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Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 6 Maintenance plan Day 7 Seize the day

“so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭3:15-16‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Here we are at the end of our journey. We have conquered much, these past few months together. We have fought for our minds to embrace a truth about who God is to us, who we are to Him and why that matters. Taking our eyes off of what we see in this world while we long for the unseen treasures of eternity.

As you have probably discovered, there is no generic formula to get from the beginning of your time here until you pass on through to eternity. You are a unique, designed being, on a set course, for an eternal destination.

Where we spend eternity will be determined by who we put our trust in. We can put our trust in The One who designed and created our inmost being, before we were given, on loan, to our mother’s womb, or we can live our lives with no creator in mind at all. Whichever we choose, time ticks and eternity awaits our last tic on the clock because nobody makes it out of here, alive. We are not promised tomorrow. We cannot change the past. Today is meant to be seized with eternity in mind.

I leave you with some real questions. Where will you spend eternity?
How will you spend your daily 1440 minutes as you walk out the timeline given to you that disrupted eternity?
Do you know who God is to you?
Do you know who you are to God?
Do you know that where you spend eternity is anchored in those last 2 questions?

Only you can answer these questions honestly. If you do not know where to start, start with the Salvation prayer then by reading the book of John, Acts and Romans, in the Bible. I recommend the, The @YouVersion Bible App has a permanent spot on my home screen.
http://bible.com/app , so you can pick a version of the Bible that is easy for you to understand and memorize.

Salvation prayer:
Lord, I admit that I am a sinner. When I have sinned and when I sin, I sin against You only. I believe that You were born to a virgin, lived a sinless life, was crucified for no crime but for my sin to be erased, that You died and rose from the grave, conquered sin & death on my behalf, that You are in heaven preparing a place for me; and I believe that You are coming back for me, to be with You, for all of eternity. I confess to You Lord my sin ( confess whatever comes to mind) and I believe that my confessed sin is erased at the cross where You willingly laid down Your life for me. Lord, I believe Your word is an echo of Your heart and I will study, meditate and keep it in my heart and mind, daily. Amen.

“Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭3:18‬ ‭CSB‬‬

“Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run or labor for nothing.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:14-16‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Maintenance plan – Seize the day

Week 2 Nobody Makes It Out Alive Day 2 Friend or Foe

“This isn’t the neighborhood bully mocking me—I could take that. This isn’t a foreign devil spitting invective—I could tune that out. It’s you! We grew up together! You! My best friend! Those long hours of leisure as we walked arm in arm, God a third party to our conversation.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭55:12-14‬ ‭MSG‬‬

We have all been there, right? That sinking feeling of realizing you have been betrayed by a person or a group of people that you thought, and they said, would never hurt you. Though, the experience for each of us has different faces, names and details, we can all relate to that gut wrenching pain that comes from betrayal.

The psalm above is more relatable than I care to share the details here. But I feel it in the inner most parts of my soul each time I read it. The initial hurt, denial, anger, pain and finally acceptance that I need to move on without them. That if there were to be a reconciliation, God would have to initiate it because my wounds were cut too deep to even consider it. It does not mean I have not forgiven them. It just means that their behavior created a boundary because trust had been violated at every level.

These are tough situations that are challenging to recover from. But God can restore your broken heart over betrayal and not restore that relationship, as well as give you a heart for accepting the situation and still not let anger, hurt and resentment control you.

God is not surprised by one thing going on in the world, as a whole, or our world as an individual. He knows and he relates to us. He endured betrayal that he knew would happen. Read about the betrayal of the leaders of the synagogue, his disciples (the accounts of Peter and Judas), the government leaders. All forms of betrayal yet it was that betrayal that helped assist Jesus’s prophetic purpose. Every part of what happened pushed heaven and earth to collide so we could have eternity back in reach if we would just believe.

Jesus endured the consequences of our sin, we get to embrace the result of Jesus’s sacrifice, liberty from the consequences of sin and death. Though our human counterparts may imperfectly step through our lives there is but one that will never leave you or betray you and that is Jesus.

The passage below is so rich in wisdom of how to handle our foes, the people we trusted at one time and betrayed us another, the people that swore to never hurt us or leave us but they did. Jesus, in all of his infinite knowledge and wisdom responds perfectly. He took what foolishness they threw at him and forced them to concede to the debate that they initiated. He refused to get caught up in conversations that led away from his plan and purpose. He flipped the script. Jesus moved on without them, He answered only to His Father in heaven. He knew that God’s voice was the only voice that mattered as He prepared Himself to face the cross. In the face of death, he took back all authority over sin and death and rose from the dead. He revealed himself long enough to give us some last instructions, while He went to prepare our home with Him, announcing that He will return for us.

All the haters are gonna hate but God is the only one who can save us.

Lord I pray that we learn who God is to us, who we are to Him and why that matters. I promise you that though people may disappoint and betray you, God never will. Amen.

“One day he was teaching the people in the Temple, proclaiming the Message. The high priests, religion scholars, and leaders confronted him and demanded, “Show us your credentials. Who authorized you to speak and act like this?”

Jesus answered, “First, let me ask you a question: About the baptism of John—who authorized it, heaven or humans?”

They were on the spot, and knew it. They pulled back into a huddle and whispered, “If we say ‘heaven,’ he’ll ask us why we didn’t believe him; if we say ‘humans,’ the people will tear us limb from limb, convinced as they are that John was God’s prophet.” They agreed to concede that round to Jesus and said they didn’t know.

Jesus said, “Then neither will I answer your question.””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭20:1-8‬ ‭MSG‬‬

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