Crossroads

Eventually everyone will come to a crossroad in his or her life. In fact, there will probably be a number of them in their lifetime. In relation to God, everyone comes to a crossroad. Everyone must decide whether they will completely surrender to Him, and the Lordship of Jesus Christ. As long as they remain at their crossroads, they will not move forward, and they will become lukewarm. Those who do not make a decision to fully follow the Lord will remain subject to fear. They wonder why they are afraid to do the things of God, and the answer is simple: they have not surrendered completely to Him. Their hearts need to be fully converted. As long as they chose not to make the decision, they will be harassed by fear. A crossroad is meant to be passed straight forward through; no left turn, no right turn –no compromise. Since God is love, in His presence is the absence of fear, for, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18, KJV).

Until a person bows his knees before Jesus, he will not be able to confess that Jesus is Lord in the truest sense of the word. Confession means to fully agree, or full acknowledgement. If a person has not bowed his knees to the Lord Jesus Christ, he has not made a true confession; he has only given lip service. Our confession is a lifestyle, not mere words. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24, KJV). If we are going to be where Jesus is, we need to be willing to follow Him, just as He did in relation to the Father. Jesus did what He saw the Father do, and He said what He heard the Father say. Those who have made the decision to travel straight forward will find that the fear is gone. The Holy Spirit will guide them, and the spirit of fear will have no place in their life. Full surrender to God includes full surrender to the Spirit. Once a person makes the decision to surrender, his choices will reveal the decision. He will begin to produce good fruit.

Those who turn to the right believe they are heading in the right direction. They are not rebelling outright, but they are not obeying Him either. They are asking God to bless their decision. One of the ways He blesses their decision is by placing roadblocks in the way, so they will return to make the right decision. If they continue around the roadblocks, their joy will become less and less; for, fullness of joy comes with obedience (see John 15:10-12). Though they may not be setting out to rebel against the Lord, they are still compromising. While the Lord may be with them in sense of protection and His love, He will not fully bless what they do. Some things they do may prosper because it will benefit others. Some things will prosper because God’s Word will not return onto Him void. Because they are Biblical, they will work. It is one thing to do a good thing, while it is another to do the right thing. To fully prosper, a person must cross straight forward.

Unfortunately, there are those who turn left because they are rebelling against the call that is on their life. Though they may not reject God outright, they are still in rebellion. There will be no joy for them, and there may even be severe chastisement as He allows them to eat the fruit of their doings. Yet, severity is an act of kindness in that it may lead them to repentance (see Romans 2:4). There is still hope for them. There are those who will make a u-turn, but that is something to be addressed at another time.

While crossing straight forward is the right way to go, it is not the easiest way to go. There will be the trying of our faith, and there will even be persecution along the way. When tribulation comes, rejoice, for the Lord will be with you to the very end. There are great rewards to those who make the decision to go forward.

www.perfectfaith.org