Pastor’s April 2019 Article

Choices

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. (John 16:13)

Life poses many important choices for us to make each day.  Certainly, the most important choice a person makes is whether or not they are going to follow God, the Creator who formed them.  Each day, perhaps even each moment, we make decisions which lead us closer or further from God. God has equipped us with the tools to discern His presence and the direction He wishes us to go.  Our conscience, intuition, and the spirit God placed inside each person helps us to discern which choices lead us closer to God in Christ and which lead toward our own decline.

As you reflect on what God would have you do during Lent, I would encourage you to spend more time reading the Bible and in prayer.  The Bible contains much of the Word of God for us. And in your relationship with the living Christ you will receive more of God’s living Word.  Jesus himself will speak to you if you only take the time to pray and listen. The Spirit will also advise you as to the choices you should make as you live each day.  

During spring break and Easter, as we spend more time with family and friends, we will be faced with many choices:  to forgive or hold that grudge, to accept or reject, to acknowledge or ignore, to love or withhold love. Each time we make a right choice we draw a bit closer to the divine presence and clarify the image that God designed us to reflect.  Each time we consciously make a wrong choice we tarnish that image.

My prayer for this season is that each of us will become more conscious of our decisions and how they affect our relationship with Jesus Christ and with others.  That we will chose to think and act in ways that reflect Christ to others. And that by doing so, we will draw closer to Christ and cause others to draw closer. After all, our eternal joy depends on it.