HOW CAN WE LEARN TO MAKE GOOD CHOICES?

WE CAN MAKE THE SAME KINDS OF CHOICES YESHUA MADE.
“I assure you, the Son can do nothing by Himself. He does only what He sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.... And the Father leaves all judgment to His Son, so that everyone will honour the Son, just as they honour the Father. But if you refuse to honour the Son, then you are certainly not honouring the Father who sent Him.” (John 5:19, 22-23) Because of His unity with YAHVEH, Yeshua lived as YAHVEH wanted Him to live. Because of our identification with Yeshua, we must honour Him and live as He wants us to live. The questions “What would Yeshua do?” --- and --- “What would Yeshua have me do?” --- may help us make the right choices.

WE CAN BE AWARE THAT ATTRACTIVE CHOICES SOMETIMES LEAD TO SIN.
“My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them!” (Proverbs 1:10) Sin is enticing because it offers a quick route to prosperity and makes us feel like one of the crowd. But when we go along with others and refuse to listen to the truth, our own appetite becomes our master and we’ll do anything to satisfy it. Sin, even when attractive, is deadly. We must learn to make choices not on the basis of flashy appeal or short-term pleasure, but in view of the long-range effects. Sometimes this means steering clear of people who want to draw us into activities that we know is wrong. We can’t be friendly with sin and expect our life to remain unaffected.

WE CAN REMEMBER THAT GOOD CHOICES HAVE POSITIVE LONG-TERM RESULTS.
“Godliness helps people all through life, while the evil are destroyed by their wickedness.” (Proverbs 13:6) Living right is like posting a guard for your life. Every choice for good sets into motion other opportunities for good. Evil choices follow the same pattern, but in the opposite direction. Each decision you make to obey YAHVEH’s Word will bring a greater sense of order to your life, while each decision to disobey will bring confusion and destruction. The right choices you make reflect your integrity. Obedience brings the greatest safety and security.

WE CAN REMEMBER THAT RIGHT CHOICES ARE SOMETIMES DIFFICULT.
“As Jesus was going down the road, he saw Matthew sitting at his tax-collection booth. ‘Come, be my disciple,’ Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.” (Matthew 9:9) When Yeshua called Matthew to be one of His disciples, Matthew got up and followed, leaving a lucrative career. When YAHVEH calls you to follow or obey Him, do you do it with as much abandon as Matthew? Sometimes the decision to follow HaMashiach requires difficult or painful choices. Like Matthew, we must decide to leave behind those things that would keep us from following HaMashiach.

WHAT ARE SOME PRINCIPLES FOR MAKING GOOD CHOICES?
Deuteronomy 30:19-20: “Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live! Choose to love the Lord your God and to obey Him and commit yourself to Him, for He is your life.” We should always make choices that bring life. Psalm 119:11: “I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” Listening continually to YAHVEH’s voice in His Word will help us to see what is right and what is wrong. Proverbs 11:14: “With many counsellors, there is safety.” Another good way to ensure good choices is to weigh carefully the advice of reliable counsellors. Hebrews 11:8, 25-27: “It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home.... It was by faith that Moses... chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.... It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt.... Moses kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.” When we let faith in YAHVEH guide our actions, we are much more likely to make good choices.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM MAKING GOOD OR BAD CHOICES?
Genesis 13:10-13: “Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere.... Lot chose that land for himself.” Genesis 25:29-34: “Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his younger brother. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate and drank and went on about his business, indifferent to the fact that he had given up his birthright.” If our choices are being guided primarily by selfish ambition or a desire for physical fulfilment, it is very likely that we, like Lot and Esau, are making bad decisions. 1 Kings 12:1-11: “Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and who were now his advisers.” Proverbs 12:15: “Fools think they need no advice, but the wise listen to others.” If we reject the advice of proven wise counsellors like Rehoboam did, we are probably making a very foolish decision.

But if we listen to advice and weigh it carefully, we are more likely to make good choices. Proverbs 1:7: “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Only fools despise wisdom and discipline.” If our decisions are being guided by reverence for YAHVEH, then we are on the way to making good choices. Matthew 16:26; “How do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?” If our choices are guided by a desire to gain the world, then we are probably going to make some very bad decisions. John 5:19-23: “Jesus replied, ‘I assure you, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing.’” If we like Yeshua, keep continually in mind what YAHVEH would have us do, then we are more likely to make good choices which honour Him. Galatians 5:22-23: “When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, He will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.” Good choices are always in keeping with these fruit of Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit), while bad choices often involve rejecting His influence in our hearts.

DOES YAHVEH CHOOSE US OR DO WE CHOOSE HIM?
Ephesians 1:4-5: “Long ago, even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.” John 1:9, 12: “The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was going to come into the world. . . . But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” YAHVEH’s desire has always been to have a family. He takes pleasure in bringing people into His family through His son, Yeshua HaMashiach. Yeshua makes it possible for anyone who believes and accepts Him to become a member of the family of YAHVEH. 2 Timothy 1:9: “It is God who saved us and chose us to live a holy life. He did this not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan long before the world began-to show his love and kindness to us through Christ Jesus. 1 Peter 2:9: “You are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy nation and his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” James 1:18: “In his goodness he chose to make us his own children by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his choice possession.” Romans 9:13-16, 22: “In the words of the Scriptures, ‘I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau.’ What can we say? Was God being unfair? Of course not! For God said to Moses, ‘I will show mercy to anyone I choose and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.’ So receiving God’s promise is not up to us. We can’t get it by choosing it or working hard for it. God will show mercy to anyone he chooses. . . . God has every right to exercise his judgment and his power, but he also has the right to be very patient with those who are the objects of his judgment and are fit only for destruction.” YAHVEH’s choosing us is a reflection of His character-love, kindness, goodness, mercy, compassion and patience; not a reflection of ours. We can be loving for example, but YAHVEH IS love. John 15:14-16: “You are my friends if you obey me. I no longer call you servants, because a master doesn’t confide in his servants. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.” It appears that YAHVEH chooses those He knows will choose to obey Him and have a relationship with Him. The first choice is His. But the choice to respond is ours. Deuteronomy 30:19-20: “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live! Choose to love the Lord your God and to obey him and commit yourself to him, for he is your life. Then you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 1 Kings 18:21: “Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, ‘How long are you going to waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!’ But the people were completely silent.” The choice of loving, obeying and following Him is ours to make individually. No one can make it for us. Even YAHVEH will force this choice upon us.

HOW DO I ENCOURAGE MY FAMILY TO CHOOSE YAHVEH?
Joshua 24:15-17: “If you are unwilling to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. The people replied, we would never forsake the Lord and worship other gods. For the Lord our God is the one who rescued us and our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt. He performed mighty miracles before our very eyes. As we travelled through the wilderness among our enemies, he preserved us.” Deuteronomy 6:1-9: “These are all the commands, laws and regulations that the Lord your God told me to teach you so you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy and so you and your children and grandchildren might fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his laws and commands, you will enjoy a long life. Listen closely, Israel, to everything I say. Be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again. Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Proverbs 22:6: “Teach your children to choose the right path and when they are older, they will remain upon it.” Other family members, including our children, are motivated to choose YAHVEH when they see us already choosing YAHVEH; for a lifetime commitment and in everyday life choices. Having set a role model, we then encourage verbally through loving conversation and precept. If we make Him and His teachings a priority in our own families, we will see YAHVEH becoming a priority in the generations to follow. 1 Peter 3:1-5: “In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands, even those who refuse to accept the Good News. Your godly lives will speak to them better than any words. They will be won over by watching your pure, godly behaviour. Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on fancy hairstyles, expensive jewellery or beautiful clothes. You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. That is the way the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands.” The most effective way to help a spouse choose YAHVEH is to be obedient to YAHVEH, which means being a truly loving, kind, caring, serving kind of person. Nothing turns others off so fast as loving precepts overshadowed by unloving practices.

IF YAHVEH’S WILL IS GOING TO HAPPEN ANYWAY, DO MY CHOICES REALLY MATTER?
2 Samuel 10:12: “Be courageous! Let us fight bravely to save our people and the cities of our God. May the Lord’s will be done.” Acts 18:9-11: “One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, ‘Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! For I am with you, and no one will harm you because many people here in this city belong to me.’ So Paul stayed there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God.” Acts 27:22-31: “Take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, and he said, ‘don’t be afraid Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’ So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said.” There is a balance between trusting YAHVEH and doing our part. While YAHVEH sometimes uses miracles, angels or the extraordinary, He more often uses ordinary people doing ordinary things to accomplish His will. One day an angel may speak to you, but meanwhile get to work serving and obeying Him.