"...NOW IS THE DAY..." Alternate title "160 Days"
Paul informed his Corinthian readers: "...now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2. He expressed this same sense of urgency to the Romans when he wrote "...the hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here..." Romans 13:11-12. It sounds to me like Paul could have taken the credit for coining this old adage: "There's no time like the present!"
If we haven't yet experienced salvation, now is the day! If we have, now is the day to be employed in the Lord's service, so that others can come to know Him. Jesus said "...let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16. A little farther over in Matthew, Jesus also said these words: "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns."
The present is all we're assured of. Both Paul and Jesus admonished us to make the most of it. I read a beautiful quote in a magazine many years ago that expressed this idea. "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, that's why we call it the present!" I tried to find it's author, but no one seems to be quite sure who penned it first. Recently, a visiting missionary at our church said it this way: "We can't relive yesterday, or pre-live tomorrow." I added something to it. "We can't relive yesterday, or pre-live tomorrow, that's why WE LIVE today?"
I have an affinity for songs with this theme. One of my best-loved, in my "favorites" category on my iPod, is "Live Like You Were Dying," by Tim McGraw. In case you're not familiar with it, it's about a man in his early forties who finds out his time is about to expire. In the chorus he is telling someone --- who appears to be a stranger --- all of the things he did after he got the news. He finishes by telling this guy that he hopes someday he will also get the chance to live like he was dying. It leaves the impression that living like you're dying is really the only way to do life.
Another song on my "favorites" that's similar to this one is "How You Live" by Point of Grace. Yeah, I know, I've got some old songs on my iPod. If you haven't heard them, or haven't heard them in a while, go check them out (after you finish reading this of course). They will give you an immediate surge of appreciation for life.
Let's revisit our verse or, more accurately, our portion of a verse. "Now is the day." Allow those words to be ruminating in your spirit, as I wrap this up.
A couple of days ago one of my granddaughters was at my house. She is five years old. She asked, "Grammy, how many days can I come to your house?" I replied with a question. "How many days do you want to?" She replied without hesitation, "One hundred and sixty, because you'll be dead soon, and gone up to heaven." I was a little startled, but calmly asked, "What makes you think that?" She quickly came back with, "I just know."
Now let me be clear, I want my grandchildren to know the Lord. I want them to exercise spiritual gifts, but I don't mind telling you, I won't be too upset if this is just a childhood fancy, and not the early signs of the gift of prophecy in her life.
For many years, I thought I had endeavored to live like I was dying, but her matter-of-fact words haunted me. What if, just what if, I knew I only had 160 days left --- well, actually, 158 now, but who's counting --- how would I spend those precious moments? My granddaughter's words have been a gift to me, because they have served to motivate me to get on with IT! I don't have to define "it". You know what I'm talking about. Your "it" may be different from mine, but we all have one...a list of things we feel like we need to do that we haven't gotten around to yet. Some of the things on my "it" include
1) finishing the editing on the rough draft of my testimony (I have felt for a while like I should write it and share it with a loved one),
2) getting business cards made with my website address on them,
3) working on a community project that I feel the Lord has put on my heart,
4) doing that dreaded thing (don't we all have one of those?)
and of course,
5 )spending lots of quality time with people!
I encourage you to get on with your "it". "...now is the day..." (at least to begin). I started this post yesterday, but didn't have time to finish it. This morning in my devotional book I read this quote taken from the Burpee Complete Gardener: "Once you've finalized your plan, it's time to get your hands dirty." As Christians, we need to strive to make sure our plans are God's plans for us, and then jump in and get our hands dirty. That's what we'll have to do if we want to emulate Jesus. With His hands He touched lepers, made a mud paste to bring sight to a blind man, washed His disciples' dusty feet, and subjected Himself to blood staining his palms --- and for that matter His entire body --- on the cross. He got dirty in anticipation of reaping a harvest. "...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him he endured the cross..." Hebrews 12:1-2. "...let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9. There's no time like the present to start planting seeds, so get down on your knees first and then get those hands dirty!
Paul informed his Corinthian readers: "...now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2. He expressed this same sense of urgency to the Romans when he wrote "...the hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here..." Romans 13:11-12. It sounds to me like Paul could have taken the credit for coining this old adage: "There's no time like the present!"
If we haven't yet experienced salvation, now is the day! If we have, now is the day to be employed in the Lord's service, so that others can come to know Him. Jesus said "...let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16. A little farther over in Matthew, Jesus also said these words: "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns."
The present is all we're assured of. Both Paul and Jesus admonished us to make the most of it. I read a beautiful quote in a magazine many years ago that expressed this idea. "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, that's why we call it the present!" I tried to find it's author, but no one seems to be quite sure who penned it first. Recently, a visiting missionary at our church said it this way: "We can't relive yesterday, or pre-live tomorrow." I added something to it. "We can't relive yesterday, or pre-live tomorrow, that's why WE LIVE today?"
I have an affinity for songs with this theme. One of my best-loved, in my "favorites" category on my iPod, is "Live Like You Were Dying," by Tim McGraw. In case you're not familiar with it, it's about a man in his early forties who finds out his time is about to expire. In the chorus he is telling someone --- who appears to be a stranger --- all of the things he did after he got the news. He finishes by telling this guy that he hopes someday he will also get the chance to live like he was dying. It leaves the impression that living like you're dying is really the only way to do life.
Another song on my "favorites" that's similar to this one is "How You Live" by Point of Grace. Yeah, I know, I've got some old songs on my iPod. If you haven't heard them, or haven't heard them in a while, go check them out (after you finish reading this of course). They will give you an immediate surge of appreciation for life.
Let's revisit our verse or, more accurately, our portion of a verse. "Now is the day." Allow those words to be ruminating in your spirit, as I wrap this up.
A couple of days ago one of my granddaughters was at my house. She is five years old. She asked, "Grammy, how many days can I come to your house?" I replied with a question. "How many days do you want to?" She replied without hesitation, "One hundred and sixty, because you'll be dead soon, and gone up to heaven." I was a little startled, but calmly asked, "What makes you think that?" She quickly came back with, "I just know."
Now let me be clear, I want my grandchildren to know the Lord. I want them to exercise spiritual gifts, but I don't mind telling you, I won't be too upset if this is just a childhood fancy, and not the early signs of the gift of prophecy in her life.
For many years, I thought I had endeavored to live like I was dying, but her matter-of-fact words haunted me. What if, just what if, I knew I only had 160 days left --- well, actually, 158 now, but who's counting --- how would I spend those precious moments? My granddaughter's words have been a gift to me, because they have served to motivate me to get on with IT! I don't have to define "it". You know what I'm talking about. Your "it" may be different from mine, but we all have one...a list of things we feel like we need to do that we haven't gotten around to yet. Some of the things on my "it" include
1) finishing the editing on the rough draft of my testimony (I have felt for a while like I should write it and share it with a loved one),
2) getting business cards made with my website address on them,
3) working on a community project that I feel the Lord has put on my heart,
4) doing that dreaded thing (don't we all have one of those?)
and of course,
5 )spending lots of quality time with people!
I encourage you to get on with your "it". "...now is the day..." (at least to begin). I started this post yesterday, but didn't have time to finish it. This morning in my devotional book I read this quote taken from the Burpee Complete Gardener: "Once you've finalized your plan, it's time to get your hands dirty." As Christians, we need to strive to make sure our plans are God's plans for us, and then jump in and get our hands dirty. That's what we'll have to do if we want to emulate Jesus. With His hands He touched lepers, made a mud paste to bring sight to a blind man, washed His disciples' dusty feet, and subjected Himself to blood staining his palms --- and for that matter His entire body --- on the cross. He got dirty in anticipation of reaping a harvest. "...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him he endured the cross..." Hebrews 12:1-2. "...let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9. There's no time like the present to start planting seeds, so get down on your knees first and then get those hands dirty!
