My message this morning:
Living for God Today, Living for God Tomorrow
James 4:13-15
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.15Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
I was doing a little Biblical research the other day. Looking back on it, I seem to be doing things like that lately. It reminds me of a joke line that has been going around for a couple years at least. It goes like this: “Have you noticed that old people seem to read the Bible a lot?” “Yes, they are studying for the final exam.” With that in mind, I was living in Nevada for 20 some years and tried to keep in touch with my parents through the telephone. My Mother once told me that Dad and one of my Uncles were having a Bible study over at Dad’s place. I thought of that joke then and guess I am following in Dads footsteps.
I was looking in some files that I had in preparation for today. I started with a sermon I did at the beginning of the century. Seems old doesn't it? Actually a year into it. A lot has happened to the world since then. But I took this very brief two page sermon I had put together in hurry because our Pastor at the time had received an injury that required him to stay home. As I was reading it, God had me do some more study into what He wanted me to tell you today. After praying about it and thinking and reading some more I feel that the message for today is simply put: Living for God Today — Living for God Tomorrow.
Let me explain how I figured it out and see if you agree.
The scripture this morning comes from the Book of James. It is actually a sermon. If you were reading along this morning, you may have noticed that it only has five chapters. James was not as prolific a writer as Paul, so we shouldn’t expect long disertations. Sometimes good things come in small packages and that is what I think we have here with James.
When the church was just beginning, there was, to put simply: a lot of chaos. There was persecution, false teachers, teaching false doctrine, and a lot of differences in the way believers behaved. The people to whom James was writing were learning to live the Christian life in a pagan world. Almost sounds like it would fit today doesn’t it? Suffering was considered by both Jewish and pagan religions as punishment for wrong doings. Wealth and ease were looked on as rewards for being good. So when the new Christians were suffering it was not only painful, but embarrassing and confusing. James addressed those issues along with having a right attitude toward wealth, and the wealthy. He also taught them through this sermon/letter how to live a Christian life of love and kindness. How we can put our faith in God and not have to be so concerned about the how things are going to happen, but how you will make a difference in those around you by being reliant on God’s grace . . . no matter what. James was teaching to live for today. Do your best work today, because you don’t even know if you will be here tomorrow!
Just the other day a friend of mine and I were talking. It was interesting to realize how we get caught up in living from crisis to crisis and all of a sudden we are older and body parts are starting to either quit working or are in need of repair or replacement. I have found that parts are starting to ache that I never even knew I had!
How many of us have said, “I wish I would have been more attentive when my kids were younger.” Or perhaps spent more time at home with my wife instead of all those bowling nights, or late nights at the office trying to impress the boss with my productivity . . . most likely while he was relaxing at home.
According to what we have read this morning, life is too short, no matter how many years we live. We don’t know if there will be a “tomorrow”. To be complete, live for God today. James writes about how we should be living today for God and because of that, good works will come with it. James is saying that we are not judged by our good works, but that because we are living the best we can today and trying to please God, good works will be done. That makes us complete. He asks us “What is your life? You are but a mist that appears for a little while, then vanishes.” Have God in your plans every day. Make Him a partner in your daily life. Don’t be deceived into thinking “I’ll start going to church more regular next month, but this month is really a busy time at work.” Or even worse, “That Bass tournament in Arkansas is calling me.” But when you have included God in your plans . . . not just by going to church, but by talking to Him daily and even hourly . . . and being quiet and LISTEN for His guidance and reassurance, you will have fulfilled God’s plan for you. He will never disappoint you when you include Him in your goals and plans.
It is good to have plans. As a matter of fact, I believe He wants us to have goals in our lives. Where do these “goal ideas” come from do you suppose? If you are including God in your life, I would bet they are coming from Him. If not . . . watch out! You may be headed down the wrong path.
It doesn’t make any sense to make goals or plans if God isn’t included in your planning process. Your future is in His hands whether you accept it or not. Might as well include Him now and ask for His guidance and direction. It will only make it easier on yourself and those that you are influencing.
A few years ago my wife and I were taking care of her Father in our home. When we bought the house, it was with the knowledge that the possibibility was great that we would be taking care of him sometime in the future. Several years later, the future arrived. He was with us for a few more years and we were able to love him and spoil him to the best of our ability. God was with us and our household. We knew that. We had prayed about it, and had asked God’s guidance. Dad lived a full and long life. 92 years. We were blessed to be able to provide for him in his last stage of life on earth. Within a couple more years, we both felt that our work was finished in Nevada and that God was calling us to a new ministry. Looking back on that part of our lives is so exciting to see how God was putting the pieces of our family puzzle together for quite a few years and it was becoming a complete and beautiful jigsaw puzzle! Ending up in Western Tennessee was not where we had ever planned to live. But then I had never given Nevada a thought before I got married to a Nevada girl. This type of thing has happened throughout our lives.
When we have stress and unpleasantness in our lives, something is out of kilter.
What are we missing?
What can we do differenty?
What do we need to learn or re-learn?
What is it that God is trying to tell us?
What do we need to do to make things right?
Is it to re-learn something?
Is it to re-focus on something?
Is it as basic as shedding our pride and let God tell us what do do?
Is it something as simple as actually LISTENING to what GOD is trying to tell us, but LIFE is getting in the way . . . “my mind is made up, I KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR ME”. Things are not ALWAYS “THEIR” fault. It may be a combination of misjudgements or issues.
Please listen to me. When you make God an Active part of your life, you will be blessed. That doesn’t mean you will be pain free or extremely wealthy! It means your heart will be calm in crisis situations because God is with you. It also means that in order to be right with God, we MUST be willing to apologize and forgive when we have conflicts and issues in our lives. It is one thing to be upset today, but what about tomorrow? What if there is no tomorrow? You will have missed the opportunity to apologize and forgive . . . to make things “right”. Hanging on to anger, not giving up your pride, keeping your pious attitude in front of your eyes, blinding you, so that you can’t see the results of your stuborness, is NOT the way that God wants us to treat our brothers and sisters in Christ! Resolve your
issues TODAY because there may be no TOMORROW. Speak to that
person this afternoon . . . before it is too late. If it takes a few tears to make things right, let them flow. If it gets resolved with God’s blessings and guidance it is good. Today is such a short time to deal with. Tomorrow is not for sure. Sometimes change is painful, particuarly when God wants change and we aren’t listening. It seems, sometimes, to be a two edged sword. To resolve issues and heal completely, there needs to be forgiveness from BOTH sides. We, as individuals, can only control what God is telling us in our own lives. We cannot demand others to forgive, but we can lead by example and pray that they are guided by God to do what is HIS plan.
So here’s the deal:
Live for God today. Pray to Him. Involve Him in your daily life. Talk to Him frequently . . . particularly if something is “bugging” you.
Live for God tomorrow. It’s really His tomorrow anyway. Include Him in it and your plans for it. Makes sense doesn’t it? When you were a kid and you had plans to go fishing, wasn’t it easier to include your Dad in those plans, so He could get you to the lake? Same thing here. Include God in your plans and see what a wonderful journey you will have from then on.
So make Him a part of your daily living . . . He likes that.
Please join me prayer
Dear Lord,
I thank you for this day. I thank you that we are able to see and hear this morning. We are blessed because you are a forgiving and understanding God. You have done so much for us and you keep the blessings coming.
Forgive us this day for everything that we have done that does not please you. We are asking now for your forgiveness. Please keep us safe from all danger and harm. Help us start this day with a new attitude and with
plenty of gratitude. Help us make the best of each and every day with a clear mind, and heart, so that we can hear you.
Please broaden our minds so that we can accept all things with the right attitude. Let us not whine and whimper over things we have no control over. When we sin, allow us to repent, and confess with our mouths of our wrong doings, and to receive your forgiveness with love. When this world closes in on us , allow us to remember your son Jesus’ example — to slip away to a place where you and I can talk. We know that there are situations when we cannot get away. In those situations Lord we know you are listening to our heart and understand.
Lord we ask that you continue to bless us that we may be a blessing to others. Keep us strong that we may help the weak. Keep us uplifted so that we may have the words of encouragement for others. We pray for those that are lost and can’t find their way. We pray for those that are misjudged and misunderstood. We pray for those who don’t know you intimately.
We pray for those that don’t believe, and thank you Lord that we believe. We pray for our sisters and brothers in Christ, and for every member of their households.
We pray for peace, love and joy in the homes of those that need our love and understanding. We continually say things that are misunderstood and continually hear things that we misintrepret Lord. We ask that a more complete understanding and forgiveness is achieved. We ask for your forgiveness in the many times we have not been as loving and gentle as we should have been. We ask that you allow us the opportunity to re-look at our perceived stumbling blocks to learn that it is US that are those sources of weakness and misspeaking that has taken place...at least to an equal degree of pain. We ask your forgiveness in our weakness and to share our joy in knowing that we are all of equal value to YOU, in spite of our human failures. We pray that every ear that hears this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than YOU, Father God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. We ask that you equip us properly with the right amount of grace and gratitude. We humbly ask for the correct amount of peace, joy and happiness and an over abundance of forgiveness and respect, in working with others in this time here, where your Son had given his life for us so many years ago. Thank you Lord, God, our Father.
This is our prayer,
In Jesus’ most holy name
Amen
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