Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.
How do you make choices? What counts in a buying decision? Is your focus on looks, glitter? How much does it matter to you that it is the choice of the rich and famous? Will a fast-talking salesman get you to over-commit for features that were not in your plans? We have lived on a tight budget for so long that we learned to make good choices from necessity. We try not to make the same mistake twice and to learn from the mistakes of others.
When I began to consider a new mower, it was not a whim, the old one had become unreliable and its steering actively hurt my arthritic hands (RA, the kind that both aches and damages). I talked to a friend who had bought a good mower, but then the dealer quit carrying that brand, and their service became grudging. He must now drive further. I talked to neighbors and even tried out their mowers. I listened to a salesman and he skillfully explained all the benefits of his brand. Then I talked to others who own that brand and others who have dealt with that dealer. I asked the dealer, you are my age, what happens when you retire and he replied, “My two sons have been in the business with me for __ years”. Furthermore, he has dealt the same brand for 30+ years.
How do you make your spiritual decisions? It is a mighty big investment, much more than a mower. Do you check out the features and consider the consequences of getting an inferior product? Can you afford to start over later if you “lose your shirt” on a bad choice?
Paganism ruled for thousands of years and came to despair by the time of Christ —no hope, no meaning, no answers, no power. This is one reason that it was “the fullness of times” for Christ, and the gospel swept the world.
God is stable. He has always been there with the same product—life. He has always offered mercy and grace as part of his finance plan. His power has been proven over and over by prediction, miracles, resurrection. The life he gives does not offer as much glitter and fun as the popular one. He places limits on your choices and makes demands that no other philosophy does. If “weekends” are the goal of your life, He is not for you. But make an informed choice. If you go for the pleasure here, that is all there is, ever, and there is no guarantee you will have much pleasure at that.
Buy from God.
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in the field; which a man found, and hid; and in his joy he goes and sells all that he hath, and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a merchant seeking goodly pearls: and having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Matthew 13:44-46.
Keith Ward
How do you make choices? What counts in a buying decision? Is your focus on looks, glitter? How much does it matter to you that it is the choice of the rich and famous? Will a fast-talking salesman get you to over-commit for features that were not in your plans? We have lived on a tight budget for so long that we learned to make good choices from necessity. We try not to make the same mistake twice and to learn from the mistakes of others.
When I began to consider a new mower, it was not a whim, the old one had become unreliable and its steering actively hurt my arthritic hands (RA, the kind that both aches and damages). I talked to a friend who had bought a good mower, but then the dealer quit carrying that brand, and their service became grudging. He must now drive further. I talked to neighbors and even tried out their mowers. I listened to a salesman and he skillfully explained all the benefits of his brand. Then I talked to others who own that brand and others who have dealt with that dealer. I asked the dealer, you are my age, what happens when you retire and he replied, “My two sons have been in the business with me for __ years”. Furthermore, he has dealt the same brand for 30+ years.
How do you make your spiritual decisions? It is a mighty big investment, much more than a mower. Do you check out the features and consider the consequences of getting an inferior product? Can you afford to start over later if you “lose your shirt” on a bad choice?
Paganism ruled for thousands of years and came to despair by the time of Christ —no hope, no meaning, no answers, no power. This is one reason that it was “the fullness of times” for Christ, and the gospel swept the world.
God is stable. He has always been there with the same product—life. He has always offered mercy and grace as part of his finance plan. His power has been proven over and over by prediction, miracles, resurrection. The life he gives does not offer as much glitter and fun as the popular one. He places limits on your choices and makes demands that no other philosophy does. If “weekends” are the goal of your life, He is not for you. But make an informed choice. If you go for the pleasure here, that is all there is, ever, and there is no guarantee you will have much pleasure at that.
Buy from God.
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in the field; which a man found, and hid; and in his joy he goes and sells all that he hath, and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a merchant seeking goodly pearls: and having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Matthew 13:44-46.
Keith Ward
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