The Only Two Options

May 2. The only two options. Imagine I'm holding a flashlight in my hand, and I want you to

guess whether it's on or off. The only hint I'll give you is that the light is not on.

Does that narrow it down? I certainly hope so. Because with light, there are only two options.

Either it's on, or it's off. But I wonder if this same idea gets muddled when it comes to our

Christian walk. You see, in our daily choices, we also only have two options. To follow Christ,

or to follow Satan, to follow life, or to follow death. Today we'll meet Betty, a woman who

rejected Christ, until she realized the alternative she'd chosen for herself. She's here to share with

us her true story. On this unshackled, daily devotional. I was living with my alcoholic mother,

and I already had a baby at a wedlock. When I was 19, mama died. By then I also had a son. I was also

raising my cousin's baby girl, Chrissy. As a teenager, my daughter followed in my footsteps and

made me a grandmother, so I was taking care of that child too. One day, a preacher came to the door

and wanted us to attend church. I sent the children who loved it. But when I learned Chrissy was praying for

me at church, I stopped sending him. Two years later, we moved, and that same pastor came around,

so I let the children go again. Then a friend's grandchild died in an accident. Attending that funeral,

I was horrified at all the grave markers. The shadow of death was oppressive that day, as we waited

in a procession of more than a dozen funerals. I was so shaken I went to church the next day.

How could God love someone like me? I kept asking. But a woman at church described how she had

been a drunk and a drug user until Jesus saved her. I was high on pot that night, so I returned on

New Year's Eve at their invitation to see if their love was real. It was. I called on the Lord

and he answered, forgiven my sins and given me eternal life. And I've taken everyone I know to

church because I want them to be free too. In Deuteronomy, chapter 30, Moses is speaking to the

Israelites just outside the promised land. He says in verses 19 and 20, I have said before you life

and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life that both thou and thy seed may live,

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. Friend, may we never forget that at each moment a battle is

being waged for our souls. And when we do not choose to honor our Heavenly Father, we are instead

celebrating the darkness. For there are only two sides, and we must always examine which one we're

living for. Will you receive this truth today? Unshackled, the longest running audio drama in history

airs on over 3,000 radio stations worldwide, real life stories, stirring dramatic accounts of hopelessness,

and the hope that changes everything. This award-winning program grips the heart with compelling

and relevant stories of transformed lives. Without Jesus Christ, we are all shackled by sin,

by our wrong choices and selfish motives. But God is at work, and the power of Christ sets us

free of our bondage. Listen to a new devotional every day, and don't forget to tell your friends

about unshackled, daily devotional.