Thursday, April 27, 2006

Vapor


The Word:

Read: James 4:13-15
Additional Reading: Hebrews 3:12-15

As quickly as the spring rain evaporates from the ground once the sun shines on it, so does life itself evaporate. Life is short and we don’t know if we will see tomorrow. Why? Because mankind does not know the number of our days, only God does. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow let alone five minutes from now. Our lives, our own bodies are temporal and will not exist in current form forever.

In most cases we live in a fast paced world where our priorities can easily become out of balance and we may not have time or make time for the important things and people in our life.

In reality, we may not have time to repair the broken relationships or correct the mistakes we make although; we should make every effort to repair these things if at all possible. We may not have as much time to serve and bring more glory to God, as we’d expect, yet, we should make every effort to do so. We may not have another chance to tell our family that we love them and that they are important to us or more importantly show them we love them, which is so important! We may not have a second chance to tell a loved one, a friend, or even an acquaintance about their need for the Savior even though Jesus commissioned us to do so.

With all of these things said, we shouldn’t shrink back from the challenge, from life and say, “so what’s the point in doing anything if life is so short!?” Rather, we need to cherish the days our gracious Father gives us and live the life He gave us to the fullest – for Him!

As a believer, your life should be characterized in such a way that you build and leave behind a godly legacy where you’ve made a real difference in this world for God. Wouldn’t it be great to be marked by others who see you and proclaim, now there’s a person of integrity, they were friendly, they cared, they loved, and they lived their life well!

To be even more transparent for a moment, let me share some of the things I'd like to be remembered by through an excerpt from a plan I wrote as part of a class several years ago:

At the end of it all...

Randolph L. Koch
Born July 9, 1970 - Died?

Remembered by his friends and family as . . .

  • A faithful Servant.
  • Someone Known by God
  • Someone who truly loved God
  • A dedicated and loving Husband and Father
  • A true friend
  • A Man of Integrity, Character, and Hope.
  • Someone who strived to make a difference in this world.
  • Someone who strived to help himself and others live up to their potential and most importantly to be and live in the center of God’s Will, Purpose, and Plan.
  • A Man who lived, built, and left a legacy for his family, friends, etc.
These may seem almost lofty but my prayer is that at the end of it all, I will have attained most of these goals and be remembered at least by those close to me in this way.

What about you? How would you want to be remembered? What would your plan, your memorial look like?

Life is a vapor and from one vapor to another, let me encourage you in the remaining days you have to live, to live your life to bring glory to God and share His love with others.

Questions to Get Started With:

-How should you live your life according to the scripture?
(See selected scripture as well as the many other references in God’s Word.)
-Do you share His love with others through your words as well as in how you live your life?
-How would you want to be remembered?
-What changes will you make starting today so you can make better use of the life God gave you?

If you're reading this and have put off thinking about what will happen when you die, don’t put it off any longer, as you don’t know what tomorrow brings. Give your life to Christ. Click on the following link to find out more about how to do this.

The Bridge to Life


Your Brother and Servant in Christ,

Randolph Koch

Friday, April 07, 2006

Be His Light

The Word:
Read: John 5:14-16, Ephesians 5:8-13
Additional Reading: John 8:12, John 1:1-14, 2 Corinthians 4:4-6, John 5:31-35


"Be His Light" By Randolph Koch

"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let is shine, this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, Let it shine, Let it shine, Let it shine."

The simple words of a child's Sunday school song ring true. No matter if you came to the Lord as a young child or as an adult the message it communicates is sometimes forgotten as we grow older in years and in our faith.

Just like the song, "This Little Light of Mine", we're called to be a light in this world.

Although there are many great and good things happening we live in an often-dark place where bad things happen because sin is prevalent in this world. This may seem like a broad generality to some but you can simply turn on your local TV New cast or read your daily paper, (not that I'm recommending either) to see the evidence of the evil things that are taking place. To be honest, we needn't look any further than a mirror in front of us to remind see the reality and effects of the past and present sin in our own lives. Praise God that we've Jesus died for our past, present, and future sins. Praise God for our salvation!

This world is in need of a transformation and peace that only God can bring and we can be and are agents of His light or maybe we can simply refer to ourselves as "Agents of Light," or "Beacons of Light and Hope?"

Maybe you remember as a child that you were scared of the dark when it was bedtime? Maybe you'd turned on a night-light or a flashlight and light came into the darkness and the fear went away? Jesus did the same thing because He brought His light into your life, shined it on your sin, the darkness in your life making you aware of your need for His forgiveness and salvation. He then came into your life, He saved you, and the fear and uncertainty of your eternal future was gone because He secured your future!

Jesus Christ is the true light and He is the way, the truth, and life that came into our world and pierced the darkness of sin. He in turn calls those who are Christians to be the lights of and to the World. We're called to shine His light out before all men and we're not called to hide his light either!

So, if you're having a bad day, try to let your light shine anyway!

The evil one would like nothing less than for a believer's light to be "snuffed-out" by ungodly living. God has a more excellent way as we are charged to live as children of light and have nothing to do with deeds of darkness. (See Ephesians 5:8-13)

The challenge rests in your hands now; will you live to be or not to be His light?
Let's pray for each other that we'd go and shine out His light in our homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, churches, or anywhere else we are. Be His light child of God, Be His light!

Questions to Get Started With:

-Have you received His salvation?
-What does it mean to live as "Children of Light?"
-Do you actively live to be or not to be His light?
-Why is it important as a Christian to shine His light?