If not now, when

 

NOT NOW? THEN WHEN?

So many people say, “When I stand before God I am going to tell him…..” Or, “When I stand before God I will just take whatever comes.” And for others the reaction is more like, “I know I need to do something, but not right now.”

Please, look closely at this verse, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Rev 20:12). 

Notice very carefully that those who come into the presence of God on the Day of Judgment…are silent. Nobody is asked to defend their position, or to explain their situation or, and more importantly, nobody on that day is offered a second chance. The only thing that happens on that day, before God passes judgment, is “the books were (or will be) opened.” And if you read that verse one more time you will also notice that “another book was opened” also. Why two sets of books?

Today, as you read this, your name is in a book in heaven. And today, while you are still here on this earth and alive, you can decide which book your name is in. If we could go up into heaven right now, if we could enter God’s judgment hall today and open the books of heaven, your name would be in one of those books.

Far too often people get the idea that somehow if they can just do a few really good things God would let them into heaven. Which good things would that be? How many of those good things would it take? How would you know when you have completed just enough of those good things? And what if you died just before you finished that last really good thing? But, it just isn’t true. That is not the way God designed it. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Jesus died as our sacrifice for sin so that our names might be written in the Book of Life. Jesus paid the debt for our sin. Our work, or our effort in any form, cannot ever pay for any sin. God will only accept the sinless blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf:

Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God….

Hebrews_9:22b …and without shedding of blood is no remission.

Hebrews_10:18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering (needed) for sin.

Looking at these passages, our names are already in His books if our sins have been removed by the sacrifice of Christ. Your name is either in the “books” or your name is in the “book” as we arrive at the judgment seat. The distinction between the “books” and the “book” is given in verse 15, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” The dead, those who are not saved, are judged out of the things written in the books (v.12-13). The final judgment is eternal and that judgment will be horrible if your name is in the books. It may be worse for one than for another but, eternity in hell is horrifying no matter how you may view it.

I have heard so many make jokes about it. I have heard people say, “Well, at least I will be with my friends and we will party when we get there.” In reality, it is more likely that we will blame one another for being there. And we will undoubtedly be praying that none of our family members ever have to join us there.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus shares the only instance we have of a real life record of a man going to hell. His response is not what so many joke about today. Instead, the man in hell (Luke 16) is in torment and begs for even a drop of water to cool his thirst. And his final thoughts are on his family. He pleads with Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers who are still alive on earth to warn them about this horrible place. Abraham’s response is unbelievable, but so true, especially when we understand how evil the human heart can be. He said that if they will not listen to the Word of God being preached here, while they are alive, they would not listen even if a ghost from hell (like Lazarus) appeared before them as a testimony.

How many times have you heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ preached? Every time you heard it you were given an opportunity to move your name from the books of judgment to the Book of Life. As you read this today you are being given one more chance. It could in fact be, your last chance. God does not owe us even one chance to be saved. If you have ever heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ and been given one opportunity to be saved and have your name placed in the Book of Life, that was one more chance than God owes any of us. Did you receive Christ at that time? Did you get saved that day and have your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? Or, did you say, “Not now.” Will you wake up tomorrow morning and have one more chance? Or, will you discover your name was written in the books of judgment as God reads from their pages and proclaims, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41)?

If not now, then when? Normally, none of us plan to die. Most of us go to bed in the evening fully expecting to wake up here, on earth, in the morning. But, will we? A few months ago, a friend of mine was returning home from a doctor’s visit. He pulled his car to the side of the road, and died. Two months ago, another friend, riding his 4-wheeler on his farm, wrecked and died. January 16, 2023, I stopped my Versa at a 4 way stop sign. As I pulled through, I was broadsided by a Chevy Tahoe who never even slowed for the stop sign. Obviously, I did not die. But for a brief moment I believed I had. For me, it would have meant the glory of God and eternal joy.

If you died today, are you sure heaven will be your home for eternity? To find out how you can have your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life go to: http://christxalted.blogspot.com/2016/01/how-to-be-born-again.html       (Or, click on "How to be Born Again" in the top left corner of this page.)

Why am I Here

 

Why Here?

It was absolutely frigid outside; the air was frozen in place. On the highway, snow was falling so heavily I could barely see out of the windshield. The glass had been covered with a combination of snow and streaked ice providing a view into the dismal wintry night that spoke of the many frightening possibilities still ahead. The heat from the defroster shattered the windshield in my vain attempt to gain visibility. And again, in my heart I wondered, how I had ever gotten to this place in life. Why here? Why now? And most disturbing, why me? Thirteen years behind the wheel of a truck and I was college educated. I was born again. I wanted to follow the Lord. I wanted His direction in my life. Yet, here I sat. Tonight, like so many other nights, I was in the seat of an 18-wheeler frightened for the life of all those around me, knowing how horribly the night could change with one simple mistake. Is this really what God wanted for my life? At home I had two lovely children and a beautiful wife who were counting on me. How could this be God’s will?

Have your thoughts gone there as well? Wherever you are tonight, have you wondered if you are in the right place?

Maybe you are in the military. It wasn’t your first choice in life. It seemed like an opportunity. It was a choice that would allow you an income, and possibly training that may help as you reconsidered the direction life was taking. But now, now you find yourself deep in the heart of a distant, hostile country.  Or, maybe you are on a battleship in the middle of a vast ocean with no land in site. Above, looms a sky painted with more stars than you have ever imagined as you cruise over an ocean void of humanity. Not a soul in sight except for those on your vessel. Hundreds of miles of nothing, in every direction. And you are wondering, how you ever got here. Surely, this was by accident. Is it even possible to see God’s purpose in life when you are so far from anything that seems reasonable?

Maybe you were studying for the medical field and now you find yourself on an assembly line, in a factory watching parts go by? Certainly, you are better than this. But, is it possible that one of your co-workers was placed there by God because God knew you would be there today? Did God want you to meet? But, you are educated and your co-workers are…are not. You could be the only person able to reach that one individual. God knows where we need to be.

Or, maybe you are waiting tables in a second-rate restaurant. Serving food to people who think they are superior to you simply because you are paid to bring them food. Is it even possible that this could be God’s will for your life? You have studied. You have a degree, or almost have one. You are better than this. You had hopes and dreams. Yet, isn’t it just possible that God put you there to help a young mother who is struggling in life with the same issues you faced just a few years ago (II Cor. 1:4)? It might be absolutely imperative that a young person sitting at the edge of a psychological precipice meets you today. What if your frustration with life blinds your eyes to their need? Would they be able to find help?

We fail to see God’s will for our life when we focus on “our plan” for “our life.” When I was an over-the-road truck driver (with a college degree) I was surprised to learn that the job I wanted was not as important as I had once imagined it to be. We tend to focus on what will take us through life in a financially secure fashion. As a Christian, is that the direction God wants us to go? On my journey in trucking I met a young man who needed desperately to talk to someone. I never saw his face. I met him very late at night on my CB radio. At first, he was rude and spiteful. But, soon he settled down as we began to talk about the Lord. That night he found answers that might never have come had I been somewhere else, instead of being on that radio, in that truck. I met another individual who told me he wasn’t married, even though he was living with a lady and had two children by her. After a very lengthy, and less than polite, conversation he finally understood how God viewed his situation. We had many conversations over the next couple of weeks. He came by my truck before he began his vacation time and told me he was going home to propose to the young lady. Would he have done so if we never met? I cannot possibly tell you how many people I met over those 13 years. But, every one of them was placed there by God. And, I often wonder how many I never met because of my attitude toward my situation. I did not want to be a truck driver. It was a job I always disdained. And yet, somehow in life it became the place God chose to use me. Ultimately, I learned that our job in life is not to do our job. Our job is to be used by God in our present situation.

As children of God we are never anywhere by accident. We may miss a thousand opportunities in life because of our attitude and our inability to see His purpose. But that does not mean the privilege to serve Him was never there. Wherever you are today, a foreign country, a Navy ship, or in a factory you have come to loathe, stop for a moment and look around you. Embrace the privilege of service and meet each and every person God brings into your live, they are not there by accident.

Why here? Why this job? Because, somebody very near to you right now, is there because God wants you to meet.