We Live As If There IS A Tomorrow (Kent Heaton)

Death. For all the years that man has been in existence, death has always come upon him in a most intrusive way. It is unwelcome, unwanted and unrelenting. The living force of life is now still and unmoving where once it moved and had life.

The writer of Hebrews said, "For all must die." James records, "For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." And yet in the midst of this message of death, lies the continuing story of life!

There is no glory in death. Death is the river that one crosses from this life to the shores of eternity. And it is in the living that eternity depends. In the previous verse of our passage in James (4:13,14), two days are contrasted: TODAY VERSES TOMORROW

We see those who were boasting of the things that they were going to do tomorrow and yet there is no promise of tomorrow. They were being arrogant (v16) in their boasting by assuming that tomorrow will always be here. Their lives were so governed that they believed that tomorrow would always be at their disposal.

The resounding message of God has always been to live only for today and let the things of tomorrow take care of themselves for we have only today to live for. This changes our lives a great deal because we no longer live for ourselves but rather, "If the Lord wills." (James 4:15)

Today is the day that I awaken and rise to serve the Lord to my fullest. It is a day that has been given to me by the grace of God and his longsuffering. I believe that tomorrow will not come and that everything that I have to do to prepare my soul for eternity must be done today. It is this day that I live for and use to strengthen my inner man with the manna of God's word. It is this day that I live for the Lord in speaking of His Kingdom both in my heart and the hearts of others as well.

Today is the day that I forgive my brother and seek my forgiveness. It is this day that I say those things that are needful to those who need a word of encouragement and exhortation. It is this day that I extend a heart of compassion to comfort and heal those of broken heart and spirit.

Today is the day that I teach my children the ways of the Lord. It is this day that my children need me most. It is this day that I talk with them about God and His Word. It is this day that I talk with them about life's many ups and downs. They need me today!

Today is the day that I share with my mate those words of love and devotion to express to them my move for them. This is the day that I mend the heart of those that I have hurt by an unkind word or deed. This is the day that I ask forgiveness from my mate for wronging them and to spend time in prayer and meditation of God's Word to strengthen our love for one another.

Today is the day that I commit myself to the zealous work of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. This is the day that a lost soul can hear about my Savior. We may not have any tomorrow's to take advantage of and to receive the blessing of the blood of Jesus that would cleanse me from my sins.

TODAY IS THE DAY! We live as if there really is a tomorrow. Our plans and ambitions of life may be waiting for tomorrow but tomorrow will never come. There will also come a day when we must cross over the river of death. Our days of 'Today' will also be gone. And then when I stand before the judgment seat of God, what can I show for the things that I have done - TODAY?

The Persian Rug (Leslie D. Weatherhead)

When they are making a Persian rug, they put it up vertically on a frame, and little boys, sitting at various levels, work on the wrong side of it. The artist stands on the right side of the rug, the side on which people will tread, and shouts his instructions to the boys on the other side.

Sometimes a boy will make a mistake in the rug. "What happens when a boy makes a mistake?" Quite often the artist does not make the little boy take out the wrong color. If he is a great enough artist, he weaves the mistake into the pattern.

You and I are working on the wrong side of the rug. We cannot watch the pattern developing. I know I put in the wrong color very often. I put in black when God meant red, and yellow when he meant white; and the other workers with whom I make my rug make mistakes, too. Sometimes I am tempted to say, "Is there anybody on the other side of the rug; am I just left to make a mess of my life alone? Is there anybody there?"

Then through the insight which comes back with returning faith, I realize that instead of making me undo it all or letting my life's purpose be ruined, God puts more in. I wonder if sometimes he alters the pattern? It isn't what it might have been; but because He is such a great artist I haven't spoiled everything.

So, at the end, when he calls me down off my plank and takes me round to the other side, I shall see that just because He is such a great Artist, no mistakes of mine can utterly spoil his plan.

If only I will work with Him, 'simply trusting every day,' I think one day I shall find my mistakes and my calamities and my distress and my failures and all my pain, woven into the pattern, and I shall say, "It is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes."

Some such faith I must have to believe in a God of love who puts us into a world where things can go so utterly wrong. [From the book, "Why Do Men Suffer"]

The Enslaving Power Of Sin (Richard Hoefler)

Richard Hoefler tells the following story in his book, "Will Daylight Come?" It illustrates how sin enslaves and forgiveness frees. Here is the story:

A boy visiting his grandparents was given a slingshot. Since he had never had a slingshot before he went into the woods to practice. He shot at branches, boulders, and birds, but he never came close. Discouraged by his lack of accuracy, the young boy returned to his grandparents. As he entered the backyard, he spied grandma's pet duck. He took aim and let fly. The stone struck, and the duck fell dead.

The boy panicked. Quickly he hid the dead duck in the woods beyond his grandfather's woodpile. As he returned to the back yard, thinking he had hidden his crime, he looked up at the porch, and there was his sister Sally. The grin on her face told she had seen the whole thing. As the boy came on to the porch, his sister said nothing. She only gave that all-knowing grin.

After lunch, Grandma asked Sally to help with the dishes, but Sally said, "Johnny told me he wanted to do them." She gave Johnny that little grin again. So Johnny did the dishes. Later, Grandpa asked the grand-kids if they wanted to go fishing. Grandma replied that it was Sally's turn to help with supper and she could not go. Sally with that grin looked at Johnny and said, "Johnny told me he wanted to help with supper." Johnny stayed and Sally went fishing.

After several days of doing both his and Sally's chores, Johnny could no longer take it. He went to his grandmother and confessed to killing her duck. "I know," his grandmother said. Giving Johnny a hug, she continued, "I say the whole thing through the window. Because I love you, I forgave you. I was wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you." Problem ... Or Opportunity! (The Messenger)

People often yearn for a life without problems. All of us face difficulties and challenges every day of our lives. And at times, the burdens seem more than we can bear. Some break, some run, some joylessly endure. Yet, as one man put it, "Life is never so bad at its worst that it is impossible to live; never so good at its best that it is easy to live." How one reacts under the pressure of adversity is the test of character. As a man in one of Shakespeare's plays says: "When the sea was calm, all boats alike; Showed mastership in floating."

Trials faced up to and overcome bring spiritual progress and deep satisfaction. If we react to problems with dismay, resentment, or defeat, we need to strive more diligently to discover and prove our dominion as children of God. If we see each crisis as an opportunity to learn needed lessons and proceed with humility, intelligence and cheerfulness to do what needs to be done, we can prove that hard experience need not be an affliction, but can be a blessing.

As one meets trials, confident of his true selfhood as a perfect and ceaseless expression of God, he finds solutions to all his needs. Trusting in God's ever-present goodness, he proves that, as the Bible says, "all things work together for good to them that love God." (Romans 8:28)