Week Twenty-Eight, 2020

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. James 4:13-14

Suppose you were at a party last New Year’s Eve playing a game of word guessing and someone drew the word “COVID19.” Would you or anyone else be able to identify it? Probably not, but now a half year later it is one of the most frequently appearing words in almost every language around the world.

This terrible disease has brought consequences and changes in our world that no one would ever have expected. There are times when life seems easy and everything is working out just as desired. During these times, stress-ridden thoughts such as “how will I get through this?” or “what happens when….?” rarely enter our awareness and front-of-mind thinking.

Proper and effective planning takes into consideration the “what if’s” that happen when you’re not expecting them. I am referring to potentially life-altering experiences that you rarely contemplate when everything is working just fine.

As an attorney, I advise clients we all have an expiration date. We just don’t know when or how, but we need to be prepared for our benefit and for the benefit of those we leave behind.

But, far more important is being prepared spiritually. Recently a friend much younger than I suddenly had a heart attack and died on the spot. He was in good shape, athletic and looked so healthy and then the unexpected came.

We never know what tomorrow will bring or even today for that matter. We know not when Jesus is coming and we don’t know when we are going, but we need to be prepared for the unexpected. Warnings come at us every day – about what to eat or not eat, the importance of having the right insurance coverage, saving for retirement, and the list goes on.

The Bible is clear. Romans 6:23 says: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in or through Christ Jesus our Lord. God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. John 3:16, reads: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Romans 10:9 says: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Have you made that declaration? Are you prepared for the unexpected?

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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

If you are worrying read Matthew 6:25-34 and then see this list that breaks down Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:25-34 and puts them into 7 bite size morsels for us to chew on about why we should not worry:

6:25 – The same God who created life in you can be trusted with the details of your life.

6:26 – Worrying about the future hampers your efforts for today.

6:27 – Worrying is more harmful than helpful.

6:28-30 – God does not ignore those who depend on Him.

6:31,32 – Worrying shows a lack of faith in and understanding of God.

6:33 – Worrying keeps us from real challenges God wants us to pursue.

6:34 – Living one day at a time keeps us from being consumed with worry.

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“The preacher had said there was nothing magic in the water. Yet as I descended into its depths and rose again, I knew something life-changing had happened, a cleansing inside out. No longer did there seem to be two uncertain, contradictory Paul Harveys; just one immensely happy one. I felt a fulfilling surge of the Holy Spirit and afterward I cried like a baby. The change this simple act has made in my life is so immense as to be indescribable. As the old song says, ‘He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.'” —Paul Harvey

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“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.” – 1 Chronicles 29:11 NLT

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QUOTES YOU CAN USE

The secret of success is aptly described. When one obeys God and does what He tells him to do believing His presence in all He does, he will have success. (Joshua1:9) —Stephen Bernard

People cannot be saved unless Jesus saves them. Dr. Ronnie Floyd

Don’t look around. Look up. Ken Whitten

There’s no win in comparison. Andy Stanley

Nothing compares to Jesus.

Jealousy is about people. Envy is about things.

An open hand is better than a closed fist. Ken Whitten