Reformation Day!

Well, we had an amazing time together on Reformation Day (October 31st!). The girls and I took all our Harvest Seed packets(little packs of candy corn with evangelistic scriptures on them) and delivered them to over 250 residents! Outside our doors we have clips for announcements and other things so the girls and I clipped those little bags outside their doors for when they got home.

We took all of them and Anli took time to pray over these scriptures that people would know more about Jesus! It was absolutely precious to see them really begin to understand how important it is to live for things that last! That is now a slogan in our house...do what will last! It's also a quick way to remind each other to focus our time on what will last.

I am reading a book called "The Journey Home: finishing with joy" by Bill Bright, former leader of Campus Crusade for Christ and maker of the Jesus film. This book was written when he was given his death sentence of pulmonary fibrosis. It is perhaps one of the most powerfully convicting books I have read to date.

God has been doing a major overhaul on my life! I waste so much time on things that just won't last. I took inventory the other day and I found out just how much time I pour into details that won't last...they are fleeting. But, eternity...that lasts forever! That is simple, but God really wants that into my head and my families daily life. It is my litmus test for the things I am involved in. Will it last?

If I was given the blessing of knowing I would only have 6 months to live (many never get that kind of warning) by a doctor...would I live each moment of every day until I died differently? Sadly, my answer was yes. What about you? I want to live today with urgency. I want to love my Lord now as passionately, completely, urgently as I would if given only months to live. I want to spend time loving my family as desperately as I would if I wouldn't be here tomorrow. I want "to make the most of every opportunity"(Colossians 4:5) to share the eternal life giving Gospel of Jesus Christ with those all around me.

It requires love...like 1 Corinthians 13 describes. This urgency is a gift from God's heart...because in my own self I want to make my life more comfortable, fun, memorable, easy, and about me! But, Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow Him. Jesus was urgent! He made the most of every minute...doing the work of His Father. He started early and was up late becoming a drink offering to be poured out for those who were going to hell every minute.

Take time today to look at your life. Are you urgently pursuing the things that will last? The truth is...you may die today. You might die tonight. You may die instantly and never have time to do all those things you said you'd get to. What will your life be about...what is your inheritance that you leave to your family, community, nation, and world? Will what you put your time into every day...last? If not, let's join to seek first God's kingdom and let all those other things be added to our list. Begin today! It's humbling and amazing...