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Make the Right Choice

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
James 4:2–4
When Willie Nelson was starting out in his musical career, he quickly developed a following among the honky tonks and bars around Fort Worth, Texas, where he would play and sing. Yet nearly every Sunday morning, he could be found teaching Sunday school. Before long, this double life became a problem, and the pastor of his church confronted him regarding his testimony. The pastor explained that he must either give up his class or his lifestyle. Nelson later said, “I decided to stay with the beer joints. The preacher sounded so wrong to me that I quit the Baptist church.”
While many people try to live with one foot in the world and one foot in God’s kingdom, that never works for very long. “And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word” (1 Kings 18:31). Yet too often when that moment of decision comes, we choose the allure of the world over the truth of God.
The world tries to convince us that sin isn’t really so bad, or that God will not be upset if we indulge a little in our carnal desires. But the Bible doesn’t have a “not really all that bad” category. There is right and wrong, good and evil, sin and obedience. The harder we try to cling to the things of the world, the less we are able to follow God.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

There is no middle ground between God and the world—we will eventually love and serve one and leave the other.

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“I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” --John 17:9 How would you feel right now if you knew that Jesus was in the room next to yours praying for you? Would you be filled with peace and confidence? Well, let me tell you something. Distance doesn’t matter! Whether Jesus is in the next room or at the right hand of the Father, he is praying for you. That’s just what today’s Scripture says. He is praying for us! Jesus even told Simon Peter this very thing. Simon Peter was a tough guy, and rather proud of it. And on a certain occasion he boasted arrogantly of his strength. Jesus told him, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail….” (Luke 22:31-32). Even though Simon Peter denied the Lord three times, his faith did not fail. Ultimately, he found love, mercy, and restoration in Christ Jesus, and became the leader of the early Church. How was this possible? For one reason only, because Jesus prayed for him. Isn’t it good to know that if Satan is out to get you, that Jesus is praying for you? Jesus is praying for you. Take heart and be confident in him. He’s calling your name in prayer before God this moment. THIS VERY MOMENT, JESUS IS PRAYING FOR YOU!