| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “How to inhabit time” Our Bible verse for today: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked; a man reaps what he sows.” Galatians 6:7 (NIV) Our thought for today: “Choices have consequences” In recent days we’ve been considering the importance of habits and how it is that once we have formed our habits, our habits then form us. Over time we become what we do. Yesterday we considered how important it is to value godly character over any other achievement or possession in life, and how it’s up to us to do the things necessary to place ourselves in a position before God every day whereby the Holy Spirit can develop those qualities in us. I’m currently rereading one of my favorite books about personal responsibility. I’ve told you about it before. It’s called, “The Traveler’s Gift” by Andy Andrews. It is fiction, but the life lessons it teaches are Biblical and powerful. David Ponder is a man who is struggling greatly in life. In fact, he’s at his lowest point ever and is even considering suicide. But in a dream God takes him on a trip through time where he has encounters with significant historical figures who each team him an important life lesson. At one stop he has a meeting with President Harry Truman. The essence of Truman’s advice to David is that he is personally responsible for his own life and that the life he has is to a large degree the sum total of the choices he has made. Truman tells him, “You are where you are because of your thinking. You thinking dictates your decisions. Decisions are choices … Year’s ago you began making the choices that led you to your present situation … Until a person takes responsibility for where he is, there is no basis for moving on. The bad news is that the past was in your hands, but the good news is that the future, my friend, is also in your hands.” To a very large extent what happens to us is the result of the choices we have made. And even when we’re impacted by external events that are completely beyond our control, we still make choices about how we will respond to those events and how we will handle them. It really is true, as Paul writes in Galatians 6:7 (above), that we reap what we sow. Our thinking leads to our decisions. Our decisions are choices. Choices determine actions. Actions become habits. And over time, our habits form us – we become what we do. That being the case, give careful thought to what you do – especially to what you do habitually, day-in and day-out. Choices have consequences. God bless, Pastor Jim |
| Copyright © 2023 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. |
-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Oak Hill Baptist Church 