“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will (choose) to serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15

“Choose” what does that word really mean?  It is defined “to pick out or select (someone or something) as being the best or most appropriate of two or more alternatives.”  When we say the word choose, it implies that we have a choice.  It means that we have the opportunity based on our own individual personality and beliefs to make a decision.  We are not forced into it, but freely make the decision our self. Although we choose numerous things each day, today, I want to focus on our actions.  Do we choose the actions that are godly, or ones that cause us to live in the flesh?

I am convinced today that lost people are no longer going to come to church simply because we invite them. You see the lost are on the outside, and see nothing that they really need on the inside.  Why?  The reason is simple I think.  Although we proclaim to be Christians, as a whole, we simply do not “choose” a daily walk with Christ.  We do not choose to be pleasant at our job.  We do not choose to show respect on the ball field.  We do not choose to show respect to our husband/wife or our family. We do not choose to forgive.  We do not choose to show mercy or grace.  We simply choose to live life the way we want, and then in return expect others to choose to treat us kindly, or God to extend us grace. Please don’t think about other people you wish would read this devotion because it applies to them, but internalize it for yourself.  If we are all honest each of us has a part of our attitude that we can improve.  You see we cannot make choices for others, but we can be responsible for our self.  We can look at our own life and see where we are falling short, and choose to change it.  No matter what is going on around us we can be godly.  My dad would always say, “You don’t worry about everybody else, you worry about yourself”.  I can see how this is true today.

I am responsible for approximately 140 kids in my ministry, and their parents.  If you look at that number, even if I deal with only one parent and their child, that is 280 people.  If only half have two parents come the number is 350 people.  I have to resolve in my mind everyday to do my job to the best of my ability.  I will never make this many people happy all at one time. My point is that I have to take care of my own actions because that is all I can control.  I have to choose to walk with Christ, do what he has called me to do, and have faith he will take care of the rest.

You see no matter what we are facing we always have a choice.  We can always choose to control our words, our actions, and our attitude if we truly desire to do so.  No one can cause us to sin, unless we willingly do it.  It is a daily choice to take up our cross and follow the Lord.  It will not always be easy, it will not always be fair, and it will always cost us, but the rewards are endless. Remember there is no one at fault but ourselves, because we always have a choice no matter how difficult the situation.  What will we choose today- godliness or worldliness?

Sometimes we get so caught up in what we think we should do, we lose sight of what we actually should be doing?  Sometimes we think we have a great idea, but in reality it is a fiasco.  I am doing a conference in March, and their theme is  “A Time for Everything”.  As I have been thinking about this theme, there should be seasons in life, however now, instead of seasons it seems like we try to do everything we have ever wanted all at one time.  I saw this article about moms, but the principle could be applied to all our lives.  Basically we allow society to dictate to us if we are failing or succeeding in life, rather than looking at the Bible standards of living.  Read the following excerpt from the article.

"Somehow in the mixed up media world we’ve got these thoughts of moms being perfect. Society doesn’t give us a break. I mean read this article in the New York Times about the pressure on moms to look a certain way after they give birth. And then? Then we’re to be ultra creative, crafty, humorous, happy, chipper, up before dawn, to sleep after dark, with our sinks shined, and the laundry folded, and tomorrow’s breakfast in the crockpot, with tomorrow’s dinner – pulled from our once-a-month cooking thawing in the fridge, while we work out for 20 minutes on odd days and 40 minutes on even days, and our hair is always done, we’re makeup ready, our fridges are stocked, and the craft closet bursting with ideas for that quick perfect afternoon art project that we’ll place on our recycled wood and mod podged adorned hand painted chalkboard.

And, in reality, it’s 8am and we’re just getting up. The baby was up all night, or the toddler sick, or honestly, we were just tired. We get our coffee and flip on facebook and our stream is flooded with stuff people have already done {I always tell myself — different time zones} and we’re racing to catch up!" http://findingjoy.net/dear-sweet-mom-who-feels-like-she-is/

Is that what our life has come to--catching up, or keeping up with the Joneses?  I can say I have let peer pressure, even as an adult, drive me to put more on my plate than I could possibly handle.  This year my life is all about going back to the basics.  I am getting rid of all the stuff on my plate that is just there for clutter.  This has meant saying “NO”, which I am not very good at saying.  I think at some point we have to inventory our lives.  You can serve and do a million different things in life, but what is you’re calling, what are you passionate about? What would you do even if you didn’t get paid to do it?  In order to come to these conclusions it means spending a little time with yourself, and the Lord.  Sometimes this can be an unpleasant experience because often we don’t like what we see in our lives.  It reminds me of a gardening practice.  In order for flowers and plants to thrive, periodically they need to be pruned.  The same is true in our life.  We need to prune our lives in order to “bloom where we are planted”.  I am a firm believer if we don’t prune our lives, that God certainly will help us in this process, sometimes when we least expect it.

John 15 1-3 “I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.4 “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.5-8 “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.

Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying.  There are times we do things we are not passionate about because it is the right thing to do. We should always treat our church, just like we would our family.  Someone made a statement recently about how church should be like your family.  Many times we sit through recitals, piano lessons, ball practice, etc.  This may not be what we truly want to do, but we do it because we love the person.  The same is true about the church. We may not always love what is going on that particular occasion, but because we love our church, we come and support it.  I had never looked at it in that light, and I think that is a very good analogy from my wise friend.

What in your life has you running around so scattered you never find any time for those things God has really called you to do.  What could you prune from your life that would help you say, “YES” to God?  One day we will give an account for every thought and deed.  Will all our crazy activities stand the test of fire, or will they be mere ashes before the Lord. 

“Write your list of things you want to do, need to do, and would love to do today with your family. And then, do one thing from each list. If you stumble, brush yourself off, and start again. Don’t worry that the neighbor across the street seems to be doing twenty or the pinterest pin tells you that the perfect home can be achieved in 6 Easy Steps. This is your life – and you – you are the perfect person for it!!”
http://findingjoy.net/dear-sweet-mom-who-feels-like-she-is/