It’s Monday. I want Monday to be my day off. It usually ends up involving work in some form, but it’s a change. We’re at the lake until Tuesday afternoon.We’ll return to Ericson then, because Vacation Bible School begins Wednesday morning and will run nine to noon for three days.
The lake level is going down. Since the spring rains have stopped, the water isn’t running out, and the concrete boat ramp we poured several years ago has begun to reappear. We will take this opportunity to extend it further onshore.. While the water level was high, it was almost unusable because of the soft soil between the ramp and high ground. It may be awhile before the water level reaches those of the past few years, but when it does we’ll be prepared.
On the subject of making plans and preparing for the future, I believe many people today are making plans for their lives that end when this life is over. Most, I would venture to say, have very little regard for what happens at the end of their earthly life. I’d like to address this topic today, even though I may lose many of you at the end of this sentence. It is my responsibility, you know.
The Bible says our lives here are like a mist, or a vapor (James 4:14). I know that when we’re young, or maybe even not so young, we get so caught up in living in the present that we give little or no thought to any afterlife. In a daily devotional that comes to my desk each day, I read this from the late Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, “If you go and talk to many people about religion, you will find that they will talk to you at great length without ever mentioning the Lord Jesus Christ.”
He goes on to record a conversation in which a person talks much about God’s love, their belief in God, and the fact that they have lived a good life. When asked how all that helps, the person responds with this: “Well, I believe that if I acknowledge my sin to God and then ask Him to forgive me, He does forgive me, and I am relying on that.”
Dr. Lloyd-Jone finishes with this comment: “They seem to think that they can go to God directly without the Lord Jesus at all.”
The reality is this; while living in this world and in the present, we need to consider what happens next. One day, we will all stand before the God of the universe, and when we are asked why he should admit us into heaven, the only right answer is, “I believe in the Lord Jesus and have placed my faith in Him for my salvation.”
I’ll close with a verse you have heard many times before. Jesus is speaking: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
We may be well prepared for our immediate future, but what really matters are our preparations for eternity future. Are you ready?
Just thinking,
Pastor Jerry
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