Is Today the Day?

Is today the day you begin? Well, you're probably wondering begin what? So let me be a little bit more specific. Is today the day you begin doing the things that you know all along you should have been doing? Things that you must do, things that you have to accomplish, things that you have dreams of doing, vital things, monumental things, important things, is today the day you'll begin. I mentioned yesterday for me it was becoming a student of the Bible. Not just a daily Bible reader, but really digging into God's word, finding out what he wanted me to know from the word itself, not from other people. I relied on people all my life for my knowledge of, of what God expected of us, what God wanted when it came to our daily lives or to being saved or, or to the way that we worship. And I realized that I couldn't just rely on others. And so I wanted to find out what God wanted directly from his word, but I was busy. I was newly married. I was starting a new career. I'd even been put in charge of the youth group effectively at the church that we had started worshiping at after we got out of college. Life was full. I didn't really have time to start, I didn't think at the time, reading the Bible on a regular basis and actually studying and digging into the word, but I knew that I needed to do that. What is it for you? Psalms 102 in verse 3, the psalmist says our days are consumed like smoke. Now he's talking about some of the challenges that he has and, and some of the problems that, that occur in life and how much he needed God. And he was just pointing out that, that the days just seem like they're, they're, they're burning up. They're, they're, they're here and they're gone. That's effectively what what Solomon said in the 90th psalm, or I guess it was Moses said in the, in the 90th psalm where he said our, our, the length of our days is 70 years or 80 if we have the strength, yet they quickly pass. And I look at 70 and 80 years now, when I was first starting to look at this passage as a young man, that was a long way away. And Now I'm only about half a dozen years from the beginning of that range. Only about 16 years from the end of that range. Years pass by quickly. For those of you who are younger, let me encourage you, whatever it is that you have that's important in your life, Your, your dreams, your ambitions, your worthy goals. Go ahead and get started on them right now. And if they're vital, begin today. I had a video in the last few days that, that had a quote from W Clement Stone, who was a pretty remarkable man when you look at his life, but he had a quote that's always stuck with me. He said, most people don't succeed. For although they know what to do and how to do it, they don't feel like doing it. They're not inspired to action. If today is going to be the day that you begin on your most cherished goals, then you're going to have to be inspired to action. I think one of the most worthwhile exercises that a man or a woman can do is to imagine what the judgment will be like. Place yourself before God on your knees at the judgment. What will he say? What, what verdict will he render? Do this honestly. And after an honest appraisal of where you stand before God, based on your knowledge, ask yourself the question, are you saved? A lot of people will say, yeah, I'm pretty sure I am. At least I hope I am. But may I suggest to you that being pretty sure and just hoping that you're saved is not the same thing as knowing that you're saved. In 1 John chapter 5 and verse 13, the Apostle John, through inspiration, says, I write these things to those of you who believe in Jesus, that you may know that you have eternal life. Now, now he's not just talking about those who have a, uh, some sort of a mental assent that Jesus is the Son of God. John's talking about those who have given their life over to him because they truly do believe that Jesus is the Son of God. And they truly believe that the commandments that he has given, both directly from, from the gospels and, and also. to those he has given to the apostles to pass on to us, that these, these commandments must be obeyed. They must be lived, lived by. And yet we all know that we've failed in so many ways. And so when we talk about those who believe, we're talking about those who really do believe that when he says, if you'll do these things, you have eternal life. And if you don't, you'll be eternally lost, that that's what he means. I'm not talking about those who think that if they do these things that they will earn their salvation, that they'll deserve their salvation. None of us can earn our salvation, and certainly none of us deserve it. But by God's grace, we have the opportunity to do our part. Jesus has already died on the cross for us. Our sins have been forgiven, or at least we have the opportunity. to have our sins forgiven if we'll just play our small role. But many people have not even begun to do that. So, this exercise of putting yourself before God on Judgment Day and thinking what you will hear. Will you hear that you're saved or will you hear I'm convinced that this is the motivation that we all need. This is, this is the inspiration to action that will finally get us over the hump as far as our true service to God. And so, when we ask the question, is today the day you'll begin? We ask that question with the absolute understanding that you have to be inspired to action. You have to do something about it. This is not just a mental exercise. Life is not just some sort of a of a process that you wander aimlessly through and then accidentally almost find yourself in a safe position. Heaven's a prepared place for a prepared people. On the other side of the spectrum, hell is also a prepared place, but for an unprepared people. So get prepared. But once you've done that, once you have, have, have, have very seriously read and studied the New Testament, finding out what God says saves you, and once you have done those things, then you've got a confidence to really begin to live the life that you were called to. Christianity is not, not some harsh set of aesthetic principles that, that, that just, you just have to force yourself through. Christianity is the best way you could possibly live. It's a wonderful life, a beautiful life. Think about this. Are we not planning on going to heaven? So many times we, we get caught up with the anxieties of life. In, in Matthew chapter six in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has a beautiful dissertation on why we shouldn't be worried about things like what we'll eat or wear or, or, or live. But we should seek first his kingdom and these things will be given to us. God's servants will always be provided with the materials needed to properly serve him. And so, once you are a servant of God, once you are saved, once you are heaven bound, Now you want to make sure that you're living right for the rest of your life, because you can lose that position, can't you? Over and over in the New Testament, we are warned that we have to continue to the end in order to get the crown of life. But having said that, and making that assumption, now life becomes a joy. People want to know, well, what happens if this, what if you get cancer? What if someone you love dies? What if, what if war breaks out and, and, and you're killed or put in danger? What if, what if, what if? And shouldn't the answer be while I was planning on going to heaven anyway, I don't deserve to go there, but I'm planning on going to the one place that I deserve to be. That, that, that I don't deserve to go. I want to be with God forever. I'm making plans to be with God forever. Remember, heaven is a planned place for a prepared people. a prepared place for people who will plan. So make sure that you're making your plans to go to heaven and now you can begin to do some of the other things that you'd really like to do. Start with your family and loved ones, and as far as it's up to you to influence them, help them to make this a priority on reading the word and studying the word for themselves. Our family does this. We've got three kids. We've got two in law. Two in laws that, that are our children's spouses. We've got seven grandchildren. We're growing. And as each one comes to a certain stage, they're expected, each one of us has a high standard for, for the other one. We're expected that we will all be reading and studying the word of God. Right now we have a total of seven adults who are doing that. And so we can get together and have conversations on things that are important, things that maybe we're struggling with, things that we might not quite understand, and we can help one another on our road to heaven. What a beautiful experience that is to have a family that's working all of them together for the master. throughout this life, this beautiful life we've been given. And now, as far as will this be the day you begin, now we can start talking about your dreams. We can talk about these worthy goals, these, these noble plans that, that, that you might have. Maybe you've wanted to get your degree and, and, and you can go back and do that. You can begin today just by starting to acquire information on what that would take. Perhaps you've known for a long time that your finances aren't in the proper shape. Well, you can start today to get your finances in the proper shape. You can make a determination that you're not going to spend so frivolously, that you're going to start paying down some of the debt that you've accumulated, that you're actually going to start saving for things that are worthwhile. Not so that you can plan on making this world your home. We know that this physical world is not our home. But so that we can be the best stewards of God that we possibly can while we're here. There are so many things that are important in life. that we can do and that God would be pleased with us doing, should we determine in our hearts to do it. We just have to begin. There are those noble goals, such as helping others. There are those, those important goals, such as making sure that your relationships and your family are right, and that your relationship with God is right. There, there are, are necessary goals in life, such as giving up bad habits, There are certainly worthwhile goals that, that, that concern your health, things like getting better exercise and, and, and beginning to get your weight to, to a point where, where you're healthier. I'm not talking about worshiping the body. We're just talking about making sure that this physical plant that we live in is as healthy as possible so that we can serve God to the best of our capacity for as long as he chooses to put us here. Oh, and then there, there are the dreams, the exciting dreams. Maybe, maybe you'd like to, to have a cabin in the mountains. Maybe you'd like to get a little, little home on the beach. Maybe you, you dream of having just a small acreage to where you could raise some, some, some animals and, and become a little bit more self-sufficient. There's a may, maybe you want to, to learn a musical instrument or, or, or learn a new language or travel all within the confines of being a servant of God, certainly, and not losing our focus on the ultimate goal. But there are so many dreams. that God is more than willing to allow us to pursue as long as we're putting him first. And these dreams will give you a flavor to life and an excitement to life and a spark for living that perhaps you haven't had for a while. Is today the day you begin doing these things? Or Well, you just kind of slog through life. We just get up in the morning and go to work. Not really liking your work. Have a bite to eat. Go back to work. Just looking at the clock. Can't wait till you get off. You finally get off and you go home and maybe you start taking part in some adult beverage or, or, or just wasting your time with, with senseless types of pursuits. There's nothing wrong with relaxing in, in righteous ways. I'm not suggesting you can't watch a good television program or play a fun, clean video game or, or, or look at things online that God would be More than, than pleased for you to be looking at. We all need to relax. We all need to unwind. But so many people just go through their day and they just exist. And they, they fall asleep at the end of the day exhausted. Or, or they try to fall asleep. And sometimes they can't because they're so exhausted. And then they get up and they do it again the next day. And they do it again the next day, and the next day, and the next day, and before they know it, their days are being consumed like smoke. And those 70 years, or 80 if we have the strength, are coming closer and closer to their end. And we find ourselves really not having done anything. Nothing important, nothing worthwhile. and possibly not even anything that's pleasing to God. You don't have to live that way. I want you to know that this life, as Helen Keller once said, is either an exciting adventure or it's nothing at all. Make yours an exciting adventure for God. Don't, don't let it just be consumed. In James chapter 4 he talks about our life is, is just a mist that, that, that's here for a moment and it quickly vanishes. And so he reminds us, don't get so caught up in the physical pursuits that, that you forget that you're just here for a little bit. But make sure that you take care of the important things first, and then you can enjoy the physical things, but it needs to be with the attitude of if it's the Lord's will, we'll do this and go to this city and, and, and, and do this business, whatever it is you want to do, but make sure you have the proper perspective. But once you've taken care of first things first, once you, once you are into God's Word and finding out what He wants you to do, once you are certain you've done your part in His plan of salvation and you're determined to be faithful unto death, then life really becomes a joy. You get up in the morning and, and, and there's an anticipation to your day. There'll still be some tough days, but, but there's more of an anticipation towards it, you're enjoying your family. You're enjoying. Your friends, you're enjoying the church and you've got dreams and worthwhile goals that you're working to that give your life excitement. Today can be the day that you begin to do these things should you decide to do it. Today could be the day that you finally start on that road to success. But most people won't for the simple reason that they're not inspired to action. Let me encourage you. Get inspired to action. Take care of your most important things first, and then begin to live the life that God called you to live. And someday, There'll be heaven. It's a pretty good deal when you think about it. That's all for today. Appreciate your tuning in. If you know somebody that might be helped by thoughts such as this, then, then do me a favor and share it with them. Hit that like button. It'll, it'll get the video out to more people. But until next time, I pray that God will richly bless you as you seek to serve him to the best of your ability and to live the life that you were called to live. God bless you.