Pure Thoughts

Jeremy Butterfield:

A military and financial leader I know, who thoroughly studies leadership,
Gary Rohrbaugh. Explained the word “Decide” to me comparing it to pesticide,
homicide, suicide, remember the common element in these words — they are all
final! When you decide to do or not to do something, it is final! Though these
other “-cide” words have negative connotations, and decide certainly doesn’t,
Gary’s right, when we DECIDE it is final!

Weighing the matter’s benefits and costs has ended and the action — doing/
being stage of life, which is made up of our choices, begins. Decide to make
this day the best day of your life, then each moment will be filled with joys,
gratitude, and happiness. NOT that you will not experience disappointments and
pitfalls in life as well. But these too we ought to decide to be grateful to
God for. “For there must be an opposition in all things…” This is so that we
can learn to determine, distinguish, discern, and yes, then DECIDE for our-
selves the difference between good and evil to experience it for ourselves and
learn to choose the good! Sounds like a wise plan for all of us, God’s children,
to gain real PURPOSE, one of the divine purposes of our creation. As Paul
put it, “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of
your own poets have said, For we are also His [God's] offspring”-Acts 17:28KJV..

God has given us our own abilities and the freedom to choose for ourselves, to
DECIDE what we will do! Without force, following His spirit or heeding other
counsel, though He is omnipotent, omniscient, powerful beyond our full compre-
hension. As was revealed to Moses in Deuteronomy 30:15-20, “See, I have set
before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; 16. In that I command
thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His
commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that thou mayest live and
multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou
goest to possess it. 17. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not
HEAR, BUT SHALL BE DRAWN AWAY, and worship other gods, and serve them; 18. I
denounce unto you this day that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not
prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to
possess it. 19. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I
have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose
life, that both thou and thy seed may live: 20. That thou mayest love the Lord
thy God, and that thou mayest obey His voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto
Him: for He is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in
the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to
Jacob, to give them.” Deciding to follow God’s plan for us equals the way of
life, and in opposition to that the way of death is to not obey His command-
ments AND NOT FOLLOW HIS VOICE (namely His prophets)!!! Choose ye this day
whom ye will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord as
Joshua declared. This requires us to DECIDE who we will follow each moment of
our lives and, thus, will determine our purpose and happiness in life!!!