I recently made this confession during church on a Sunday morning. I’m a Country-Western music fan! Even if you don’t like the genre, you have to admit the titles are great; “May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose,” “Mississippi Squirrel,” “You Can’t Roller Skate in A Buffalo Herd,” “If the Phone Don’t Ring, Baby, You’ll Know It’s Me,” or “Her Teeth Was Stained, But Her Heart Was Pure.”
I used another country song that Sunday by George Jones—considered one of the greatest country music singers of all time. A lot of his songs were the stereotypical “cheat’n & drink’n” songs. Many of his songs came from the bad choices he made in life. Drunk at the wheel, George almost died when he crashed his Lexus into a bridge in Nashville. After he recovered, he came out with a new hit song titled Choices: “I’ve had choices since the day that I was born.
There were voices that told me right from wrong. I’m living and dying with the choices I made.” The key phrase in that song is: “I’m Living and Dying with The Choices I Made.”
You and I make choices every day. Some are insignificant— others are life changing. In the Gospel of John, Chapter Six, Jesus had just fed the 5,000, He walked on the Sea, He claimed to be “living bread” from heaven, and yet, the Jews began to quarrel and argue about His claims causing hundreds of His followers to desert Him because of His teaching. In verse 66 we read: “ 66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”
You see, Jesus asked them to choose. Make a choice. Make a commitment about where you go from here. Their response begins with verse 68: “ 68 . . . Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The disciples chose to follow God, and . . .
That same choice is yours and mine today!
Life is full of choices and decisions. Each day we make decisions, some important, and others not so much. Sometimes we allow all the little decisions to “stack up,” and they seem to grow and take on a life of their own. Other times they are less significant; we choose when to go to bed and when to get up, what to eat and what not to eat, what to wear and what not to wear. We decide what our priorities are! Amid all of our daily activities, we can lose focus on the things that really matter.
You’ll recall the story in Mark 10:21 (NKJV) . . . the story where a rich young ruler came to Jesus seeking eternal life. The young man left in sorrow because he would not let go of his stuff. He chose what was most important to him, and . . . The same choice is yours and mine today!
Choice #1 is to Love the LORD your God and keep His commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in His ways. If you do, you will live, and God will bless you. Choice #2 is to turn your heart away from Him, refuse to listen, and serve yourself and worship other gods. If that is your choice, the Bible says you will certainly be destroyed. These are the choices between Eternal Life and Eternal Death. If you say you love Christ, but you’re rebellious towards His Word, and do not obey ALL of His commandments—the Bible says you are lying.
That same choice is yours and mine today!
There will be no excuses in Heaven. If you love the Lord, you will commit your life to Him.
You choose: Eternal joy and peace with Him in heaven, or eternal damnation and torment in hell. YOU CHOOSE!
Always in His Service, Pastor Ron Fellowship Church of the Nazarene