U-Turns
Rusty Stowe - Senior Adult Minister
For the past 4 weeks, in our Wednesday night Bible Study, we have been studying
a series hosted by Dr. Tony Evans entitled “U-Turns.” He points out that as followers of Jesus Christ we need “U-Turns” in our lives to recover from wrong choices we have made in the past. He uses the illustration of driving down the road and discovering we are going in the wrong direction. We are then faced with the decision of making a CHOICE of going in that direction or making a “U-Turn” and head back in the direction we know we need to go. Sure, we can make right turns here or left turns there, but ultimately we find ourselves going in the same direction.
In Deuteronomy 30:19 Moses implored the people to CHOOSE life, that is to choose for themselves the path of life and blessing instead of the path of selfishness that leads to death. God has given us a choice also. Each of us has been given the ability to choose life or death, in everything we think and do. God does not make these choices for us! We have been blessed with free will to choose the course for our lives. Choices matter! When God created man, He created him with a will and capacity to choose, God will not make the choice for you. What God WILL do is tell you the options on the table – you control the choice. But what we DO NOT control are the consequences of our choices. We have the option to have God at work in our lives. God is life and Jesus came that we might have life, but we do not need to settle for life as usual. John 10:10 tells us that Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
Some of you are at a crossroad and you are facing the reality of making choices. Yogi Berra, the wise old sage of the world champion New York Yankees once made this statement: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it!” In other words don’t just stand there make a choice, but be willing to deal with the consequences of that choice.
Dr. Evans shared a story in our first lesson on making “U-Turns” about a little boy that lived in the country. Their house did not have indoor plumbing so they had an outhouse which was located on the banks of a nearby river. One day as he made his way to the outhouse he was angry about having to use the outhouse, so out of frustration he pushed the outhouse down the bank into the river. That night at supper the little boy’s dad said, “Son did you push our outhouse into the river today?” The little boy replied, “Dad I cannot tell a lie, I did push it into the river.” The dad then said, “Well I am going to have to punish you for your actions.” The little guy said, “But dad, when George Washington told the truth about cutting down the cherry tree, his father understood and forgave him.” And the dad said, “That is true, but George Washington’s dad was not sitting in that cherry tree!”
Choices will always have consequences! Maybe this day you need to make a “U-Turn" in your life and head back toward Jesus!
I look forward to serving with you as we move toward the new year.
Rusty