"It's Your Move"

My grandson, Kenan Pitman, loves to challenge his old grandfather to a game of checkers. He usually beats me by hook or by crook. However, when he sees himself blocked in, he does all he can to stall. He will gaze at the board until his opponent (me) has to say, "It's your move." Then he will reluctantly allow his "man" to be taken. Initiative is very important in board games. In football, the initiative is vital too, but is determined by a coin toss. "Will we kick off or will we receive?" That is the question that might define victory or defeat. My dad had a coin toss formula that always guaranteed him the victory, until we smartened up. With a cunning smile on his face, he would say "Heads, I win; tails, you loose!" Whaaat?

When Lot and Abraham had strife among their shepherds over grazing land, Abraham, in the interest of peace, told Lot you make a choice, Genesis 13:7-18. Perhaps he said, "It's your move. Whatever you decide, I'll go the other direction. We are brethren and we should work together. We need unity not division." Lot's move was to select the best grazing land in the area but there was a costly price to pay that he had not counted on. He moved toward Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 19, where the homosexual lifestyle of the locals triggered God's wrath. Lot made a bad move. It cost him the life of his wife and destroyed the morals of his daughters.

When you make your move make sure it is where God's people are represented and are strong. People often take employment promotions or select retirement locations where the Lord does not have his church. Instead of seeing it as an opportunity to plant the church there, they compromise and fall in with local religion which does not have God's sanction. Their move puts them in a spiritual danger zone, but they are oblivious to it just as Lot was at first. When he finally woke up, the die was cast and the bitter price was demanded.  We need to learn from Lot. In the school of experience, first one gets the test and then the lesson. Be quick to learn.

When Satan persuaded Eve to eat forbidden fruit, he pointed out all the advantages of indulging, Genesis 3:1-8. The drug pusher takes the same initiative with a naive prospective victim today. Both predators then virtually say, "Now, it's your move." It is a move to Disaster's-ville!  Never be duped by the devil no matter how deliciously he designs your destructive down fall. When you move the devil's way, you can't win. It's heads I win and tails you loose with the devil.

Finally, when man sinned, God took the initiative to bring in a plan of salvation that would cost him his son. He put all in place. He sent Jesus to Calvary. He defeated and bound Satan. He gave us the Word to guide us. He made the church available to us as a support group to help us weather the storms of life. He gave us prayer as a lifeline.  But grace requires we make our choice. He forces no one. He says, "There is the scheme of redemption. Do you want it? It's your move." You take hold of salvation by your choice and your obedience. Jesus urges us with words such as "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavily laden and I will give you peace," Matthew 11:28-30. Believe. Repent. Confess. Submit to baptism. Start the journey to the heavenly home. No one gets there by accident. It's your move. No one can do it for you.

Yes, it's your move. It's up to you now. Don't just watch us move forward at Riverside church of Christ, come and join us. "Like a mighty army moves the church of God." Come, go with us. With Jesus, you can't lose. See you tonight, okay? That's your move, too!

Love you all,
Al--"the Horne of Africa."

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