STARTING LINE

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Well, here we are at the starting line of a new year. All of us want it to be a prosperous and a positive one don’t we? We all want our dreams and aspirations to come true don’t we?

Trouble is sometimes life doesn’t cooperate.

But there is some good news today for 2014.

GOD gave us choices. We should be so thankful!

He could have fashioned us as robotic yes men and women but instead He granted us FREE will and opportunity. Now as it has been every January 2^nd we have embarked, much of what will happen in the coming year is up to us! We have a choice!

So let’s take the clean slate, the shift of the calendar, the flip to a new year and make the most of it! Let’s resolve above all the other things; the weight loss, the bible studies, the commitment to read more or whatever and commit to allowing GOD to simply help us make better choices!

And here is a good one to start with…

Ephesians 5:1

Follow God’s example in everything you do

Before pulling the trigger on that big decision, before compromising your faith in order to close the deal, before clicking where your mouse should never click or ignoring the prompting and conviction you are feeling, look to GOD for “what to choose”; follow HIS lead and HIS example!

HE WILL HELP you CHOOSE WISELY!

Proverbs 2:6

For the Lord grants wisdom! His every word is a treasure of knowledge and understanding.

Romans 13:14

But ask the Lord Jesus Christ to help you live as you should, and don’t make plans to enjoy evil.

The freedom to make choices brings responsibility. We have all made poor choices at times and have suffered the consequences. The good news is that no matter what poor choices we may have made in the past, there is always hope for a better future; this 2014 future!

For God knew that we would make some bad choices, but he loves us so much that he sent Jesus to pay the price for our sin and to provide a way that our relationship to him can be restored. He made it so our next choice is the most important choice!

So never forget, we are very special to God. He loves us no matter what we’ve done. He’s there for us. He wants us to put the past behind so that we can become all He has designed us to be for this year ahead.

So let’s get things off to a good start! Let’s make a few GOOD choices shall we? Or better yet some good GOD choices! Here are 3 to get you started.

Before anything else, choose God’s forgiveness. Let’s start fresh!

1 John 1:9

But if we confess our sins, God will forgive us. We can trust God to do this. He always does what is right. He will make us clean from all the wrong things we have done.

Let’s choose to learn from our failures from 2013 and resolve to not repeat them!

Let’s choose to look forward to 2014 and the hope and help promised for those who choose to follow GOD!

GOD is ready... the choice is ours!

Joshua 24:15

But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord…

Psalm 32:8
I will instruct you (says the Lord) and guide you along the best pathway for your life; I will advise you and watch your progress…

I love you all!

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney