It’s Your Choice

The most important decision you will ever make in life is whether or not to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. If you do, then you will be faced with the second most important decision, and that is… do you want to fulfill God’s plan for your life. The first choice answers the question of where you will spend eternity. The second choice answers the question of what you did with the life God gave you. Did you fulfill God’s plan, or did you fulfill your own?

God has a plan for your life, and only in this plan will you find your purpose. He made this plan in eternity past before you were even born. This plan has a unique purpose that will ultimately glorify Him. His plan involves using the talents, passions, and experiences He gave you, but only after you surrender your will to His do you discover your amazing and impactful purpose.

God is all knowing. He knows every thought and every action you will ever make. He knows whether you will believe in Jesus and He knows whether you will choose the plan He has for you. If you choose not to fulfill His plan, God knew this in eternity past, too and yet He still provided the plan knowing you would reject it. This is grace. God always fulfills His part but will never force His will upon you, because He is a God of love.

To follow God’s plan is a separate issue from salvation. For salvation has to do with one thing only…belief in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. (Acts 16:31) There are many believers who live their life with no desire to fulfill God’s plan and yet they end up in heaven when they die. Scripture explains this principle in 1 Corinthians 3:1-15. Here is an excerpt from verse 12-15…

If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, his work will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If it is burned up he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as one escaping flames. 1 Corinthians 3:12-15

We see from this passage that the one who built his foundation (life) on wood, hay, or straw (worldly values) is still saved, but receives no reward because everything he did in life was worthless and would not stand up to the fire of the Judgment Seat of Christ. This Judgment Seat of Christ is not to be confused with the White Throne Judgment, for they are completely different. The White Throne Judgment is for unbelievers (Revelation 20:11-15) where the Judgment Seat of Christ is for believers. It is called the Judgment Seat, but it does not judge believers on their faith in Christ, but on the choices they made after salvation. It is considered a reward ceremony, where the treasures one stored in heaven will be revealed (Matthew 6:20). God has a plan for your life, and you will be rewarded if you choose to follow it.

For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans to prosper and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 22:11

Often when believers learn of the reward ceremony in heaven, they altruistically say something like… “I don’t care about rewards; I just love Jesus.” What they fail to understand is that we are commanded to do this, and for good reason…

Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 6:20

Why are we commanded to store treasures in heaven?

Storing treasures in heaven is a commandment that holds profound meaning and purpose because it is the only way we can glorify God! And isn’t glorifying God the ultimate goal of our Christian life! This divine directive reminds us that our earthly existence is but a fleeting moment and that the only thing that truly matters is what we take into eternity. You see, the number of treasures a believer stores in heaven reflects the number of times they submitted to God’s will in their life. Only when we submit to God’s will, do we glorify him. If you want to glorify God, the key is in building up treasures.

All believer’s will stand before the Judgment Seat and be judged for how they lived their Christian life. Picture yourself in the presence of Jesus and other believers who wait their turn. Every single choice you made after salvation will be laid on the alter and set on fire. Every choice you made for worldly (fleshly) desires will be burned as wood, hay, and straw. Every choice made in submission to God’s will does not burn and remains as treasure.

For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10

Scripture refers to our reward as gold, silver, and precious stones because these are the only earthly things we have to compare to the unknown riches God has in store us. The treasure or reward that remains, reflects the times we submitted to God’s will. God is not glorified when we live our life according to the flesh (wood, hay, straw). Those whose life glorified God in time will be revealed and richly rewarded.

However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” - the things God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9

Do you see why it is commanded that you store your treasure in heaven? Do you see why the choices you make every day count! I’m not talking about choices of what to have for breakfast. I’m talking about the choices in response to life and the opportunities God gives you to glorify him. I cover what these choices look like in The True Woman of God course.

Believers often talk about how they want to glorify God, but unless they follow the principles found in Scripture, they will fall short. They try to glorify God their way instead of God’s way. This is what I did for most of my Christian life. I thought I was glorifying God with my daily devotions, prayer, memorizing scripture, attending church and women’s retreats, only to discover years later that, although those were positive and edifying, they were not glorifying God. Yes, God wants us to do those things, but only because they are the means to understanding His will and plan. They do not fulfill His plan. Only after we understand God’s will can we fulfill His plan and glorify God.

Believers who think those things fulfill God’s plan will find themselves short on rewards. For God’s plan is not about doing those things. God’s plan is about allowing the truths we learn from doing those things to transform us and renew our mind to the Mind of Christ, which is God’s plan and will for your life.

Do you want to fulfill God’s plan for your life? Do you want to know your purpose? I can’t imagine any believer responding to that question in the negative. But if one does not do God’s will, they are in fact responding with NO. Look what scripture says about those who keep His commands…

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by the Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him. John 14:21

This may be difficult for many to conceive, but it’s only when we choose to follow God’s plan can we say that we truly love God. I’m sure you have heard a fellow believer say they love Jesus, and Jesus is the most important person to them, only to see they live their life for themselves. Sure, they attend church, and all the women’s events, but they have no desire to know God or his plan. They are satisfied with being saved and the assurance of going to heaven but have no desire to study God’s Word and allow it to renew and transform their mind. (Romans 12:2)

My purpose in writing this post is to help you discover and understand the offer God has for you. Many believers are unaware of this offer, sadly because they have not been taught it. The offer God gives you is to take your Christian life beyond salvation, beyond attending church, beyond service, beyond the Ten Commandments. The Christian life is NOT a system of do’s and don’ts, but a system of transformation. Romans 12:2 is a key verse. It not only commands us to be transformed but shows us that in this transformation we will be able to know God’s perfect will.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. They you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

I can’t stress enough that the Christian life is not a list of do’s and don’ts. Jesus didn’t say, “I came so that you may work hard and serve me.” No, in John 10:10 He said, I came so that you may have life, and have it more abundant. This abundant life does not come from serving God, for service is a result and not the means to the abundant life. The only way to the abundant life that Jesus promised is found in doing God’s will by following his plan.

The Christian life is about the pursuit of holiness and allowing yourself to be transformed by the renewing of your mind that comes through filling your soul with God’s truth. In order to do that, you must submit to God’s will and apply those truths to your life. Remember, our God is a God of love and will never force his will on you. Through grace, God will give you all you need for this journey that will never end until your last breath, but it must be your choice and desire. If you choose to take this journey, this is what God promises:

You will ~

• Glorify God

• Become an impactful witness

• Grow spiritually

• Be transformed with a renewed mind that thinks like Christ

• Be blessed beyond measure

• Learn to love unlovable people

• Be free of the emotional sins of fear, anger, bitterness, hatred, jealousy, and more!

• Experience God’s supernatural peace and abundant joy

• Be under God’s protection

• Live a life of purpose and meaning.

• Live the faith life with confidence and courage

• Finish the race having stored a mountain of treasures in heaven and hear Jesus say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”

This website is all about your pursuit of holiness and being transformed by the renewing of your mind. In it you can access courses that spell out the mechanics of how to achieve this goal. They are free, so the only thing holding you back will be you. I only ask that you approach these teachings with humility and a sincere heart truly desiring God’s truth. Anything less will derail your journey and result in not finishing the race Paul talks about in 2 Timothy 4:7.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7

I’ll end with this ~

Only you are responsible for the decisions you make in life. In the end, your life will reflect those decisions whether good or bad. When you get to heaven, you will have only yourself to blame for not following God’s plan. No excuse will be accepted. You can’t say you didn’t know or understand, because God’s truth is evident and available to everyone. You can’t blame your pastor or teacher for not teaching the truth, because God’s word is evident and available to everyone, and the Holy Spirit is the only true teacher of the Word of God.

When it’s your turn at the Judgment Seat, your work will be revealed for what it is. There will be no excuses because what remains on the alter will speak for you. My prayer for you will be that through your choices you will hear…

“Well done good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of the Lord.” Matt. 25:23