Christmas Day, 2017! What a Blessed Day, in any year.
It is hard to believe that God blessed us with his Son so many years ago, and Jesus is still the most influential Person to ever walk this earth.
Jesus remains to this day The Gift: to the world, to each individual. And like any gift, we have the choice to accept or not accept The Gift. Once we accept Christ, our responsibilities increase exponentially. We become responsible for telling others about Christ and fighting for the hearts of men, women and children.
I want to touch briefly on the second most important gift you ever will receive – a little more time. Does not sound like to big a deal, but it is.
Jim Croce sang “Time in a Bottle”. Here are the opening lines:
If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I’d like to do
Is to save every day
‘Til eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you
If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I’d save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with you
Well, we can’t save time and we can’t take our time here in this earthly life for granted. If you have accepted the First Gift of Jesus, then you are here on God’s time.
We need to spend that time being better spouses, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, friends, warriors and disciples.
That means setting aside time to be all of those things, which is the challenge. It means being intentional with your time and choose wisely what you commit yourself to. It is tough to balance all the things we have to do and what we want to do.
On November 30th, I was coming back from Chicago and my wife had to have emergency surgery before I could land and get to the hospital. My daughter had taken my wife to the ER and had been with her there most of the day. I sent out a request to my E6 brothers to see if someone could go to the hospital, just until I could get there. A number showed up, met and kept my daughter company until I got to the hospital. Some stayed until the surgery was over. That is what a band of brothers does for each other. I know it took them away from family and other duties they had. I am grateful for their friendship and efforts.
Here are just a few scriptures that address our mission in this earthly Godly life:
Romans 13:11 – And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
1 Corinthians 10:31 – Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
Romans 12:1 – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
If after reading these scriptures, you have questions on how to get started, please contact me.
Now the rest of the story….
The timing of this emergency was amazing. Had it occurred 5 days later, Janet and I would have been on vacation, outside of the US. The outcome would not have been the same. We thank God this emergency happened right before our trip. We accept this as a blessing.
We accept this as our best gift this year – a little more time…….together.
