Milestones of Commitment: Don't Turn Back! - Part 3

The fact that you’re alive indicates that faith and hope are possible for your future. There will be difficult times when circumstances require courage as you come to a crossroads where godly choices are critical. No matter how secure you feel nor how free from trouble you’ve been, life insures that changes will be required somewhere in the future.

Everyone has or will have crossroads experiences that challenge your purpose for living. Reaching a milestone is a point of departure from the old way and is indicative that real change is coming. Each developmental stage of life requires changes that cannot be avoided. While it's true that old, unhealthy attitudes can be retained, most people in time will discard these.

Maximizing a milestone experience requires being vulnerable to seeking God's best plan and then patiently waiting for his guidance. When your eyes, ears, heart, and mind are open and receptive, God will not be late or silent. It’s within God's character to respond to all who seek him, and he promises to be found. 

Milestones of Commitment: Don't Turn Back! - Part 2

Have you ever been lost? I mean really lost where it was difficult to find your way? Now we have GPS to tell us exactly where we are in addition to how far we are from our destination. Even with the best technology to help make a course correction, we’re still subject to bad choices.

There are many ways to get lost when distractions are so prevalent. Entertainment news presented a young actress who became addicted to drugs and alcohol as a teenager and remained so until her mid-twenties. She essentially lost touch with herself, her family, and the talents God had given her. Taking that wrong turn was a personal choice.

This young woman reached a positive milestone when she chose sobriety and committed to staying that way. Choosing righteousness over evil set her free from habits that had kept her bound up in sin. Committing your life to Christ without reservations is a milestone that endures for eternity. It means choosing a God-centered pathway for your life.  

Milestones of Commitment: Don't Turn Back! - Part 1

A milestone for Jesus came at Gethsemane as he realized his hour had come. There could be no turning back, no cowardice, even as suffering and death were immanent. A milestone is a cross-over point from which turning back is not seen as a good choice. The burning bush was a cross-over event for Moses, in both his personal life and his relationship with God.

When an infant begins to walk, walking becomes preferential except when crawling is necessary. Children experience several milestones – physically, emotionally, and mentally – which are natural occurrences for each child. After adolescence, adults continue to progress through different but predictable developmental stages.

Jesus began his ministry at age thirty, which is a major milestone for most people, as youthful looks begin to take on an older look and a new stage of development is set in motion. The good news is, maturity takes a step forward for most people. It pleases God to see his people mature and become the individuals he intends to bless.  

Milestones: Turn Obstructions into Opportunities - Part 3

Milestones indicate that a significant change is taking place for an individual or family. Milestones are benchmarks that identify personal objectives and values of a person or group. These benchmarks help us test the true values of others who intercept our lives. Milestones can occur by carefully planning and eloquently executing a particular objective.

Whether a milestone proves to be a moral high point or a disaster depends on the ethics and spiritual fiber of those involved. A spiritual milestone occurs at the moment of conversion and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. This choice serves as a reference point indicating that a new walk, purpose, and direction for one's life is taking place.

Infants begin the process of perfecting their ability to walk and run as well as learning to speak and communicate like their parents. We as Christians also must be committed to perfecting our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ by growing and maturing in faith and loving God’s word. This helps us procure favor with God and man.