The Big Decision!

Everyday we are faced with choices.  What am I going to work on today?  What is the most important thing for me to focus on today?  Where do I start?

I was sitting in my office this morning having these very thoughts go through my head.  We are all very busy, and we have to make choices everyday.  It seems like on a weekly, or even daily, basis I have to put something off because it is not on the top of my priority list.  Choices are what plan my day.  I choose what I am going to do and when I am going to do it.

Making good choices is one of the keys to what we do.  As Junior High Ministers and volunteers we try to encourage Junior High students to make good choices.  We talk about the choices they make at school, home, and especially with their relationship with God.  Choices may be one of the biggest topics we talk about because there is always a choice to be made.

A few weeks ago at our church we hosted a Decision Weekend.  I have never understood why we needed to have a decision weekend.  I always think if somebody wants to choose to follow Jesus then they will just do it.  What is holding them back.  I recognize that I am not shy or timid in any way, so there are some people that look at this in a different way than I do.

We hosted Decision Weekend last year as well.  The church staff is at the church building on Saturday during the day, and then we have an extra emphasis on Sunday to make decisions as well.  The idea behind this was to help provide an easy opportunity to choose to follow Jesus.  If somebody wanted to make a decision they could come at anytime and we would help them with that decision.  We have hosted these weekends twice now and we have had over 100 decisions for Jesus.

I don’t know about you, but when I look at that I am amazed at the work God is doing.  See that is 100 people that just need something special to help them make the choice to follow the leading of Jesus.  They needed the right opportunity to make the choice they knew was needed.

In Junior High Ministry I spend a lot of time counseling students on the choices they are making, but there is not a choice more important than choosing to follow Jesus.  You see God speaks to us through scripture and shares with us about the choices we make.

Matthew 7:13 says, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.” (NLT)  Many people of the world choose the highway to Hell.

Romans 6:16 says, “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.” (NLT)  It is a choice we make who or what we follow, and who or what we are slaves too.  The choices we make matter.

Many of our students need help and encouragement when it comes to making these choices.  We can’t choose for them, but we can support them along the way.

What do you think?  Will you choose to start a discussion about this topic?  If you will then I hope you choose to comment right here on my blog.