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SATURDAY, AUGUST 16, 2014
Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. . .You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.— Psalms 90:12; 39:5
When you’ve had an encounter with death — a near-death experience of your own or the sudden passing of a loved one — it inevitably leads to a few essential questions: What is life all about, anyway? Why am I alive . . . and what am I really living for?
In other words, what gets you out of bed in the morning? What gets your blood pumping? Is it an alarm clock or a calling that gets you up each and every day? Every one of us needs some motivating passion, some ideal, something that gives our lives purpose that drives us on. Unfortunately some people don’t know what they’re living for.
Many people are merely marking time instead of enjoying their lives. Their favorite day of the week is “someday.” Someday my ship will come in. Someday my prince (or princess) will come. Someday it’s all going to get better. Someday my life will change. A recent study revealed that 94 percent of the people surveyed were simply enduring the present while “waiting for something better to happen.”
But here is what people don’t plan on. They don’t plan on death. And they never expect it to come around the corner unexpectedly. When you’re young you tell yourself, “I don’t have to even think about that for another fifty or sixty years.” And that may true. But death knocks at every door. The Bible says that each of us has an appointment with death: “People are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27, NIV).
That appointment may come later than you expected. On the other hand, it may come much, much sooner. Statisticians tell us that three people die every second, 180 die every minute, and 11,000 people die every hour. This means that every day, 250,000 people enter into eternity.
What’s the bottom line? Live every day as though you may never have another one. Live ready to step into God’s presence at any moment.
Radio Program: “Heaven on Earth — I”
TV Program: “God In Pursuit, Part 2”
Bible Readings: 2 Kings 24; Jeremiah 22; Psalm 112; John 18
Jeremiah 23, 25; John 19
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Used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie, PO Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514.
