Daily Devotional for Friday September 14, 2001

You Only Have 24 Hours Left

(James 4:14)

One of the biggest problems we have in this life is taking each day for granted, and assuming there is always going to be a tomorrow. This is a very common mindset for those under 30. The brevity of this life, the fact that tomorrow is not promised to any of us, never seems to be much of an issue. Every day when I read the paper and watch the news, there are stories of people dying in all kinds of ways. I can't help but think if they were ready to die?. The answer is, of course, I don't think any of us are really ready to die. But that doesn't change the fact that we all one day will pass from this life into eternity. Therein lies the real question. Are we ready for eternity? The Bible clearly teaches that eternity is going to be spent either with God our creator or forever separated from Him. Only through a personal faith in Jesus Christ will you be with God. I would urge you right now, if you have never accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Savior, accepted Him into your heart by faith, then please go to my website, www.liveprayer.com and click on "Salvation".

For those who do know Jesus and know that when this life is over you will be in Heaven, I go back to the point of today's Devotional...how we all forget about the importance of today and live like tomorrow will always come. For the sake of helping you focus, let's say that you actually knew that you would die in 24 hours. Take a minute and think about what you would do with that last 24 hours here on earth. Common sense says that you would probably spend that time with those who God has given you to share this life with. Family, of course, possibly some close friends. But in addition to that, what would you do. I imagine that you would probably try to take care of loose ends in regard to your will, finances. Additionally though, what would you do with that time? No doubt there are people who you may have had problems with, possibly even family members, and your relationship with them has been broken. I am sure you would get hold of them and try to reconcile with them. There are probably people in your life that at one time or another you hurt a great deal. Contacting them to just say how sorry you were is no doubt something you would want to accomplish. I am sure there are many other things that you can think of that you would want to do in those last precious hours.

For those of you who have been reading my Devotionals for a while, you know me well enough by now to know that I am not into fear and intimidation. That is not my objective today. I pray every day one specific prayer. That in this time God gives me to share with you, He will allow me to take this spiritual journey we are on, and help me translate it into the very real day-to-day life we live here on earth. Making our relationship with the Lord a reality in our daily life is one of my main objectives. The reality of daily life is that accidents happen. Tragedy strikes. Disease is part of our human condition.

TOMORROW IS NOT PROMISED TO ANY OF US.

While we are to plan for the future and set goals, we can never lose sight that e are here to serve and glorify God with our lives. When our work here is finished, and only God knows when that is, He will call us home. We are like missionaries in this world, here to do a job, and we never really know when our job is over and we get to go home. If we understand that, we will start being more aware of how important it is to maintain our relationships with other people, not to hurt others..and when we do, be quick to apologize, and love those God has given us to share this life with each and every day. If you hear nothing else today, hear this. Spend today getting hold of your parents, children, siblings, friends you are close to...and simply tell them how special they are and how you are thankful each day to have them in your life. NOW is always the perfect time to tell someone you love how much they mean to you.

I love you and deeply care about you. I pray that today you will take a few minutes from your busy life to focus on the fact that we live each day by the grace of God. It is truly a gift from above. Not only should that motivate us in our service to Him, but in our relationships with those God gives us to spend this time on earth with. In accordance with that message, let me tell each of you how richly my life has been blessed these last 10 months. Sitting down each morning, asking for God's anointing, and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide my fingers as I write these Devotionals has been one of the greatest joys of my life. To be able to share the love of Christ, encourage you in your daily relationship with Him, and be here to pray for you in your time of need, has been the greatest privilege God has given me in almost a decade of ministry. You will never know how much I really do love you and care about you. Even though we have never met, it is possible because of Jesus. There is a spiritual bond that connects us tighter than anything this world could ever produce. I just want you to know it is an honor to do the little I can each day to help you in your journey. Know that as long as the Lord sees fit, I will be here for you, so never hesitate to email me and I will do my best to help.

May His richest blessing be your today as we live for Him!!!