Our Choices Determine The Direction Of Our Lives
Imagine standing at a crossroads, with countless paths stretching out before you. Each one leads to a different destination – some promising, some uncertain, some filled with challenges and others with hope. Now, what if I told you that the direction your life takes, the very path you walk, is not determined by chance or circumstance, but by the choices you make at each intersection? Every day, we are faced with decisions – some small, some life-altering. And while we may not always realise it in the moment, each choice acts as a steering wheel, guiding us toward our future. Maybe you’re wrestling with a decision, or perhaps you’re looking back at choices that have shaped your journey so far. Wherever you find yourself, know this: God has given us the incredible gift and responsibility of choice. This article explores how the decisions you make today can transform your tomorrow. Be blessed as you read! What we choose to believe or disbelieve significantly influences the course of our lives. A fascinating example can be found in the Bible, specifically in Mark chapter 6. When Jesus returned to his hometown to minister to the people he had grown up with, they all knew him as the carpenter’s son. They were familiar with his history, family, and background. Mark 6:5 states that Jesus could perform no mighty works there, except for healing a few sick individuals. He was amazed by their unbelief. Jesus wanted to perform great works and help the community, but he was unable to do so because of their lack of faith. This made me reflect on the idea that if unbelief can hinder the power of God, it can certainly also prevent the lies of Satan from taking hold. We need to recognise that our beliefs, whether positive or negative, shape the direction of our lives. If we are constantly consuming news filled with negativity and fear, we risk believing the lies that surround us. This can lead us to live in a state of anxiety, fixating on “what if” scenarios. For instance, we might think, “What if I lose my job?” or “What if everything goes wrong? How will we survive?” By choosing to believe in these negative thoughts, we are essentially inviting them into our lives. However, we also have the power to disbelieve these negative narratives and instead choose to believe in the truth found in the word of God. This can serve as our guiding principle. The key to overcoming negativity in this challenging world is to be well-founded and well-grounded in God’s word and to maintain a genuine relationship with God the Father. I can’t express how important my fellowship with the Father is to me. If you’ve been believing negative reports about yourself, it’s not too late to change your direction. There are many negative narratives surrounding us. For example, some people claim that alcoholism is not your fault and that there’s a gene that predisposes you to be an alcoholic. They also suggest that there are genes making you more likely to be overweight or susceptible to depression and discouragement. These are simply excuses, and they are not true. We can observe people who grew up in the same family with the same genetic background, raised in an alcoholic or abusive environment, but they often choose different paths. This shows that we have a choice. Even identical individuals in identical circumstances can lead vastly different lives because we have the power to make decisions. You are not just a product of your environment; you have the ability to choose whether to be a victim or a victor, a winner or a loser. If that weren’t the case, it would be unjust for the Lord to hold you accountable for your actions, as you would be predetermined to follow a certain path. You may have experienced many challenges in your life, but ultimately, you chose how to respond to them. Remember, no one can oppress you or control you without your consent and cooperation. Never underestimate your worth, regardless of what others may say. You have the power to accept or reject negative beliefs about yourself. Many people grow up in similar circumstances and choose to reject the idea that they are limited by their environment. They decide to pursue a different path and often find success. Unfortunately, some people believe that their prospects are determined by factors like their skin colour, level of education, or background. They use these as excuses for not succeeding, even though many individuals in the same situations have managed to overcome those obstacles and achieve great things. You cannot use the colour of your skin, your lack of education, or your gender as barriers or obstacles to your success. It’s important to stop blaming others and recognise that if you’re facing challenges or not thriving in a certain area, it’s ultimately a choice you’ve made. While you may have faced pressures or difficulties that others haven’t, you have still chosen to remain in that situation. I was taught beliefs that differ from my current understanding, yet I decided to change, and it required significant effort. The devil cannot prevent you from prospering. You might think, “I believe there’s a recession happening, and I can’t succeed because of it. After all, I’m only human, and there’s nothing I can do about it.” However, you need to remember that the Bible says in Philippians 4:19, “God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” God has promised to supply our needs according to His riches and glory, not based on current economic conditions, the British pound, or the US dollar. Many people worry about how their needs will be met due to recessions, layoffs, or struggling local economies. However, it doesn’t matter what happens in the world – our needs will be met according to His riches in glory. God uses His abundant resources to provide for us. If you don’t
You Have A Choice To Make
Life is filled with choices – some simple, others profound. But among all the choices we face, none is more critical than the one that determines our faith, future, and freedom. Will you believe what God has declared in His Word, or will you surrender to the temporary reality of your circumstances? In a world full of conflicting voices, God’s Word stands as the unshakable truth, offering healing, hope, and redemption. The Bible declares that you are forgiven. You are healed. You are deeply loved. But it’s not enough to hear it. You have to choose to believe it. You have to make it personal. So, will you trust in God’s promises, even when your situation says otherwise? Will you let His Word be the final authority in your life? This article highlights the amazing power of believing God’s word. Choose to believe what God has said. Psalm 103 says: Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Psalm 107:20 says, “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.” 1 Peter 2:24, talking about Jesus: “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” Again, Isaiah 53:5, talking about Jesus: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” Even if you have been diagnosed with an incurable disease and the doctor has given you a grim prognosis, you can choose not to accept what the doctor has said about your condition. Instead, you can embrace the promises of God and find peace in the belief that “by His stripes, you were healed.” While the reality of your symptoms may be undeniable, you can decide not to believe the doctor’s conclusion. This doesn’t mean you are ignoring your health issues; rather, you can choose to reject the finality of the doctor’s assessment. Instead, adopt a different perspective. You can affirm that you will live and not die. Choose to believe the promises of God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them (Mark 11:23-24). Affirm to yourself, “In the name of Jesus, I can have what I say. I am healed, and I am not sick.” You see, many people do not put in the effort required to truly believe in this healing. Individuals often come to my meetings seeking prayer for healing. If they experience healing, they rejoice and believe it, but if nothing happens, they frequently leave with the mindset that they expected that outcome. This reflects the minimal effort many people invest in their faith. The scripture says, “Let the sick say, ‘I am healed.’” This statement is a call to faith and belief in God’s healing power, even in the face of illness. It serves as a spiritual declaration of healing and a way to express hope and trust in God’s provision. I choose to believe what God has said in His Word. By His stripes, we were healed; let the sick say, “I’m healed.” Let the weak say, “I’m strong.” Can you say that? I can say this because I have a strong foundation of God’s Word in my life. After spending years in the Word of God, the promises He makes give me the peace to ignore negative reports and believe the truth found in Scripture. Let me give you an example of this. When the children of Israel were first led to the Promised Land, the Lord instructed them to go and explore the land He had given them. He specified that it was a land He had already given to them and told them to send twelve spies to check it out. Many of us are familiar with this story. Twelve spies were sent into the land, and when they returned, ten of the spies gave a very negative report. The majority of the people chose to believe this negative report, while only two of the spies decided to dismiss it. We have these verses in Numbers 13:32-33. 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” This is the bad report that caused the people to wail and gnash their teeth. They chose to believe the negative account. However, two of the spies decided to reject the bad report. They had been there, and they had seen, but they had also heard God’s promise: This is the land I have given you. So, in Numbers 13:30, we find their response. 30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” This was the encouraging message from the two men of faith, Caleb and Joshua, who returned with a positive report. They did not believe the negative report that the others presented. Unfortunately, the rest of the people chose to believe the fearful account, which resulted in them wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. Ultimately, Caleb and
Are there many ways to Heaven?
There’s so much confusion about this and there’re people who think that there’re many ways to Heaven. Jesus said specifically of himself in John CH 14: 6. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. There aren’t multiple paths to God. There aren’t many ways to heaven. Some people say well, all paths lead to God. That’s a total lie, it’s a deception, it’s not the truth. Jesus is the only way to the father. If there was any other way to have salvation, God would not have gone to the expense, or to the effort to hurt, and the pain that he suffered to become a man and live among us and then suffer our sin and our punishment in his own body. “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed” (1Peter 2:24). The only reason he did that is because there was no other way. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation]” (Acts 4:12 AMP). It doesn’t matter how good you think you are; you aren’t good enough to earn salvation and go to Heaven. The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord”. There’s a payment that comes for our ungodliness. There’re people who don’t hear these things and there’re so many people who are comparing themselves with other people and thinking that comparative to other people, I’m a relatively good person. You must understand that other people are not your standard. Jesus is your standard and if you aren’t as perfect as Jesus is, then you need a saviour. You need to recognise that it’s not about you being good and doing good. You just need to come to the end of yourself and say, ‘oh God have mercy on me a sinner’. You need to call out and put faith in what Jesus did. You even need to go beyond just asking God to save you and asking for mercy. You need to believe that he’s already paid for your sins and done everything that’s necessary. All you must do is just sign your name to this deal. Jesus has already come and signed his name to it and paid for your sins. All that is needed is your cooperation by putting faith in Jesus and when you do that you become a brand-new creature. Jesus even said that therewill be many people who will come and say ‘Lord, Lord, haven’t we lived a good life, haven’t we done this, haven’t we done that’, and he’s going to say depart from me you workers of iniquity I never knew you. Here’s what Jesus said in Mathew 7: 21-23; 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your nameperform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ The Bible says in Romans chapter 10:9 that “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. That’s more than just saying those words, but if it’s from your heart,and with your mouth you say Jesus I make you my Lord, Iturn my life over, I trust you and you look to Jesus and you believe that he paid for your sins, you will be saved.. Jesus has already paid for your sins; He is the only way to heaven. So, if you will confess that with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you shall be saved and have right standing with the Lord. That’s the promise of Romans chapter 10 verse 9 and it’s really that simple. Evangelist Paul AcquahPaul Acquah is the founder of Christ Is All Ministries (CIAM), an evangelical ministry meeting the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of people. He is passionate about seeing people transformed by the Word of God and making heaven more crowded! Read More