Bible Thoughts

December 26, 1999

"Time waits for no man" is no doubt a true and wise observation. The more years we accumulate, the more we realize the truth of the first part of the above verse. With many, it seems only yesterday we enjoyed the happiness of being children. Yet, we now have our own sons, daughters, and grandchildren. We were young; now we are older.

James was led to write of such matters in James 4:13-14, "Come now, ye that say, today or tomorrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade and get gain; whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away"(James 4:13-14). Peter quotes the prophet Isaiah to show the brevity of life, "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, And the flower falleth: But the word of the Lord abideth for ever"(I Peter 1:24-25). The young do not always realize the truth expressed in this passage; the aged know, by experience, what it means.

It is time to reflect upon the past year. It does seem that the year had only begun when it was time to draw the curtain on 1999. Most of us had great plans we intended to accomplish during the past year. Yea, even in regard to our responsibilities to God. Did we fulfill them? Or did we keep putting those off until it was too late to meet our promises for the year? Was the past year one of profit or one of waste in my personal activities for the Lord?

The old year is gone! With all of its joys, sorrows, disappointments, and heartaches; the year is a page in history. What might have been can no longer be reached in the past.

A new year awaits us! There will be joys, sorrows, disappointments, and heartaches. How do we intend to live the new year? Improving in our service to God and His kingdom? Or, just keep the old habits and try to get by with the past? Only the individual can answer these question.

Is there a neighbor that you intended to teach the truth? Do not put it off another year! Make 2000 the year in which you see that friend obey the truth. Were there sick and shut-ins that you intended to visit? Do it in 2000! Your aged parent or grandparent or friend needs your help. Help them! Let each of us purpose to make 2000 the greatest year in service to God and to others in our short lives.

Some of us may not be alive to see the end of the year 2000. Death knows no favor. The young, the old, the infirm, and the healthy died during the past year. Some were prepared; the majority were not. Do not permit failure to be faithful to God rob you of a home in heaven. Always be prepared to die by faithful and righteous living.

Perhaps you planned to obey the gospel during this past year, but just kept putting it off. Please do not make the same mistake another year. Be ready to meet the Lord should you depart this life during the year 2000. You do know that you have no promise of even one more day of life...don't you?

Are you one of those who intended, at the beginning of the past year, to serve the Lord with all of your heart, but permitted indifference or worldliness to separate you from the faithful? Maybe you did not realize what was happening. It was easy to neglect the services, to find other activities at the time when God's people worship, to put off performing acts of righteousness, and become indifferent to the commands and ways of God. Your condition can be corrected by confessing and repenting of your sins, and praying to God. Why not take the steps to return to God and resolve to be faithful all the rest of your life? Remember: the unfaithful die as well as the faithful.

It is certainly true, in the words of the old saying, "time flies." Just as one adjusts to the new year in 1999, the year 2000 comes upon us with a flourish. Now is the time to resolve to serve the Lord, not sometime during the coming year. Do not let 2001 overtake you without having been faithful to the Lord each day of 2000.

Our age is the richest that has ever lived. While Solomon's wealth was staggering, it was controlled by one man: the king. In our time, wealth can be had by the ambitious. Solomon had his wealth because God gave it to him. Others, those who had the physical power over men, often became rich. Today, it is possible for a person of lowly birth and few possessions to become one of the world's wealthiest.

Those who are considered "aged" are amazed at what has happened in our country in the last few years. It almost staggers the imagination to look at the material possessions that many have accumulated. While wealth can be used to improve the lot of humanity, it can also be the stumbling block that costs a person his soul. It is an element that can cause men to lose all sense of perspective. Hypnotized by the wonderment of what it can buy(people and/or goods), such becomes the central focus of a person's life causing one to lose site of the hereafter.

It is not the wealth of a person that counts, but what he does with what he possesses