Decisions

DECISIONS! WHAKATAU!

We cannot get through life without making decisions. Every day we make them – from the time we get up in the morning to the time we go to bed at night. When you stop and think about it, everything we do depends on making decisions – and success in whatever sphere of life we are involved in, depends on making the right decisions.

Many of the decisions we make not only involve ourselves, but also our families, our friends, our workmates – either for good or for bad. Some decisions affect us for the rest of our lives. The right decision can bring joy and happiness for years; the wrong decision can bring tragedy.

The young guy with his brain burned out and his health shattered at the age of 19 because of drugs, got that way through a process of decision-making. But his decisions were wrong. He got in with the wrong company and listened to the wrong people.

The young teenage mother who finds herself in over her head, with little family support and deserted by the father of her child, also made some decisions that led to her predicament. Those decisions were also wrong. The alcoholic wasting away with serious liver disease did not get that way over night. It all began with a bad decision years before which led to further bad decisions. And we will never know the number of other people affected along the way. One wrong decision leads to another and on it goes. What went wrong with the decision-making of the young woman found dead in her car after taping the windows, feeding in a rubber hose from the exhaust and starting the motor? How many wrong decisions did it take to arrive at such a tragedy?

Some years ago a young man sat in front of me and told me something of the mess his life was in and that he didn’t know what to do next. He too had made his decisions. Most of them were bad and some were just plain stupid. The saddest part of it all was that he was not prepared to make the all important decision which would have brought the resources and strength into his life to enable him to start making the right decisions.

I pointed out to him that when you get down in one of life’s dark holes because of wrong decisions, every next wrong decision takes you further into the darkness. Every right decision is a step nearer the light. His decision-making had also affected other people for the worse.

We are all in positions where not only ourselves, but others also, are affected in some way by the decisions we make. For example, as parents, when we go wrong our children suffer, and they may suffer for years to come or even for the rest of their lives.

What is my point? Simply this: Making the right decisions in life is extremely important. What sort of decisions are you making? Are you caught in a wrong decision-making process which is leading to further chaos in your life? You do not need to continue this trend. Through Christian service including prison ministry I have met plenty of people who have made wrong decisions. (In fact, we all do from time to time to a lesser or greater degree). But many of these same people are now living successful, contented lives because they made that all important decision.

In order to explain, let me refer you to a verse in the Bible. It’s found in Revelation 3:20. Jesus Himself is speaking and He says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me” (NKJV). Here He is pictured standing outside the door of a church that is spiritually dead, calling for individuals to allow Him into their lives. He is calling to you as you read this magazine. Unless you are a true Christian, you have never let Him in. He is calling you despite the mess your life may be in, and He has the resources to enable you to get things sorted out and make the decisions necessary to get your life on track.

Each one of us is affected by the spiritual disease the Bible calls sin. It is the bias we have to do what is wrong rather than what is right. This produces wrong thinking, wrong decisions and wrong actions. But more than this, our sin is a serious affront to God who is our Creator. He has made it plain in His Word, the Bible, that all sin

TUPU WHAKARANGI

(Growing Heavenward) ISSUE 240, SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 Editor and designer: Graham Batson Mail: PO Box 10, Whanganui 4540. Email: info.maoripostal@gmail.com www.maoripostal.co.nz

must be dealt with. As unforgiven sinners we are under God’s judgment, awaiting the sentence to be carried out.

But as well as being completely righteous and holy, God is also loving and compassionate. Jesus Christ, sometimes referred to as the Second Person of the Godhead (God the Son), took upon Himself humanity and entered this world as the little Baby of Bethlehem, born to the Virgin Mary. He grew to perfect sinless manhood, and by all that He was, did and said, revealed the very nature of God to us.

But He did not come into this world just to live a sinless life. The Bible says, “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3). In His death on the cross at Calvary He became answerable for our sin. He took our place. He loves you that much!

Not only did He bear the penalty for our sin, but He also defeated death which, the Bible says, is the result of sin. His resurrection is a glorious fact of history, and because He lives He wants to share His life with us. Only He can bring us into a right relationship with God.

Now can you see the picture? Jesus is standing outside the door to your life. Maybe He has been there for many years, just waiting for your decision. It is the most important decision you will ever make because it will affect you, not only for this life, but for all eternity. He will not force His way in; the decision is yours entirely. You may reject Him, or you may open the door and invite Him in.

But be sure, if you reject Him you will pay the price for your own sin. The Bible makes it clear that Hell is a reality – not just a swear word. It is prepared as eternal punishment for Satan and all who choose to follow him by rejecting Christ.

If you receive Him, He will come into your life with His resources – His forgiveness, cleansing, strength and wisdom. He will never leave you; He will be there throughout your life. And when this life is over you will go to be with Him for eternity.

There are two good reasons why you should make this decision now. First, none of us knows how long we have in this life and death will end your opportunity. Then, secondly, Jesus Christ has promised to return. There are many great signs in the world today that the Bible speaks of which are indications of His coming. When that happens, it will be too late. This is why the Bible also says, “Behold NOW is the accepted time; behold NOW is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2 NKJV). --Editor

“Na, tenei Ahau te tu nei i te tatau, te patukituki nei; ki te whakarongo tetahi ki toku reo, a, ka uaki i te tatau, ka tomo atu Ahau ki a ia, hei hoa kai mona, ko ia hoki hei hoa kai moku” (Whakakitenga 3:20).