Tag: choice

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

You have to make a choice

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Marques Thomas on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Joshua 24.

I used to hear these words all the time: “We know there are many airlines to choose from, so thank you for choosing [our airline].” Maybe I just haven’t been paying attention. Or maybe there was commotion from passengers wrestling carry on bags from the overhead compartment. Most of the time, I can’t even understand what the flight attendant is saying over the intercom. It just seems like I don’t hear that any more.

It’s crazy how many choices are available to us. How many makes of automobiles can we choose from? One source I checked reported over a hundred. My grocery store has a whole aisle devoted to nothing but different kinds of cereal. Running shoes? There are endless manufacturers and models. Milk? Why buy it from a cow when you can buy milk made from soy, almonds, oats, cashews, peas, coconut, flax, or rice?

So, life is filled with choices. Every day we have to choose whether we will fear, love, and trust the one true God or some other god we have manufactured. Joshua put it this way:

“Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15).

What’s it going to be, folks? Those Egyptian gods you left when God brought you out of bondage? The local Canaanite gods worshiped in the land God brought you to? Or will it be the One who delivered you, provided for you, protected you, and led you to this time and place?

This choice is not just an intellectual exercise. Your choice will guide your actions. If you choose the one true God (and I’m thinking that most of my readers will be in that camp), you choose to do what he commands and avoid what he forbids. It means you’ll be kind, generous, forgiving, and merciful. It means you’ll tell the truth, obey civil law, and love your neighbor. It means you’ll keep your word, take care of your health, and clean up your language.

Don’t answer too quickly. Who will you choose to serve, obey, and worship? Are you sure? Final answer?

Posted in Devotions, Through the Bible Devotions

This town ain’t big enough for the both of us.

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Chris Hardy on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Genesis 13.

The cookie was huge, six inches across. Mom told her son, “Break it in half and share it with your brother.” He very carefully bent the cookie in two, to share exactly 50%. Then he held out the two pieces to let his brother choose one, but he held the slightly larger half closer to himself, in hopes that one would be his.

When there’s conflict between their herdsmen, Abram tells his nephew Lot, “This town ain’t big enough for the two of us!”

In an unexpected act of generosity, Abram lets Lot choose which part of the land he wants. Lot chooses the well-watered area of the Jordan which looks like “the garden of the Lord” (Genesis 13:10). Sounds like paradise. Abram gets the plain vanilla-sounding “land of Canaan.”

But appearance isn’t everything. Lot gets to live in the lovely city of Sodom, where the residents are exceedingly wicked. It’s kind of like having a beautiful home in a wonderful community where you hate all your neighbors. Abram on the other hand gets an expanse of land that will be his and his innumerable descendants forever.

Who do you think got the better deal?

It takes some maturity to realize there’s not just one pie. We’re not relegated to a smaller piece of life just because someone else got more. The “pie” or God’s blessing is much bigger than anything we can ask or imagine. Our slice may not look like someone else’s, but it’s custom made for us by the one who truly knows the desires of our hearts.

Thank you for reading this “through the bible” devotion.