An Offer You Can't Refuse

We have one BIG choice to make in our lives...to Prosper or Die

It sounds scary...and is. No matter who we are, where we are, who our parents are, how gifted we are, how smart we are, our how well off we are…we must make a choice. We have to choose to follow God or to snub our nose at Him and go our own way. It’s the BIG decision of our lives. 

So much of the time we treat God as an annoying parent trying to ruin our good times and make life miserable. The truth is he’s trying to save our lives and lead us into a prosperous, happy fulfilling life! The reality is that He knows we were born spiritually dead and must be born spiritually if we are to have eternal life. 

Whether we admit it or not, without Him we are doomed
That’s why he sent His Son…to be the substitute for our sin and give us the chance for a fresh start with a new, permanent spiritual life! God takes this dead serious! We need to do the same.

So we have choices. This is highlighted by who we associate with, who we listen to and who we choose as friends. 

The options- the Righteous and the Wicked, are contrasted in Psalms 1:

1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night. 

You may say, why is that? They are nice, they are “good guys,” they're fun to be around, so what’s the problem? Psalms 5:9 tells us why…

There is nothing reliable in what they say;
Their inward part is destruction itself.
Their throat is an open grave;
They flatter with their tongue.

They appear as nice, fun people but it’s all a delusion. They are headed to disaster. They have no foundation..it’s all false. So what are the results from focusing on the Lord and His words, of choosing to put your focus on the Lord? Let’s go back to Psalms 1.

3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.

It’s like investing in the stock market. How are you going to invest? Wisely, on solid, well run and profitable companies or foolishly on flashy fly-by-night operations? Except this is much more serious, you aren’t investing money, you are investing your life.

4 The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.

Wise or foolish, righteous or wicked…you have your free will, no one is forcing you…so which do you choose?

For me it's an offer I can't refuse...God and Life or wickedness and death? I choose God!

Groucho On Life

Groucho Marx made his name as a comedian but here is a quote of his that is a remarkable comment on the wonderful mystery of life…

The first thing which I can record concerning myself is, that I was born. These are wonderful words. This life, to which neither time nor eternity can bring diminution - this everlasting living soul, began. My mind loses itself in these depths.
—Groucho Marx

To much of our our lives we spend in a dizzy blur of activity activities just to survive life and rarely do we pause and think about the pure wonder of it all. 

 

The pure privilege of experiencing life with all of its wonders and thrills and challenges. Wonderful words: ”I was born.” Certainly a reason for gratitude and appreciation. 

 

As we hurry through our brief time here in earth, we need to take time to reflect with awe on the wonder of it all. It certainly would enrich us to remember and remind ourselves of that fact as we go along our way. 

Life...a wonderful gift! Thanks for the reminder, Groucho.