Choose Wisely - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Choose Wisely

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

“The wisdom of the wise keeps life on track; the foolishness of fools lands them in the ditch.” (Proverbs 14:8, THE MESSAGE)

Have you ever gone down a wrong way, thinking at the time it was the right way, and end up somewhere you wish you hadn’t? Whether it be a road, a choice in life or a decision made hurriedly to avoid making another one, only to find out later it was just the wrong decision.

I have. And I have had to pay a price for it.

Sometimes it cost time. Other occasions it cost money. And then even at a more hurtful occurrence, it cost a relationship. Many times the wrong can’t be undone and you live with the pain and hurt for many years. Try as you might, there are repercussions to our actions that have to be walked out.

When I consider a lost relationship between friends, one that had taken years to build, I find myself trusting once again in the goodness of the Lord, after seeking forgiveness and reconciliation with them, ending with no positive results. Our times are in His hands, and we must trust that His restoration hopefully will come at some point.

There is one choice that many continue to decide to do, and that is to walk day by day without giving one’s life to the Lord’s plan and purpose for oneself. To me, that would be unthinkable. To go through this life choosing to do our own thing, without thought or consideration of having the Creator, the very One who created each of us, be unable to reveal His ultimate desire for our life because of our choosing not to let Him. To ignore His longing to give us the future and the hope promised to each, if only we freely choose to let Him in, would indeed be tragic. And yet many choose the unthinkable and do just that.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.” (Jeremiah 29:11-14, NKJV)

No one person, family or country can long seek their own way and reap the ultimate results of goodness without the love of God working through them. All around us we can see the lasting effects of those who have gone before us, choosing to live as one sang decades ago, “I did it my way.” And where did that get you?

Our lifelong choices not only affect our ending but decisions we make ripple down through those who follow behind us, possibly making the same mistakes as they too walk in our footsteps.

When I was in my late 20’s I heard a message from the pulpit, when the leader of the church gathering told us that choices we make today will have a long-lasting effect decades down the road. If we make the decision to go one way, even if just a slight turn off the correct path, ultimately we will possibly end up way off the mark, and the only way to get back on the right road would be to go back to that point and choose the right one. It is called repentance.

In my walk with the Lord, I considered this word quite often, and sought to have the Holy Spirit give me clarity and insight as to which road to choose each time I came to a fork in the road. Many times it wasn’t the easy choice, or the “multitudes” choice, but it was the Lord’s choice. To this day I can say I am very thankful for His guidance and direction He has certainly given.

My prayer is that today, when you are faced with a decision that will impact your life for years to come, that you will not depend on your own insights, your own feelings, or what is the “likely” choice, but that you will seek the roadmap the Lord already knows about and has laid out before you were born, and which we can know – through His Word and by receiving godly counsel from others. And then walk in faith no matter what the cost may be. It will affect not only your eternity but others around you.

We all have been given a free will, but we also have been given God’s Word, His Holy Spirit, and the fellowship of believers to help guide us.

Choose wisely.

Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).

Now think on this,

  

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc.

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Now Think On This #347 - in the year of our Lord 04.21.18 – “Choose Wisely”, Saturday, 9:45 am

Restoration of a Relationship - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Restoration of a Relationship

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

"But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.” 

(Acts 3:18-22, NASU)

The Lord Jesus is all about restoration – restoring those things that have been broken, that have been torn apart. His everlasting plan is for harmony among people, for us to get along, to accomplish His originally initiated purpose in each of our lives. He wants to see all things made new.

As the Scriptures declare, there is coming a time when He will restore all things. Times of refreshing are coming, when we are in the presence of the Lord. There is hope in Him.

He especially loves restoring relationships between people. There are many stories of just that in the Bible. Joseph was restored to his father and brothers. Jacob and Esau’s relationship became restored after many, many years apart. During that time, Jacob had feared for his life, but in the end, the two brothers were family again.

Our Father’s heart is for good, as He says in Jeremiah 29:11-14, 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.  

'I will be found by you,' declares the Lord, 'and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,' declares the Lord, 'and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.' (NASU)

We can see Him fulfilling that promise for the Jews, of restoring them to their land, as they come back to their promised land of Israel. Because of that happening right before our eyes, it is another reason we can trust Him to fulfill the rest of His promises. Even in our lives.

Each of us has a relationship or more that has been broken. A marriage that went bad after many years of clinging on; a father and his son, who no longer speak to one another; a mother and her now adult daughter, who live miles apart, wondering if the phone call or text will ever come from the other.

Even one-time good friends from church have experienced broken relationships. Whatever happened to them we wonder, as we recall that day they left out of dismay, or even anger. We expect that we will never see them again, or so it would seem.

It hurts. We feel that pain of not having those family and friends around anymore. We know the rejection that each one experienced, and yet we are not sure how to get it back together again. Do we even attempt to try? Do we really want to? What if we are only rejected again? Will it only increase the loss and heart’s pain we already have?

We are especially conscious of lost relationships during holiday seasons, or annual dates like a birthday, anniversary, or vacation times we used to celebrate and have together. Those once great memories of fun and happiness have now been replaced with loneliness, empty feelings, and thoughts of “Why?”

Can a relationship be restored? I believe they can. But it will take faith and courage on your part to begin the journey back. You may have to be the one to make the first move.

When in a prayer time recently, early one morning, the Lord brought back to memory a situation where I walked out, in haste, and a bit annoyed, from a relationship I had with another. I used the excuse of blaming it on a miscommunication with that good friend. So rather than get together and discuss the issue, I wrote an email to terminate my involvement with their ministry. I figured that that time in my life was up anyway. Besides, I had other things I wanted to accomplish.

But I was wrong in how I handled it.

So in repentance, and obedience to the Lord after He spoke to me during that prayer time, I sent an email to them, not sure how they would respond, if even they did. I wrote of my fault, and asked them to reconsider what we once had.

Thankfully they responded, and shared how they too had missed our friendship. The ice had been broken. Restoration was beginning.

Maybe the one you’d like to get back together with won’t initiate getting on the pathway back to where it was. Maybe they too are thinking as you are right now, it won’t happen. So maybe you are the one to make the first move anyway?

Ask the Lord to walk before you as you do make the attempt at restoration. His heart in the matter is right there for you. What a joy it will be when that relationship is restored.

It won’t be simple. They may totally ignore you. It may not happen overnight, and many attempts might just be needed. But what if you don’t try?

It is something to think about. I hope you do, and make that move back to restoration.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

Love For His People, Inc.

 P.S. I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. They might need it. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve

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Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.

If these messages minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families we know in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. Your tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

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Now Think On This - In the year of our Lord 12.12.15 - #218 –“Restoration of A Relationship” – Saturday at 7:00 am in Charlotte, NC.

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Again, I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve