Considering past decisions

Have you ever thought back over your life and considered the decisions you have made; especially those that have taken you in a new direction? We have all made good decisions and bad ones. Hopefully, there have been more good ones than bad, and there would be, if we would just stop and think before we act.

Far too many of our decisions have been made because of emotional circumstances, and these can often get us into trouble. For example: We make thousands of decisions within a day’s time. Most are nearly without thought, even by reflex. Our decisions can go from the mundane on one end, to the critically important on the other end. Rare is the child, especially teenagers, who willingly listen to and obey their parent’s every word. It’s just part of growing up. “Parents are old fogies who just want to cramp my style,” so they think.

This is pretty much the same attitude God gets from people of all ages who refuse to listen to Him. If we are Christians, and have this attitude, it will quickly leave our immature mind as we mature in Him. We will always be His child, and we know where home is. However, to have this attitude as an unbeliever, and refuse to listen, can cause me eternal damage, an eternity in hell.

Press forward

Yes, we have all made good and bad decisions down here on earth. What should we do about those bad decisions we have made on this earth? We just press forward as the Apostle Paul said: “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

That is the best advice you will ever read or hear on this subject. It should be! It came from the Holy Spirit of God. The Lord Jesus is the Author of the Bible, and that is what He advised Paul, for himself, and for us.

It’s not easy sometimes to put those bad decisions behind us, but that is the only way to properly move on in our lives. For example.

• What benefit is there for a divorced couple to hold onto bad feelings and fight? None, it just makes a bad situation worse.
• What benefit is there in holding a grudge? It just makes us bitter and miserable.
• What benefit is there to grieve over something stupid we did? None, we just waste time and become miserable.

Is our dwelling on the situation going to change anything, or would it be better to forget it and move on? A decision can be made at this point for the good, or the bad.

Decision that relies on our emotions

We should be very careful about any decision that relies on our emotions. That isn’t to say that emotions are bad. An emotionless person is a dead person. Emotions are great. Enjoy your emotions but use your brain to make decisions. I’ll give some examples.

• You’re driving down the road with a tailgater on your bumper. Your emotions say get even, but your emotions don’t tell you just how far the tailgater would go to retaliate. Your brain says, “Yes it makes me mad, but let it go.” Now which makes more sense? Do you make a decision from your emotions or your brain?
• Someone called you “stupid.” It doesn’t set well. You would like to call them something worse. Wait a minute! Are you stupid? I didn’t think so. So why not just consider the source, and move on? Its decision time again.
• You made a decision, years ago, to carry a grudge against someone. They don’t know it, but you keep hanging on to it. Tell me, who is the grudge hurting? It isn’t them. They aren’t even aware you have a grudge against them. Looks like you’re the only one left. Could that be why you have high blood pressure and ulcers? So, one more time, who is the grudge hurting? Don’t you need to make a sensible decision?

Have we ever considered how one decision can affect the rest of our lives? It can completely change the course of our lives. I think we’ve seen that in the above examples. Think about your decisions. This is a relatively short article that could have been quite long, but is it not already clear, that the decisions we make can change the course of our lives, for the good or the bad?

The greatest decision

The greatest decision any of us could ever make in our entire life, concerns our eternal future. Where am I going to spend eternity? Do I believe in an eternity after death? Do I believe in God? Will I accept what He says?

If you haven’t made a decision about Jesus Christ, you need to do so now. Not only will the remainder of this life be affected, but the remainder of your eternity. Do you want to feel worthy and useful again? Now is the time to make your life right with God and accept Jesus into your life.

Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised His from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved”.

If you are ready to accept Jesus into your life speak the following prayer out loud.

“Dear God, I know I am a sinner. I repent and want to turn from my sins, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe He died for my sins and that You raised Him to life. I want Him to come into my heart and to take control of my life. I want to trust Jesus as my Savior and follow Him as my Lord from this day forward. In Jesus’ Name amen.”

If you have said this prayer with your heart, you are now an adopted child of God and heir with Jesus Christ and entitled to eternal life with Him. His Holy Spirit has come to live inside you. The Holy Spirit will comfort, guide lead and convict you of sins so you may ask forgiveness.