The message this month is explosive. When understood and applied, it has the potential of blowing the lid off any level of living under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. So, what is this month’s message? I’m glad you asked. It is found in three simple, yet profound words: TODAY, NOT TOMORROW!
A few months ago I taught a Sunday school lesson with the title, “The one thing no Christian has ever done!” Of course, the title was intended to peak the interest of all those in attendance, and it did.
They were excited to hear some deep Scriptural secret about the one thing no Christian had ever done. What they heard was not a Scriptural secret at all but rather a bit of good old common sense that we all need reminding of from time to time. The one thing no Christian has ever done is serve God tomorrow.
Serve tomorrow, the one thing
One of the best examples of this truth found in Scripture is in the call of the disciples.
In Mark 1:16-20 we read this, “Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.”
Simon and Andrew left their nets and followed Jesus immediately. James and John left their nets and their father in the boat and followed Jesus immediately.
Far too often we find ourselves entangled in our own nets of neglect. We neglect our duty. We neglect our devotion. We neglect our discipline. The problem with neglect is found in the fact that it starts as an infection, and, if it’s allowed to linger too long, it winds up an insidious disease that will damage your witness, devastate your family and destroy your life.
Those who neglect the “seed time” find themselves wanting during the harvest. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in walking with Jesus since 1995, it is this: The devil is in the delay.
When discipline says “Do it now!” the devil whispers, “Do it tomorrow!”
And, of course, tomorrow never comes, so we end up living a life marked by the one thing no Christian has ever done serve God tomorrow! We live a life built upon the pillar of procrastination. But this is not for you.
To be sure, procrastination affects all of us from time to time. So how do we keep moving in the direction God is calling us to go with the goal of making progress and not excuses?
In Proverbs 27:1 we read, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”
Keeping this truth before us will keep us from putting off until tomorrow what God would have us do today.
The psalmist puts it this way, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).
We must realize that each day is a gift from God. How we use that day is our gift back to God. So how have you been using your days? Where has procrastination taken hold of you?
Edmund Burke once rightly observed, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Because we serve a great God, we need to accomplish great things for Him. God did not call you to live an average life – as far from the top as it is from the bottom. He has called you to live a life of freedom and faithfulness to Christ marked by passion and purpose where procrastination is as far as the east is from the west.
It is important to bear in mind that when you spend an hour you have one less hour to spend so spend it wisely. Time cannot be saved or repeated. It can only be lived one moment at a time. Time cannot be “killed” either.
You remember the phrase “killing time,” don’t you? Well, the truth is the only thing that is killed is a life fully lived for the glory of God. Because God has concealed from us the day He will call us home, we are to be busily engaged in serving Him TODAY, NOT TOMORROW.
Shall we presume to have that which we have not yet been given? May God forbid it.
Let the Word of God encourage you to live a life marked by serving God TODAY, NOT TOMORROW.
In Ephesians 5:16 we read that we are to make, “the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”
The best use of the time God has given us is to be found in doing what God would have us do. So, what changes do you need to make to begin making the best use of the precious time God has given you? Are you willing to make those changes?
What will it cost you if you don’t?
By God’s grace, may the confession of our lives be one of serving our God TODAY, NOT TOMORROW. This brings ultimate glory to God and benefits all those who God has placed in our lives. Never forget that
Amen!
Blessings!
Rev. Tommy Boland is the men’s and sports minister at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, and he also teaches adult Sunday school. For more information including Bible study resource materials, please send an e-mail to [email protected] or [email protected]. Visit Tommy Boland’s blog at https://tommyboland.com/
For more articles by Tommy Boland, visit goodnewsfl.org/tommy-boland.
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