Good morning everyone, your friend MB here after months of hiatus from it, it’s time for me to add an entry to the Nuggets of knowledge series.

This one is about choice, and the fact that each of us always has one as far as it comes to our faith in God.

I’m going to take a different approach to this article though. In this one, I’m going to tell you a little story. I hope that this story will properly illustrate my point for all of you who read it.

Before I begin the story, here’s a short list of bible verses that show that we as humans all have a choice regarding whether or not we are going to follow God.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live…”

Joshua 24:15: “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Mark 8:34: “And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'”

Revelation 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

Matthew 23:37: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

Joshua 24:14: “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.”

Many people in the world today will say that God doesn’t really give you a choice because they don’t see hell as a viable choice.

However, that’s not true.

Hell is indeed a viable choice. The choice is at its core whether or not you will follow God and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

It does, however, extend to where you will spend eternity after you die. If you choose to follow God and you do so with all your heart, mind, body, soul, and strength…then you will have chosen him, and therefore chosen life, eternal, in heaven with him after you passed from this world.

If you choose against him in your heart, then you will be given what you asked for in your life on earth… Separation from him.

That separation will be in hell for all eternity.

It is a choice. It’s a choice that is simple, clear and easy. God does not mince words with us in his word, nor is he deceptive in his actions.

He is clear from the start and always has been. If you choose to be away from him in life, you will be away from him in death.

Conversely, if you choose to be close to him in life, you will be close to him in death.

Simple, easy, straightforward and to the point. That is the choice that all humans have to make as they walk this earth.

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Story time!

Once upon a time, there was a man; this man had lived a very sinful life from the time he was a teenager until he was a young adult.

This man was a thief, this man was a liar, this man was sexually immoral; this man let his temper get the best of him and sinned in the heat of anger. This man cheated, this man manipulated people… Most egregiously, though, this man… Called himself a Christian.

He lived his life the way he wanted to, minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year and decade after decade.

For six days out of the week, he would be as godless as he wanted to and went to church on Sunday to “get clean”.

As you can see, he abused God’s mercy, love and grace and saw them as a license to sin.

He claimed he knew Jesus, and also that Jesus was more than just his savior, he claimed that Jesus was his friend.

Does he sound like a good friend to you?

Does this man sound like a friend you would want?…I didn’t think so.

Jesus had mercy and grace on this man just as he does for all of us.

He forgave him again and again and again and again for every sin he committed.

When the man would come in repentance to ask for forgiveness on Sunday mornings… Jesus would give it to him. Jesus would give it to him and open his arms to the man.

Only to have this man turn his back on him one hour later.

One day after 25 years of this… the man’s time came, his life ended.

It didn’t end in a sick bed, it didn’t end slowly, but instead very abruptly.

In the blink of an eye, this man’s life came to a screeching halt.

Looks like the end of him, right?

Wrong.

In his infinite mercy and out of his infinite love, God gave the man another chance.

God did a miracle and raised this man from the dead.

I wish I could say that this man changed his life for the better.

I wish I could say he made a complete 180 and turned back to God.

However, he did not.

He did not turn from his sinful ways.

He continued his life, just as he had been living it prior to this gift of mercy that God presented him with.

For the next decade, he continued down the path to hell.

For the next decade, he ignored every chance that God gave him.

For the next decade, he ignored every single time he heard the still small voice of God, urging him to turn away from his wicked ways.

The only changes brought about after this man was brought back to life was that he became more “churchy”. He did so thinking that that would be enough. He did so singing “I can work my way into God’s good graces. I don’t have to change how I live. I just have to do good.”

Until…

One night when the man was praying his usual soulless and empty prayer.

On this night, God decided to answer him in a way he could never deny and would never have expected.

You see, the man had given his life to Jesus many years ago, but he never gave his heart to him. That’s why his prayers were empty: because he doesn’t yet mean them with his heart and soul.

The man prays the right words but they are hollow.

He worships, but the truth of his heart and spirit don’t match the words he sings; he’s nothing more than a clanging cymbal to God.

He has built walls around himself that the Lord has torn down several times.

Through his feelings and actions, he has quenched the Holy Spirit several times.

This time is different though, this night is different. God has had enough and will give this man one final chance.

The man finished praying and was ready to stand up when the Lord himself decided to speak.

“Do not rebuild the walls, My son.  Do not allow them to come up again for this time they will stay up. I will not bring you out from behind them again. I will not bring you out from your OWN darkness again. These walls are not demonic, my son, they are of your own fear, apprehension and unwillingness to submit to my will for you. I have brought them down for you this final time. Do not bring them up again. Trust in me, abide in me, Live in me, and live for me, NOT YOURSELF.”

With those words… The man felt the gravity of his situation.

The man did not feel the anger of God, thankfully but instead his sadness.

He could feel God’s heart longing for him… Pleading for him… Breaking for him.

He could see for the first time how far he had fallen. He could see for the first time just how close he was to the flames of hell.

Most importantly he could see just how far away he was from the God he claimed to both love and serve.

This man changed from that day forward.

He chose to abandon his sinful life and do everything he could to turn toward God and live for him from that day forward.

To this day, the man is learning. To this day, the man seeks God’s face. To this day like everyone else the man does sin but now he runs to God immediately with a truly repentant heart.

He has abandoned his overtly sinful ways and habits, and seeks to live a life that is holy and set apart from the world and for God.

Is he perfect? Absolutely not, no human can be. But his heart posture has truly changed.

Once upon a time, there was a man; this man had lived a very sinful life from the time he was a teenager until he was a young adult.

This man was a thief, this man was a liar, this man was sexually immoral, this man let his temper get the best of him and sinned in the heat of anger, this man cheated, this man manipulated people… Most egregiously, though this man… Called himself a Christian.

He lived his life the way he wanted to minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year and decade after decade.

For six days out of the week, he would be as godless as he wanted to and went to church on Sunday to “get clean”.

As you can see, he abused God’s mercy, love and grace and saw them as a license to sin. He claimed he knew Jesus, and also that Jesus was more than just his savior, he claimed that Jesus was his friend.

This man was self-righteous.
This man was deceived.
This man was stubborn.
This man was self-centered.
This man was headed for hell.
This man was me.

I’m here to tell you now that you have a choice.

You always have a choice.

Choose God, not the world. Choose to follow his will, not your own.

Choose Jesus.

Choose repentance.

Choose salvation.

Choose life. Do not choose this world… and do not choose yourself.

-MB