Weekend Sermon

     Welcome to the Weekend Sermon.  For those of you who live in the United States, I hope that you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend. 
     This was a very rough week at work.  I really need everyone's prayers so that I can keep making it through each day.  My writing is doing better, so I thank the Lord for that blessing.
     In your prayer time this week, please continue to pray that the Ebola epidemic will come to an end.  Pray that the Lord will heal those who are afflicted, and pray that He will comfort those who have lost loved ones as a result of this illness.  Also, continue to pray for peace in Israel, Ukraine, Iraq and Syria.
     This week I received some news that made me immediately think about the verse that will be our sermon text today.  James 3:14 states, "... You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."
    I called Toby's old veterinarian one morning last week.  I wanted to know if he might have a job available at his clinic.  He really surprised me when he told me that he had sold the clinic and was now just an employee.  He said that at 61 years of age he was cutting back and thinking of retiring in the near future.
    I've known this man since I was 11 years old.  My Mom sold him his first house and veterinary clinic when she worked as a real estate agent.  He said that if Mom hadn't helped him get the zoning passed, he would never have been able to open the clinic.
    I thought a lot this week about how time just seems to fly by.  It's been 18 years since Toby passed away, and it just seems like he was here yesterday.  September will mark the fifth year since my Mom died.  It seems not long ago. 
    Time just keeps rolling along.  And then you find yourself old.
     Our verse today says that life is like a mist.  One Bible version says that life is like a vapor.  It doesn't last very long.  The mist and dew on the ground in the morning quickly burns away in the heat of the morning sunshine.  The vapor of steam rising from a cup of hot coffee vanishes in the blink of the eye.
    So what does this have to teach us.  I think that there is a practical and a spiritual lesson to be learned from this passage in James' epistle.
    On the practical level, the brevity of life should make each of us think about doing and accomplishing what we want to do in life before time passes us by.  If you have an activity you want to do or a dream you want to pursue, now is the time to do it, because no one is promised tomorrow.
     I wanted more than anything to have some great adventure with my friend Toby.  I wanted to travel around the country together and explore.  But that can never be in this life.  He is gone, and that dream is over.  It is a regret.
    Thanks be to God, many of the dreams I had have come to pass.  I wanted to be a published writer, and in this pursuit, the Lord has blessed me far above anything I ever expected or imagined.  I wanted to be a jazz musician.  The Lord allowed me to be a trumpet player.  I'm not great, but I'm playing.
    I know so many people who go through life and they never do what is in their heart.  My Dad always wanted to have a farm.  It's all he ever talked about.  But he kept putting it off and putting is off.  He was afraid to take the risk.  Then, one day, he no longer had the health to pursue what had been a lifelong ambition.
     The same was true with my Mom.  She worked as a healthcare administrator, and she made good money and benefits.  However, she always wanted to be a nurse.  She even checked into going to nursing school when I was in junior high.  She never went, and she always regretted it.
    If you have a dream in your heart, don't keep putting it off until tomorrow.  If it is something that is in God's will, try with all of your might to do it.
    As for me, my desire is to keep writing, and I'm not giving it up.  I also want to get another dog.  I've been putting it off.  I'm not getting any younger.  It's time to act I think.
    Now on the spiritual side.
    Since life is so short, we need to do all we can to serve the Lord and do as much good as we can.  We need to try to leave this world a little better place than the way we found it.  The Lord Jesus has commanded His followers to go into the world and preach the Gospel.  Let us all do this today and not delay.  Let each of us determine to share the love of Jesus with a hurting world.  Don't put things off, today is the day of action.
    Also, you may be delaying making a decision to accept Jesus into your life as Savior and Lord.  You may say, "I'll do it another day."  You may not have another day.  Life is short.  Today is the day of salvation as the Scripture says.  Turn your life over to the Lord Jesus in repentance and faith now and don't delay.
     Thank you for joining me for another Weekend Sermon.  This Tuesday, I will post another verse for the week, and on Wednesday there will be a review.  I hope to see you next weekend for another sermon.  May you experience the love of Jesus in your heart this week.  Amen.