"How Do I Make Right Decisions" Part 1

Continuing with the thought of making long term investments, I want to share with you a lesson that God is teaching me right now.

How many of you have made a series of wrong decisions, causing your life to stuck in cycle of failure, frustration and fear? Recently I began to take inventory of my life to see if the tares of my life were a result of the devil, or the enemy (in a me). God has showed me that 75% or more were the result of bad decisions. So I began through prayer and fasting to inquire of God on how to make right decisions so that my life could see the fullness of all that God had put in me before I was born.

I don't have time to share how everything that you need for your life is already inside of you, the supply of your life is locked up in the anointing and gifts that are already resident in you. That's what it means when we say you don't decide your life, you discover it. Paul wrote that I can do all things through Christ who is in me, My God shall supply all my needs according to the riches in Glory in Christ Jesus, I am complete in Christ, I am seated together with Christ in heavenly places in Christ... The theme of the entire New Testament is "In Christ".

Many of us are waiting for our blessing in the sweet by and by, but the mortgage company doesn't care if my money is in heavenly places in the sweet by and by, no I need it in my now and now. I need open doors in the now and now, I need divine appointments and connections in the now and now, I need my body healed in the now and now, I need my children saved in the now and now, I need debts cancelled in the now and now.

So how do I discover a life of fulfillment and fruitfulness, a life where my success overrides my failures? Let's find out.

Every struggle and battle ultimately comes down to this, my passion versus my peace. I may have a passion to buy that car but my peace says it is not time, to save so that I can buy it with cash. My passion says that girl is fine and a knockout, but my peace says on the inside she is empty and void and that our lives are on two different paths, my passion says let's go for it, make it happen but my peace says wait, be still and know that I'm God.

The key to Ruth stepping into the Destiny God had planned for her and be transitioned from a peasant girl into one whose life was transformed by an encounter with her Boaz was her listening to her Mentor Naomi who said go and sit at the feet of Boaz and say nothing but wait until He speaks to you and tells you what to do. Her entire life was transformed by a simple instruction which was get in position now and wait, don't move, don't go forward, don't finalize the deal, don't buy the house but wait.

Most of my life I have listened to my passion resulting in a series of bad decisions, wrong partnerships, and wasted time, energy and resources. I am 37 years old and I just now am beginning to learn that in order for my life to be everything God created it to be I have to let my peace override my passion. I know you want to run now, but where are you running to? What will you say and do when you get there. There is nothing more frustrating than arriving at your destination prematurely only to get there and not have clue what you are to do.

The second type of peace talked about in the N.T is internal peace. In the O.T everything is outer and physical and in the N.T it is inner and spiritual. In O.T God led by a pillar of fire and a cloud and in the N.T He fills us with the Holy Spirit as a guide and inner compass. To be led by the Spirit means you are acquainted with the Spirit of God who lives on the inside of you. The key is you have to know Him well enough to know His voice and follow. If you are not acquainted with the Holy Spirit you will miss it (sin) when He talks and you will end up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Peace of God is the go ahead. People tell me that God talks all day long to them, that He tells them what to wear, what to eat, whether to go right or left at the fork in the road. These people believe that the majority of your life is a mystical and magical experience with God. Isn't it odd that these people are the same people who are very spiritual but totally undisciplined and they shout real loud in Church on Sunday but when you follow them home their life is a mess. Why?

I don't believe that God says the stuff you say He said to you, near as much as you say He does. The majority of the forward movement in my life was not the result of a booming voice, a smoke filled room, a visitation from an angel (I do believe in angels)... No almost every time it was my inner peace that gave me the go ahead or told me to hold steady. The overwhelming peace of God will give me the go ahead to take a step forward. To the Christian it is the yes and no of God.

Colossians 3:15 (See)

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one body you are called to peace.

The first thing we see here is that we are called to a life of peace. That means my life should not be filled with turmoil, confusion, uncertainty, anxiety.... I am called to a life of peace. In the O.T peace is the word Shalom which means nothing missing and nothing broken. In other words I am called to a life where nothing is out of place or out of order. I am called to a life of order and right placement. That means I am called to a life of being in the right place at the right time, with the right people. How? By listening to my peace.

The peace of God will rule...

The word rule in the Greek is the English word umpire. In sports especially baseball we see this word come alive. When sliding into home plate, the authority lies with one guy, not the people yelling from the stands or the dugout. There is one guy who calls it safe or out. I don't care how many voices you have speaking to you, how many people are surrounding you, how much counsel you are receiving. I don't care what your mamma's side of the family is saying or what your daddy's side of the family is saying, what your best friend is saying or your wife's best friend is saying.

The Bible says after you have listened to everybody, including me, after everything is said and done and everybody has got their word in, let the peace of God call it safe or out. Now here lies the challenge. I have had people get mad at me because they told what God said to do and I did something else. It is not that I didn't listen to you, that I don't respect you, or that I don't believe that God speaks to you, some of the time. At the end of the day I have a decision to make and after I have gathered all the counsel because there is wisdom in right counselors. How do I determine who should counsel me? In the area you are receiving counsel, is there life what you want yours to be? In other words if they are counseling you in the area of finances, is there life whole in that area. Don't try to counsel me on marriage if you are in your third marriage, don't counsel me in finances if you have filed bankruptcy seven times and your are living on credit...

The question is not what the banker said, the salesman said, your friend said, the preacher said, it is "Is it mine." Does my inner peace say Craig it is safe or it is out. When dating is he or she mine? He or she may be fine but are they safe? Most people don't have the fortitude to hear what everybody else is saying but they listen to their inner peace anyway. The people who walk closely with God are the people that hear all these voices saying do this or don't do this but in spite of all the voices they choose to listen to their peace. Sometimes my peace parallels popular opinion but the difficulty comes when my peace defies popular opinion.

Let me close the first part of this study with, Can you stand with God when popular opinion is against you? At the end of the day would you rather have them like you or have the hand of God against you?

I would hate for them to approve of me but the presence of God leave me.

Blessings,
Craig