You Decide

By Laraine Reimold

In life, we have many decisions to make; and unfortunately, some of our decisions are not that good. I want people to know that we do not have to live our whole life regretting past decisions or mistakes. We can't change our past or the results of our wrong decisions. I want people to know that we can change our present and our future too. What you learn from reading this book can result in one of the greatest decisions you will ever make.

***

Now that you've read the title of this book and are now reading the back cover, you will have to make a decision. You need to decide whether or not you should buy this book. Buying this book could ultimately change your life. You decide!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9798885401029

Book preview

cover.jpg

You Decide

Laraine Reimold

ISBN 979-8-88540-101-2 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88540-102-9 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Laraine Reimold

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

All scripture taken from God’s word, using different versions of the Bible. NIV MEN’S DEVOTIONAL BIBLE—NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION compact Edition—copyright (c) 1993 by The Zondervan Corporation

The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible copyright (c) 2005 by Charles Stanley

Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright (c) 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Authorized King James Version

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Are You a Believer?

How Can You Not Believe?

To the Nonbeliever, Were You There?

Creation

Do You Believe in the Trinity?

You Are the Trinity

Are You a Follower of Jesus Christ?

Jesus Is the Only Way

Are You Teachable?

The Greatest Teacher

Facing Our Battles

Armor of God

Christ's Church Is the Body of Christ

Christ Is the Foundation

Are You the Christian You Thought You Were?

The Day I Was Born Again

Are You a Prodigal?

The Prodigal Son

Salvation

Today Could Be Your Salvation Day

The Holy Spirit

A New Creation

The Jobs of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit

Our Bodies Are Temples

Temple of God

All Things New

A New Heart

Our Merciful God

Mercy and Grace

Sanctification

The Potter

God's Will and Desires

My Psalm of Praise to My Lord

My Second Psalm

Who Am I, Lord?

His Vessel

The Great Commission

Go and Tell

You Say You're a Christian, but Are You Really?

Submission

Now Is the Time

We Must Choose

If We Fail to Yield, What Then?

Sin

Atonement for Our Sins

By the Blood

Jesus Gave His Life for All

As You Hung upon That Cross

At the Judgment Seat

Two Ways to Live

For All Sports Fans

Our Eternal Destiny

Resurrection Sunday

Where Will You Be?

Are you serving men or Christ?

Are you following traditions of men and legalism or truth?

Be led by the Spirit of God, not man.

Preface

I started this book many years ago, and never had I felt such urgency to finish it. As we experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, it made me realize how fragile life is. I felt it was more important than ever to urge people to think about their eternal life. We need to do what we can to protect our physical life, but we need to prepare ourselves for eternal life too. Our life is in God's hands, and we all need to know that the choice as to where we want to spend eternity is ours to make. God will not make any exceptions. Once you breathe your last breath, it will be too late.

Just remember that whatever your future for eternity is, it can be assured right now. Please think about this seriously. You will make the most important decision that you have ever made in your life. I would like to encourage anyone that is reading this, that this very well may be your last chance to decide. This is one decision that you should not put off. We never know when our last day on this earth will be. This is between you and God through the work of the Holy Spirit.

As a follower of Jesus, I can only encourage you as God instructs in His Word. Second Timothy 2:25–26 says,

Those who oppose the Lord's servant, he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to the knowledge of truth and that they will come to their senses and escape the trap of the devil who has taken them captive to do his will.

I would rather do the will of my heavenly Father than the will of Satan. I cannot change anyone's life or destiny. I can only encourage you to make the decision to turn your life over to Jesus Christ.

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart you will be saved. (Rom. 10:9)

If we deny Him, He will deny us. (2 Tim. 2:11–13)

It's not about who you are or what you did in this life. It's about Whose you are and what Jesus did for you. Now when you stand before your Creator, you cannot say you never knew this or that you wish someone would have told you.

I believe this is a verse we can find helpful in our daily life as we strive to live a Christian life. Teach me to do your will for you are my God; may your Spirit lead me (Psalm 143:10).

As you read this book, you will see that there are many decisions that we need to make in life, but there is one decision that will last forever, and there will be no turning back. Your eternal future depends on it. You decide.

Introduction

This book was written from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. As a child, I have always loved to write little songs or poems; but as I grew older, the urge to write left me. As the years passed by, the more I read greeting cards, the more I realized how hard it was to find one that said what I wanted to say. I started thinking of my own poems, and sometimes I would write one down. As an adult, I started to write poems for people on certain occasions instead of using those that came from a store.

As an adult, the more I attended church and Bible studies, the more inspired I was to write poems. The majority of my poems came from sermons or messages I listened to. At times, I would write about a section of the Bible we were studying. As I was touched by one section, a poem would start to form in my mind, and the words would just start to flow. These poems came from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. If it were not for the Holy Spirit, I would not be the Christian that I am today. He is the one that leads us to salvation.

This book that you are about to read has some of the many poems that the Holy Spirit inspired me to write. I love to write poems, but I also know that it's not about me. God gave me this talent to share with others the message that He wants to be made known. The more I learned about God and His Word, the more aware I was of things He wanted to change to in me. He does not do it to be mean or to be lording over us. He does it out of love, and He wants to be our Lord. He wants us to be aware of His desires for us, but we must come to Him willingly and surrender our will to Him.

I have been blessed with the ability to write poems, but they come from inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who inspires me. He is the one that guides each and every person that turns their life over to Jesus Christ. We may have talents; but in the words of John, He must become greater; I must become less (John 3:30 NIV). As you can see, it's not about us—it's about Him. God gives us talents to be used by Him for Him, for His purpose. The purpose is to get people to see that they need to surrender their life over to Jesus Christ. Once you do this, they will be amazed to see how God uses them, as long as they are willing to do it.

I know I never would have dreamed that one day I would be writing a book, much less attempting to get it published. If it does get published, I know it will be for His glory, not mine. It is not my purpose to show my talent but to show how the Holy Spirit uses people in many ways to convey the message of the Gospel. It is my prayer that as you read this book, you come to know the Lord as I have come to know Him. This did not happen overnight but through the work of the Holy Spirit.

The more I study God's Word, the more I realize that my mentor, the Holy Spirit, brings out the poet in me. The Holy Spirit prompted me to come to realize that God placed this talent in me for a purpose. God started His work in me, but it really intensified during Katrina. But that is another story for another time.

This is a verse God placed on my heart: See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord (Col. 4:17).

What you are about to read is not my opinion, but the truth of God's word through the scriptures it came from. It is my prayer that as you read this book, you ask the Holy Spirit to open your mind and to give you understanding on what it means to be a Christian or a follower of Jesus Christ.

Are You a Believer?

Some people say they believe in God. Still, some people think that because they believe in God, they are a Christian. However, they say things like, I believe in God but not all that religious stuff. Another thing many of them say is I believe in God, and I don't need to go to church to prove anything. I have also heard many people say, Just because I don't go to church doesn't make me a bad person, or I'm better than so-and-so, and he goes to church all the time. I will tell you what God's Word says: Even Devils believe in God (James 2:19).

If you say you believe, chances are you are like many others that know of God but don't know God. They don't know Him or who He is. He is our Creator, our Sustainer, our Provider, our Protector, our Counselor, our Savior, and so much more. He is the one that made all things, and He is