(Psalms 39:5)
Last week, the sister of a good friend of
mine passed away in a car accident. She was only 28 years old. I don't know
where she was at spiritually, whether she knew the Lord as her personal
Savior or not. I do know this. God will get His word to us at different
points in our life, especially for those fortunate enough to live in the
United States. Each person then has a responsibility what they do with
that information. One option is to dismiss it as a fairy tale and live life
apart from God. The other option is to accept Christ as Savior and live for
Him. It is the most important decision anyone makes in this life, since it
determines where you will spend eternity.
One of the problems we face, especially in our younger years, is that there
seems to be so much life ahead of us. In this limited experience we have on
earth, for most that is true. With the amazing advances in medicine, we
are now living longer. Being 60 or 70 seems like a very long time when
you are in your teens and 20's. But as you hit your 30's and 40's, you
start to realize the months and years seem to go by much quicker. I still
can't believe that the year 2000 has less than 80 days left. Where has it
gone? As you get older, you start to realize that life is indeed something
very fleeting and doesn't last that long. Grandparents die, parents die,
other family members and friends die. You become acutely aware how real
death is to the human experience. The many passages of Scripture that tell
us how brief this life is become very real to us.
The fact is, none of us know when this life will end. We hope to have long,
productive, enjoyable lives and live into our 70's, 80's, even 90's. Many
are fortunate enough to do that. But many aren't. Whether it is through
health problems, accidents, crimes, even suicide, many people never get to
experience a long life here on earth. That is why we should never take
tomorrow for granted and should treat each day of life like the special gift from
God that it is. It is also why we should never put off our decision on what
we do with God's Son Jesus Christ. The Bible says that "today . . . today . . . today . . . is the day of salvation." I pray above everything
else, that if you have NOT made your decision, you will at least take 5
minutes to get alone, pray..and ask God to show you the truth. You can go
to my website, www.liveprayer.com and click on "Salvation". Listen to
it. Ask God to open your heart to what the truth is. He loves you
and sent His Son to make it possible for you to have everlasting life. but
He also gave you free will to choose. He will not force Himself on you. it
is a personal decision each must make in this life.
This subject today also brings to focus what we really should be paying
attention to each day. First is our walk with Christ. it is the only thing
we will take from this life into eternity. Pray and read the Word. That is how
we stay in daily fellowship with our Lord. We need to be part of a local
fellowship to be fed and have fellowship with other believers as an avenue
for service. Serving God is not on option. It is something He has called
all of His children to do. We spend so much time of our life, such a high
percentage of our life on things that will be gone and meaningless when this
life is over, compared to the time we spend on fulfilling our real purpose.
That is to serve and glorify Him. That is why so much of what we do is
wood, hay, and stubble, and will be burned up. We need to be focused on
laying up those treasures that will stand the test of fire, doing those
things that can have an everlasting impact in the lives of people.
I love you, and care about you. I know that this is a difficult subject for
many of you, since I deal with it frequently. The reason I have, and will
continue to deal with this issue, is because it is so critical that we never
forget how brief this live is. We get so caught up in the things of this
world, the next thing you know it is over and we have missed so much of
what this life is supposed to be about. That is why so many deal with such
pain, heartache, and depression much of the time. You will never find the
true joy, the true peace, and the abundance this life can be, until you are tuned into a real daily walk with Christ and fulfill your God-given purpose.
Everything else will leave you empty and dry. Know I will be praying for
you today to never take this day for granted or put off until tomorrow the
most important decision we can make in this life, which is choosing to put
our faith in Christ; or once that decision is made, be all God has called
you to be. While this life is short, eternity is forever. When you know
Christ as your Savior, that eternity will be spent in fellowship with our
Creator.
