Take the Opportunity

From the time I was a little boy I was made aware that a person should not put off until tomorrow the things they need to do today.  Procrastination can be a person’s biggest downfall.  This certainly applies to one’s soul.  Let me explain.

 

The relationship that a person has with their maker, God, is most important; more so than anything or anyone on earth.  Your future depends on it.

 

This connection can be an estranged type involvement or a close one.  For many people in the world it isn’t close or far.  It’s more like a middle of the road existence; neither hot nor cold.  It is a lukewarm association; hotter when an emergency exists and colder when things are seemingly going their way.

 

Much of humankind is stuck in their immediate, mundane (four wall existence); trying to make ends meet, while attempting to enjoy the time they have on earth with little thought of what tomorrow may bring.  Many say, “I’m a good person,” caring less about God and their relationship with Him.

 

When God sends someone their way to share about the dividends of Christianity, and the Holy Spirit beckons them to make things right with God, they fail or refuse to take the opportunity to open the door and ask God to forgive them of their sins.  They are saying by their lack of response, “Not today; tomorrow!”

 

The Bible says that mankind is allotted seventy or eighty years, depending upon their health.  In my younger days I lived like I wanted to and had the idea that I would give my heart to God on my deathbed.  How foolish!  Is this not the general thinking of non-Christians that burn the candle at both ends?  They put off until tomorrow what they should do today, thinking they have plenty of time to make things right with God.  Sometimes it doesn’t work out this way; then what?

 

I lost my mom shortly after she turned fifty-eight years old, and my wife lost two brothers at ages fifty-eight and fifty-nine.  One of my wife’s closest friends just attended her son-in-law’s funeral.  He died instantly of a massive heart attack at the age of thirty-four.

 

Did they want to die?  I’m sure not, but their appointed time came upon them anyway.  Not one person living has the assurance that they will see the light of tomorrow’s sunrise.  Wow!  This is a sobering thought if we take in its worth and not reject the true importance of the message.

 

(Psalm 90:10), “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”

 

When I was living a cold relationship away from God, I remember becoming quite angry when anyone spoke of dying.  I didn't want to hear it.  Like most people without God in their life, I feared death.  I knew that my soul would end up in hell, because of my sinful lifestyle. 

My sins were not forgiven.  When conversations dealing with the demise of people were avoided, it made it easier to not face the inevitable that the future held.  I closed my mind to what ‘will be’ and lived in the ‘now’ rather than taking the opportunity of the ‘present’ to rid myself of guilt, shame, and a life of sin.  I just put it out of my mind like it would never happen to me.

(Hebrews 9:27-28), “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” vs.28 “so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.  To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”   

 

One thing is certain.  We are all going to pass from this life into eternity whether we want to or not.  With life comes the unavoidable—death; sooner for some and later for others.  Sooner or later we all must take this final step, alone. 

 

I am confident that Jesus will take my hand and welcome me into heaven when that hour comes.  This is my hope.  My gratitude soars, because God forgave me of my sins in 1969.  I am thankful that I didn’t yield to the temptation of putting off receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of my life until another day.  I heard His voice and the knock at my heart’s door.  I took the opportunity and invited Him in and became a child of God.

 

(Revelation 3:20), “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.”

 

I heard a saying last evening on television that prompted me to write these thoughts.  It went something like this:  “Temptation will lean on the doorbell, but opportunity may knock only once.”  Today is the day of salvation; tomorrow may never come.

 

Our life on earth is a dressing room for eternity.  How we live this life with the time that we have and to whom our allegiance lies determine the destiny of our soul; heaven or hell. 

 

Please take the opportunity, while there is yet time to ask Jesus into your heart if you don’t know Him as Lord.  I promise that you will not regret it.  This step is the beginning to a happy ending.  Trust God!

 

Written by,

Papa Boyd



The Grace of God

Perhaps you have never heard the term, “The Grace of God.”  It is the unmerited, undeserved love and favor of God toward mankind.

 

With this term in mind, how many times does the average person contemplate doing something about their relationship or status with God the Father on a daily basis?  I can only speak from personal experiences regarding my position in Christ, or lack thereof, prior to meeting Him.

 

God’s grace is free to any person desiring true and lasting satisfaction rather than experiencing the defeat that momentary pleasure of sinning offers.  The problems associated with sin are the consequences that follow after partaking of these brief or prolonged encounters.

 

Such problems can be, but are not limited to, sexually transmitted diseases; cirrhosis of the liver, which can be associated with alcoholism; lung cancer that is linked to tobacco usage; loss of friends, family or job opportunities; emotions of depression, loneliness, or hopelessness; and just the sense of “something’s missing” in one’s life.

 

Before I gave my heart to the Lord in 1969, my life was filled with heartache, unrest, and confusion.  Though I had a new car, money in the bank, and several friends; something was missing.  It was a void that nothing I tried would fill.

 

My disparaging lifestyle didn’t happen overnight, but it was a steady decline of moral and principled living.  Important values that were taught to me as a child became secondary to my way of life.

 

I found myself falling deeper and deeper into the hole of worldly pleasures, because of the physical highs that sinning provided.  I didn’t give God a thought until something out of the ordinary happened from time to time, which caused me to take inventory of my life and consider where I had gone wrong. 

 

At these times when I pillowed my head at night I feared what tomorrow would bring.  I knew that if I died in my sleep I would spend eternity in hell. 

 

It was hard to grasp at times how far I had stepped away from the things of God in such a short amount of time.  It was a slow, steady process of decline.  When I reflected on past happenings I couldn’t believe the things that I was involved with.  A few years prior I would have never considered doing them.

 

When a person allows Satan to manipulate their coming and going, all the devil gives in return is a feeling of hopelessness.  Sinning does this.  Peace of mind is nowhere to be found.  Nothing I tried could satisfy the emptiness and deep longing inside my being.

 

I remember when I was seemingly at the end of my rope of adventurous conduct, I had thoughts of the following:  “Is this all there is to life?”  Perhaps you’ve had similar thoughts.  They are quite sobering to say the least; but hope and satisfaction can be found when a person kneels before God and repents of their sin.

 

When I was thinking all hope was gone, it was at this juncture in time that the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart.  He brought back to my remembrance a Bible verse that I had learned as a child in Sunday school.  It opened my mind to truth.

 

(Matthew 6:33), “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

 

God showed me that He was at the bottom of my list of desires and wants.  He reminded me that in order to find what I was looking for I had to put Him first in my life.  I was at a crossroads…God to the right or continue down the wide road to destruction.  The choice was mine to make.

 

About that time Satan exclaimed that I was undeserving of God’s grace; unworthy to receive His Son Jesus as Lord, because of the things I had done.  God assured me that He had given His Son to die on the cross for my sins.  Jesus paid the price for my redemption.

 

God’s grace was sufficient to save me from my state-of-affairs and replace my old nature of sinning with a new nature that promoted peace and happiness.  I became born again!  I felt the indwelling of God’s Spirit!  At that moment all my cares and the heavy load of sin were lifted off of my shoulders!  I was set free in an instant!

 

(2 Corinthians 5:17), “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

 

(1 Peter 5:7), “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

 

I’m just a sinner saved by grace, because of God’s mercy and unconditional love.  Yes, I was undeserving, but I found favor with God, which is the definition of grace.  If you or I were the only people that had ever sinned, Jesus would still have given His life for us.  He loves you and me that much!

 

Give Jesus a try and see if I’m not telling you the truth.  Ask God to forgive you of your sins and to come into your heart.  I promise if you do this, God will give you unexplainable peace and joy.  Your newfound friend—Jesus—is the hope that goes beyond this life, because you will now spend eternity with Him in heaven.

  

Written by,

Papa Boyd



The Simplicity of Forgiveness

I have drafted many writings regarding faith, hope, and charity—more commonly known as love, yet I feel compelled this morning to write on the simplicity of forgiveness.

 

I believe, in part, the misgiving or hesitation in being converted to Christianity is the misunderstanding of what is needed to become joint heirs with Jesus Christ—children of God. 

 

The first realization of understanding should be awareness that no person under heaven can change the status of their inherited nature, which is the sin-nature of Adam and Eve.  It was because of their refusal to obey God, in the beginning, that sin entered a perfect world.  This disobedience caused all of humanity, generation to generation, to suffer the repercussions of their negative response in obeying God.

 

This plague-like nature is like the DNA of a human body, but is associated with the spirit that dwells within the body.  This sin nature reflects the spiritual gene pool, as it were, of our disobedient heritage of ancestry.

 

(Romans 3:23), “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

 

The word ‘all’ in the scripture above is quite specific.  It includes you and me.  We are as guilty, by proxy, as Adam and Eve when they ate the fruit of the tree that was in the midst of the Garden of Eden that God had instructed them not to partake.

 

We are cursed with this same disobedient spirit.  We want our way; we are self-centered, and we don’t like people telling us what to do.  If you don’t believe it, just look at any child.  They are self-centered; wanting their own way, while rebelling against the word, “No!”  It is this nature that I am talking about.

 

As these little ones grow toward adulthood, there comes a time of accountability; at what age I don’t know, but God does.  It is when we become accountable for our actions and deeds.  At this point we need a Savior to forgive us of our wrongdoings—sin.

 

There is a great chasm that separates the human race from God; it is sin.  God is on the side where righteousness abides, whereas, humanity is on the opposite side; bound by rebellion and headstrong self-will.

The second realization is to grasp and recognize that it is literally impossible for any person to span this chasm, even though their status in life may be high ranking and they have important people in their repertoire of friends.  Mankind cannot cross this gulf with manmade bridges of good works, self-righteousness, being a good person, doing pittance, or having religiosity.  All are meager attempts to get to God.

The third and most important realization is the fact that there is only one means of spanning the abyss between God and us.  It is the cross of Calvary.  God’s Son, Jesus, was nailed to this cross with His hands outstretched horizontally.  He is beckoning all of humanity to come to God by way of the cross and to stop their fruitless methodologies of trying to get to heaven on their own. 
  

Jesus desires that every man, woman, boy and girl take hold of His nailed pierced hand and give their life to Him.  There is no other way to God except through Jesus.

 (John 14:6), “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.’ ”

 

Jesus was beaten to within an inch of His life, spit upon, hung on a cross, died, and rose from the dead on the third day for our sins.  Because He lives we can live also.  We need only to simply ask God to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from unrighteousness, in the name of Jesus. 

When we do this, God wipes the slate clean.  It is as if we had never sinned.  He sees us through the precious blood that His Son shed on the cross for our redemption.  Forgiveness becomes certainty and the new birth a newly found reality.

 

The simplicity of forgiveness is the ease, straightforwardness, and effortlessness that it takes when receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior.  God made salvation easy for us.  Jesus took our place and paid the price for sin, thus, making salvation achievable through His death and resurrection.  He gave His life that we might live and be transformed from the curse of sin to a child of God.

 

(John 3:16-18), “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  vs.17 “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”  vs.18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

 

(Isaiah 35:8), “A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.  The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others, whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray.”

 

I believe the Highway of Holiness is the cross of Calvary.  It is the only way to heaven where God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit reside.

 

Written by,

Papa Boyd