there’s not a better time…

do you have a tendency to take tomorrow for granted?  “there will always be time to spend time with my kids.  right now we’re just trying to make ends meet.  once we reach a certain economic level then i’m going to spend more time with my husband/wife.”  right!  what starts out as a temporary condition ends up as a permanent lifestyle.  people are going 100 miles an hour, bringing in the bucks trying to survive and then once they have them, there are no relationships left.  if you only had a week left, how would you spend it?  what would you do with your husband, wife, children, friends?

GOD says, live each day and each week as if it were your last.  don’t get morbid about it and not plan for your future.   but you can only live right now.  that’s what counts.

the number one way we presume on tomorrow is credit buying.  an undue amount of credit buying is presumption on the future.  “we can afford it.  things are going to get better!”  that’s presumption on tomorrow.  live each day as if it were your last.  james says you don’t know what is going to happen.

what have you been knowing that you ought to do and you know is the right thing to do but you’ve been putting it off?  “…someday i’ll get around to it.”  james says, “do it now.  right now!  don’t wait.”  “someday i am going to give my life totally for GOD.”  why not right now?  there’s not a better time.

just a thought from the front porch…

it’s presumption to depend on tomorrow…

do you remember the story that JESUS told about the talents?  the master gave one talent to one man, five to another and ten to another.  he left and came back years later.  two guys had doubles their money. ( a talent was a weight of gold)   the third man had taken his gold, buried it in the ground and did nothing with it. 

the master said, “at least you could have put it into a passbook account and got interest on it!”  he said, “you wicked servant!”  why?  what had he done?  nothing.  that’s wickedness.  doing nothing with your life is bad.  make your life count.

i can do all kinds of things that keep me from doing those no-no sins but if i’m not doing anything in a positive sense, what does it matter?  GOD says, it doesn't.

whatever you intend to do for the LORD, do it now.  not next week, not next year.  think about inviting a friend to church.  do it now.  think about starting to tithe and giving?  do it now.  do your givin’ while your livin’ then you’re knowin’ where it’s goin’. 

2 corinthians 6.2 (niv), right now GOD is ready to welcome you.  today HE is ready to save you.

for some of you, today is your time to give your life to the LORD, today, not tomorrow, not next week.  today!

in the book of acts is the story of how paul was a prisoner of king felix in the northern part of israel.  paul talked to the king.  he said, “felix, God has a plan for your life and GOD wants to work in your life.  you’re not here by accident.  you weren’t made and created just to breather and take up space, get up in the morning, go to work, come home and watch tv, go to bed, retire and die.  there is more to life than that.  it starts when you give your life to JESUS, GOD’s SON, and you commit yourself to HIM.  HE becomes the manager of your life and HE will direct you.”  paul tells him exactly, “start by getting in tune with the LORD and establishing that relationship with HIM.”

felix said, “that’s real interesting, paul.  in fact, i’d like to hear more about it.  why don’t you come back in a few days and we will discuss it some more?”  he never got another chance.  it’s presumption to depend on tomorrow.

just  a thought from the front porch…

just live today!...

so what is the solution to our common mistake in looking into the future of presuming about tomorrow?  so what's the solution?  live one day at a time.

matthew 6.34 (niv) says, so don't be anxious about tomorrow.  GOD will take care of your tomorrow too.  live one day at a time.

live one day at a time, that’s how GOD says to face the future.  the future could be overwhelming but fortunately it comes in bite size pieces, a 24-hour segment of time.

plan for the future but you can only live now.  i can’t live in the future; i can only live today.  plan for the future but take advantage of the present.  life is what happens to us while we’re planning something else.  we’re always planning what’s going to happen in january and miss CHRISTmas. 

today is the good old days you’re going to talk about in 15 years.  enjoy now.  make the most of now.  don’t make the mistake of planning without GOD.  don’t make the mistake of presuming about tomorrow.  i don’t know if i’ve got next week, much less next year.  i shouldn’t just assume it.

spencer johnson, the man who wrote the book the one minute manager wrote another book called the perfect present.  in this book he said the perfect present is literally the prefect present.  the present time.  that’s all i have.  that’s all i have to give to this world.  not next hour or next month but right now.  that’s the gift that GOD has given to me so i ought to use it.  that’s all i have – the present.

just because the future is uncertain and unsure and brief doesn’t mean you get uptight and get paralyzed with panic and worry.  it’s the motivation to trust GOD more.  you put your trust in GOD – that’s how you face the future.  “i don’t know what the future holds, but i know who holds the future.”  that’s what counts.

david said in psalm 35.15 (niv), LORD my days are in YOUr hands.  commitment – that’s what james says.  don't make the mistake of planning without GOD and don’t make the mistake of presuming about tomorrow.  instead, include GOD in your planning and make the most of today.  live one day at a time.

just a thought from the front porch…

what we can presume about 2012…

another mistake that james in the nt says we make in looking at our future is to presume about tomorrow.  presuming about tomorrow.

he says it is a mistake taking it for granted, assuming i’m going to live forever.  i’ve got the rest of my life.  james 4.14 & 16  (niv), why, you don’t even know what will happen tomorrow.  what is your life?  you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  as it is, you boast and brag.  all such boasting is evil.

there are a couple of reasons we shouldn’t presume about the future and assume that we’ve got tomorrow…

one is that life is unpredictable.  you don't even know.  none of us know what’s going to happen tonight much less this year.  all we can do is make guesses.  life is so unpredictable.  another war could start, the economy could get worse, your friends could leave you.  none of us know what’s going to happen in life.  life is so unpredictable

some of you work on commission or you are self-employed.  you go from feast to famine in your income.  one day it’s great and the next day it’s the pits.  you don’t have any assurance.  there is no guarantee of perpetual success.  none of us do.  realize that you can’t presume on tomorrow.

we shouldn’t let that frighten us, that life is uncertain.  don’t worry about it or be afraid.  just let it cause you to trust GOD more.  let it cause you to be more dependent on GOD.  you don’t know what’s going to happen in your life or your business.  it just forces you to trust GOD more.  let it cause you to be more dependent upon GOD.  you do’t know what’s going to happen in your life or your business.  life is unpredictable.

it also is brief.  you are a mist.  mist in greek is “atmos” where we get the word “atmosphere.”  your life is like a fog; it rolls in, in the morning but burns off by noon.  who knows how long we’re going to live?  none of us do.

how does the bible describe your life?  it uses phrases like a leaf, grass, shadow, cloud, puff of smoke, vapor.  i'm only one heart beat away from eternity.  i don’t know how long i’m going to live.  life is short.  it goes so fast from hot wheels to wheelchair.  diapers – dignity – decay.  life’s brief.  watch out and don’t presume you have the rest of your life.  don’t take tomorrow for granted.

just a thought from the front porch…

the starting point in facing 2012…

now james doesn’t just look at the mistake of planning without GOD he also gives the solution which is to include GOD in your goal setting.

james 4.15 (niv), instead you ought to say, “if it is the LORD’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

have you ever realized that even the best laid plans of mice and men often fall through?  there’s a thing called murphy’s law.  if things can go wrong, they will.  count on it!

life is just one big if.  right in the middle of life is if.  life is really pretty if-fy.  i don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, you don’t either.  i can make an educated guess but planning without GOD is presumptuous.

the starting point in facing the future is to say, “GOD, what do you want me to do?  what do you want me not to do?”  planning without GOD is presumptuous.

he says, we should preface all of our planning with the phrase, if the LORD wills. couldn’t that be a cliche?  of course.  you could trivialize it but he’s not saying that.  he’s saying that the whole attitude of our life should be “it’s up to GOD.  whatever HE wants me to do is what i want.”  it’s just a good reminder.

CHRISTians for hundreds of years used to write the initials d. v. at the end of their letters.  they’d sign their name and then write d. v..  they stood for the latin phrase, “DEO valente” – “LORD willing”.  james says that ought to be our response to life.  it’s ok to plan but include GOD in your plans and goal setting.

just a thought from the front porch…

be flexible in your plans...

we need to be flexible in our plans.

wrong attitude: presumption. that's when i say, “i don't need GOD and i can figure it all out. i know exactly what i'm going to do.” i just assume that everything is going to go the way it's intended to go, that's presumption.

the bible says that since life is uncertain we should not presume on it. james 4.13-15 (niv), now listen, you who say “today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make money.” why, you don't even know what will happen tomorrow! instead, you ought to say, “if it is the LORD's will, we will live and do this or that.”

it's ok to make plans as long as you understand that they are tentative. a mature person makes his plans flexible. some people make plans and if anything varies in the plan they get an ulcer. mature faith is changeable. i make plans but i realize ultimately that GOD calls the shots in my life.

right attitude: cooperation. i include GOD in my goal setting. how? you pray. anything without prayer is presumption.

instead of saying, “GOD, i want you to bless what i'm doing” we should say, “GOD, help me to do what you're blessing.”

people used to write at the end of letters “dv” which stands for DEO vilente – “GOD willing.” “i'm going to come see you LORD willing. i realize that ultimately my plans may be changed.” that's the right attitude.

proverbs 16.9 (tev), we should make plans counting on GOD to direct us. that's cooperation. make plans but realize they are tentative. GOD, what do you want me to do? pray about your plans. ask him for wisdom.

since GOD is in control my plans have a limit.

just a thought from the front porch…