Many times people don’t give their choices much thought. This rings true for many children and teens. Usually, the younger the person the less responsibility he or she has in life. When a lack of maturity is mixed with not having responsibility, choices are made without much thought. For a younger person, it is sometimes harder to see the ramifications of every single choice because of the earlier things mentioned. When we choose, it’s usually the easiest, fastest, and cheapest route. In other words, the least amount of pain and suffering in order to get the job done makes the choice. Hurry up, and get it done and. We often forget that every choice we make has a consequence attached to it.
During the teen camp, we had a great teaching moment about choices. Mark Roth, the founder of HRTWAM, left Wisconsin in 1974 driving to Alaska. While driving through Canada, the roads were terrible, and multiple times along the trip Mark had to get his truck pulled out of the mud by road graders. It was very frustrating for Mark and his friend that accompanied him. At one point on the trip, Mark and his friend asked themselves if they should continue or turn around and go back. They decided to keep going which led to Mark eventually building a successful commercial salmon seining business. Forty-three years later there are still consequences from that one important decision to not turn back. One major consequence is the HRTWAM camp. This international camp doesn’t charge a fee for the campers unless the campers are able to sponsor themselves. I don’t want to get off track here, but keep in the back of your mind we are talking about choices and the consequences that follow. This camp doesn’t have to rely on outside contributions in order to exist. This camp isn’t anti-contributions because over the years it has received a donation here or there from people who see the fruit of the camp. Now, let me return to Mark’s story. Making one choice to continue on to Alaska resulted in Mark being able to produce a tool, in the form of money, that is used to bless other young people and the Body of Messiah. What would have happened if Mark would have returned back to Wisconsin? We can speculate all we want, but I’m left wondering if HRTWAM would even exist today. I’m left wondering if I ever would’ve had the opportunity to go to Alaska and provide for my family and the ministry. I’m left wondering where the ministry would be financially if I didn’t have the opportunity to go labor in Alaska every year in order to help fund the ministry. One thing I don’t have to speculate about is that over the past five or so years there would be no Crucified Life Ministries without Mark in Alaska! My point is about that one choice Mark made to keep pressing on to the land commonly called America’s last frontier. It was one choice that not only changed his life but continues to change the lives of individuals and generations to come some forty-three years later. That is a great example of a positive consequence that was produced from one single choice. Hopefully, that story blessed and encouraged you to make the right choices in your life because they not only affect you but have the potential to affect others.
Another aspect to our choices has to do with sowing and reaping. I’m sure you’ve heard the message of reaping financial blessings that come out of our sowing. That isn’t what I want to touch on. I would like to touch on sowing and reaping in the realm of our thoughts.
Galatians 6:7-8 paraphrased tells us that whatever a man sows, he reaps, but how does this apply to our thoughts? First, a person sows a thought and reaps an action. Next, that action is sown, and a habit is reaped. After sowing a habit, a certain type of character is reaped. Once a certain type of character is sown, you end up reaping a destiny. In other words, thoughts lead to actions that create habits which form character that leads to a destiny. This works in a positive or negative way, and this is why the enemy attacks us in our thoughts. The natural reveals the spiritual. If you can, imagine a seed for a moment. A thought becomes a seed. If you give that thought a certain amount of time to germinate, it will sprout forth as an action. The action becomes the product, or fruit, of that seed. For example, many young people will accept a thought from the enemy telling them they have no self worth. If this thought is received and believed long enough, it usually ends up producing the fruit of depression, loneliness, insecurity, and unhappiness. Of course, the God of Israel has something different to say about each one of His children. Philippians 2:5 tells us, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Y’shua the Messiah.” You must have the mind of Messiah! How do you do this? When the enemy comes to attack your thoughts this is how you break free from his tactics. You replace the enemy’s thought with another thought. You replace one action with another action. You replace one habit with another habit. You replace one character with another character. When you go through this process you are fulfilling Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you prove what is that good and well-pleasing and perfect desire of Elohim. When you believe what the enemy says about you or about your situation, you are being conformed to the world and the enemy. When you receive the Word of God and meditate on it day and night, you become transformed by the Word and Spirit into what God says. The longer you allow yourself to be transformed by God through reading and declaring His Word over and over, the more you look like, talk like, and act like Y’shua. By the time the Word and Spirit have accomplished their job, your life and ministry look like Y’shua’s. STOP meditating on what the enemy says and START walking in the truth of the reality of the Kingdom of Yahweh! Shalom and blessings.
