A Level Of Excellency In Our Decision Making

1 Peter 2:9,10 - But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation. God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His marvelous light. Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God's people. Once you received n mercy; now you have received God's mercy.

Decisions. It's a funny thing about decisions. For every decision there is a consequence. And the results of those consequences may impact our lives in a positive or negative way.

Because we are not like the world, because we are a chosen people, because we are royal priests, because we are a holy nation and because we are God's very own, we must let out words and actions line up. When talking about a level of excellency concerning our decisions, where are we on the grading scale? Are we acing through with A's?
Blowing by with B's? Carelessly caring with C's? Drowning with D's? Or falling and failing with F's? In our quest for a level of excellency, are our decisions lining up with the will of God?

Throughout the Bible, there are countless accounts of decisions that man had to make. Some decisions served to show forth man's resolve to men that no matter what they were going to hold to God's unchanging hand. While other accounts make it plain that the Lord wants to know who's side you are on.

So don't think the decisions we face today in the year 2009 are harder than the decisions faced over 2000 years ago. The Word of God says in Ecclesiastes 1:9, "History merely repents itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new." Therefore, the same decisions we face today were faced on yesterday.

In order to answer the question posed earlier, are the decisions we make lining up with the will of God, we must find out what the word decision really means and what is the will of God.

Webster's dictionary provides us with several definitions for the word decision. According to Webster, decision means the act of deciding or settling a dispute; the act of making up one's mind; a judgment or conclusion or firmness of the mind.

Because God created us with a free will, we have to make the decision to do His will. So what is the will of God? The will of God is His plan and His purpose for our lives. God desires that ll people do His will. God's will is always good, acceptable and perfect. If God's will is always good, acceptable and perfect, where does that leave us for we are not. Although we are not perfect, we strive to be. And that is what He is asking of us.

Now sometimes God's will may lead to suffering as it did with Jesus when He died for our sins. Whatever the case, we want God's will to be done not our will.

Trust in the Lord with all thy heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path - Proverbs 3:5 & 6.

In order to discern God's will and gain understanding, we must pray and fast. Jesus counts those who do God's will as His own family members. Which means, we are joint heirs with Him and we will live forever.

The mind is the seat of consciousness in which thinking, feeling and other things take place. We are constantly attacked there by the enemy. He tries to distort the truth so that we make a conscious decision to believe the lies he speaks, which in turn will put us outside the will of God. To thwart the advances of the enemy, we need to make sure when we put on our armor, we don't forget anything, especially our helmet of salvation. The helmet of salvation is protection from danger, harm or even death. It is the renewing of the spirit. It is the restoration of right relationship with God. At all costs we must protect our minds. Fro the enemy desires to steal, kill and destroy us and our relationship with God.

Romans 12:2 part b and c of that verse says, "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Renewing the mind simply means allowing spiritual transformation (change) to take place to reshape and reform the way we think.

Being that we live in a time when instant gratification and gaining material possessions consumes and clouds the thoughts of many, it is extremely important that we (the believers) talk the talk and walk the walk. For this generation is looking for proof that the decisions that were made on our yesterday are the same we decisions we make today.

In the book of Joshua, we see the children of Israel had become a nation of pagan worshipers. Even though God used Moses to lead them out of Egypt and even though the mantle of leadership was passed from Moses to Joshua, the Israelites make the decision to bow down to false idols. Don't we see this happening today. Joshua 24:15, Joshua is showing the Israelites where he stands. "And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your father served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Just because Joshua was the leader of the Israelites, he still had a decision to make, whether to serve God or to serve the pagan gods of the land. Doesn't that sound familiar in what we face today. So many things are replacing God. Joshua however, chose God. Now some may say Joshua spoke to be boastful and put fear into the children of Israel so they would follow him. Not so. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus says: "NO MAN can serve two masters; for you will hate the one and love the other, or he will be loyal (hold) to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (wealth, property, money, or anything you put before God)." We serve a jealous God and we are to have no other gods before him. In making the decision to serve God and God only like Joshua did, the decision we made lines up with the will of God.

The woman with the issue of blood gives us another example of a decision lining up with God's will. According to the Bible, this woman went all over from doctor to doctor seeking some type of medical help. She drained her bank account trying different remedies all of which failed. Question: How many of us have ever been in this situation? I know I can testify to this. But she heard of a man from Galilee who was passing by and she made a decision despite her condition to press her way to Jesus, knowing her life was at risk being around people in what they considered an unclean state. Have you ever had to press your way no matter what the situation or circumstance looked like? She knew if she could just touch the hem (HEM) not him (HIM) of His garment she would be made whole. So she reached and touched and Jesus said, "Someone has touched me." Now imagine the fear that woman must have felt. But Jesus simply said, "Your faith had made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction." Because she made the decision to get to Jesus no matter what, because she made the decision not to let the crowds of people deter her from her goal, she received the healing she needed. You say what does this have to do with our decisions lining up with the will of God? When you make the decision no to care who sees you seeking God, when we make the decision to press on in spite of how we feel, we are lining up with will of God and a level of excellency is bestowed upon us. For how can we attain a level of excellence if we have no one to pattern ourselves after. We learn from the successes and failures of our ancestors. Remember, God above all wishes that none should perish. And in order for that to happen, we must make the decision to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. For no man can come unto the Father but by Him. And that Him is JESUS!

The greatest decision we can make is choosing Jesus. Because that decision line up with the will of God. He gives us a priceless and precious gift. Jesus says in John 8:12, " I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have light that leads to life." Eternal life is the greatest reward we can receive for making the decision to line up with the will of God and choose Jesus.

We all want to get the level of excellence where our decisions line up with God's will. In order for that to happen, we must develop a relationship with God. Before we arise from our beds we should ask God what is His plan for our life today. If you really want to see how awesome God really is, ask Him what shall you put on today. Now it may sound strange. But what you are doing is having an intimate one on one with God. Before leaving home make the decision to put the whole armor of God on. Don't leave anything behind. As you walking out of your door, make the decision that nothing will separate me from the love of God, no death, no life, no angels, no demons, no fears, no worries, no powers, no principalities, no spiritual wickedness in high places, no depth, no height, no situation or circumstance, no man or woman, no boy or girl, no devil in hell will make me change my mind. A songwriter penned, "I have decided to follow Jesus. Though none go with me still I will follow. The cross before me, the world behind me. No turning back. No turning back."

Strive for a level of excellence. Say that the decisions I make from this day forth will line up with the will of God. Declare, I will attain a level of excellence in the mighty, majestic and powerful name of Jesus Christ.

Be Blessed!

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