TUESDAY, JUNE 24, 2008
There are very few things that I am certain of. But one that I have no doubt about is this- someday I will take my leave from this world. I don’t know the day, the hour, the minute, the second….. I don’t know if I will be in my 30’s or in my 100’s. I don’t know if I will have an illness, or if I will be in an accident, or if I will die in my sleep. But the fact of the matter is that someday, I will die. As a matter of fact, we all will.
What got me started on this morbid thinking you might ask? Well, I watched a movie called the Bucket List. I loved it because the men in it decided to live life to it’s fullest before they couldn’t anymore. But more than anything because it made me realize that I need to live every day as if it could be my last- because it could be!!!!! I also realized that the things that these men did before they died, like skydiving, and sitting on top of a pyramid, and attempting to climb a mountain are not on the top of my priority list. So then I started thinking, if I had a “Bucket List”, what would be on it?
I would want to do as we are commanded in Ephesians to do. In Ephesians 4:2,26,27,29,31&32 it says, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."These are the things that I want to attain in my lifetime. Not that I will ever be perfect, by any means. But I want to do all that I can to live a life that is pleasing to the one who gave me life eternal.
Even as I have listed all these things, I will make very clear that there is one thing that is the top banana on my list……
TO LET EVERYONE KNOW THAT JESUS DIED FOR THEIR SINS AND THAT WITHOUT HIS FORGIVENESS AND WITHOUT THE PENALTY THAT HE PAID FOR US, WE WOULD NOT HAVE ADMISSION INTO HEAVEN. THAT WE WOULD BE SEPARATED FROM HIM IN HELL FOR ETERNITY!
How can I be sure of this? Because of what I read in Hebrews 11:1… "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” ….and….. Hebrews 9:27&28, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.”
As long as God gives me breath I will pray : Please God use me to let other people know that there is only one way to heaven. That nothing they do will gain them entrance, and nothing that they do can get them into hell. Except if they deny that the one and only way to the Father is through Jesus’ redemption of our sins on the cross. Let them have ears to hear your truth! AMEN!!!
So……… HAVE YOU ASKED JESUS TO FORGIVE YOU?? DO YOU BELIEVE THAT HE DIED FOR YOU? DO YOU BELIEVE THAT HE IS WHO HE SAYS HE IS? THE CHOICE IS YOURS AND YOURS ALONE!
A quote from Max Lucado’s “God Came Near” : “Bloodstained royalty. A God with tears. A creator with a heart. God became earth’s mockery to save his children. How absurd to think that such nobility would go to such poverty to share such a treasure with such thankless souls. But he did. In fact, the only thing more absurd than the gift is our stubborn unwillingness to receive it.”
POSTED BY KRISTIN AT 8:23 PM
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