities, then choose the one which is your
strongestdesire!Sometimes God gives you a choice. In this case,there is no
right and wrong decision, but rather freedom from God to choose, based on
your preferences. Bothoptions are within God's perfect will for your life and
both will lead to the fulfillment of God's purpose for your life.
Act on your decision. If you have arrived at your decisionwith the sincere
intention of pleasing the heart of God, incorporating biblical principles and
wise counsel, you can proceedwith confidence knowing that God will work
out his purposes through your decision. Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things Godworks for the goodof those who love him,
who have been calledaccording to his purpose. (NIV)
8 Ways to Make Decisions thatHonorGod

91. 2018
11 Apr
Making decisions are partofthe natural rhythms of life. There are the little
things that we have to choose ona dailybasis. Butthen we have the bigger
decisions, andthose tendto be more spacedoutover time: things like changing
careerpaths orplanning a family. Those are some ofthe big kahunas and,
naturally, we put a lotmore thought into those decisions.
Whether we chooseone optionorwe choose none, we stillmake a decision.
Thatis whatused to make decision-making sodifficult for me. Iused to take so
much time to decide if I was going to make one choice oranother. Iweighedall
my options. Iwantedto make sure that I gotthings right in my walk with the
Lord.
But somewhere along the wayin my path of wanting to please God, Iforgot
about His grace andmercy.
Envelopedwithin the folds of grace andmercy is a sweetspace oflove, hope,
and forgiveness. We totallyneedthat! Godknew that when he createdus. He
doesn'tpull awayfrom us in the moments when He is leading us to go left, but
we decide to go right. Instead, He is faithful to complete the work he has started
in us. He always reroutes us back to centerofhis will.
Maybe you are the wayI usedto be, and you're afraid ofmaking a decision
about something because youdon't wantto have any regrets. Ormaybe you've
made so many bad decisions thatyou just want to make a right one for a
change.
My friend, Godlavishes grace andmercyonus in overwhelming, heaping
amounts, andhe does so freelyfor His children. We are going to have to make
decisions inlife. There's justno getting around that.

92. Here are eight biblical principles you canrely on when you are in those
moments ofmaking hard decisions.
Photo Credit: Unsplash
1. TrustGodthat it’s going to work out for your good.
"And we know thatGod causeseverything to work togetherforthe goodof
those who love Godand are calledaccording to his purpose for them," Romans
8:28.
Since you are in Christ, Godis going to use everything that happens to you for
your good. This isn’tcircumstantial! This is a beautiful sealovereverydecision
in your life! Knowing that goodis going to result from your decisions,
regardless ifthings pan out the way you imaginedor not, should give your
heart and mind immediate peace.
Photo Credit: Unsplash
2. Make yourplans His plans.
"Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed," Proverbs
16:3.
This is a promise that I have personally wrestledwith, deciding if it really was a
truth overmy life ornot. However, allofGod’s promises are yes andamen for

93. those who are in Christ! When we say“Lord, have your way with this situation
in my life, letyour will be done” there WILL be success!Godgets no glory
from you failing. He receives no honorby not coming through for His children.
Successto Godmaynot always look the waywe envisionit looking, so it’s best
not to concernourselves withthe details. Instead, we shouldfocus onplacing
our full hope and desires inHim and trust that he will show up onour behalf.
Photo Credit: Unsplash
3. Find people you trust and gettheir insight.
“Listento advice and acceptinstruction, thatyou may gainwisdom in the
future,” Proverbs 19:20.
It's incredibly easyto feellike you are alone whenyou have to make a choice
that could really impact your life, but if you have trusted family members,
friends, and mentors around you, you aren'talone! Seekoutthe wisdom ofwise
people around you. Theyhave gone through their ownexperiences andhave
seenthe Lord move in their lives so thatthey canbe a witness to you. There
may be something that you are missing or a viewpointthat you simply
overlookedthatthey canshedlight on. We don't have all the answers ourselves
because we aren'tsupposedto. Godcreatedus forcommunity so that we could
love and help fill in the gaps forone another.
Photo Credit: Unsplash

94. 4. He canmake a waywhen everything looks impossible.
“See, Iamdoing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am
making a wayin the wilderness and streams inthe wasteland,”Isaiah43:19.
When we are facedwitha decision, we canoftenfeellike the options before us
are in factthe only options. Butwhatif we took a stepback andaskedthe Lord
for His angle? Godcantotallybe doing something behind the scenes that
you’ve never thought ofor even imagined. Where we see a wasteland, he sees
new streams ofliving water. Godis able to create new andbetter paths for you!
Rememberthis when you feellike your options are limited.
Photo Credit: Unsplash
5. Everyday is a brand new day.
"Greatis his faithfulness; his mercies beginafresheachmorning,"
Lamentations 3:23.
The decisions we made yesterday, the ones we willmake today, andthe ones
that have yetto be made tomorrow are all coveredin the Lord’s mercy. Take
time to let go ofwhathas passed, to use wisdomfortoday, andnot worry about
tomorrow. Lamentations 3:23 is a promise fromthe Lord that regardless of
whatyou do or don’t do, thatno matter what does ordoesn’thappen, you getto
enjoy God's mercyeachnew morning. He is always faithful, not because
anyone deserves it, but because that's who He is.
Photo Credit: Unsplash

95. 6. Trustthe one who sees yourend from the beginning.
"Trustin the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own
understanding. Seek his willin all you do and he will show youwhich path to
take,"Proverbs 3:5-6.
I used to fearmaking certaindecisions because some aspectsdidn't make sense
to me, orI didn't see how things would realisticallywork. As a result, there
were many times whenI wouldstall. I wouldsaythat I was waiting onthe Lord
as my reasonfornotmoving. Honestly, that saidmore aboutmy trust in the
Fatherthan it did aboutmy own decision-making skills.
Certainly, there are times to waiton the Lord’s leading. We shouldconstantly
be seeking his will, andsometimes thatmeans patiently waiting. There are also
times whenwe will needto move, evenwhenwe don't fully understand what we
are doing and where we are going. Spendtime with your Abba Fatherand
allow Him to show you that you canindeed trust whathe is doing and where he
is taking you even whenyou don't understand.
Photo Credit: Unsplash
7. There is grace andmercyfor your decisions.
"So letus come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. Therewe willreceive
his mercy, and we will find grace to helpus whenwe need it most," Hebrews
4:16.

96. Mosttimes, we canfind ourselves crippledunder the weightofdecisions we
have to make. The writerofHebrews knew this, so he reminded us ofthe truth
that we cango to the throne of our Heavenly Fatherand receive mercyand
grace whenwe needit the very most. This is sucha comfortbecause whenit
comes to decisionmaking, we canfeellike we are backedinto a corner, withno
wayout of a situation. Thank Godthat it gives him greatpleasure to help us in
whatevercircumstances we findourselves.
Photo Credit: Unsplash
8. Whenyou make a bad decision, Godis stillsovereign.
Given the amount of decision, bothbig and small, that we make in a day, in a
lifetime, we're bound to make a few that are wrong. Whatdo we do whenwe
know we've made a wrong decision? As withall of life, take the wrong decision
to Jesus.
"Whoeverconcealstheirsins does notprosper, but the one who confessesand
renounces themfinds mercy," Proverbs 28:13.
He wants allof us, notjust the pretty parts. While there are consequences to
every decisionwe make, we don'thave to carrythe guilt one day to the next. If
you feelthe Holy Spirit convicting you of a bad decisionyou made in the past,
repent and move on. Leave yourguilt atthe feetof Jesus. God’s mercycovers
everything! Paul reminds us to leave the pastbehind and move forwardin the
hope of heaven, becoming more like Christby the powerofHis Holy Spirit in
us.
"Brothers andsisters, Ido not considermyselfyet to have takenhold of it. But
one thing I do: Forgetting whatis behind and straining towardwhat is ahead,"
Philippians 3:13.

97. Also, ask Godto show youhow He is making everything goodlike he promised
in Romans 8:28. TrustthatGodis redeeming your life, and ask Him to help you
see the evidence ofit. And when you see it, praise the Lord for it.
Photo Credit: Unsplash
A prayerfor when you don't know whatto do:
Christina Foxwrote, "APrayerforWhen You Don't Know Whatto Do." You
canpray this and lay your burdens at the feetof Jesus:
Fatherin Heaven,
I come before you todaywith my mind swirling with different thoughts and
feelings. Ihave a hard decisionmake and I just don't know whatto do. I feel
helpless andconfused. I'm worriedabout the consequences to mydecision. I
worry aboutthe impact my decisionwill have not only onmyself but on others
as well. To be honest, Ifearmaking the wrong decision.
Your wordtells me that if I seek afterwisdomyouwill provide it. So I am
seeking you, the source andfountain ofwisdom. You've written everything you
wantme to know if the pages ofyour book, The Bible. Ipray that as I read your
word, it would shape my wants and desires andlongings. Ipray that it would
impress on me whatmatters mostto you. I pray that as I considerthe decision
before me, that I would remember whatyour wordteaches aboutyour
sovereigntyandcontrol overall things.
You know this problem before me. You know how it turns out. That's because
you are the Alpha and the Omega. Youknow the end from the beginning.
Nothing happens apartfrom your will and plan. Notonly are you sovereign,
but you are good. Allyour plans are holy, righteous, andgood. Icantrust that

98. you know whatis bestfor me. WhenI move forwardwith this decision, Iknow
that it is your will and that you will use it formy goodand your glory.
Forgive me for getting caughtup in wanting to know the future and how
everything turns out. Forgive me fortreating you like a "magic 8 ball." Forgive
me for fearing the future and for waiting around in the hopes thatthe answer
will be written on the wall. Helpme to restand trust in who you are. Helpme to
look to Jesus, knowing thatifyou gave ofyour ownSonto save me from sin,
how will you not also be with me in all the challenges anddecisions ofmylife?
There is nothing and no one that canseparate me from you; I have nothing to
fear.
You are my Rock, mySavior, andmy Deliverer. Be withme as I move forward
in this time of confusionand difficulty. Above all, may your will be done on
earth, andin my life, as it is in heaven.
In Jesus' name Ipray, Amen.
This prayer was originallypostedhere on iBelieve.com.
https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/8-ways-to-make-decisions-
that-honor-god.html
LET'S LOOK AT JESUS'LIFE
We candescribe Jesus as loving, holy, perfect, etc. Becauseofour lessontopic,
I want to study what He DID, how He chose to spend His daily time. I want
you to remember your childhood stories of Jesus and tell me what you
remember of Jesus'ACTIONS during His three years of ministry– how He
"spent" his daily time.

99. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, taught lessons aboutGod, taught His
disciples, prayed, and many more things. Jesus did many goodthings. Jesus
seemedto live His life serving others. How did He manage to do this without
wearing out and falling apart? Let's look at His life a little closer. Jesushad to
make choices among the goodthings. There are more service opportunities
than we can possibly fulfill in one life-time.
Let's look at Mark 1. Please readvery carefully to find the different types of
activities Jesus chose to do. I think there are four types. Let's see whatyou
notice.
Did you notice these four different choices Jesusmade in Mark 1? (1) Jesus
calls His disciples to follow Him and He will make then fishers of men, (2) next
Jesus drives out an evil spirit, and then heals many. The third choice appears
in verse 35 -"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus gotup,
left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He (3) prayed. Simon and
his companions went to look for Him, and when they found Him, they
exclaimed, 'Everyone is looking for you!'" Jesus replied in verse 38, "'Let us
go somewhere else – to the nearby villages so I can (4) preach there also why
I have come.'So He traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their
synagoguesand driving out demons." We have (1) teaching disciples, (2)
healing and helping, (3) praying, and (4) preaching as Jesus'choices ofhow to
spend His time on earth.
Jesus had to choose how to spend His time. We do too!Sometimes we choose
by default. We let things just happen and we have to cope with the results. I
don't see Jesus doing that. Also, we are not encouraging laziness, becausewe
do have to accountfor the use of our talents and time. Jesus made choices and
we need to be responsible enough to make goodchoices ofhow to spend our
lives.
How Jesus Chose to Spend
His "DailyTime" on Earth

100. Listened & Learned
Time Alone with God in Prayer
Served the Needy
Taught about Salvation
Trained or "Made Disciples"
Jesus'knowledgeis evident from the Luke 2 and Matthew 4 passages
Mark 1:35
Mark 1
Mark 1:38
Mark 1
(More complete charts are included at the end of the lesson.)
Analyze five areas ofJesus'lifeÂ…
He listened and learned (Study).
He spent time alone with God, praying.
He served physical needs.
He served spiritual needs by teaching.
He trained others and "made disciples."
Is it possible that power, to do goodthings, comes from the time spent with the
source of power– GOD!We often talk about the things we do and the things
we need to do to serve God. Do we considerthat spending time with Him will
give us the powerto do those goodthings?

101. I think I Peter4:7-11 is very encouraging to the child of God.
"The end of all things is near.
Therefore be clearminded and self-controlledso that you can pray.
Above all, love eachother deeply, because love covers overa multitude of sins.
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
Eachone should use whatevergift he had receivedto serve others, faithfully
administering God's grace in its various forms.
If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God.
If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all
things God may be praisedthrough Jesus Christ.
To him be the glory and the powerfor ever and ever. Amen."
Let's see, serving with the "STRENGTHGOD PROVIDES."Godprovided
Jesus with the powerto live a life pleasing to Him. Let's imitate Jesus!
Look at the chart againwith Jesus'choices ofhow to spend His time.
We see overand over in the Gospels how Jesus took his 12 followers and
trained them to go teach the world. Sometimes I think we don't realize the
importance of training one Â…. One friend, one child Â… and teachthem
their responsibility to teachothers Â….
Those of us who have children at home or grandchildren could plan ways to
take them to serve others, explaining WHY this is being done – to the glory
of God. All of us could take someone with us to visit people in the hospital, or
widows. Or we could encourage eachotherto spend daily time with God.
In conclusion, this lessonwas directed to those who are in a savedrelationship
with God. Making goodchoices aboutspending time with God and serving
God will help you have peace, energy, and goodspiritual health.
However, if you have not committed your life to God, through His Son, Jesus,
then I would like to share the gospelwith you as soonas possible.

102. The parable of the day of judgment - do goodthings, but He never knew them.
(Matthew 7:22-23.)We must commit to God and love Him with all our heart.
Romans 2:23 tells us we are all sinners. Acts 2:38 tells us that when we repent
(change our life) and are baptized, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This
Holy Spirit is a Comforter(John 17), who intercedes for us (Romans 8:26)
and testifies we are God's children (Romans 8:16).
This "Daily Time With God" lessonis designedto help us accessthe power of
the Holy Spirit and the energy and peace that only God canprovide. I hope
you canimitate all areas of Jesus'life. I hope you choose to obey God, spend
time with God and then spend time serving others physically and spiritually.
More complete charts follow. Feelfree to contactme with more scriptures or
ideas concerning becoming a child of God or becoming more like Jesus.
Life Lessons from Jesus
We all have some choice how to spend our "daily time" so let's look at our
Savior and learn from Him. "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant
above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the
servant like his master." (Matthew 10:24.)Let's ask Jesus be our Teacher.
Listened & Learned
Time Alone with God in Prayer

103. Served the Needy
Taught about Salvation
Trained or Made Disciples
Luke 2:46 (Jesus was 12 years old & at the Temple) "After three days they
found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them
and asking them questions. Everyone who heard Him was amazed at His
understanding and His answers.."
Matthew 4:1-11
Jesus quoted Old Testamentscripture to defeatSatan while being tempted in
the wilderness -- evidence that Jesus KNEW God's word.
As a Jewishboy, He most likely was raisedas Deuteronomy6 tells parents to
do. Training and teaching childrenÂ…
Matthew 14:23 "He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray."
Mark 1:35 "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus gotup,
left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."
Luke 6:12 "One of these days Jesus wentout to a mountainside to pray, and
spent the night praying to God."
Luke 9:18 "Once when Jesus was praying in privateÂ…"
Luke 11:1 "One day Jesus was prying in a certain placeÂ…"
1. Helped the sick with His many miracles of healing.
2. Helped the hungry
(feeding 4,000 and5,000)
Matthew 14:15-21
Matthew 15:32-38

104. 3. Helped His mother and others (water into wine) John 2:1-11
4. Deathto Life
Lazarus - John 11 Jairus's daughter in Mark 5:22-24
Widow's son at Nain Luke 7:11-15
Mark 1:38 "Â…so I can preach, that is why I have come." Matthew 4:23,
Luke 4:42
"Sermonon the Mount" - Matthew 5
Samaritan woman- Jesus is "living water"
John 4:5-42
Many Parables or Lessons
*Let light shine
Matthew 5:14-16
*Foundationon God
Matthew 7:24-27
*Faith - mustard seed
Mark 4:30
*Talents
Matthew 25:14-30
*GoodSamaritian
Luke10:30-37
*Costof discipleship
Luke 14:25-35

105. *Friend in need
Luke 11:5-12
"Come follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew
4:19 and Mark 1:17
"His disciples came to Him, and He began to teachthem, saying Â…"
(Sermon on the Mount) Matthew 5
Footwashing - an example of Jesus serving others and He told them:
"I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." John
13:15
Life Lessons forUs
Listen & Learn
(Study)
Pray
Serve the Needy
Teachthe GoodNews - Salvation
Train or Make Disciples
Jesus'example of having scripture in His heart.

106. "Â…Be conformed to the likeness of His Son" Romans 8:29
"Study to show thyself approvedÂ…"
II Timothy 2:15
Imitate JesusÂ…
"A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is
enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master."
Matthew 10:24
Acts 17:11 "Now the Bereans were ofmore noble characterthan the
Thessalonians forthey receivedthe messagewith greateagerness and
examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul saidwas true."
Jesus'examples of spending time alone with God.
I Thessalonians 5:17 Be joyful always, pray continually
Ephesians 6:8 Pray in the Spirit on all occasions
Luke 6:28 Pray for those who mistreat you
John 17:20 pray also for those who will believe
James 5:13 One of you in trouble? He should pray
I Peter4:7 Self-controlledso that you can pray
Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by
prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the
peace ofGod which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus.
Matthew 25:36
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,

107. I was a strangerand you invited me in,
I needed clothes and you clothed me,
I was sick and you lookedafter me,
I was in prison and you came to visit me.
James 1:27 Pure and faultless religion is to look after orphans and widows in
their distressÂ…
Luke 6:35 Love your enemies, do goodto them.
I Peter4:11 "Â…If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God
provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ."
Matthew 10:7 As you go, preach this message.
Mark 16:15,16 "Go into all the world and preachthe goodnews to al creation.
Whoeverbelieves and is baptized will be saved, but whoeverdoes not believe
will be condemned."
Matthew 28:19,20
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father, and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the
very end of the age."
"Train yourself to be godlyÂ…." I Timothy 4:7
"Train a child in the wayhe should go, and when he is old he will not turn
from it." Proverbs 22:7
(Deuteronomy 6)
"Likewise, teachthe older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be
slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teachwhat is good. Then they can

108. train the younger womento love their husbands and children and to be self-
controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their
husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." Titus 2:3-5
Judi Green
West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Ladies Bible Class, 23 March1999
The Problem of Your Choices
Article by Barry Cooper
GuestContributor
As an Englishman, one of the biggestchallenges I’ve facedin America is
automated callcenters. You miss a packagedelivery from FedEx, and you
have to call them to arrange a new delivery time. The problem is that when
you call, you aren’t connectedto a human being. You are connectedto a
talking robot programmed to recognize whatyou are saying in English.
Or should I say, it is programmed to recognize what you are saying in
American English.
Every time I call FedEx, I end up conducting the entire conversationin an
accentthat can only be described as the unholy offspring of John Wayne and
Judi Dench. The talking robot, who is trying extremely hard not to laugh,
keeps asking me to repeatmyself. For a Brit, it is absolutelyhumiliating. It’s
as if someone has implemented the whole system as payback for nearly two
centuries of colonialrule.

109. The lasttime it happened, it occurredto me that this nightmarish limbo is a
familiar place for many of us. Making choices and moving on with our lives
seems increasinglydifficult. We find ourselves paralyzed: unable to make
choices aboutrelationships, dating, marriage, money, family, and career. I
want to suggestthat if we feel unable to make these choices, it’s not because
we have the wrong accent. It may be because we’re worshiping the wrong god.
The “God” of Open Options?
First Kings 18:21 describes a crucial moment of decision. It’s the final
showdownbetweenthe God of Israel and a false godcalled Baal. Elijah calls
God’s people to choose once and for all betweenthe living God who delivered
them, and this false god who has captured their affections:“‘How long will
you waverbetweentwo opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baalis
God, follow him.’ But the people saidnothing.”
They seemunable, or unwilling, to make a choice. They want to hedge their
bets, sit on the fence, and keeptheir options open.
How different are we in the 21stcentury? Would you prefer to make an
ironclad, no-turning-back choice, or one you could back out of if need be? Do
you ever find that you’re afraid to commit? Do you reply to party invitations
with a “maybe” rather than a “yes” or“no”? Do you like to keepyour
smartphone switchedon at all times, even in meetings, so that you are never
fully present at any given moment? Will you focus on the person you’re
talking to after a church service, orwill you look over her shoulder for a
better conversationpartner?
If so, you may be worshiping the godof open options.
People waityears before declaring a collegemajor, they only go to stores with
a guaranteedreturn policy, and it’s not unusual for a person to date someone
for years before getting married — if they ever do get married. We reserve
the right to keepour options open in every department of our lives, from sex
to spirituality.

110. The Demand for Choice
In his book The Paradoxof Choice, psychologistBarrySchwartzexplains why
we have trouble committing, why we love to keepour options open. He says
that as a culture we demand choice. We demand options. We imagine that
more options mean more freedom. And most people think that limitless
freedom must be a good option.
The irony, Schwartzwrites, is that this apparently limitless choice doesn’t
actually make us happy. The number of choices available to us becomes
overwhelming, and actually makes it difficult for us to ever have the joy of
fully committing to anything or anyone. Even if we do commit, our culture
makes us feeldissatisfiedwith the choice we’ve made.
During a recentStarbucks visit, I stoodbehind a customer who ordered a
decafgrande sugar-free vanilla nonfat latte with extra foam and the milk
heated to 140 degrees.As I stood in line, I actually started to think, Maybe I
want 140-degreecoffee too. Maybe, I thought to myself, my choice ofmilk
temperature up to this point has been catastrophicallynaive. Suddenly, his
choices made me unhappier about my own. I beganto covet. I wasn’tsure
what I wanted anymore. I became anxious and indecisive. I wasn’tsure I was
ready to commit — either to my kind of coffee orto his. Was this really
freedom of choice, or slaveryto it?
What if we take the same multiplicity of trivial options we have at Starbucks,
and apply them to bigger questions: where we should work, where we should
study, where we should live, whom we should marry, or whom we should
worship? It seems that the more options we have, the more afraid we are of
choosing. We become enslavedto being noncommittal. We don’t want to make
a mistake or cut down our options. In fact, we may become so fearful of
making a choice, we simply refuse to choose.
As we do that, we are worshiping an idol. A false god. One of the Baals ofour
culture, in fact. His name is “openoptions.”
Not Choosing Is a Choice

111. Over the years, the Israelites had seenthemselves delivered from slavery —
repeatedly, spectacularly, and miraculously — by the living God. The
Egyptian gods were powerless againsthim, as were the gods of the
Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the
Jebusites. Yet here they are in 1 Kings 18, their faces licking the dust before
Baal, worshiping another soon-to-be-defeatedgod.
It should disgust us. But as God’s people today, how different are we? We
have been delivered from slavery to sin by Christ’s death and resurrection,
spectacularlyand miraculously.
Yet here we are, many of us, worshiping the very gods that Christ has
triumphed over, when we know they are defeatedgods, and will only drag us
to our deaths if we cling to them.
We worship the god of open options. And he is killing us. He kills our
relationships, because he tells us it’s better not to become too involved. He kills
our service to others because he tells us it might be better to keepour
weekends to ourselves. He kills our giving because he tells us these are
uncertain financial times and you never know when you might need that
money. He kills our joy in Christ because he tells us it’s better not to be
thought of as too spiritual.
What is most frightening of all about the god of open options is that you may
not even know that you are worshiping him. Because he pretends not to be a
god at all.
In fact, he promises you freedom from all gods, all responsibilities. “Keepyour
options open,” he says. “Worshipme, and you don’t have to serve anything or
anyone. No commitment necessary. Totalfreedom.”
Similarly, the Israelites thought that by saying nothing (1 Kings 18:21) they
were not committing idolatry. But when they chose not to decide, they made a
choice. By refusing to act, they were actually turning awayfrom the living
God who rescuedthem, and committing an obscene actofspiritual adultery
by worshiping the god of open options. Some modern translations describe

112. God’s people as “wavering” betweentwo different opinions, but the Hebrew is
closerto our word “limping.” Their indecision was crippling them.
The living God — the loving, triune God — did not create us to keepour
options open. He didn’t create us to live in fear of making a choice. He didn’t
create us to be like Robert De Niro’s characterin the 1995 movie Heat, a man
who vows never to get involved in anything he can’twalk awayfrom in 30
seconds. Godcreatedus to commit. But to him, and to others. He createdus to
choose.
When Waiting Isn’t Wise
It’s right to be careful in our decision-making, ofcourse:to pray, to seek
counselfrom Scripture and from wise Christians. The bigger the decision, the
more careful we should be. But there comes a point when pausing becomes
procrastination, when waiting is no longer wise. There comes a point when not
to choose becomesidolatry. It becomes a lack of trust in the God who ordains
the decisions we will make, gathers up the frayed ends, and works all things
for our goodand his glory.
Be wise, but then restin God’s totalsovereigntyand goodness, andchoose.
Commit. Make a decision. Be wholeheartedand single-minded.
James 1:6–8 puts it like this: “[B]elieve and [do] not doubt, because the one
who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. . . . Such a
person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”
Trust that God is goodand sovereign, and redeems every choice we make. If
even the choices ofthose who murdered his ownSon were ordained for our
own infinite good(Acts 4:27–28), thenhow can we doubt that he intends good
to come from our choices, howeverill-advisedthey may be?
Another reasonfor rejecting the god of open options is because the living God
himself is a God who chooses. And he made us in his image.
Learning to Choose

113. Ephesians 1:4 says, “[H]e chose us in him before the creationof the world.”
First Corinthians 1:27 says, “Godchose the foolish things of the world to
shame the wise.” SecondThessalonians2:13 says, “Godchose you. . . to be
savedthrough the sanctifying work of the Spirit” (emphases added).
If the living God were as fond of keeping his options open as we are, we would
have nothing to look forward to except eternaltorment.
So let me ask you, in what area of your life are you still flirting with the godof
open options? Where are you refusing to choose? Maybe you’re refusing to
commit to a particular relationship — perhaps even your marriage? Maybe
you’re not truly committed at work — you have Facebook openin one of your
browsertabs, half hoping to be interrupted. Maybe your restless eyes are on
constantalert for something or someone better.
Maybe you’re keeping your options open with God himself, not allowing
yourself to become too committed. Elijah is speaking to you in 1 Kings, and he
is saying, “Make a choice.” Youhave all the information about God you need.
Enough of this noncommittal, risk-averse, weak-willed, God-forgetting
immaturity. Or, as it probably says in some of the more modern translations,
“Grow up.”
I write this with tears. As I look back over the past 20 years of my Christian
life, I have repeatedly worshiped and served the god of open options, and I’ve
seenmany do the same. How many, for example, have been afraid to commit
to marriage because the god of open options hates the marriage service? He
knows that during it, we must promise to “forsake allothers,” andthat means
forsaking all other options.
The god of open options is a cruel and vindictive god. He will break your
heart. He will not let anyone gettoo close. Butat the same time, because he is
so spiteful, he will not let anyone gettoo far awaybecause that would mean
they are no longeran option. On and on it continues, exhausting and
frustrating and confusing and endless, pulling towards and then pushing
away, like the tide on a beach, never finally committing one way or the other.

114. We have been like the starving man sitting in front of an all-you-can-eat
buffet, dying simply because he would not choose betweenthe chickenand the
shrimp.
The god of open options is also a liar. He promises you that by keeping your
options open, you can have everything and everyone. But in the end, you get
nothing and no one.
You Must Choose
Jesus said, “You cannotserve two masters.” At any given moment, you must
choose whomyou will follow. And if you choose the god of open options, you
cannot at that moment choose the triune God, the one who deliberately closed
off his options in order to save your life. Nothing narrows your options more
than allowing your hands and feet to be nailed to a woodencross.
“This day I callheaven and earth as witnesses againstyou that I have set
before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you
and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to
his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life” (Deuteronomy 30:19–
20).
Choose the God of infinite possibility who chose to limit himself to a
particular time, a particular place, and a particular people. Choose the God
who closedoff all other alternatives so that he could pursue for himself one
bride. Choose the God who chose not to come down from the cross until she
was won.
Choose the narrow way.
Barry Cooper(@barrygcooper)is co-founder of Christianity Explored
Ministries, and author/presenter of DiscipleshipExplored. He and his wife
Lee are members of Christ Community Church, Daytona in Florida.

115. Jesus’Solitude and Silence
Share this!
Bill Gaultiere
Bible Studies
Tags:Boundaries, Gospelof Mark, Solitude and Silence, Unhurried
Many Bible students miss the importance of Jesus’solitude and silence. Every
pastor, ministry leader, and caregiver — any disciple of Jesus! — needs to
learn from Jesus’ example of intimacy with God. I don’t want to miss this! So I
went back to the Gospelof Mark and did a Bible study on Jesus’ solitude and
silence.
Continually Jesus withdrew from people, daily life activities, and the demands
of his ministry to be alone with the Father and pray. Jesus’ solitude and
silence is a major theme in the Gospels. His ongoing, intimate relationship
with his Abba was the source of his compassion, wisdom, and power that we
see on every page of the Gospels. (See my book Your BestLife in Jesus’ Easy
Yoke.)
The priority of Jesus’ solitude and silence is everywhere in the Gospels. It’s
how he began his ministry. It’s how he made important decisions. It’s how he
dealt with troubling emotions like grief. It’s how he dealt with the constant
demands of his ministry and caredfor his soul. It’s how he taught his

116. disciples. It’s how he prepared for important ministry events. It’s how he
prepared for his death on the cross.
Jesus invites us to join him in his solitude so we can know God as Abba too
and share his love with others.
Even Mark Can Be Unhurried with Jesus
How could we miss the significance of Jesus’solitude and silence with the
Father? How could we think that we can live wellor love well without
following Jesus’ example? Mark doesn’tmiss it!
Many Bible scholars saythat Mark tell his gospelin a hurry. Indeed his
favorite expressionis “immediately” (or “atonce”)which he uses 39 times
(NASB). He is so excited to tell us about the life, death, and resurrectionof
Jesus!He even skips the story of Jesus’ birth. He gets out the GospelofJesus
much faster than any of the other Gospelwriters. (It takes only about an hour
and fifteen minutes to read the Gospelof Mark straight through.)
But, like Jesus, Mark is not really in a hurry — exceptto getto the cross!(See
Mark 10:32 when Jesus was in a hurry to getto Jerusalemwhere his cross
waited.)Mark may be breathless with enthusiasm to share the GoodNews
that Jesus has made the Kingdom of God available to us, but repeatedly he
pauses to give us glimpses into Jesus’ solitude and silence with the Father.
In this way Mark invites us to join him and be unhurried with Jesus. Imagine
if your way of life were to be unhurried with Jesus–you’dfeelpeace, hear
God’s voice better, and experience more of God’s grace andwisdom in your
relationships and work.
Bible Verses on Jesus’ Solitude and Silence
Here is a chronologicalsurveyof Bible verses from Mark that highlight Jesus’
solitude and silence. (I’ve added a few verses from the other Gospels. All
verses are NIV84 unless indicated otherwise.)

117. “At once the Spirit sent [Jesus]out into the desert, and he was in the desert
forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels
attended him.” (Mark 1:12)
“Jesuswalkedbeside the Sea of Galilee… ‘Come, follow me,’ he said.” (Mark
1:16)
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus gotup, left the house
and went off to a solitaryplace, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35) [Everyone was
looking for Jesus, but after his time in prayer he told his disciples that it was
time for them to move on to another village.]
“[Despite Jesus’ plea that his miracles be kept secret]the news about him
spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be
healed of their sicknesses.But Jesus oftenwithdrew to lonely places and
prayed.” (Luke 5:15-16;see also Mark 1:45)
“Once againJesus wentout beside the lake.” (Mark 2:13)
“One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples
walkedalong.” (Mark 2:23)
“Jesuswithdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee
followed.” (Mark 3:7)
“Jesuswentout to a mountain side to pray, and spent the night praying to
God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him.” (Luke 6:12-13. See
also Mark 3:13)
“Jesuswentout of the house and satby the lake. Such large crowds gathered
around him that he gotinto a boat and satin it, while all the people stoodon
the shore. Then he told them many things in parables.” (Matthew 13:1-3. See
also Mark 4;1.)
“WhenJesus heard [that John the Baptist had been beheaded], he withdrew
by boat privately to a solitary place.” (Matthew 14:13)
“Becauseso many people were coming and going that they did not even have a
chance to eat, [Jesus]said to [his disciples], ‘Come with me by yourselves to a

118. quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went awayby themselves in a boat to a
solitary place.” (Mark 6:31-32)
“After [Jesus]had dismissed [the crowds], he went up on a mountainside by
himself to pray. When evening came, he was [still] there alone.” (Matthew
14:23;see also Mark 6:46)
“[Jesus]entereda house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not
keephis presence secret.” (Mark 7:24)
“Once whenJesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he
askedthem, ‘Who do the crowds say I am?'” (Luke 9:18. See also Mark 8:27)
“Jesuswenton from there and walkedbeside the Sea of Galilee. And he went
up on the mountain and satdown there.” (Matthew 15:29, ESV)
“Jesustook Peter, James andJohn with him and led them up a high
mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them.”
(Mark 9:2)
“After his brothers had gone up to the feast, then [Jesus]also went up, not
publicly but in private.” (John 7:10, ESV). [Jesus walked90 miles from
Galilee to Jerusalem, which gave him about five days in solitude.]
“One day Jesus was praying in a certainplace. When he finished, one of his
disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teachus to pray.'” (Luke 11:1)
“Again[the religious leaders in Jerusalem]sought to arrest[Jesus], but he
escapedfrom their hands. He went awayagain[walking about five miles]
across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and
there he remained. And many came to him.” (John 10:39-41, ESV)
“Theywere on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the
disciples were astonished, while those who followedwere afraid.” (Mark
10:32.)[Apparently Jesus keptsilent for most of the 22-mile hike. Luke says
Jesus was “resolute” (9:51). He told them that he’d be tortured and killed in
Jerusalem.]

119. “When[Jesus and his disciples]had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount
of Olives.” (Mark 14:26). This was Jesus’“usualplace” to pray when he was in
Jerusalem. (Luke 22:39)
“Theywent to a place called Gethsemane, andJesus said to his disciples, ‘Sit
here while I pray.'” (Mark 14:32)
“Theycrucified [Jesus]… Darknesscame overthe whole land… Jesus called
out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.'” (Mark
15:25, 33;Luke 23:46)
~
In Your BestLife in Jesus’ EasyYoke I feature Bible studies on how to join
Jesus’ intimacywith his Father to have his peace and power in all we do. Each
teachus about the effective practice of solitude and silence so that we can
implement Jesus’promise:“Abide in me as I abide in the Fatherand you too
will bear much fruit” (my paraphrase from John 15:1-17).
So, What Does Jesus SayAbout Making Choices?October27, 2009
Filed under: So, what did Jesus sayabout....? — Unraveled@ 10:29 am
Tags:Choices, Decisions
The Bible doesn’texplicitly coverevery possible situation in life. Sometimes
you need to make a decisionbetweenoptions, some big, some little; some
good, some bad. You might need to choose betweenlittle things like should I
have chocolate orvanilla, or you might need to make a decisionbetween
something big like who should I marry, which job should I take, which home
should I buy? How do we deal with those situations and choices the Bible does
not mention.
What are some principles of gooddecisionmaking the we find in the Bible?

120. Seek God’s wisdomfirst!
“Show me the path where I should walk…pointout the right road for me to
follow.” Psalm25:4God’swordgives us a road map for making good
decisions…andwe’lltalk more about those action steps in just a moment!
Make sure you have all the facts!
Proverbs 18:13 tells us “Whata shame, what folly to give advice before
listening to the facts.” Ilove the Messageversionof this verse “Answering
before listening is both stupid and rude.”
Be Open to ideas!
Back to Proverbs again….Chapter18 verse 15: “Intelligentpeople are always
open to new ideas. In fact they look for them. One of the wisestthing you can
do when facedwith unknown territory is to ask for advice and surround
yourself with people who know more than you do.
Make sure your decisionis in line with God’s Word.
Psalm119:98 “Your commands make me wiserthan my enemies, for your
commands are my constantguide.”We will consistentlymake better decision
when we line up with what God wants in our lives already.
Now, let’s take it to the streets!
Here are some very practicalquestions you can ask yourselfwhen trying to
make your next big or little decision. Like I always say…wecanhave the
knowledge, but unless we know how to apply it, well, they are just nice
sounding words!
Would Jesus give my decision” His stamp of approval?
Would He say “Yes, Jody, you are on the right path and if I were in your place
that ‘s the way I’d be thinking as well?” Or would He say“Aye, yai, yai! If
you want to go ahead, just don’t mention my name…Idon’t want them to think
I had anything to do with that!”? “Whateveryou do or say, let it be as a
representative of the Lord Jesus, allthe while giving thanks through Him to

121. God the Father.” (Colossians 3:17)NLV The Messageversionsays “Letevery
detail in your lives, words, actions, whatever – be done in the name of Jesus.
If Jesus were watching, whatwould He think? Would He think it’s a good
idea?
Does this fall into the classificationofgoodthinking, of a wise decision?
Am I thinking clearly? Basedonwho I am and what I want to be about, is
this a wise decisionfor me to make? Am I making this decisionout of the best
of who I am or the worst of who I am? We all have in us the capacityto
operate out of the worstof who we are. Those places are usually driven by
fear and doubt.
“Summing it all up, friends, I’d sayyou’ll do best by filling your minds and
meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious –
the bestnot the worst, the beautiful, not the ugly, things to praise, not things
to curse.” (Philippians 4:8)
Will the outcome of this decisionproduce goodresults?
You will know you’ve made a gooddecisionwhen the fruits of it produce good
results. That doesn’tnecessarilymean than in the process ofworking out the
decisionit won’tbe difficult, but when you look at the final outcome, your
results will look something like this in Galatians 5:22-23″Butwhat happens
when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way
that fruit appears in an orchard – things like affection for others, exuberance
about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of
compassionin the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates
things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not
needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies
wisely.”

122. God never promises that making decisions that honor will be easy…sodon’tlet
difficult circumstances, people, places, events, whatever…standin the way of
sticking to God honoring decisions. Oftenit’s in those circumstances that we
are refined and turned into people who can be fully used by God. Easyis
never a goodsubstitute for correct. It’s just an added bonus when they line up
that way:)
Today we’llend with this: Sometimes the most difficult choices in life are not
those betweenwrong and right, but choices ofwhat is goodand what is best.
We eachneed to listen to our heart and the prompting on the Holy Spirit to
know what things are okayfor us to do.
Just because something may not be wrong, does not mean it is right for you at
this time and in this situation. You will consistentlymake gooddecisions if you
are spending time in God’s wordand acting on the advice you receive there.
Hebrews 5:14 says this “Solidfood is for those who are mature, who have
trained themselves to recognize the difference betweenright and wrong….and
then do what is right.”
…AND THEN DO WHAT IS RIGHT! Six simple words that can take us a
lifetime to live out. Rememberas you go about this week and your decision
making that we live under grace and compassion, but in all things strive to be
like the One who createdus!
If you’d like me in real time where you getany number of ad libs from my
week…I’mteaching it at HopePark WednesdayMornings & Thursday Nights.
If you’re a Nashville local, the door is always open. We’re at8001 Hwy. 70
South, just off I-40. Online at http://hopepark.com and on twitter @hopepark.
Me…wellyou can find me twittering @jodytodd.
Have a greatweek!

123. Jody
How Jesus Made Decisions
Wednesday, February17, 2010 byDanMiller Leave a Comment
How many times have you seena personmake a decisionbasedonanemotion
or a feeling? How oftenwere those decisions wrong? Whetherit’s a person
“falling in love” orthe purchase ofa lottery ticketdue to a “hunch,” we are
oftenseducedby our feelings. How doesa persongetoffthe merry-go-roundof
making emotional decisions? Do whatJesusdid. Since Jesuswashuman and
never made a bad decision, itmakes sense to follow the patternof His life.
First, considerthe life-focus thatJesus hadthatservedas a backdropfor all of
His decisions:
“I tell you the truth, the Soncando nothing by Himself; he canonly do what
His Fatheris doing.” John5:19
“ByMyselfI can do nothing,…Iseek notto please myselfbut Him who sent
me.” John5:30
“Whenyou have lifted up the Sonof Man, thenyou will know that I am the one
I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own…forIalways do whatpleases
Him.” John 8:28-29
“ForI did not speak onmy ownaccord, butthe Fatherwho sentme
commanded me what to sayand how to sayit…so whateverIsayis whatthe
Fatherhas told me to say…” John12:49-50; (c.f. 7:16;10:25;14:10; 17:7)
Jesus made choicesinlife basedonthe desires ofFather-God. Therefore, allof
the actions ofJesus canbe categorizedas being “true.”Everything that Jesus
did had the highestspiritual and moral quality so as to be completelyright (or,
“righteous”) foreachsituation. YetJesus, being fully human, experiencedthe

124. full spectrum ofemotions and feelings that we have. So, how didthe truth and
human feelings converge inperfectharmony in the life ofJesus?
Forthe sake ofdiscussionlet’s tryto boil downall of life into four categories
that Jesus experiencedandthat eachofus will experience as well. The
categoriesthatfit this descriptionare: God, Family, Friends, anda Job(for
those older) orSchool (forthose younger). Ineachofthese categoriesofliving
Jesus always prioritizedpleasing the Father(doing whatis right ortrue) over
human feelings. This doesn’tmeanJesus didn’t have strong feelings (see
*note). Itmeans that in the life of Jesus truth and feelings workedtogetherlike
a orchestra under the directionof a conductor. The relationshipbetweentruth
and feelings is analogous to anorchestra playing from the same sheetmusic
written by the composer. The sheetmusic represents whatis true while our
feelings function like a conductorgiving unique emphasis and providing a level
of coordinationbetweenmusicians. Whenthe orchestra plays the music before
them it will have variations depending on the style of the conductor. The
conductormay emphasize a particular sectionofthe music basedonhis
interpretation of the piece orhe may emphasis a certainsectionofhis orchestra
due to the proficiencyofa particular musicianor a group musicians.
Regardlessofwhata conductorcaninfluence, the foundation and fundamental
performance ofthe symphony will be judged basedon how wellthe musicians
played the music written by the composer.
In short(Ihope my analogywas notmore confusing than helpful), Jesus
experiencedallthe varied feelings ofhumanity (representedbythe role ofthe
conductor) yetneverdeviated from the sheetmusic written for Him by the
Father. More importantly, Jesus’feelings neverdictatedwhatwas the true and
the right to do (e.g. The wildernesstemptation, His betrayal, His arrest, the
“judicial” proceeding before Caiaphas andPilate, Jesus inthe Garden of
Gethsemane, The Crucifixion, etc.). JesusactuallycounteredHis feelings and
emotions with whatHe knew to be the true desire of His Father(“…yourwill
be done”). Inthis way, the emotions Jesus feltwere harnessedbythe truth
Jesus believedandthe PersonJesus trusted. The same modelis to be our
blueprint for sanctificationtoday.

125. Therefore, inourlives, we also needto make sure we ventour emotions but
never atthe expense ofwhat is the right thing to do given whatGod’s Word
says. God’s Wordprovides us with a reservoirof truth from whichwe instruct
our feelings in all areas oflife. We allow truth to washoverus and create a
reality that is informed by God’s perspective andwas modeledperfectlyby
Jesus. The following diagramrepresents this dynamic with the added
dimension of the influence of the Deviland the World (IJohn 2:16).
*In Mark 3:5, Jesus is being setupby the religious leaders ofthe day and they
use a man to try and give vent to their malice ofheart: “And he lookedaround
at them with anger, grievedattheir hardness ofheart, and saidto the man,
“Stretchoutyour hand.” He stretchedit out, and his hand was restored.”
When it says that Jesus “lookedaroundatthem with anger” it means Jesus
sweptaround the roomlooking deeplyinto the eyes ofthe religious leaders and
was mad! The wordused to describe the angerofJesus is orgē (ὀργη). Itis a
type angerthat is directedtowardpeople who violate the just desires ofGod
(c.f. Matt. 18:34).This type of angeris from God because itaffirms His holy
standard. The religious leaders do notcare forthis poor man they simply want
to use him to catchand condemn Jesus. IfJesus wouldnothave felt angerat
thewretchedactions ofthe religious leaders, he wouldhave ceasedto be the
Holy One sentfrom God. We cannotlove goodandnot hate evil. The hating of
evil surfaces the emotionofangeragainst evil. A.T. Robertsonquotes Gouldas
saying; “Angeragainstwrong aswrong, is a signofmoral health.” Wuest, K. S.
Wuest’s wordstudies from the Greek New Testament.
We serve anamazing God! To provide for our eternalsalvationand to give us a
representationofHimself in Jesus?!Simplyamazing. Look to the Sonfor
understanding for He is God’s chosenobjectofaffectionthroughwhichthe
Father’s love is expressedto us who believe.
And the Word became fleshand dweltamong us, and we have seenhis glory,
glory as ofthe only Sonfrom the Father, fullof grace andtruth. John1:14

126. 1. Choices Jesus Made
Doing God’s will is a choice. Thatis made clearby Jesus’statement, “If
anyone choosesto do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes
from God or whether I speak on my own” (John 7:17 NIV). Note the first part
of that statement: “If anyone choosesto do God’s will.” It helps you to
understand that you canmake a choice in your life to do God’s will.
It is not a one-time decisionalone. But it is a choice that has to be made again
and again. These are choices thatstrengthen your decisionto do God’s will.
For example, it is God’s will for a Christian to live a holy life and flee sexual
immorality: “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should
avoid sexual immorality” (1 Thessalonians4:3 NIV). Job, in accordancewith
this principle decided that he will not look lustfully at a girl (Job 31:1).
But those who have been tempted in this area know that a one-time decision
alone does not help. A personhas to choose notto sin eachtime he is tempted.
So every time a temptation comes in, that man has to remember his decision
to lead a holy life. Through eachact of saying “NO” to a specific temptation,
he supports and strengthens his decisionto lead a holy life.
Thus he makes a choice to do God’s will eachtime he says “no” to, say, lust.
So it is clearthat doing God’s will involves a series ofcontinuous choices to do
right.
In this light, examine Jesus’statement:“ForI have come down from heaven
not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38 NIV). It is
interesting to note that Jesus also hadto choose the right decisioneachtime
He was offered a different option. For example, when Petertried to turn Jesus
awayfrom the suffering of the cross, JesusrebukedPeterand chose the cross
(Ref. Matthew 16:23). And at the Garden of Gethsemane, eventhough He was
in intense agony, He chose to drink the cup of the suffering of the cross and

127. obey His Father’s will (Ref. Matthew 26:39, 42, 44). Thus, even for Jesus,
doing God’s will required a continuous choice in life.
Summary: Doing God’s will is first a decisionand then a series ofcontinuous
choices to do so.
3 Men of the Bible Who Made Hard Decisionsand What We CanLearn From
Them
3 Men of the Bible Who Made Hard Decisionsand What We CanLearn From
Them
The Bible is full of stories of God putting his followers to the test in ways we
cannot even imagine in today’s world — or, perhaps, we can. While the stories
of the Bible can sometimes seemfrozen in a different time, they offer us the
opportunity to learn valuable lessons we canapply to our lives. Think you’ve
had hard decisions in life? Check out and learn from these three men of the
Bible who made the hardest decisions possible.
Josephand Step-Parenting the Son of God
In today’s world, blended families have become the norm. Whether because of
divorce, death or other circumstances, many families are composedof step-
and half-siblings, step-parents, step-grandparents and various other non-
biologicalrelationships. Blended families can be the topic of inspirational
stories or tales of horror, but one of the best known non-biologicalfathers was
Joseph, husband of Mary.

128. Imagine this: Josephis looking forward to Mary becoming his wife and
suddenly learns that she is already expecting … and the father of the
impending child is none other than God himself. Whew!Josephdecided to
acceptwhat he learned from Mary and the angels and step up and commit his
life to parenting a child not biologicallyhis. And it was no normal upbringing,
either.
Josephhad to flee with Mary and the baby to Egypt to protect their safety,
had to fosterappropriate learning within the Jewishfaith and still found time
to pass along his carpentry trade to Jesus. Notonce do we hear him quibble or
complain. Josephsimply steps up and is the best father he can be despite the
adversarialcircumstances.
Paul’s Convictions and Conversion
Perhaps the bestconversionstory in the New Testament, Paultransforms
from a staunch enemy of early Judaic Christians to one of the new faith’s
most convictedleaders. During his conversion, Paul made the hard decisionto
take back his criticism of Christianity and suffer suspicion from all sides.
Despisedby Jews who were formerly his allies againstthe new religionand
Christians who doubted his conversion, Paul weatheredsuspicions and
allegations to become the most prolific New Testamentwriter, penning letters
to tribes near and far about his love for Christ and Christ’s love for the world.
Even when his convictions lead to his actual legalconvictionand death
became an imminent threat, Paul persistedin teaching others about his faith.
Today, it’s easyto fear losing friends and family due to differing beliefs,
whether religious, political or otherwise. While we are privileged to live in a
societywhere free belief is protected, we canstill learn from Paul's steadfast
conviction.
Abraham and Isaac
Can you imagine the horror of being askedto sacrifice your own child, a child
you waitedyears to welcome to this world? Abraham was challengedby God
in this very way, and while we aren't being askedfor such a sacrifice, we can

129. take a different lessonfrom Abraham’s hard decisionto follow God’s
command.
How often do you find yourself at odds with the decisions your adult children
make? Perhaps you don’t approve of their professions ortheir lifestyles, how
they manage finances or households or even how they dress. Wasn’t
Abraham’s decisionone of following the commands of God and one of his love
and acceptanceofhis son? Perhaps that acceptance, more so than the horror
of being askedto sacrifice a child, is the lessonwe canlearn from our ancient
ancestor, Abraham.
Top 15 Christian Quotes About DecisionMaking
by Pamela Rose Williams · Print · Email
D
ecisions, decisions, decisions!Have you ever stopped to think about how many
decisions you make on a daily basis? When to wake, whatto wear, how to
prioritize your day, what to eat, when to eat, when to leave the house in order
to be on time for an appointment, etc. Sometimes the decisions are easyyet
other times it takes greatwisdom to make the right decision.
As believers we often rely upon the Lord and seek His wisdom to make the
right decision. The Bible has a great dealof advice on decisionmaking and
some Christians have written and said memorable things about decision
making. Take a look at my top 15 Christian quotes about decisionmaking.

130. #15 If you’re having a difficult time making the best decisionthen consider
fasting. Fasting is simply taking something you regularly do and replacing it
with praying and seeking God. Forexample instead of eating a meal you can
take that time to seek Godand allow Him to speak to you about the decision. ~
Dan Black, Writer[3]
#14 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy
paths. ~ Proverbs 3:5-6, The Holy Bible
#13 God gives us greatfreedom to choose but our choices have real
consequences. Imean it could be that if I move my children to another state
that they will become Satanist. . . but on the other hand they may become
Satanistif I don’t move them, and in that case my moving them would be a
goodthing. So we do have a responsibility to choose wiselybut it’s not magic.
Follow God’s mysterious and irrational will and everything will go great,
make a mistake (in figuring out his obscure will) and you are in big trouble. ~
MJ, BloggeratThe Christian Monist[4]
#12 Where no counsel[is], the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors
[there is] safety. ~ Proverbs 11:14, The Holy Bible
#11 Being a Christian does not exempt us from the responsibility to become
wise decisionmakers. Therefore, it is your responsibility to use your God-
given mind to learn how to make goodcareerdecisions. ~ Kevin Brennfleck
and Kay Marie Brennfleck, NationalCertified CareerCounselors [5]
#10 If you have arrived at your decisionwith the sincere intention of pleasing
the heart of God, incorporating biblical principles and wise counsel, you can
proceedwith confidence knowing that God will work out his purposes
through your decision. ~ Mary Fairchild, Writer [2]

131. #9 No decisionshould be made on an empty shopping bag. ~ Donita K. Paul,
Author
#8 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts
of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expectedend. ~ Jeremiah 29:11, The
Holy Bible
Trust the Lord with your decisionmaking.
#7 My fear is that of all the choices people face today, the one they rarely
consideris, “How can I serve most effectively and fruitfully in the local
church?” I wonder if the abundance of opportunities to explore today is doing
less to help make well-rounded disciples of Christ and more to help Christians
avoid long term responsibility and have less long-term impact. ~ Kevin
DeYoung, Pastor
#6 God doesn’t want people to do what they think is best: he wants them to do
what he knows is best, and no amount of reasoning and intellectualizing will
discoverthat. ~ Henry T. Blackaby, Author
#5 I am convincedthat every effort must be made in childhood to teach the
young to use their own minds. For one thing is sure: If they don’t make up
their minds, someone will do it for them. ~ EleanorRoosevelt, FirstLady,
USA
#4 When you come to a place where you have to [go] left or right,’ says Sister
Ruth, ‘go straight ahead. ~ Kathleen Norris, Poet
#3 Make your decisionon what you know to be the greatergoodfor you and
your family. You do not live unto yourself but with those to whom you are
joined in your household. You have a responsibility to them. ~ Al Troester,
Author [1]

132. #2 Sometimes we don’t make decisions a spiritual matter or a subject of
prayer because we are afraid of how God will lead. God wants to bless us, but
blessings only come through obedience (Deuteronomy 11:26-29). Whenyou
finally make the decisionyou know is right, then acceptwhat the Lord has
shown you and do what is right in the situation. It may be something difficult
to do, but the promise is that as you obey the Lord, you will have blessings in
your life. ~ David Peach, Writer, WCWTK
#1 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men]
liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. ~ James 1:5, The Holy
Bible
Final Thoughts
Decisions are sometimes quick and easyand other times very hard. Trust the
Lord with your decisionmaking. I pray that you were blessedwith the
Christian quotes about decisionmaking.
More quotes: Wisdom of God Bible Verses and Quotes
Resources– Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, King James
Version. [1] Quarterly Notes, vol. 15, no. 4, “PracticalHelps,” by Al Troester.
[2] Christianity.about.com. [3] danblackonleadership.info. [4]
evangelicalinthewilderness.blogspot.com/.[5] crosswalk.com
Taggedas:Christian Quotes, DecisionMaking, Decisions,Wisdom

133. Share this post: SU | Reddit | Digg | Facebook| Twitter
Article by Pamela Rose Williams
Pamela Rose Williams is a wife, mother and grandmother. She and her
husband, Dr. MichaelL. Williams, have servedin Christian ministry since
2001. She has a Bachelor’s Degreein Christian Education and spends most of
her time as a professionaleditorand writer, working with many Christian
authors and artists. Additionally, she works with her husband using their
extensive experience in information technologyto provide Christ-centered
teaching and resources to people all over the world. Learn more about Pamela
at Christianity Every Day.
Pamela Rose has written 407 articles on What Christians Want To Know!
Readthem in the archive below.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
DocReits August11, 2014 at8:04 pm
There was so much packedinto that short article Pamela that it could take a
lifetime to unpack…from raising children to be independent thinkers to
fasting for direction. I think my favorite thought from your article was voiced
by Mary Fairchild:
“If you have arrived at your decisionwith the sincere intention of pleasing the
heart of God, incorporating biblical principles and wise counsel, you can
proceedwith confidence knowing that God will work out his purposes
through your decision”.

134. How succinctand well said. Too often we hear from those “seeking” the will of
God for their lives when God’s will is unfolding in our midst. Unfortunately, a
wondering takes place aboutGod’s Will(GW) for our lives and the
accompanying daily decisions we make, with often no clue of its(GW)
present(not future) occurrence happening in our midst as we wonder.
We are not so important that our decisions are going to thwart God’s Will
from taking place in the world or in our lives. It(GW)is going to take place
regardless ofour decisions. The important point is that we are on His ship of
salvation, having Christ as our Captain.
His ways are perfect, unfolding before us, whether we list to port or starboard
in our decisionmaking. The ship is going to reachsafe harbor. It is written in
the log.
I am not making light of heavy decisions but once we have done as Mary
Fairchild said above, we move forward and as Solomonwrote:
“Whatsoeverthy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might” (Eccles9:10)
https://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/top-15-christian-quotes-about-
decision-making/
The Powerof Decision(A Sermon)
Monday, August 29, 2011 at07:54AM
Joel3:9, 12-14
9 Proclaimye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men,
let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:

135. 12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat:for
there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, getyou down; for the
press is full, the fats overflow;for their wickednessis great.
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision:for the day of the LORD is
near in the valley of decision.
1 Kings 18:21
21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between
two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.
And the people answeredhim not a word.
I want to speak to you pointedly today, with as much force as I can muster
about an actionthat all of us take every day, sometimes hundreds of times
during our waking hours. Mostof these actions are small and insignificant;
others determine the quality and even the length of our lives, and some are
once-in-a-lifetime events that cannot be easilyreversed, if at all. Some of these
actions made are under pressure;others scarcelyrouse a raisedeyebrow.
Some cause an outcry of protest; others are met with applause. I am talking
about making decisions.
The title of my message is “The PowerofDecision.”
Have you ever wonderedwhat it would be like to wrestle with some of the
greatestdecisions thathave ever been made in history? For example, how
was the decisionto drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima made? In a little
publicized historicaltwist, PresidentTruman did not fully understand the
facts. Earlier, he had made it clear to his generals that only military targets
were acceptable forthe A-bomb. When he receivednews that Hiroshima had
been bombed, he made this statement:
“The world will note that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a
military base. That was because we wishedin this first attack to avoid, insofar
as possible, the killing of civilians. But that attack is only a warning of things
to come. If Japan does not surrender, bombs will have to be dropped on her

136. war industries and, unfortunately, thousands of civilian lives will be lost. I
urge Japanese civilians to leave industrial cities immediately, and save
themselves from destruction.”
One wonders that if the President had knownHiroshima was not a military
base but a city with 300,000civilianinhabitants, would he have approved of
the bombing? The answer, it seems, is no. (Leo Szilard, USN&WR, August 15,
1960.)
Yet, some argue that, as gruesome as the bombing may have been, many
thousands of lives were savedin the long run because it brought an end to our
war with Japan. Regardlessofthe opinions, the decision-making task fell to
the leader.
DecisionPoints is a book written by former PresidentGeorge W. Bush. The
review of the book says, “In this candid and gripping account, President
George W. Bush describes the criticaldecisions that shapedhis presidency
and personallife.
“DecisionPoints brings readers inside the Texas governor’s mansionon the
night of the 2000 election, aboardAir Force One during the harrowing hours
after the attacks ofSeptember11, 2001, into the Situation Roommoments
before the start of the war in Iraq, and behind the scenesatthe White House
for many other historic presidential decisions.”
God equipped man in creationwith this uniquely human trait. Animals do
not have the cognitive faculties to be able to consciouslyprocessdecision
making. Theyact instinctively, as with a built-in, automatic reactionary
response to anything that happens in the realm of nature. Although we may
love them and think they are thinking, especiallywhen they look at us with
their cute, quizzical expressions, theyare really only acting to stimuli in the
proximity of their environment.
If your little poochie turns his nose up at the food you pour into his bowl, it’s
not because he’s readthe nutritional components on the label and decided
that there was not enough iron, riboflavin or protein to warrant wolfing it

137. down. He is probably acting instinctively to the taste or to his own physical
condition. The ape in the zoo does not say, “This is Friday, I think I’ll eatfish
today;” or, “Todayis Monday, I think I’ll eat that nice juicy rat I found
running around my cage.” No.Animals don’t decide. Theyreact to situations
around them.
You, on the other hand, gotup this morning and decided you were going to
come to church today. Well, the first thing you did was decide to getup. You
decided what you were going to wear. You decidedwhat you were going to
eat. You decided if you were going to be early, late or right on time. You
decided the route you were going to take to get here. You decided if you had
enough gas in the tank or you needed to stop and getsome more. NeedI go
on? You get the picture. Hundreds of little decisions had to be made to do
something as simple as come to church on a Sunday morning.
Then there are biggerdecisions.
Are you going to buy that car? Thathouse? Which insurance company are
your going to choose? Whatcellphone or cellphone plan do you want? Are
you going to take that vacationor do you need to stay home and keepthe
rabbits out of the garden? And, by the way, who are you voting for this
November?
Decisions. Theykeepcoming at you, fast and furious. School? Whichone?
What major? Doctor? Surgery? Medicine? Treatment? Jointhe army?
Job? Loss of job? Secondjob? New job? Promotion? Marriage? Kids?
Bills? Loan? Re-finance? Home equity? Lawsuit? Investments?
Sometimes we hate all the decisions we have to make. At the same time, we
wouldn’t have anyone else making our decisions for us. We begin to struggle
for the right to make our own decisions before we reach the ripe old age of
one. By the time we reach our late teens, it’s all we can think about. “Once I
get out on my own, I’m going to do it my way.” “I can’t wait until I canget
my ownplace!”
Actually, we have elevatedthis definitely human characteristic to the point of
being sacred. I’m sure you’re familiar with these words: “We hold these

138. truths to be self-evident, that all men are createdequal, that they are endowed
by their Creatorwith certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is ironic that the people who are for
aborting life callthemselves “pro-choice.” Theydeny choice to unborn
children that they hold dear for themselves.
Four years ago, I went into an attorney’s office in Union City, TN and
obtained power of attorney for my mother. She was no longer capable of
making her own decisions anymore, so my sisters thought that I should be the
one to take care of her. I was happy to do it. Then, a few weeksago, Iwas
calledinto the care facility where she live to sign a document. They call it a
DNR. That stands for “do not resuscitate.”All of a sudden, it hit me that the
decision-making powerI have over another human being is one of the heaviest
responsibilities ever laid on my shoulders:to decide whether or not another
human being should live or die.
Decisions. “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision:for the day of the
LORD is near in the valley of decision.”
Today, you are not deciding on dealing with national emergencies orwhether
or not to send troops into harm’s way. You may not be facing a decisionon
whether or not to end someone else’s life. But you are making decisionthat
will affectyour soul and your eternallife.
One of the most amazing aspects ofthe way God deals with us is to give us the
privilege, the responsibility, the opportunity and the obligationto chooseour
eternal destiny. We decide whether or not we are going to obey the Word of
God. We decide who we are going to worship. Considerfor a moment the
awesome privilege afforded us. Godleads us to an old ruggedcross and tells
us to gaze upon the sacrifice ofHis sinless form as the blood drains away and
asks us what we are going to do about it. We decide if we are going to take
salvationseriouslyor brush it aside as immaterial to living real life in 2011.
Revelation22:16-17 (KJV)
16 I Jesus have sentmine angel to testify unto you these things in the
churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and

139. morning star. 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that
heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoeverwill, let
him take the water of life freely.
Acts 26:28-29 (KJV)
28 Then Agrippa saidunto Paul, Almost thou persuadestme to be a Christian.
29 And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me
this day, were both almost, and altogethersuch as I am, except these bonds.
There are three things about making a decisionthat you must understand.
You have to know enough before you decide.
You have to have the powerto make the decision.
You have to acceptthe consequencesofyour choice.
You have to know enough in order to decide.
Before you make a major purchase, you need to do your research. Before you
choose a school, youneed to getas much information as you can. But, when it
comes to your soul, how can you possibly know the best choice to make? Here
it is:
When you can’t know the circumstances, youhave to know your God!
2 Timothy 1:12 Forthe which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I
am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuadedthat he
is able to keepthat which I have committed unto him againstthat day.
Considerthe case ofAbram:
Genesis 12:1-5
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from
thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a greatnation, and I will bless thee, and make thy
name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

140. 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in
thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spokenunto him; and Lot went with
him: and Abram was seventyand five years old when he departed out of
Haran.
5 And Abram took Saraihis wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their
substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gottenin
Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan;and into the land of
Canaanthey came.
What does it take to sell out, pull up stakesand leave? On what basis does a
person decide on such a drastic move?
This is what I think. Somewhere, back in Haran, Abraham got to be good
friends with God. So, when God calledhim to leave the familiar and go into
the unfamiliar, Abraham said, “I don’t know where I’m going, but I know
who’s telling me to go. I’m walking by faith.”
Where is God leading you?
Have you gotquestions? Faith is the answerto every question.
Faith meets every adversity.
Faith bridges every disappointment and trial.
When you don’t know, read the Word.
When it’s not in the Word, get to know the Author of the Word!
You know enough about repentance, baptism, infilling of the Holy Ghost.
You know enough about sin and salvation, the tribulation and the mark of the
beast.
You know enough about how to live righteously in God.

141. You may not have 100% of the information you would like to have, but that
will never happen. God has given you everything you need to decide for Him.
You have to have the powerto decide.
The fact is, it’s all in your hands.
No one is making your decisions for you.
You alone have the controlof the reins of your life.
I want to take you back to the question of Elijah. “How long halt ye between
two opinions?” If God be God, serve Him. If Baalbe god, serve him.”
Here was a whole population vacillating back and forth betweentwo choices.
You might think that the reasonfor their indecision was that they did know
what to do. No. They had been schooledfrom birth onward about the one,
true living God. They were Hebrews. Theyknew what to do. They lacked
the will to do what they knew to do.
It is possible that they were so beaten down by the evil king Ahab and his
treacherous wife, Jezebel, that they didn’t think they could decide anything
for themselves. It is possible that the worship of Baalthat involved the
sacrifice ofbabies thrown into the fire, ritualistic prostitution, and self-
mutilation practices that they lived in total fear.
This is when Elijah stepped out and calledfor fire from heaven. If you read
the contextof the story, you’ll find that God’s true prophets were in hiding
from Jezebel. The servant Obadiah was scaredto death that Ahab was going
to kill him. Paranoia gripped the entire nation of Israel. The amazing thing
that happened before God rained down fire from heaven was that Elijah had
the courage to sayto Ahab and Jezebel, “You’re not going to decide for me
and you’re not going to decide for the people of God! You don’t have that
kind of power!”
How much power are you ceding to the devil today? It could be that you are
stuck in neutral because you don’t think you can choose. Maybe your habits
are saying that you don’t have the right to make your own decisions. Maybe

142. your friends are telling you that you are too entangled, too sold out, too far
gone to even think that you can escape theirclutches.
It is time for you to sayto the Ahabs and Jezebels and the false gods that
surround you that the chains are broken! You’ve been running scaredlong
enough. It is ludicrous that you should have to ask your cigarettes ifyou can
stop smoking. It is ludicrous that you should ask the drugs and alcohol
whether or not they will let you alone. It is ludicrous that you should check
with your “friends” whether or not you can serve God.
Don’t let Satanstrip you of the basic human right that God createdin you—
the powerto decide.
Deuteronomy 30:19 (KJV)
19 I call heaven and earth to recordthis day againstyou, that I have setbefore
you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou
and thy seedmay live:
Once you decide, the consequencesbelong to you.
Galatians 1:7-8 Be not deceived; God is not mocked:for whatsoevera man
soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 Forhe that sowethto his flesh shall of the
flesh reap corruption; but he that sowethto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap
life everlasting.
Last year, I preached to you about living with your choices.
“It comes down to this, you canchoose your choice, but you cannot choose
your consequences. Whenyou make your choice, you—ofnecessity—choose
the consequencesthat go along with the choice.
“You cannot plant one kind of crop and expectto reap another kind of crop.
If you plant corn, you will reap corn. If you plant potatoes, youwill reap
potatoes. Furthermore, if you plant a low grade of corn, you will not reap a
high grade of corn. Well, you say, I would have planted a high grade, but the
seedwas too expensive. I’m sorry. The consequencesofthe choice are part
and parcelof the choice.”

143. You may ask, “Now thatI have decided to serve God, what ‘s going to happen
to me?” Jesus has the answerto that question:
John 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in
me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye
may be also.
So,
You need to know enough to decide.
You have the power to decide.
You own the consequencesofyour decision.
The Dangers ofDecision-making
I now want to talk to you about the dangers of making a decision. Even
though decisions must be made, be aware that decisionmaking relieves stress,
even if the decisionis wrong!
It has been reported many times that people who have made up their minds to
commit suicide appear to be relieved of a tremendous load of stress. They
may even seemhappy and content. Indecisioncauses stress, so it makes sense
that making a decisioncangreatly diminish stress.
The powerto make decisions means that you have the powerto make terrible
decisions, decisions thatcan destroy your life. Some people consciouslydecide
to enter into a life of crime, or perversion, or immorality, or gross sinfulness.
And, they say that they are happy with their decision. Sometimes, they
actually argue that their decisionis the best thing for them to do.
I may be talking to somebody here today who is contemplating a major
decision, a decisionthat you know is going to hit the people in your world like
a bomb. You say, “I feel goodabout what I am going to do.” The temporary
feeling of the moment is not enough. The emotional impact of a decisionis not
the criteria upon which the decisionis judged.

144. Finally, there’s one more thing that I want to tell you about a decision. This is
what I find most exciting!
Do not underestimate the power of a right decision!
Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think, according to the powerthat workethin us,
There is a powerthat works in us.
When you exercise your power to decide for God, God activates His power to
do the miraculous, lift the fallen, healthe brokenness, andset the captive free.
When you decide for truth, you will have it. “He whom the Sonhath set free
is free indeed.”
When you decide to obey God, watch what He does!
Malachi3:10-11 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,that there may be
meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I
will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that
there shall not be room enough to receive it. 11 And I will rebuke the
devourer for your sakes, andhe shall not destroy the fruits of your ground;
neither shall your vine casther fruit before the time in the field, saith the
LORD of hosts.
God is looking for someone who will decide for revival!
2 Chronicles 16:9 Forthe eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the
whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is
perfect towardhim.”
Your decisionis God’s activationsignal!
Years ago, Brother Billy Cole, as a missionaryto Thailand, experienceda
greatrevival. The way it happened over there was unusual in that the altar
calls were much different than in the states. Theydidn’t have long sessions at
the altar, begging and pleading with God for the Holy Ghost baptism. They

145. simply came and receivedit. Brother Cole made a decision. He decided to
take God at His Word. He beganto leadpeople into repentance, and then
praise and worship. He believed that they would receive the Holy Ghost
immediately. It happened in the Bible that way. He discoveredthat it
happened in Thailand that way as well.
Forty years ago, he came to the First Apostolic Church in Toledo when we
were locatedon JackmanRoad. At the close ofhis message, he askedhow
many wanted the Holy Ghostbaptism. Twenty-six people raisedtheir hands.
Then, he askedthe ushers to setout chairs. It took time. It was noisy. It
wasn’t exactlythrilling to see ushers setout chairs. There was no “Come to
Jesus” music filling the sanctuary. But after everything was in place, he asked
for those who wantedthe Holy Ghostto come and sit in the chairs and follow
some simple instructions. In a few, short minutes, all twenty-six receivedthe
Holy Ghost! Some of you participated in that service.
It wasn’t the begging. It wasn’tthe pleading. It wasn’tthe crying. It was the
decision. There is unbelievable power in making a right decision. God
marshals His forces behind those who decide to take Him at His Word!
Where are you today? Are you in the valley of decision? How long are you
going to stay there?
You know enough to decide.
You have the power to decide.
You can have the rewards of your decision.
It is time.
http://jonathanjordan.squarespace.com/journal/2011/8/29/the-power-of-
decision-a-sermon.html

146. Following Jesus
Following Jesus – What does it mean?
Following Jesus sounds so simple, but to some it is a confusing concept.
Following Jesus consists of:
The desire to follow Him
Having faith in Jesus and who He is
Accepting the offer of eternal life He extends to us.
It is that simple. Once we do so, we are agreeing to submitting or
surrendering ourselves to Jesus, to pattern our lives after Him and to place
our relationship with Him above our own will and desires. Following Jesus is
a life-changing commitment to be taken seriously. What does all of that mean?
Following Jesus is making a very personal, individual decision. It is a choice
every human is offered and must choose throughfaith. Following Jesus is not
about religion, since different denominations or religions tell us there are
dozens of different ways to follow Him. Being followers ofJesus Christ is
associatedmostwith Christianity, but God never intended Jesus to be for a
selectgroup of people. God intended for everyone, from every nation, to
acceptHis Son.
Following Jesus – What does it mean to acceptHim?
How is following Jesus possible? Whatdoes it mean to acceptHis Son and
how do we do it? The only way is through surrendering our all (no matter our
nationality, gender or bloodline) to the one who surrendered himself for us.
“ForGod so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternallife. ForGod did not send his

147. Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him”
(John 3:16-17).
Have you ever truly loved someone so much that you would be willing to do
anything for them? Many of us have said we would. Jesus notonly said it, but
proved it. He paid the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus gave His life for us. In return,
He only asks that we follow Jesus. In John 8:12, the scriptures say “Jesus
spoke to the people once more and said, ‘I am the light of the world. If you
follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, becauseyou will have the light
that leads to life.’”
Has your life been a mess? Have you felt like you are walking in perpetual
darkness with no hope? Are you willing to submit your destructive ways to
Him and follow Him? If your answeris yes to these questions, you have the
opportunity to surrender it all to Him. He canlead you into a better, hope
filled, and blessedlife.
Following Jesus – Can I be a disciple?
Once you have made the decisionto follow Jesus, you can become one of His
disciples. The word disciple actually means to learn or follow. You may be
thinking that you are not goodenough or worthy to become a disciple of
Jesus. But the Bible tells us that He loves us all equally as Petersays in Acts
10:34-36, “Inow realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but
accepts men from every nation who fear [honor] him and do what is right.
You know the messageGodsentto the people of Israel, telling the goodnews
of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.”
Following Jesus doesn’tmean we are without trials. In fact, a greatmany
followers of Jesus have suffered tremendous persecutions. Pauladdresses this
in 2 Corinthians 12:1-9. He said, “Three different times I beggedthe Lord to

148. take it away. Eachtime he said ‘My grace is all you need. My powerworks
best in weakness.’So now I am glad to boastabout my weaknesses,so that the
powerof Christ can work through me. That is why I take pleasure in my
weaknessesand in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I
suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
God can demonstrate His might, mercy, and sovereigngrace through our
worsttimes. And He says that trials make us stronger. But as His follower, we
now have Jesus to help us, guide us, and comfort us through our trials -- large
and small. Following Jesus brings comfort and rewardbeyond our
comprehension.
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What do you think?
We have all sinned and deserve God’s judgment. God, the Father, sent His
only Son to satisfythat judgment for those who believe in Him. Jesus, the
creatorand eternalSon of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that
He died for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was buried, and
rose from the dead according to the Bible. If you truly believe and trust this in
your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your Savior, declaring, "Jesus is Lord,"
you will be savedfrom judgment and spend eternity with God in heaven.
What is your response?