THE POWER OF CHOICE (3 OF 4)
by Jeff Strite
Scripture: Malachi 3:7-12
This content is part of a series.
The Power of Choice (3 of 4)
Series: ABC's of Finances
Jeff Strite
Malachi 3:7-12
OPEN: Year ago, if you wanted a pair of shoes, you couldn't go down to "Payless Shoes" or "Shoe Carnival". You couldn't even go down to Sears or J.C. Penney to pick a pair of ready-made shoes to wear. There was a time when - if you wanted shoes or boots - you had to go someone called a "Shoe Cobbler."
When Ronald Reagan was a young man, an aunt had taken him to a cobbler to have a pair of shoes made for him. The shoemaker asked the young Reagan "do you want a square toe or a round toe?"
Reagan hemmed and hawed. So the cobbler said, "Come back in a day or two and let me know what you want."
A few days later the shoemaker saw Reagan on the street and asked what he had decided about the shoes. "I still have not made up my mind," the boy answered. "Very well," said the cobbler.
When Reagan received the shoes, he was shocked to see that one shoe had a square toe and the other had a round toe.
Years later Reagan commented: "Looking at those shoes every day taught me a lesson. If you do not make your own decisions, somebody else will make them for you!"
APPLY: God created us to be a people capable of making choices. And God has always given His people the power of choice
In the Old Testament, Joshua told the Israelites
"… CHOOSE for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15
God calls upon us to make a choice: to choose Him.
Because if we don't choose Him - to serve Him and obey Him and love Him - then the choice will be made for us.
Someone else or something else will become more important in our lives and God will be shouldered off to one side.
I. So, we need to ACTIVELY choose God.
How do you know if you've really done that? How do you know if you have really "chosen" God.
...
Series: ABC's of Finances
Jeff Strite
Malachi 3:7-12
OPEN: Year ago, if you wanted a pair of shoes, you couldn't go down to "Payless Shoes" or "Shoe Carnival". You couldn't even go down to Sears or J.C. Penney to pick a pair of ready-made shoes to wear. There was a time when - if you wanted shoes or boots - you had to go someone called a "Shoe Cobbler."
When Ronald Reagan was a young man, an aunt had taken him to a cobbler to have a pair of shoes made for him. The shoemaker asked the young Reagan "do you want a square toe or a round toe?"
Reagan hemmed and hawed. So the cobbler said, "Come back in a day or two and let me know what you want."
A few days later the shoemaker saw Reagan on the street and asked what he had decided about the shoes. "I still have not made up my mind," the boy answered. "Very well," said the cobbler.
When Reagan received the shoes, he was shocked to see that one shoe had a square toe and the other had a round toe.
Years later Reagan commented: "Looking at those shoes every day taught me a lesson. If you do not make your own decisions, somebody else will make them for you!"
APPLY: God created us to be a people capable of making choices. And God has always given His people the power of choice
In the Old Testament, Joshua told the Israelites
"… CHOOSE for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15
God calls upon us to make a choice: to choose Him.
Because if we don't choose Him - to serve Him and obey Him and love Him - then the choice will be made for us.
Someone else or something else will become more important in our lives and God will be shouldered off to one side.
I. So, we need to ACTIVELY choose God.
How do you know if you've really done that? How do you know if you have really "chosen" God.
...
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