Five Choices We Must Make To Be Right With God

    From the very beginning of creation mankind has been making choices. Adam and Eve made the first choice to disobey God in the Garden of Eden when they chose to eat of the forbidden fruit. They quickly learned that there was a consequence to their choice, and were cast out of the garden and into a life of hardship.
    Every day we have to make choices. We choose what clothes we want to wear, what food we want to eat. We choose what jobs we want to work at, what vehicle we want to drive and what type of dwelling in which we live. We choose whom our friends are and whom we wish to date or marry. However, the most important decisions we can make are the decisions that affect our spiritual well being and that will determine our final destination.
    For those of us that say we believe in God, the Bible and Christ, we need to ask ourselves if we are making our choices according to God’s word. We know from the Bible that in order for us to be right with God, we must adhere to what the Bible teaches. Luke 11:28 says: But He said, More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!
    When we choose to become a Christian, we accepted God’s directions and instructions. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 states:  For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.
    God’s word should guide us in all of the choices we make, but ultimately it is up to us to make those choices. When God created us he gave us the right to choose what we do in this life, but also provides for us instructions. Proverbs 16:9 tells us: A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.

    Let’s look at some of the choices we must make to be right with God.

    1.    First of all we must choose to obey God’s plan of salvation for man. The Bible tells us we must:
      a.    Hear God’s word. Mark 12:29
      b.    Believe God’s word, John 20:3
      c.    Repent of our sins, Luke 13:3
      d.    Confess that Jesus is the Christ, Acts 8:37
      e.    Be Baptized for the remission of our sins, Acts 2:38
      f.    And we must live Godly, 2 Peter 1:5-11

    2.    Living Godly includes many choices we must make including worshiping God as he has directed.
      a.    We are to worship God on the first day of the week. Hebrews 10:25
      b.    When we worship we are to sing to God: Ephesians 5:19
      c.    We are to pray to our creator: Acts 2:42
      d.    We are to hear the preaching of God’s holy word: II Timothy 3:16
      e.    We are to partake of the Lord’s supper: Acts 20:7
      f.    We are to give as we have been prospered: I Corinthians 16:2
      g.    And we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together: Hebrews 10:25

    3.    We must also choose to submit ourselves to the authority God has given to the elders in the church. Hebrews 13:17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

    4.    Another aspect to making Godly choices are the things we choose to do outside of the church in our daily living. Matthew 5:16 says: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
      a.    When we make choices to do things that are ungodly, we shed a negative light upon God, the church and ourselves and not only put our own salvation at risk, but could hinder others from ever obeying God’s word or cause other Christians to stumble. Romans 14:21 tells us: It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.
      b.    Who we choose to spend our time with can also effect our decisions. If we spend a lot of time with people who are not Christians or those who do things that are immoral and unscriptural, we can be influenced to do likewise. I Corinthians 15:33 states: Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits.

    5.    Finally, we need to choose to share God’s word with everyone that we can. Mark 16:15 And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

    If we truly believe in God and care about the people in the world around us, we will choose to follow His word to the best of our ability, worship and obey Him faithfully, live a Godly life to be a shining example to everyone around us and share God’s word with whomever we can.

Where Are The Dead Video Background Part I

The initial idea for creating the Where Are the Dead video came from a series of lessons that Jimmy Young did several years ago on the Speaking The Truth In Love television program which airs on the local ABC channel in Jonesboro, AR. Me and HR McDonough had discussed what a video that was more visual might be like and so began a series of discussions and creative talks.

The first step was taking the lessons that Jimmy did and transcribing them into an editable text format. HR took on that task. The next step was HR then began editing down all of the content that was used into a simplified format and he began forming the content into the vision he had for how to present it. He also began doing additional Biblical research and rewrote all of the content so that it could be presented in a more visual way.

Once HR completed his research and rewriting of the content, he then handed it off to me and I began reworking it into a script format. His original content was in more of an article format. As I worked on the script, I began inserting possible visual ideas that might coincide with the text. While I was working on the script, there was a lot of back and forth with HR and several other church members, who were of immense help, and we continued to research what the scriptures said us about what happens to us when we die.

More in part II

To view the video, click here.