Thought for the week: WRITE YOUR PLANS IN PENCIL AND GIVE GOD THE ERASER. How do you determine if God is giving you the green signal to move forward in the plans you've made? Many a times we make the mistake of adding up all the pluses and then concluding that God has given us the green light. Several factors go into making a decision from the Lord. Consider this: It is important to do three things before you make a decision on a matter. First, you should gather facts. Fact gathering allows you to determine all the realities of a given situation. However, this does not ultimately drive your decision, but it can put a stop to it. For instance, if you were planning to build a shopping center and you knew the only way to lease the space was to rent to a porn shop, your decision would be made. God would not lead you to enter into unrighteous ventures. Second, is the Holy Spirit guiding you in your decision? "If the Lord delights in a man's way, He makes his steps firm" (Ps. 37:23). God puts hedges around us, but many times we bull our way through the hedges under the guise of tenacity and perseverance. This too is unrighteousness. One wise person stated that the greatest success one can have in life is to know when it is time to pull the plug rather than keep forcing a situation. Not everything last forever. Third, has your decision been confirmed? God has placed others around us to be used as instruments in our lives to confirm decisions and keep us from the deceit of our own heart. "Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses" (2 Cor. 13:1b). This is God's way of keeping us within the hedge of His protection. So go ahead, make plans but remember to write it in pencil and give God the eraser! Have a right-decision-filled week in the Lord! love n prayers, Irma ********************************************************************** This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. To unsubscribe, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For automatic help, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In case of any issue related to the mailing list contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] To know more about Jesus Youth, visit http://www.jesusyouth.org **********************************************************************
