Post by keita on Oct 24, 2008 15:33:48 GMT -5
The story is told of three apprentice devils who were coming to earth for their first assignment. They met with Satan who asked them what strategy they planned to follow:
The first one said, “I will tell people that there is no God.”
“That will not work,” said Satan, “because in their heart of hearts they know there is a God.”
“I will tell them,” said the second, “that there is no hell.”
“That won’t work because there is so much evil on earth, they know there must be a hell.” Satan replied.
The third apprentice devil thought for a moment, and then he said, “I will tell them that there is no hurry.”
“Go,” said Satan, “tell them that and you will ruin them by the millions.”
May I ask you a question: If you knew that today was the last day of your life, who would you call? What would you say? What act of kindness would you render? What broken relationship would you try to heal?
Whenever we ask a question like that, it always tends to be theoretical because deep inside, most of us expect to live many more years. That’s certainly a reasonable expectation, and I hope it comes true for you. But perhaps we should take Martin Luther’s advice to live every day with the day of our death placarded before our eyes. Leadership experts call that “living with the end in view.”
I wish to everyone who reads these words long life and good health, but I can’t guarantee it for myself or for my own family, much less for anyone else. Things can change so quickly. Just one phone call and life will never be the same again.
Some of us need to reach out to people around us. There are things we need to say now:
"I love you."
"I’m sorry."
"Please forgive me."
"Thank you."
"I miss you.”
"I wanted to see you one more time."
"I wanted to squeeze your hand."
"I wanted to give you a hug."
"I wanted to hear you laugh."
"I wanted to see your beautiful face."
Others of us need to get serious about our relationship with Jesus Christ. “I’m going to serve the Lord some day,” we say.
If you are going to serve him someday, why not today?
What do you gain by putting him off?
How can you be certain that when tomorrow comes, you will still want to serve the Lord?
If you intend to serve the Lord someday, why not now?
(Excerpted from the sermon "Come Before Winter")
The first one said, “I will tell people that there is no God.”
“That will not work,” said Satan, “because in their heart of hearts they know there is a God.”
“I will tell them,” said the second, “that there is no hell.”
“That won’t work because there is so much evil on earth, they know there must be a hell.” Satan replied.
The third apprentice devil thought for a moment, and then he said, “I will tell them that there is no hurry.”
“Go,” said Satan, “tell them that and you will ruin them by the millions.”
May I ask you a question: If you knew that today was the last day of your life, who would you call? What would you say? What act of kindness would you render? What broken relationship would you try to heal?
Whenever we ask a question like that, it always tends to be theoretical because deep inside, most of us expect to live many more years. That’s certainly a reasonable expectation, and I hope it comes true for you. But perhaps we should take Martin Luther’s advice to live every day with the day of our death placarded before our eyes. Leadership experts call that “living with the end in view.”
I wish to everyone who reads these words long life and good health, but I can’t guarantee it for myself or for my own family, much less for anyone else. Things can change so quickly. Just one phone call and life will never be the same again.
Some of us need to reach out to people around us. There are things we need to say now:
"I love you."
"I’m sorry."
"Please forgive me."
"Thank you."
"I miss you.”
"I wanted to see you one more time."
"I wanted to squeeze your hand."
"I wanted to give you a hug."
"I wanted to hear you laugh."
"I wanted to see your beautiful face."
Others of us need to get serious about our relationship with Jesus Christ. “I’m going to serve the Lord some day,” we say.
If you are going to serve him someday, why not today?
What do you gain by putting him off?
How can you be certain that when tomorrow comes, you will still want to serve the Lord?
If you intend to serve the Lord someday, why not now?
(Excerpted from the sermon "Come Before Winter")