"Choices"

"Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord... Then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve... But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."
Joshua 24:14-15 (NIV, selected verses)

Choices... everyday is filled with them. Some are rather trivial and some are downright dangerous... possibly deadly in fact. Some choices that are rather trivial would be like: where to go eat after church, what outfit to wear, do we want to watch television or go play outside, etc. Choices that could be downright deadly would be things such as: not obeying the speed limit, deciding to drive around the railroad crossings even though there's a train coming, deciding to tell your spouse how they really look in that outfit J , etc. Of all the choices you have to make, however, the most important one in this world is this: Who will you serve?

You have to decide because you ARE going to serve someone. It may be yourself, it may be others, it may be the world in general... or it may be the Lord. I hope that your choice will be the last one! You have to choose, because to not choose is to choose. For example, if I ask you to do something and you do it, your answer was "yes". If I ask you if you will do something and you say "yes", your answer is obviously "yes". However, if I ask you if you will do something for me and you don't say "yes" or "no" and on top of that, you don't do what I have asked, then it's obvious your answer was "no". If you don't make a decision who to follow, then by not deciding... you've made your decision, it was yourself.

I don't know about you, but when I have an important decision to make, I make up a "pros and cons" list. It really helps me to make a good decision. My advice to you (and I've done it myself a few tims) is to make up a "pros" and "cons" list for serving Jesus... What is good about it? (pro) and What is bad? (con). While there will be a few "cons", (ex.: resentment from family and friends, activities you can't participate in, ridicule and criticism directed toward you, etc.) , the "pros" (good thing) on the list is that by asking Jesus to come into your heart and choosing to follow Him, you will be forgiven of everything you have done wrong in your life and will be allowed to go to Heaven when you die. Even if this is the only "pro" you have on your list, it is worth more than ALL your "cons" that you have listed on the other side. I guarantee it!!

**Thanks to Dan Snook who gave me the inspiration for this devotion and to my wife for taking the time to type it out for me!!**