TODAY - Is The Only Time We Have

Changing the mirror will not change a person’s reflection.  Only a change in the person will create a new reflection.  This is true of both a physical mirror and the mirror of the soul.

Improvement in the spiritual mirror begins with the recognition that one has been created in the image of God.

You can follow Christ who came into history to provide forgiveness and strength to anyone who accepts His invitation.  (If you are serious about doing this, read the New Testament book of Acts to find what people did in the first century following the victory of Christ over evil and death.  Christ has not changed over the centuries.  He extends the same invitation today.)

The time for both of us to create a proper reflection in the mirror of life is – TODAY! 

The past is gone and the future has not arrived…so TODAY is the only time we have.  

"WHAT IS THE COST?"

The cost of excellence is discipline.

The cost of being “just average” is disappointment.

It is better to master one mountain than to climb a

thousand foothills.

            You and I must decide:

                        WHETHER WE WILL BE ENGROSSED

                                      BY THE TRIVIAL

                                                OR

                                                 ENRICHED BY THE ETERNAL.

We must choose to fill our moments with faith in God to prevent our years being packed with fear.  Daily devotion to the Creator will prevent our lives being undermined by nagging doubts.

‘FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, FOR THIS IS THE WHOLE DUTY OF MAN.” (Ecclesiastes 12:12)

DO WE HAVE "HOPE?"

It is just as important to ask the right questions

as it is to seek the right answers.

We are interested in the future since from this moment we are going to live in it.  We realize that we need HOPE to make the future worthwhile.

            However, the proper question is not:  “WHAT is our hope?”

            The proper question is:  “WHO is our hope?”

Examining the question, “What is our hope?” leads to political ideologies, technological theories, economic systems, etc.  All of these have merit but they are unstable and inadequate in the long haul of life.

Turning to the question, “Who is our hope?”  presents a firm foundation. CHRIST IS OUR HOPE.  He alone fully understands us. He alone has conquered death.  He alone offers eternal life. 

ARE YOU WILLING TO TRY?

ED BARRETT put on a spectacular performance when his Cedartown football team played Rome, Georgia on October 31, 1930.  In This game Barrett caught four passes and intercepted three.

ED BARRETT WAS A ONE-ARMED PLAYER!

All of us have limitations and obstacles to overcome.

Two choices are available.

I can keep on trying, using my heart and my head, to find a way to accomplish.  OR I CAN QUIT!

If I determine to keep on trying, I might not succeed.  However, by continuing to try, I do something for myself…something that no amount of money can buy…I discover a sense of self-respect that enables me to make my stay upon this earth fully a life rather than a shallow existence.

SUCCESS consists in GETTING UP one more TIME

than I FALL DOWN.

WHAT CAN WE KNOW ABOUT THE FUTURE?

We know that the future holds “getting older.”

There are choices as to how “getting older” is accepted.

William Butler Yeats said, “An aged man is but a paltry thing.  A tattered coat upon a stick.”  (UGH!)

I prefer Browning’s alternative,

            “Grow old along with me!  The best is yet to be.  The last of

            life for which the first was made.

            Our times are in His hands, Who saith ‘A whole I planned,

            youth shows but half; trust God, see all, nor be afraid.’”

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   WE KNOW THAT APPEARING BEFORE GOD IS IN THE FUTURE!

Therefore, the awesome choice is whether meeting Him

will be a glad experience or a tragic judgment. 

Consider carefully this inevitable encounter!

HOW TO BE CONTENT!

“…for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”

                                 (APOSTLE PAUL)

To Be Content (Instructions for both of us.)

            Diminish Grumbling…this destructive habit devastates.

Face Reality…hold on to dreams by accepting painful responsibilities. This is the way that God opens the door to fulfillment.

            Don’t Compare Yourself to Another…You are unique.

                 Develop yourself…God will help you.

Don’t brood over the past…put failures in the hands of God.

                                    He FORGIVES.

            Appreciate the past…learn from it.  Do not ruin today by

            lamenting what the aging process does.

Don’t fear tomorrow…GOD ALWAYS GET THERE

                                BEFORE WE DO!

GOD DESIRES TO HONOR YOU!

GOD DESIRES TO HONOR YOU! HE HAS DECLARED:

“This is the one I esteem:

he who is humble and contrite in spirit,

and trembles at my word.” (Isaiah 66:2)

            Three requirements from God:

            1. HUMILITY.  Not looking down on yourself. Rather it is that spirit of honest self-                examination that prevents your having a “sound proof” head.  Humility enables a person to continue growing and learning throughout life.

            2. CONTRITE IN SPIRIT. This is “repentance.”  Repentance involves the heart and the head…the emotions and the intellect.  Repentance is that choice of turning to God with the commitment to follow His way as THE WAY: “A LONG OBEDIENCE IN GOD’S DIRECTION.”

            3. RESPECT FOR GOD’S WORD.  We have the Bible because of the Holy Spirit’s preservation. We must study His word with the fervent desire to know what the Father is saying to us.