Making Sound Decisions

       I am currently reading in 1 Samuel, and as I was reading through chapter ten, I read something very interesting.  After pouring oil on Saul's head to anoint him king over Israel, Samuel informs Saul of several events that will take place.  Then, Samuel makes the following statement in verse seven-"And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee."

       This really struck me!  So often, we think that we must pray before we make ANY decision, but that's not what the Bible says here.  Rather, it teaches us an important lesson-If we live our lives constantly seeking God through prayer and through His Word, and if we live completely surrendered to Him, then we will be able to make decisions that will honor and glorify Him!  I am not suggesting that we never need to pray before making decisions-sometimes we do need to.  But many times, a Spirit-filled Christian will be able to make the right decision, simply because He knows the heart of his Father.  God created us with minds that are way more powerful and brilliant than any device ever made by man-so let's use our brains!

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever."  Psalm 111:10

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."  2 Timothy 1:7

2013 In Review (Goals)

       Now that 2013 is in the books, I am going to do a recap of my goals for 2013.  I missed quite a few of them, but I know that the goals I set did help me to serve God better than I would have done otherwise.  So here is how it went......

1.  Read the Bible through in eight months.  (I actually started on this goal on December 1, so my goal is to finish before August 1).  

Result- I did manage to accomplish this one, and God taught me a lot in the process! 

2.  Finish memorizing the book of I Corinthians.  (I am working on chapter five right now, since I did the first four chapters last year.)

Result- I made it to chapter nine, verse ten.  Not as good as I should have done; I'm going to try to be more consistent this year.

3.  Lead ten people to the Lord.  (This looks pretty daunting for me, but with God, all things are possible!  And if I miss the mark on this goal and only see 5 people saved, that would still be more than last year!)  

Result-  God gave me the privilege of leading two people to Him this year; let me tell you, there is no better feeling!  But at the end of the day, may we all remember to simply be obedient to God's call to share to Gospel; we can't save anybody, but we definitely have a God that can!

4.  Share the gospel or give a tract to an average of two people per week.

Result- I finished this goal on December 31.  (I need to work on not procrastinating this year!)

5.  Start a blog (check!) and post at least once per week.

Result- I started the blog, but only did about half as many posts as I wanted to do!

6.  Spend quality time with siblings.  Young people looking for opportunities to serve should begin with their own families.  

Result- I had the opportunity to make some amazing memories with my siblings; they are the best in the world.  However, I think that a lot of time young people (myself included) take their siblings for granted.  May we never forget to cherish the moments that we have with our loved ones, for they could be gone tomorrow.

7.  Read the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.  It is important that we understand how and why America was founded, and these two documents are a good place to start.

Result- Yikes!  I missed this one, which is really pathetic, because it's not very hard!  I am definitely going to make this a goal for this year.

8.  Read "Her Knight in Shining Armor," by a friend of mine, evangelist Caleb Garraway.  This book is a call to young men to rise up and be the man that God wants them to be, as they prepare for marriage.

Result- My dad went through this book with me and several of my brothers, and we had a great time.  I have an awesome dad!

9.  Smile and laugh more!  I sincerely believe that we as Christians need to loosen up and enjoy life more.  Why do we (including myself) go around with such long faces, when we have been given so much?

Result- It's kind of tough to measure this one, but I'm fairly certain that I did not improve in this area!  Praise God, I can work on it again this year!

10.  Do push-ups every day.  This one may not be as "Spiritual" as some of my other goals; however, I do want my body to last as long as possible in order to serve God as long as possible.

Result- My pushups went well until about March.......

11. Be consistent in my prayer life.  I find that sometimes it is easy to pray, and sometimes it isn't; however, it is important to talk to God regularly, even when we don't feel like it.

Result- This went well at times, and not so well at other times.  I definitely need to improve in this area.

12. Improve on the banjo and guitar.  I play music for the honor and glory of God, so I want to do my best for Him.

Result- I think I got a little better, maybe?

13. Preach the Gospel every opportunity I have.  I feel very strongly that God wants me to be a preacher, so I want to take every chance I get to proclaim the Gospel, and the incredible truths found in His Word.

Result- God gave me multiple opportunities to preach this year, and these times were some of my highlights!

14. Have a more grateful heart.  Ungratefulness comes from pride.  When someone is ungrateful, it is either because they didn't get what they thought they deserved, or because they don't realize that the blessings they have received are given to them by God.  God loves to hear His children express their gratefulness for what He has done in their lives!

Result- I think I've been struggling in this area recently; I definitely need to work on this!

15. Encourage others to serve God whole-heartedly.  It burdens me greatly when I see others (especially young people) wasting their lives on trivial things, while millions of people are lost and on their way to hell.  Hebrews 10:24 says, "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:"  This week, encourage someone to serve God!

Result- This one is a little hard to measure; I know I can always improve in this area!

       Next week, I will be posting some goals I have for this year.  If any of ya'll have a goal for 2014, just leave a comment; I would love to hear about it!  "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.  Amen."  2 Corinthians 13:14

Have A Good Name

       Proverbs 22:1 says, "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold."  Considering that Solomon, who had incredible riches, was the one who said this, having a good name must be very valuable.  
      
       There are two reasons why we should strive to have a good name.  First, we need a good name so we can serve God well.  Consider this- a person can spend a lifetime building a good reputation, only to tear that reputation down in a few short minutes of folly and sin.  And while God definitely forgives sin, men aren't quick to forget.  For example, a pastor could live his whole life in a Godly way, but even one moment of yielding to temptation could totally destroy his ministry.  Why is that?  It is because people would have a hard time trusting him again.

       The second reason we should have a good testimony is this- as Christians, we don't want to give unbelievers an occasion to blaspheme God ( 2 Samuel 12:14 ).  When we don't walk what we talk, the world looks at us and says, "I definitely don't want to be like THAT hypocrite!"  When we act ungodly, we are being a terrible witness.

       So remember- as Christians, we are to be Christ-like.  If someone could see you every minute of every day, would they think that you were more like a little Christ, or a little devil?