Making decisions in faith

How do I know as a Christian :

When and how to make an important or the right decision?

Know which way to go at a cross road in my life ?

To be sure – if it's from the Lord, and is it His plan for my life?

…Just to start off, ask your self – Do I believe ? ├ö├ç┬¬├ö├ç┬¬.:

Everything that God promises in His Word ?

Am I prepared to take Him on His word even if it doesn't make sense to me.

Will I still be prepared to go through with it even though it may drive a wedge between what I believe the Word teaches as the truth rather than compare it with what the world stands for and believe to be logical and true.

Am I prepared to throw everything overboard in order to obey the Word, even if it means that I may have to forfeit what I consider valuable and important, or even may end up losing it in the process.

"If you wish to know the blessing of God in your life you need to believe what you profess to believe"

Thirty years ago I had to make an important decision and so I made a list of questions to help me decide. That list had four questions,I have since added more questions, it now consists ofseventeenand counting. …God bless

When you're faced with making an important decision, these questions may help you decide and could be used as a guide as to whether or not the decision is God's will for you. …(remember this is only a guide)

Answer these 17 questions and then decide for yourself

What is the main reason?, Why do I want to do it.?

Is money the only reason?

What do I want to achieve?

Is it really what God wants me to do, or have I decided to listen to the little voice inside me?

Is that voice from God or from the Enemy?

How is it going to affect my family and the loved ones around me?

How is it going to affect my relationship with my Heavenly Father?

Will I still manage to spend time with Him, have time to witness for Him, have time to walk with Him ?

Is God trying to tell me something or teach me something?

Will I be sinning or breaking any laws in the process?

Will I be *causing a brother to stumble or tempt him in any way ? (See below)

Will it be to any one's detriment, Will I embarrass or, hurt anyone ?

Will it provide me with opportunities to seek and build God's Kingdom?

Will I be able to shine my light and glorify my Father in Heaven?

If someone else would decide to do this, how would it affect me (Put yourself in his/her shoes)

Will the result be to glorify God or myself?

Will this venture strengthen my faith and bring me closer to Jesus?

Example: Where's the balance? Is it okay to buy a big house or spend a lot of time decorating it because you intend to use it for a ministry? …It's a wonderful thing to have that one house in the church that is always ready to host a meeting or a dinner. …Is it just an excuse to spend money on drapes? …Is it an intentional ministry, or a justification? …Does it matter to the people it blesses?…

You have now answered the questions so – judge for yourself.

*Causing my brother to stumble

The concept of not causing others to stumble is found in Romans 14 and 1 Cor.8. In these chapters, Paul talks about personal convictions and our responsibility to our fellow believers in Christ

You have past the first test, what should you do next ?…If you are going to live a life of faith, God expects from you to have certain things in place before you can expect anything from Him.…You have priorities and certain responsibilities beforeyou start and there will be consequences after that youneed to consider when making your decision.

Luk.14:28-30 (NLT)

"But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you.They would say, 'There's the person who started that building and couldn't afford to finish it!'

When you approach God with a request for help, then:

Come to Him with your whole plan

Provide reasons why you want, what you're asking for

Have a plan ready as to what you are going to do with it when I get it ?

Be aware of your responsibilities as well as the consequences

Don't try and manipulate Him to justify your case,hoping to get it that way

Your aim should be, to help build His Kingdom. to glorify and exalt Him with the outcome or result

Just by having blind faith, whereby you simply believe that you will get what you ask from Him, expecting Him to just provide in your needs, is absurd.

Just because you believe and have faith does not mean that God will fulfill all your expectations. He is still God and you are still only a sinner, how can you tell Him what He must or should do? …You cannot just "name it and claim it" because you are His child.

As your Father He knows what's best for you.

If you are at peace with the questions above and you are still convinced that :

This is what the Lord wants you to do and that you are not just trying to convince Him, because your mind was made up beforehand, and that you are not just looking for confirmation for a decision you have already made:

Then proceed to the next step…

Get an organized plan together and work it through step by step.

Take that plan to the Lord and ask Him to check it out

Allow Him to make changes,

Wait for His answer (Don't rush Him)

Start praying for the doors that God will be opening for you.

Don't sit back and wait for the door to open, it does not happen that way

Stand up in faith, walk towards the door expecting it to open when you get there.

If you find that the door remains closed and does not open when you get there, stay put, look for other opportunities that He might have placed there, then grab hold of it, in anticipation of the door opening soon, but whatever you do don't take your eyes off the door.

The Lord probably wants you to do something else first, in preparation for the task that awaits you on the other side of that closed door, see this as another opportunity, not just another closed door that that God must open.

You must do now is find out what He requires of you, and do it, then leave the rest up to Him to do and He will do it

All of the above is an expression of faith not just a prayer, don't expect the Lord to answer, just because you happened to ask Him, as if it's His duty to give you what you want, when you want it, with no action or responsibility what so ever from your side.

When you approach the Lord with a prayer request, understand this:

His time is not your time,

His thoughts are not your thoughts

His timing coincides with His plan for you, not your plan

If you have to wait, maybe He wants you to learn something while you wait

You see only part, He sees the bigger picture

When He thinks you're ready He'll give you everything.

He knows all about everything you know nothing

He'll make everything work out for the better and for your good.

You know what you want, He knows what you need,

He will provide, in your needs not your greed's

Be satisfied with what you get, even if it is not what you expected.

…Instead of telling Him├ö├ç┬¬..

How much you want to earn,

The size of the house you want to live in

The type of car that you need

What you're going to do for Him, when you get all the money that He is going to give you, in order to glorify His name when you get it.

…You should be asking Him├ö├ç┬¬├ö├ç┬¬

To provide you with what He knows you need

To provide the work or task that He has lined up for you

To provide you with daily bread

A roof over your head

And then you should assure Him of your willingness to build His Kingdom

Then you shine your light in the world for His glory for His sake not yours.

And then you will find, you have enough of everything including happiness, peace and contentment and still have more than enough to share or give away.

But it will not always be as you have imagined it. …What about disappointments along the way ?

You may find that:

His pace may be faster than you thought

His expectations more rigorous than you imagined

His direction may lead to more trouble than you bargained on

His rewards don't always compensate for the bumps and bruises collected along the way.

But in times of disappointments you should be:

Learning to look at the blessings along the way that speak of grace

Looking backward to a cross

Looking forward to a throne

Keeping in mind how Jesus suffered and died for you

Looking upward to the glory and seeing Jesus praying for you

Remembering that the Holy Spirit lives in you

…There will be mountaintop and valley experiences

There is a connection between the two.

It is in the power of the One we worship when we're on the mountain that will equip us to function when we are down in the valley.

Ask yourself :

What sorts of ambitions do I have? …Am I vying for a position with power and prestige? …How does my ambition fit together with my life as achild of God? …Is there a place for God in my goals and plans?