Study the Word of God

The plans of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, But the LORD weighs the motives. Commit your works to the LORD And your plans will be established.  Proverbs 16:1-3 NASB

Life is filled with decisions regarding right and wrong. Right is not so hard to discover as it is to desire and perform. Why should we do what is right?  Christian living is living according to God’s standards and purpose.  The Bible and the Holy Spirit become important to decision making and “Jesus is Lord” is the statement of this philosophy.  Make the decision to let God be God. You'll never make progress in this area as long as you refuse to give up control!  

Study the Word of God.- The only way you're going to get to know God and his character is to study his Word. It won't take long before you're able to judge situations and circumstances with a new view.  God and his Word carry the ultimate authority in determining whether something is right or wrong.

Prayer and meditation are primary actions in determining personal values and morality.– A life submerged in prayer and meditation in God’s word is the only sure way to living a life based on His values and not the world’s.  

The following are some guidelines to follow when making decisions or deciding if something is in accordance with God’s standards:

Tests for Right 

·      Test of affect - How will this affect me, others, God's work, my testimony?  - Seriously, we hardly ever think about this when we are caught up in a situation, or a “moment” when we might lose self-control. We don’t think about the consequences of our decisions until it’s too late.  Then we have become the person we never wanted to be.  Yes, there is mercy and forgiveness, but there is not reversal. What you do and the decisions you make become a part of your story forever, good and bad.  

·      Test of secrecy or openness - Do I care if anyone else knows?  Do you really want your parents, friends, co-workers, family, neighbors, or other church members to know this about you? What about your children?  Do you care if they see you in this situation? How about your God?  He is there already.  Can you still go through with this?  

·      Test of universality - What if everyone did this? -  What kind of an impact would this make on the world if everyone was doing it?  What if all the Christians were doing it?

·      Test of prayer - Can I ask God to go with me? – If you would not let God come, that is an automatic no.  Don’t do it.  

The key to a happy life is never making wrong decisions.  But we are human and we will make mistakes.  God gives us all the guidance we need to make the right choices in life.  We don’t always take His words to heart and for some reason, we don’t understand the pain involved in living with wrong choices until we make wrong choices!  Thankfully it is possible to overcome these places in life with God’s help, but not without scars.  Follow His guidance, pray unceasingly and think long and hard before making choices, or agreeing to choices others make for you – for they don’t have to live with your consequences.  Youdraw the lines in your life according to God’s direction for your life.  

Scripture to Claim:
In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men. Act 24:16