Daily Devotional for Tuesday September 21, 2010

So Often We Get Bogged Down in the Day-to-Day Activities of Life, that We Lose Sight of Not Only its Brevity, but the Fact that Life is a One-Time Shot

(James 4:14)

So often we get bogged down in the day-to-day activities of life, that we lose sight of not only its brevity, but the fact that life is a one-time shot. I hate to break the bad news to Shirley McClain and others who buy into the complete stupidity of reincarnation, but we were created in the image of God for this one and only journey called life.

When it is over, we will have an eternal home, either with our creator if we come to know His Son Jesus Christ by faith, or eternally separated from our Creator if we reject Christ. The point I want to drive home today is that this is it. This is our life. This is not a dress rehearsal. There are no do-overs. We need to make the most of this time God has given us.

It is human nature not to think much about death, our own mortality. We tend to dwell on it more as we get older, since it becomes more of reality. As we go through life, we see our grandparents die, our parents, other family members, friends, and those we know pass away. At those times, we are reminded that we too will one day die, although we try not to think about it very long.

In addition to being reminded at times how brief life is, we often pause at different points to see where we are in life, look back to where we have been, and look ahead to where we want to go. Again, as we get older, we become aware that this time on earth, this life, really does pass quickly. Can you believe the year 2010 is almost behind us? It is at these times of reflection when it becomes apparent how much of our life we squander and don't take advantage of. Remember this, today is a day like none other, and when it is gone, it is never coming back.

I want you to take 15-20 minutes today, get alone by yourself, take a pad of paper, and write down the things you are happy about in your life today, and the things you are not happy about. For this exercise, we are not going to even deal with the past, since it is past. It is behind you. You can't go back and relive the past, so let's focus on what you can change. That is today and tomorrow.

Now, list the things you want to do in the next week, next month, 6 months, and a year. Write them down. I want you to not only write them, but see the words and reflect on them. You see my friend, you are never going to be able to maximize your life and take full advantage of it, unless you have goals set and a plan to achieve those goals. Life is far too precious to waste, to let slip through our fingers like sand flows through an hour glass. We must take each day and live life to its fullest.

Of course, for this to make sense, for it to become a reality, your life must be looked at in context of what God wants from your life. We must live each day with the prayer on our lips, "not my will, but thy will". God promised a life of peace, of joy, of ABUNDANCE. When you read in the Bible about some of the great men and women, those who followed the Lord had full, abundant lives. You see, we must never forget that our ultimate purpose in life is to serve and glorify Him.

To accomplish that,we must be out there living life, making the most of each day, in a position where God can really use our lives to make a difference. The only way your life will ever really make a difference is when you are yielded to Him, allowing Him to use you to share the message of hope and love through Christ.

I love you and care about you so much. I want to challenge you today. Take the time needed to reflect on your life today. Take the time to see where you are at and where you want to go. Look at those things in your life each day that are positive, and those that are negative. The fact is, life is short. Only God knows when our time here is over.

We have no control over that. What we DO have control over is how we use each day. I don't care where you live, what ethnic background you are, or what your social or financial status is, the one thing all of us have in common is 24 hours. Nobody gets a second more or a second less. How we use that 24 hours become the key decisions we must make each day. God has a perfect plan and purpose for your life.

Allowing that plan and purpose to unfold each day is the challenge we all face. Life is a one-time shot. We won't get another chance. I love you and care about you so much, and my prayer today is that you make the most of each and every day God gives you. It is your life, the only one you will get, so make the most of it!!!

***(an email I got the other day) "Bill -You & your team have really been on my mind & in my thoughts. I strongly believe you're doing things the right way, & it breaks my heart that because you give the gospel for free - because you're out doing things God's way - you don't have financial support from the American church to get out in the secular marketplace & to go toe-to-toe with false prophets @ Ground Zero. My wife & I gave a gift today which isn't close to meeting your needs or requests, but I pray God blesses it with multiplication.

I want to encourage you - your blunt honesty & the fact you do things the right way (no professional fund raising companies, no buildings or extravagant salaries) are why we're giving today. It's time for me & other Christians to put our money where our mouths are & quit paying mortgages & utilities for big buildings. Please keep telling the truth, God's truth. If the finances don't come in, God forbid, and you are forced to close down any part of your ministry, you have done your part by being obedient before God. It would be the rest of us who failed.

Thank you for being on the front lines! Thank you for leading & feeding me spiritually, both in word & deed! I pray today that God move hearts in a powerful way and deliver far more money than you've asked for. May He raise up more faithful partners, freeing us from fear & making us better able to hear His commands and then, more importantly, obey them. I realized about a month ago that you are my preacher. Thank you for the daily word. I promise I will lift you up in prayer & give financially to LivePrayer. I pray our Lord bless you & keep you. In God's love."

As we wind down the last 10 days of the month, we still have $33,000 to cover the balance of our September budget, plus it is critical we pay off the last $20,000 of our 2009 shortfall. In addition, we still need to cover the $7,000 for last weeks 9-11 Christian Center operations and the $7,000 for this week and next. So that is $67,000 we need to raise over these last 10 days.

--->You can make a gift to Liveprayer on your major credit card at our website www.liveprayer.com under the "Donation" button, or you can give from your PayPal account by using my email address, bkeller@liveprayer.com , or you can mail a gift to: Liveprayer 6660 46th Avenue North St. Petersburg, Florida 33709 *For a gift to the 9-11 Christian Center, please mark 9-11 on your check, or put (9-11) next to your name on the credit card or PayPal form. All gifts to Liveprayer are 100% tax deductible.

In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ, Bill Keller