Dont Wait Until Tomorrow

Scripture Thought for the Week: Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:14 NOTE: The following devotional was written by my husband, Gary. The Lord laid this message on his heart which he originally intended to be read on my daily blog. Instead, I decided to share it as the devotional thought for the week. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. God bless!
A couple of weeks ago, my son Nicholas and I went on a 3 day trip to New York in honor of his 30th birthday and attaining his Masters degree. We visited the Baseball Hall of Fame, Times Square, Rockefeller Plaza and the 9/11 memorial at Ground Zero. A key highlight of the trip was a visit to Yankee Stadium. I was a Yankee fan as a kid and knew all the players with my favorite being Mickey Mantle; however, I lost interest in the Yankees when they started buying players in order to win. My Dad was a diehard Yankee fan who could tell you every player and their positions from 1935 right through the 90s. Dad loved his Yankees. As I entered Yankee Stadium, I found myself fighting back tears; I couldnt say a word to Nicholas. I kept thinking of Dad. I remember in August of 2002, I was thinking I should go to Yankee Stadium with Dad and my brother; but life got in the way and I remember saying maybe next year. Dad died the next March after a courageous 10 year battle with cancer. Now here I was proud as could be with my son, but without Dad. I waited for a tomorrow that never came. There is a much more important decision to be made that should not wait until tomorrow. Do you know what will happen to you after your last breath on this earth? I believe the Bible is the true Word of God, and the Bible says there is eternal life after this earthly journey. The ultimate destination is eternity in heaven in the presence of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is also eternal damnation for those who do not believe. So how do you make sure you are not to be cursed forever? The Bible gives these simple truths: For we all have sinned (original sin); Romans 3:23, 5:12 For the punishment for sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus our Lord who died for us; Romans 6:23 Jesus said in order to have eternal life one must be saved/ born again; John 3:121 Jesus said, I am the Way, the Life and the Truth, no one comes to the Father except through me; John 14:6

So if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; Romans 10:9 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and with your mouth that you confess and are saved; everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; Romans 10:10

You and those you know and love must make that personal decision. God does not promise us another day or even another breath, so dont wait for a tomorrow that may never come. The picture above is my 90 year old mother-in-law (Mrs. G) and I walking across a pedestrian bridge built by Liberty University for college students to cross a very busy highway, Route 29 (Wards Road) in Lynchburg, Virginia. Mrs. G has said several times since they built it that she would like to walk across that bridge one day. Mrs. G spent nearly her entire 68 years of married life living on or near Wards Road. So after my New York trip on a visit to Lynchburg, I decided to wait no longer. We delayed our return trip to Pittsburgh for an hour to walk across the Wards Road bridge Mrs. G even at 90 years old, had a bit of a skip to her step as we crossed the busy traffic below.

Thank you, Lord, for allowing us to live yet another day. May we use each opportunity given to share the message about your free gift of salvation. We thank you for the gift of free will and pray that the decision to surrender our life to yours will be made before its eternally too late. In Jesus name, Amen!