June 30th “Here I Stand: Decisions”
Have you ever looked back at something that happened years ago in your life and said, “if I only knew then what I know now”? They say hindsight is 20/20. We make decisions everyday not really considering how that decision might impact our future.
Major decisions get a lot of attention; who should I marry? Should I purchase a home? What kind of car should I drive? Little decisions, like what time to get up, or how much should I eat, or even what should I eat, those kinds of decisions we often think of them as being inconsequential. Yet, they quietly influence our lives.
Small choices can sometimes set off a chain reaction, like the ripples on a calm lake when you throw a large rock into it. If you choose to get up fifteen minutes earlier and use that time to walk, or read your Bible, or maybe communicate with your spouse, that simple choice might have a cumulative effect on your life.
Small choices can have a compound effect. Joanne and I discovered this over 20 years ago now when we started following a reading plan for the Bible. We cannot remember when we started, but it was not too long after we were married, and we have read the bible over 20 times now. It only takes all of ten to twelve minutes a day but has a profound effect over time. We are confident in our biblical knowledge and can now recall bible verses and use them in specific situations in our life. Saving a little bit out of each paycheck, eating a little bit less each day, or eating something healthier each day, often can have a profound effect on our life in the long haul.
At the end of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells the parable of the house built on the Rock. He says to choose between the Rock (me and the truth) and be wise, or the sand (the enemy and his lies) and be foolish. This choice is not a one-time decision, but rather daily, big, and small decisions. These decisions add up over time, the storms of life will come. The firmness or the weakness of our foundation will be revealed.
Join us this week as we learn how ‘taking a stand’ is impacted by our everyday, ‘little’ decisions and how you can make daily decisions that will impact your life over time.
-Pastor Ken Harste