It seems there is not a week that goes by in which I don’t hear someone say, “I’m just not able to do the things that I used to do.”  Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I speak mostly to those who, like myself, are growing older and our bodies more frail.  For many, it is a worrisome thought, but I have learned that it is easier to embrace the fact that we will not live on earth forever, and what we are feeling has been common to mankind in every era.  There are indeed seasons of life that define who we are from the cradle to the grave, and each new season stands in stark contrast to the last.

  The Bible tells us that God created us as eternal souls for His own eternal fellowship.  For those of us who believe Him, life on earth is the beginning rather than the end.  You do believe in God don’t you?  The purpose of our present temporal life is to glorify God in all that we do, and to prepare ourselves for eternal life in His presence.  This preparation involves accepting His gift of forgiveness, which was purchased at great cost to Himself.  Jesus, His Son, stooped to become a man in order to buy us back, and restore us to our Creator God.  He died, was buried, and rose again from the grave, to purchase our pardon and offer us eternal life in His presence.  “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. (Acts 16:31)”

  As older and perhaps wiser believers living in the last seasons of life, we can avail ourselves of new opportunities to serve the Lord—things that we were incapable of before, or perhaps “too busy,” or too ignorant to grasp the significance of.  Missionary C.T. Studd said it best, “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

  Perhaps you should put life on pause for a moment, step back and ask yourself a few questions:  Am I ready to meet the Lord?  Have I done anything to honor Him who has sacrificed so much for me?  It is time to consider your eternal soul and the continuation of life in a realm of which, though unseen, you are destined to be a part.  “…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)”

  You have heard of the old wanted posters of yesteryear that pictured the heinous criminal and the words Wanted Dead or Alive.  If you ever saw such a poster with the inscription Wanted Dead AND Alive you would probably want to report a printer’s error, but in a biblical sense a person might very well be Dead AND Alive at the same time.  I’ll explain.

  The Bible teaches us that there is both a physical and spiritual side of man.  In both realms, a man is either alive or dead.  The physical side of man is most easily observed and everyone understands the concept of dead or alive in this realm, but perhaps the spiritual side of man is less familiar.  Let’s start with the fact that when God created man, He breathed into His body the “breath of life” and the first man became a living soul.  God’s intention was for man to live forever in His presence.  “…all things were created by him, and for him: (Colossians 1:16)”  When sin entered the picture, in Genesis 3, though still alive physically, man lost His privilege of fellowship with sinless God, and “died” spiritually.  From that point, he and all of his descendants are referred to as “dead in trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2:1)” 

  God’s Word says, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3)”  If eternal life is knowing God and His Son Jesus, then not knowing Him must be eternal death—separation from God for all eternity.  So a person can be alive physically and dead spiritually, or he could be alive in both realms.

  If you understand that you are spiritually dead because of sin, and separated from God, you will be encouraged to know that it is possible to be “Born Again” (John 3) in the spiritual realm and be restored to God as part of His eternal family.  I’m sure, to some this will sound absurd, but because your eyes and heart have been fixed for so long on the physical, most anything that you might hear of the eternal realm will require a step of faith.  “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)”  To ignore what God has said would be foolish.

  Someone once jokingly said, “It is senseless to use the word tomorrow because tomorrow never arrives; when it dawns, immediately it is called today.”  God’s Word tells of some men who made business plans for tomorrow.  James reminded them that tomorrows are filled with uncertainty.  Even if tomorrow arrives, how could they know assuredly that they would be alive to enjoy it?  “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. (James 4:13-14)”

  The brevity of life, and the uncertainties associated with tomorrow are not pleasant thoughts, but the next verse in the passage says, “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. (James 4:15)”  While we are unable to predict the future or our roles in it, the Bible tells us that God knows the future as well as the past—He is omniscient (all knowing).  He can make plans for tomorrow and be certain of their fulfillment—He is omnipotent (all powerful).  He knows where He will be on tomorrow—He is omnipresent (everywhere present).  Some will smirk at the idea, supposing that if there is a God, He must be as uncertain and vulnerable as every man.  But he is a fool who would own a god that is no stronger, or wiser than himself.   Based only upon the visible evidence around you, God must indeed be all that the Bible professes Him to be.  “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (Romans 1:20)”

We can certainly trust this God with all of our tomorrows.  As the chronicler of the southern kingdom of Israel once wrote, “Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. (1Chronicles 29:11)”

For our context, a paradigm is a world view that serves as the foundation supporting our answers to questions like: Where did we come from?  Why are we here?  Where are we going?  When our country was formed, most agreed on the foundational principles upon which our morals and laws should be based.  These principles have been referred to as Judaeo Christian Values.  Even while our fledgling country had its growing pains, it enjoyed freedoms and bounty that had been little known over the face of the globe.  America has obviously been blessed by the God whose values we embraced.

  Today, we are witnessing the demise of our constitutional republic, as sin and the neglect of our eternal souls have loosed us from our time honored moorings, and set us adrift as a nation.  Because we are falling away from these Judaeo Christian Values, and our sense of dependence upon God is greatly diminished, a new paradigm has been formulated in the minds of evil men, a foundation based on the tenets of godless humanism.  But God would have us beware: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19)”  Time will prove that the God of the Bible was and is our only hope of survival.

  History is replete with examples of nations and cultures that have abandoned God to worship the creature rather than the Creator.  “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. (Romans 1:28-32)”

  We must repent, and return to the God of our fathers, before it is too late!

  David, “a man after God’s own heart,” was the second king of Israel.  His  reign was 1,000 years before Christ came to earth.  God used him, by inspiration, to pen many of the Psalms that are recorded in the Bible.  The first king of Israel, King Saul, was still on the throne when David was anointed to take his place.  The jealous Saul made several attempts on David’s life, and on one occasion David sought refuge in a cave.  Psalm 57 is a record of his thoughts and prayers in the midst of this quiet solitude.

  David prayed, “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. (Psalms 57:1)”  David was one of the bravest, wisest, most formidable soldiers who ever fought in the victorious armies of Israel, and yet he refused to trust in his own prowess for protection, but threw himself on the mercies of God.  He said, “I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me. He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up.  God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. (Psalms 57:2-3)”

  Many in our day are trusting in themselves, or in the strong arms of boisterous men who they believe will deliver them in times of calamity, but no man will deliver them unless God wills it so.  “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. (Jeremiah 17:5)”  God wants us to know that we were created in need of that which only He can provide.

The song writer captures the spirit of this truth when he wrote, “Lead on, O King eternal, the day of march has come; henceforth in fields of conquest your tents will be our home.  Through days of preparation your grace has made us strong; and now, O King eternal, we lift our battle song.

Lead on, O King eternal; we follow, not with fears, for gladness breaks like morning where’er your face appears.  Your cross is lifted o’er us, we journey in its light; the crown awaits the conquest; lead on, O God of might.”