In recent days the Lord has guided me to promote a source of renewable energy to Northern New Jersey homeowners for absolutely no money out of pocket. The system costs on average about 40K.

I love promoting this opportunity. I have the distinct privilege of sitting down in the homes of many different kinds of people from all over the world who happen to live in Northern NJ.

This source of energy uses the roof of the home to supply electric power to operate all the appliances in the home and sends the unused power back to the energy grid.

My company offers this power to the homeowner with no money down provided they meet a certain set of requirements.

So every dollar they keep from the utility company is money earned.

Show me another offer that good in our economy.

My presentation is clear and forthright, bold and uncompromising. Yet many will not take advantage of this honest proposal because they think it is too good to be true, a free energy system that costs on average $40,000, with no money out of their pocket. Deep in the subconscience of folks is a hidden monster that defeats an honest offer even if it is going to save them thousands of dollars.

This business experience has shown me once again that the greatest foe of humankind is that old stubborn two headed monster we all face day by day…

doubt and unbelief!

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When we as humans are presented an offer that seems to be too good to be true, we develop a knee jerk reaction in our mind and eventually in our hearts to destroy the good intention of the offer… even when it is a truly genuine and honest offer.

Yet Americans fall for scams every day, probably at the highest per capita basis of any culture in the world. When we mentally and emotionally destroy the good intentions of an honest offer, we can do so at our peril.

How does this happen you may ask?

By turning away from a positive moment of a solid long term forward thinking decision, only to stay stuck in the status quo, happens everyday in our society. Interestingly I was sent to the home to assist in shielding folks from the rising cost of energy.

So we learn that our everyday reality - proven day by day - makes us miserable. So we defeat any real idea that can turn our lives toward our betterment. Just because that offer seems to be too good to be true.

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My sarcastic side says to simply make stuff up and lie and that plan would be better than the basics of a forthright offer, in other words, “just lie to me”

Everyday many could take a new and better direction, but many fall back to preserve the “status quo”. The known is better than the unknown. Even if misery is all you know you would rather have misery than happiness. 

The battle for a real change that once started in our mind and eventually settled into our hearts, creates a tension that I want to label, “the tyranny of indecision”.

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Conversely, all of us have watched those Susanne Summers infomercials that offer the flabby and out of shape an incredible body toning machine that promises an reveals a fitness technique heretofore undiscovered now available offering the hope of a beautifully toned body to the masses.

All at a one-time low introductory offer.

And folks buy these gadgets regularly with little or no results of the fitness and body toning they were promised and it was gained for 3 easy payments of 69.99.

Most of these fitness contraptions eventually find their way to the corner of the basement or garage, in almost new condition.

Eventually they will make their way onto a Craigslist or Ebay ad to be hidden away in the garage of another sap trying to find an easier way to do what only hard work and passion can deliver.

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Jesus lived among us doing good continually. None of his publized works written for us in history or the sacred writings reveal to us any wrong doing except that He claimed to be the Son of God.

Jesus simply went to the places that most would not go to bring His power and life to hopeless lepers, abused and heart-broken harlots, shrewd conniving tax collectors, and those with horrible diseases many times filled with demons.

Not once did Jesus fail in His performance in doing His Father’s perfect will. He was just perfect in every way. As a person, His motives for doing all the good He did for mankind was right and true.

Our Lord never had a selfish motive in His dealings with us. All this do-gooding accomplished was His eventual crucifixion.

His offer to us is simply believe in Him and what He has done…nothing more…nothing less.  Follow His leading and His example and YOU get it all the happiness and joy you can handle when He returns in Glory.

Many times in the journey your vexed mind and heart tells us this reality can’t be true. He isn’t there anymore; this whole faith thing isn’t worth it, Etc. Etc.  

Jesus continually asks us to bring our anxieties, sins, failures, and emotional pain and cast it all at His feet.

His promise to us is – If you give it all to Me, I will take care of all your problems… under one condition- Give all of yourself to Me and simply put your TRUST in Me.

The Promise is eternal life.

The fountain of youth.

Perpetual life.

Never ending happiness and bliss.

All He requires is our surrender and grant Him ownership of our life and our decision making, and we will have it all with Him forever.

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Why would you still want control of an uncontrollable thing called your precarious life?

Yet for the last 2000 years our world has blissfully walked past this amazing offer, rejected real love for a poor imitation from the world of make believe.

Why?

Because the offer is too good to be true.

You mean…

I don’t have to fast for 21 days?

Climb Mount Kilimanjaro?

Feed a million homeless people?

Help a thousand old ladies cross the street?

No, none of that will save you!

Just like none of those fitness devices offering incredible results will really take inches off your waist and thighs…

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If you do give it all to Jesus, He will help you do some absolutely amazing things.

Even greater things than those who try to merit salvation through good deeds.

Jesus made a simple offer, with a simple response. Just believe.

When the apostle Paul appeared before King Agrippa, an appearance that cost him 2 years of hardship traveling over land and sea; so Paul could make a personal confession of his faith in the bodily resurrection of Jesus and to make a personal appeal of his innocence in response to the accusations brought against him by the Jews. Paul eventually found his way to the King of the world – King Agrippa.

Paul actually went before the throne of the king of the entire known world – King Agrippa -- to testify of the resurrection of the infamous Jewish rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth.

King Agrippa was so taken by Paul’s words regarding the bodily resurrection of Jesus and his conversion to the teachings of Jesus that he confessed openly to Paul that he almost persuaded him to become a Christian.

Like so many others, poor old King Agrippa, missed the wonder and awe of entering into eternal life. The king is long gone now. Many Roman emperors have succeeded him and they too have died and passed their legacy of unbelief to the next generation’s world leader. 

But all the while we can assume that King Agrippa’s moment of indecision left him without ever making the correct decision, and now he suffers the fate all those who rejected good nature of Our Messiah while they had the chance to be saved.

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If we are passionate about our Lord, His fire rages inside of us, passion for His honor motivates us to present Him with all the muster we can bring… yet we see, all too often, broken people turning away from Christ to turn back to their sad pile of pain.

At the pile of brokenness and heartache most of us will stay, isolated within the orbit of our misery, without any real help and with no hope of real deliverance or a REAL deliverer.

Why do so many choose this path?

Why do so many walk the lonely road of indecision?

Why do so many in the church today keep trying to prop up those things that that they believe are true when Jesus really didn’t do or say those things?

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The moment of indecision leads to the moment of decision to stay put!

The dead end of a street called “status quo”.

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So how does Jesus reenergize His people when we stray away from His strategic plan to invade the world with His Love?

We know the reality of our natural tendency to stray from the essential elements of the Gospel, yet we continue in our self-love by holding onto our dead traditions.

Just so we can keep everyone in freeze frame, fearing the punishment of men without any reference to the very real judgment seat of Christ.

Today is the day of salvation.

Paul wrote in Hebrews 3:13

but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

What can we learn about negatives involved in the sin of indecision from this simple verse in Hebrews?

1.     Indecision is based in deceit

2.     Deceit is directly connected to sin

3.     A sin hardened heart operates in paradigm of sloth and delay

The Lord’s word to all of us is “repent” and do it NOW!

Any delay on repentance is based in sin. Doubt and unbelief is made up of crafty subtleness. These pernicious influences begin to creep in and bring us to a place of indecision which will ultimately lead us to hardness of heart...and the sad state of...

The Status Quo.

To balance this word of encouragement from another vantage point, we must recognize the necessity of prayer and counsel to lead us in our decision making.

But still, wisdom bears many radical children, who, upon the sound of the Master’s voice, are led to follow Him at the very first hearing of His call.

In the religious circles that I have been associated for most of my life, I have seen many great ministry opportunities missed cloaked in the filthy rags of tradition in the art of man-based wisdom. Intimately associated with the applied science of a man-centered credulity of those who do not want to lose control of their world.

Have fun trying to control your world...

But we see in scripture the stark contrast of Our Savior calling Peter, James, Andrew, and John from their well-established fishing business to IMMEDIATELY follow Jesus.

Wisdom of the aged would say to all who follow the first sound of His voice:

Where are going Jesus?

What are the risks involved?

What will cost me?

Will I encounter much resistance?

Will my friends come with me?

Will I ever come back?

We don’t observe Jesus coopting our fears and doubts with these words.

Just a look from our Savior and the warmth of His voice and we are off to follow Him. As in Peter’s response to Our Lord question, “will you leave also?” Peter cries out, “Who else has the words of life?”

So we must learn the lessons of history. We lose our way. Left to ourselves we are all without hope. I right response must be “What do you want me to do for You today?”

Expect then to hear further instructions...

May the Lord guide you into bold decision-making today!

Shalom to you,


Jonathan