choices

Every day we make hundreds of choices Some of them seem to have no consequence, but mixed up in the middle of all those easy choices are the ones that are critical, ones that have eternal consequences You choose where to sit when you come into a room Most likely, it would be of no consequence, but the possibility is that it could have eternal consequences. You could say a word to your neighbor that would change his life and his family's for generations I have made choices in my life that have completely turned my life around, but at the time, I didn't have any idea that they were critical. Some of them were good, some bad I 've learned it pays to pray about everything No doubt, that's why Paul said, "Pray without ceasing" Listed below are some crucial choices made by well-known people in the Bible and the consequences thereof 1) Genesis 2:17, 3:14-29 God told Adam and Eve to stay away from a certain tree They could eat of every other tree, just stay away from one. They were told that the consequences of disobedience would be death. This should have been a great help in making the right choice, but they failed anyway. That consequence brought the curse of death on the whole human race 2) Genesis 4 God commanded Cane and Abel both to bring a blood sacrifice for the covering of their sins. Abel brought a lamb (right choice) Cam brought a basket of fruit (wrong choice) God loved Cain so much that he even reasoned with him and told him that he could change his mind (vs 7) However, Cain got angry and made another bad choice. He killed his brother This brought a curse on him and his family Right after that, he made another bad choice. "He went out from the presence of God." (Gen 4:1) He could have chosen to repent and God would have forgiven him. 3) Genesis 16 God promised Abraham a son, but when God delayed the fulfillment, Abraham chose to take matters into his own hands He had the child, Ishmael, with his Egyptian maid. Ishmael's descendants, the Arabs, have been at war with Israel ever since. It was a bad choice. 4) Genesis 22:7-9 Isaac was faced with a hard decision He was probably a young adult when he was climbing a mountain to make a sacrifice unto the Lord with his father In verse 7, Isaac asks, "Where is the lamb?" When Isaac heard he was to be that sacrifice, he had a choice to make, to run or submit! He submitted and because of that choice, he became a type of Christ, submitting to the cross In our walk with the Lord, we often have to make choices about either running from, or submitting to God's dealings 5) Genesis 25:31-34 Esau was the firstborn and was to inherit all the blessings However, one day he became very hungry and sold his birthright to Jacob for something to eat. How many people give up their inheritance in Christ for a little material pleasure? He did not value God's covenant promises Esau made a bad choice and all his descendants suffered for it. So many times, our choices affect many others around us! 6) Hebrews 11:25 Moses was the opposite of Esau. He chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short while. Because of that good choice, Moses became the greatest leader this world has ever known. 7) Nation of Israel Before Israel was to enter the promise land, Moses gave them this warning (Deut. 30:19) "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." 8) Joshua 24:15 Joshua, the successor of Moses, also warned the people to stay with God He told them, "Choose you this day whom you will serve. . .as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." But Israel made so many wrong choices that God let them be conquered and scattered all over the world 9) 1 Samuel 10:8, 13:8 and 31:2 King Saul was given strict orders by Samuel twice, and chose to disobey both times For this, he lost the kingdom and his life. 10) 1 Samuel 23:17 Jonathan made a sad choice He was the Crown Prince of Israel, but God revealed to him that David was to be the next king. Jonathan loved David dearly and was glad to take the lower position. So, he pledged his allegiance to David, but when he met David in the wilderness, he wasn't willing to stay with him. He would return to his father, King Saul. Then a war broke out and Saul and all his sons were killed. If Jonathan had stayed with David, he would, doubtless, have lived to rule with David (Incidentally, Christians who aren't willing to go all out for Jesus will miss the golden opportunity of ruling with Christ in the millennium 11) Psalm 27:4 David, one of the greatest men that ever lived, made good choices In one sentence he gives the key to success: "One thing have I desired (or chosen) of the Lord, that will 1 seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. David was a man after God's own heart! We won't go into the one big mistake he made at this time i 12) 1 Samuel 2:33 Eli chose not to discipline his two sons and instead of living the good life, they died in their youth. 13) Judges 19 Samson was chosen by the Lord to be a judge of Israel He would have made a wonderful leader, but he had a weakness for women and he chose to give in to it rather than fight it. He paid with his life. ; 14) Ruth 1:16 Ruth and Orpah were two Moabite women who married the two sons of Naomi, an Israelite. They both learned of the salvation of the Lord. When Naomi decided to move back to Israel, they had to choose to go or stay. Ruth chose to go with Naomi. She said, "Your God will be my God. " She was rewarded with the honor of being David's great grandmother. Orpah was never heard of again. j 15) Esther 4:13 Esther was the Queen, but she could only see the King when he invited her. Anyone entering his court without an invitation would be put to death. When a law was passed to kill all the Jews in the land, Esther had to choose risking her life to see the King and ask for help, or to ignore the situation. She chose the first and saved thousands of lives. 16) At the crucifixion of our Lord we see two thieves were crucified with him, one chose to scoff at him, one chose to believe Him. One went to heaven, the other to hell. 17) Two disciples betrayed the Lord. One chose to repent and receive God's mercy (Peter), the other chose to kill himself. (Judas) One went to heaven, the other went to hell. Choices that face us every day: 18) To walk the broad or the narrow way (Matthew 7:13) 19) To build on sand or on the Rock (Matthew 7 24) 20) To build with gold and silver, or wood and hay (1 Corinthians 3:12) 21) To walk in the flesh or in the Spirit (Romans 8,1 & 14) 22) To open the door to Jesus or not (Revelations 3:20 {not salvation}) 23) To let the Word of God dwell in you (memori/je) or not (Colossians 3:16) 24) To be filled with the Spirit or not (Ephesians 5:18) 25) To be witnesses unto Jesus or not (Acts 1:8) 26) To keep yourself unspotted from the world or not (James 1 27) The Lord give us the knowledge as to what is at stake and the wisdom to make the right choice.