Voices From the Mist

James 4:14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.  

We were on our way to Knoxville, Tennessee this morning and we noticed there was a mist on the grain fields at the beginning of the trip.  The further we went along we began to see that the mist had cleared.  What was such a dominant effect on the fields only there for a short time.  It helped remind me that we are only here for a short time, but our time on earth should produce good fruit in the time we have to live it.  When we are young we let days slip away without much direction or purpose because we think we have a long time to live on this earth.  As we get older we realize our mortality is real and approaching, so we take a more determined, direct approach to our life.  The truth is the James scripture above is very true and every day needs to be lived with great purpose and direction.  To do anything less is to be presumptuous at best.  Ephesians 5:16 says, "making the most of your time because the days are evil.  If we hadn't taken a picture of that mist when it was there we wouldn't have even remembered it because it was there and then it was gone.  Just like we are.

We let a moment slip by without capturing it and then it turns into a day, then a week, month, and year.  Make the most of every day by living a life of purpose and let God's Word give you the direction you need and the Holy Spirit in your life will give you your purpose.

Words like could have and should have should not be a part of our vocabulary.  We should be saying words like will do and can do and pursue the direction God lays out before us.

The story below is about time wasted.

How would you like to spend 2 years making phone calls to people who aren't home? Sound absurd? According to one time management study, that's how much time the average person spends trying to return calls to people who never seem to be in. Not only that, we spend 6 months waiting for the traffic light to turn green, and another 8 months reading junk mail. These unusual statistics should cause us to do time-use evaluation. Once we recognize that simple "life maintenance" can chip away at our time in such huge blocks, we will see how vital it is that we don't busy ourselves "in vain" (Ps 39:6). 

Psalm 39 gives us some perspective. In David's complaint to God, he said, "You have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before You" (V. 5). He meant that to an eternal God our time on earth is brief. And He doesn't want us to waste it. When we do, we throw away one of the most precious commodities He gives us. Each minute is an irretrievable gift--and unredeemable slice of eternity. Sure, we have to make the phone calls, and we must wait at the light. But what about the rest of our time? Are we using it to advance the cause of Christ and to enhance our relationship with Him? Is our time well spent?

So let us ask ourselves.  What is the goal of my life while here on earth?  If we are believer it should be spent trying to serve Jesus Christ and using the talents He has given us for His glory.   If you are not a believer, then you need to receive Jesus by faith and when you know where you will spend eternity everything else falls in to place.

To those of us who getting older we are living in the mist and seeing it living too quickly.   To those of you who are young, hear the voices from the mist and start allowing Jesus to enhance your daily walk by showing you how to live a life of service to Him. I am a voice from the mist and I say, "Commit to Iive for Jesus and you will never regret it."  The mist is clearing and so is your opportunity to work for the Savior.  Seize the day and impact your world in a positive way.  You will be glad you did.

The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren