Decisions, Decisions

 Dear friends, 

I promise there will be spring this year. I know it doesn’t seem to be a possibility when our overnight temperatures are setting records. As I remember, there is precedent for freezing temps in early May. One year I witnessed a beautiful stand of alfalfa suffer a hard freeze on about the tenth of May. It was a Sunday, and after church I mowed the whole forty acres down. It turned out to be a good decision because I saved that crop. Do not despair, warmer weather will come.  

 

Speaking of decisions, we make them every day. In some situations, it can happen moment by moment. We rise in the morning and decide what to wear, what we are going to have for breakfast, and so on. When planning a journey to a particular city, we decide what road we will take and the time of our departure. In our family there have been wrong turns resulting in what we laughingly call the ‘scenic route’ to our destination. 

 

We also make choices or decisions that affect our future. Some examples would be education, vocation, or even where we will put down our roots and raise our family. Some decisions are just a result of day-to-day existence, but others have much longer lasting consequences. 

 

From a biblical perspective, we are instructed to make right choices, or decisions. In giving the children of Israel the Law, God said through Moses, “Look, today I set before you a blessing and a curse: there will be a blessing, if you obey the commands of the Lord your God I am giving you today, and a curse, if you do not obey the commands of the Lord your God and you turn aside from the path I command you today...” (Deuteronomy 11:26-28). 

 

Joshus challenged the Israelites with these words: “Which will you worship—the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living? As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). 

 

The gospel question of the New Testament is this, what will you do with Jesus? How you answer this question will determine your eternal destination. It is your decision. Will you trust in the Lord Jesus for your eternal salvation? “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). 

 

In Him, 

Pastor Jerry 

Don't Wait!

Dear friends, 

My faithful laptop became unresponsive late last week, so I had to resurrect one of my older ones. There will be a trip to the computer doctor early in the week. I am hoping for a complete recovery, as I do not really want to buy a new one. It is amazing how dependent we are on technology. 

 

The weather news has been mostly positive where we live, but our prayers are with those who have experienced the severe storms of the past week. Also, we continue to pray for families dealing with the violence that seems to be everywhere. Storms happen because the world is broken due to Adam’s sin. Also, mankind in general is under the curse of that sin. Our enemy the Devil is active in the world. 

 

As we head into the week leading up to Easter, or Resurrection Day, it would be fitting to turn our thoughts toward God’s plan to redeem us from the ravages of sin and the storms of life. The creation is under judgment because of disobedience to his commands. Remember, Adam and Eve had just one rule to obey and under the influence of Satan they broke that one rule. Consequently, every person who ever lived was born with a sinful nature. Only one person was ever born without sin in his heart, and that one was Jesus Christ. 

 

He is the one and only who can save us. He is the only one who could pay our sin debt. The Bible says the wages of sin is death. Our sin separates us from God and only Jesus can restore that bond. God wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:2-4). The one way for people to be restored to fellowship with God is through a relationship with Jesus Christ; “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time (verses 5-6).  

 

Jesus Christ is the answer to the problems we face. Through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, we can have salvation. Many people have missed this truth. If you have breath in your body, you can be saved. After that there are no second chances. Today is the day of salvation, we are not guaranteed tomorrow. 

 

For Him, 

Pastor Jerry