What if this was your last day?

[Charles Burwell]

About a month or so ago the Paastor of my church asked me to prepare a message( for lack of a better word) for a Thursday night service in July. I presented what the Lord has been dealing with me about last Thursday night.

As I was thinking about what to talk about I was reading the 20th chapter of Luke verses 13-21 about the 'rich fool'.
(that's the heading in my bible not my words). Anyhow, as I was reading one part of verse 20 seemed to jump out at me and began to dominate my thoughts. I was hoping to speak on something that would really appeal ( again for lack of a better word) but when God puts something on my heart so strongly I just need to go with it. After all, it's not my service but His.

The Lord got me thinking about the section of verse 20 where it says , " But God said to him, 'Fool'! This night your soul will be required of you: ....". I realize that God called this man a 'fool' but many Christians die every day also so this question started pressing on me.

The Lord got me to thinking about what it would be like if I knew that I would never see the sun rise again this side of the grave. i don't believe that God brought this to my mind to create fear or turmoil in my spirit; but rather to create an intense sense of urgency about 'getting about His business'.

I just ask all who may read this to stop and prayerfully consider what we would do if we knew, as the ' rich fool' did,
that this would be our last day. if this were the day that ' our soul would be required of us'.

Wouldn't we seriously ' examine ' ourselves before God to make sure that everything was right between us and God , and others?

Wouldn't it be much easier to forgive all wrongs against us and to seek forgiveness from others , in light of the fact we would soon be facing God?

Wouldn't we want to go to those we love and care about and make sure that they KNEW that we loved and cared about them?

Wouldn't we have the ' patience of Job' to deal with anyone on that day? Even those who give us the biggest headaches in life.

Would we see them in a whole new light? Not as the mean , hateful , contrary people we now perceive them to be : but as the ' victims' of our 'true' enemy ( 2 Timothy 2: 26).

Wouldn't our compassion then overtake our pridefull or prejudiced attitudes and actions?

Would we not also having a truely burning desire to tell someone about the Lord whose very presence we would soon be in ?

Wouldn't temptation lose it's power if we knew that we would only have to fight it one more day and it would be gone forever?

Wouldn't ' concerns of this world ' seem to completely drop off of our 'list' of priorities?

Then when all these things were settled we could just concentrate on the praise and worship of God that would continue uninterrupted throughout eternity.

Well, we don't know when our last day will be. Or if we'll go by way of the grave or by the rapture. But this one thing we do know (hopefully) , we have no promise of tomorrow. No promise that we will be able to do ' later' what we should have done today.

God grant that the Holy Spirit would reveal to all of us the urgency of the time. Not only for the 'church age' but for each indivdually.

A couple of things that the Lord's been dealing we me about and I'm sure others as well. ( I can't believe Im the 'only' slacker).
1) A DAILY commitment to serve Him. In Joshua 24: 14-15 it says" Now therefore fear the LORD, serve Him in
sincerity and truth,....
And if it seems evil for you to serve the Lord, chose THIS DAY whom you will serve."

I don't believe, just my opinion, that chosing to serve the Lord is a one-time thing , but must be a DAILY occurance. If we don't chooce to serve Him every day then we run the danger of not serving the way He wants us to and at what cost?

2) Also in Romans 12:1 Paul admonishes us " I beseech you therefore , brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."

Again , in my opinion, this ' presenting your bodies a living sacrifice' is also a daily committment we need to make to be pleasing to God.

Can we honestly pray to God that the Holy Spirit will revive, convict, and restore to us the dedication and committment of the early church fathers and workers of whom it was said " these are they who turn the world upside down" ?

As I said , we don't know which will be our last day to work,only God knows. I do , however , believe that we owe it to God to live as though it were our last day to work.

There's been discussion and debate lately over when , or even 'if' , the rapture will occur. What difference would all of that make to us individually if we went by way of the grave before the rapture occured?

Even while looking towards the return of Christ we can miss the importance of this day. Today. The only day we ever have.
As Jesus said in John 9:4- " I must work the works of the one who sent Me wile it is day; for the night is coming when no man can work."

I guess that the question Im leaving us with is ; If we believe that the Lord is coming again, ( as I absolutely do , in case you were wondering) are our actions , attitudes and motives showing God that we truely believe it?

While I know that God addressed this to me it is incredibly difficult for me to believe that I'm the only ' slacker' in this area.

God bless you all and I would really like to hear what your opinions ( good or bad) are concerning this topic. I don't know if this should have been in the 'forum' area or what but I'm not a fast enough typist to type all this again so here it is..

Again, God bless you all as you consider this.

In His service

[David Velasquez]

Wow - you have blessed me and i look forward reading some more of your blogs.

[Lahry Sibley]

Wonderful truth, Charles. God bless you so very much for sharing it. About preaching in "church" today. If they love it, you have a problem. I preached one a few weeks ago on the "Cost of Discipleship". The response? They complained to the pastor, who was out for surgery, that my message was too long. There are not many sheep among the goats, beloved. The remnant is few and far between, and many congregations have no church members at all.
I'm so blessed by your message brother, and more by the Spirit in you that brought it forth. Thanks be to God.

shalom,

Lahry

[felixpadua]

thank you Charles.

[James Lindquist]

I have heard a story that to summarize it up would say, "If I give you a million dollars and money was no object, is there anything that you'd change in your life?" I'd like to rewrite this story in saying, "If this was your last day and God gave you another year, is there anything you'd change in your life?" I can only imagine the response to that one. The one thief on the Cross only had a few minutes.

If this was our last day, it would surely show us where our priorities were. Would we evangelize, seek family, or go nuts on doing just stuff (if we were capable).

Thanks Charles for a fine and thought provoking piece.

[Charles Burwell]

Bev

Thanks for your kind words. I don't really think many of us actually look forward to the process of actual physical death it's just that when we live for God we're able to see death as just a door into the best thing ever. Kind of like Jesus in Hebrews 12:2 , I believe it is, " Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who FOR THE JOY THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM , endured the cross and despised the shame...".

We face what we need to by His grace looking to the 'joy that is set before us' to pass even through death's door. However, if I were allowed my preference (which I'm not) I'd prefer to be raptured.

As far as the message being 'received' , I guess there were mixed reactions. Although a couple people did come up and tell me that they really needed to hear it so if it touched only them it was more than worth the time. Sunday a lady came up and said thank you and not much else. I don't know exactly what God used from the message to touch the people or what affect it specifically had on them but just the way they said thank you and the look on their face I know that God did somehing for them and I don't really need to know what as that's between them and God. I'm just excited that it touched even a few because , after all, the rest is God's business to do with my bumbling words as He sees fit.

God bless you , my sister

[Bev]

Wow....I must say ur definitely not the 'only one' as I live each day asking Him to keep me aligned with His will. I fall way short and am lovingly reminded of His desire for my service and dedication and even things as simple as my need to read. I think is so awesome how He prepared you to reach out to those there and here with His 'message' and not yours. Is cool how He reaches in and places things there in our hearts and we KNOW is Him.

A dear friend and I were talking today and yesterday about death (physical) and how we are not necessarily looking forward to the possibilities of how it may happen. I guess tho what is really important is not the act of it but the prepation for what comes after. I'm ready!!

Is funny how two totally different conversations can be brought together by one common thread.....GOD!!!

Thanx for this. BTW, how did it go, ur message, how did it turn out?

[Carolyn Duplissey]

Wonderful questions and I too come under conviction but God is so faithful in His mercy I begin again and again, as I change daily in His love. My will is to please Him and by faith I do but my souls journey is in learning to love and it comes with understanding my motives and the actions which follow. To love as He loves we can't because His is perfect but for our will to want to is the beginning of perfection and when we see Him again He will say Well Done My Good and Faithful Servant. Oh how beautiful that will be. True love God bless you,