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Which
Road?
Walter
Knight told of an old Scottish woman who went from
home to home across the countryside selling thread,
buttons, and shoestrings. When she came to an unmarked
crossroad, she would toss a stick into the air and go
in the direction the stick pointed when it landed.
One
day, however, she was seen tossing the stick up
several times. "Why do you toss the stick more
than once?" someone asked. "Because,"
replied the woman, "it keeps pointing to the LEFT,
and I want to take the road on the RIGHT." She
then dutifully kept throwing the stick into the air
until it pointed the way she wanted to go!*
How
can WE know which way to go?
FIRST:
We must UNDERSTAND that “the way of man is NOT in
himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his
own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).
In fact, “there is a way that SEEMS right to
a man, But its end is the way of DEATH” (Proverbs
14:12; 16:25).
SECOND:
We must USE the RIGHT map.
The Psalmist declared, “Your Word is a LAMP
to my feet and a LIGHT to my path” (Psalm 119:105).
We must follow the directions as outlined in
Scripture in order to reach the proper destination.
THIRD:
We must MAKE a CHOICE (see Joshua 24:15).
God has revealed the way that we should go in
His Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
We, however, must CHOOSE to follow His
directions. Jesus
said, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the
gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction,
and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is
the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life,
and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
One
of the biggest obstacles in following God’s will is
our own SELF-WILL.
We must have the attitude of Christ when He
prayed in the
Garden
of
Gethsemane
as He faced the cross: “Father, if it is Your will,
take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not MY
will, but YOURS, be done."
We must not seek to manipulate His will to fit
our own selfish desires, but “crucify” our own
self-will and submit completely to the will of God.
It
is God’s will that you and I be saved (1 Timothy
2:4). He
has made salvation possible through the GIFT of His
Son, Jesus (Acts 4:12).
The Way of salvation is through faith
in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), repentance
from sin
(Acts 17:30-31), confession
of Christ
(Romans 10:9-10), and baptism
(immersion) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins
(Acts 2:38; 22:16).
It is also God’s will that we continue to
follow Him all the days of our lives (1 John 1:7).
Provision
has been made / The
directions are clear /
The choice is yours!
God bless you!
David
A. Sargent, Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
*
Today in the Word,
May, 1989.
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