Joel 2:12-13
That is why the LORD says, "Turn to me now, while there is time! Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping , and mourning. Don't tear your clothing in grief, instead tear your hearts."
Time!
What a wonderful invention from the mind of God. I just wish that I understood it as I should. I wish that I did not waste it or rush it or try to make it do something it never was intended to do. Seems as though I am hardly ever focused on the time of "TODAY"....I find that my mind wants to either live in yesterday or tomorrow.
God has given me this period of time that I now exist in. Even as I am sitting here at my computer at home, typing this post, it is hard for me not to project into the future with a wonder of what it might hold. One thing that came out of my having a heart attack last December is a thought that kind of lingers in the back of my mind...."What if today is my last day here on earth?" I want to be a good steward of the time God has given me. I don't want to fill it up with a bunch of useless running around. To me, there is a pace that God desires us to walk each day. Not running ahead of him, nor lagging behind...but simply following at his pace. That is the lesson I want to learn.
The verses from Joel is one that strikes at the hearts of those who are in addiction. An invitation to leave the bondage and darkness of a lifestyle that is sure death, in order to begin a new way of living. Notice what God says....
"Turn to me now, while there is time." These kind of decisions are truly life and death, and to be honest with you....about a persons destiny as to where they will spend eternity. Death is a part of living and it is something that we will all experience (Unless of course Jesus returns). But the matter of eternity and where I will spend it is found in the decisions that I made while I was here. It isn't a matter of being good or doing good deeds, it is a matter of what did I do with Jesus. Did I surrender will and life (Step# 3) over to his care and live according to his will? Or did I continue to worship at the altar of ME, feeding my old nature, giving sin power over my very soul and spirit.
"Turn to me now, while there is time." These kind of decisions are truly life and death, and to be honest with you....about a persons destiny as to where they will spend eternity. Death is a part of living and it is something that we will all experience (Unless of course Jesus returns). But the matter of eternity and where I will spend it is found in the decisions that I made while I was here. It isn't a matter of being good or doing good deeds, it is a matter of what did I do with Jesus. Did I surrender will and life (Step# 3) over to his care and live according to his will? Or did I continue to worship at the altar of ME, feeding my old nature, giving sin power over my very soul and spirit.
Sometimes we spend our lives with a promise of tomorrow.
"I'll stop using tomorrow."
"I'll go to rehab tomorrow."
"I'll look into this Jesus stuff tomorrow."
"I'll stop using tomorrow."
"I'll go to rehab tomorrow."
"I'll look into this Jesus stuff tomorrow."
You see, tomorrow is the most wonderful day ever created. We can do anything tomorrow. There is not task so great...no mountain so high...no problem of such complexity that we cannot address it tomorrow. Trouble is, I keep living in tomorrow and never accomplish anything today. Today is the day to get honest with yourself and allow God into your heart and life.
Today is the day to begin this new journey.
Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
God on you....
mb
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
God on you....
mb
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