 What if you saw that note? What if you had only seven days to live?
That’s such an intense question, but really think about it; you have seven days to live. What would you do differently. Surely you wouldn’t waste any time. You’d try and fix everything you have that’s broken – relationships, friendships, grudges. You’d try and say everything you’d been too afraid for all these years. You’d live more passionately. You’d love a little more. Focus more on spreading the word of God a bit more, perhaps?
This month in church, we are talking about ‘One Month to Live.’ It’s based on a book about that very subject – what if you had one month to live? I’ve decided to talk a little bit about that, but for you, dear readers, I’ve given you a week.
So, really – what would you do? It’s interesting to think about.
Here’s another question: Why don’t you live like that already? Seriously. Why don’t you live that passionately everyday? Fear? Embarrassment? What’s to be afraid of?
Well, here’s something from the Bible that might make you think a bit differently.
4 “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered—
how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
at best, each of us is but a breath.”
6 We are merely moving shadows,
and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.
We heap up wealth,
not knowing who will spend it. —Psalm 39:4-6
Now, from the other Testament…
14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. — James 4:14
Your days are numbered. There WILL be a day when you will die. Here’s the kicker: what if that day is tomorrow? The bible even says that tomorrow is not promised to you. Isn’t that a very good reason to live more passionately, love more, and meet more people today? What sort of legacy are you going to leave? Something meaningful, or something worthless?
No one’s going to remember you for your funny Facebook statuses. No one’s going to remember you for your ability get 100% on ‘Through Fire and Flames’ on Guitar Hero. You’ll be remembered for the live’s you’ve touched – change – and the life that you devoted 100% to God.
It’s something to think about.
-Matt
written by Matt
\\ tags: Advice, Bible, church, Death, God, James, life, Living, Love, Psalms
 Today, at church, our Pastor went over four key things to living the fullest life, without regret, and 100% for God. I just wanted to do a quick post about those four things.
- Give the First Day of your Week to God – Attending church on Sunday, being in fellowship with other Christians, worshiping together, being a part of a body!
- Give the First Hour of your Day to God – Even if it’s just 20 minutes, spend time in prayer and in word every day. If you do this at the beginning of your day, I swear, it makes things go so much smoother for the remainder.
- Give the first 10% of your income to God – This isn’t just a nice thing to do. It’s an actual commandment. It’s all his anyway – he only wants 10% of it back, as an act of faith. Test him! Malachi says to ‘Test God!’ He WILL provide. Don’t say ‘Oh, I don’t know where my money is going’ or ‘I want to MAKE SURE it’s going to a proper place’ or ‘If I want to donate to God’s Kingdom, I’ll give to charity or something’ because you’re missing the point. It’s not YOUR MONEY to begin with. Don’t hang on to it like it is.
- Finally, Give God the first say in every decision you make. Ever little thing. ’God, does this music I’m listening to honor you?’ ’God, do these clothes honor you?’ ’God, does this website honor you?’ A common misconception in many super-Christian’s lives is that secular = dishonoring God. This is not true. Just because something doesn’t scream ‘JESUS JESUS JESUS’ doesn’t mean it’s dishonoring God. We’re gifted with a conscious to know when we’re doing something that’s dishonoring to God. We keep our mind pure, our hands clean, and our minds on Him – no better way to live.
Thanks for reading! See, while you’re doing your Acts of Random Kindness if you can keep these four keys as well. They’re extremely important in the life of a Christ follower.
written by Matt
\\ tags: Bible, Christ, Christianity, church, Fellowship, Friendship, Jesus, life, Love, People
 There are two types of people in this world – the type that, when something bad happens to them, they say ‘It could always get worse!’ and the type that say ‘It could always get better…’
What type are you? When life gives you lemons, do you make lemonade, or do you rub it in your wounds and pout about? The worst time to pout about when things aren’t going your way, is when people want EVERYONE to know they’re having a bad day, too. Always sighing, being irritable on purpose, or leaving intentionally depressing MySpace/Facebook/Whatever statuses – anything for attention. Really, all complaining is is a form of selfishness.
What does the bible say about this?
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Philippians 2:3-5
11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. Philippians 4:11-12
“9 Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door!” James 5:9
…plus many, many more verses on this very subject. Friends – I urge you to stop complaining, and get over yourself! To live in Christ is to die to the self and to sin. If you’re still at the center of YOUR life, then you’re not living for Jesus.
Here’s some more bits of scripture on Complaining and Whining:
Exodus 15:24
1 Peter 5:7
Proverbs 19:3
Thanks for reading,
-Matt
written by Matt
\\ tags: Bible, Christ, church, Complaining, God, Help, Jesus, Letting Go, life, Selfishness, Sin, stress, Struggle, Whining, Who God Is
1 Timothy 2:1-5
1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 5 For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.
This is certainly one of my absolute favorite passages of scripture. It covers so many things, that I thought it’d be a good idea to do an entire post dedicated to it. Let’s look at it verse-by-verse, shall we?
1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.
This is straight-forward and a truly vital part of any Christian’s faith. Pray for others – wish them well. Not just your friends when they have a prayer request, but for your enemies; like Jesus said. Love your enemies. This is a very difficult concept for many people to grasp, because we all deal with hate, rage, and general dislike of many types of people. However, we are to pray for them. Ask God to bless them. They may make out lives hell, but Jesus loves them, and if we are to be like Christ, we are to love them, too.
2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.
Whoo, boy. This is a hard one. If you frequent ChristDaily, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out we’re not the biggest fans of the current Presidential Administration. Let’s face it. It’s downright awful. Our President has spent more money in his first few months in office then the previous 43 Presidents COMBINED, he’s forcing a Fascist Government on us all, and he’s apologized for our very Freedom in every international meeting he’s had. But this verse, 1 Tim 2:2 tells us to pray for our Kings and Leaders the same way we are to pray for our enemies, because nowadays, that’s pretty much what they are. They have authority over us. It may seem cool, romantic, and even the right thing to do to be a rebel or an ‘Anarchist,’ but we see that’s not what the bible says to do. Romans 13:1 says:
1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
We seem to think more about the Government’s relationship with God, rather then God’s sovereignty when he picked that person for power. Our Leaders might not always follow the plan God has laid out for them, but God is always in control.
3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
Take THAT, Predestinationists! I’m definitely going to be writing a blog post eventually about the wrong and evil doctrine of Predestination, because frankly, it’s a very touchy subject that will take much writing, and I’ve already hit 600 words as of this point. Some other time.
5 For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.
This is one of the core beliefs of any Christian. There is one way to God, and that is through Jesus. We see here that Jesus was not 50% God and 50% man, but 100% God, and 100% Man. He was tempted by Satan like we all are, and he COULD have given up. In fact, the urge was probably more then any of us could ever endure, but he did not – thus being a suitable sacrifice for our sins. He did what we could not do. He ‘put on a body like we sinners have’ (Romans 8:3) and saved us all. The slaves of the old South used to sing a hymn talking about Jesus ‘Puttin’ of skin, and walkin’ ‘mong men.’ I love that. That’s exactly what he did, so we wouldn’t have to pay our debt to him, so long as we accept his ‘transaction’ for us, if you will.
That’s all for 1 Timothy 2:1-5. The bible is so fresh, so relevant if (1) You read it in context, and (2) you apply critical thinking when reading it. Daily time in God’s word is ESSENTIAL to the life of a Christian. How are you going to say you know God well enough to spread the gospel if the only part of the bible you know is John 3:16? What church dares call itself part of the body of Christ if someone can go an entire church service without opening the bible once? What Christian author or writer dare call himself a Christian if they can write an entire book or article about God without even taking the time to crack a bible? Remember, the Bible is God’s WORD – it’s him SPEAKING to you each and every day. Take the time to LISTEN. LISTENING to God is not just sitting, and inhaling. That’s meditation. Listening to God involves reading what he’s saying.
Whoo. Nearly 1000 words. Sorry so long, but I think this is a very relevent subject that a lot of people need to hear. Thanks for reading, friends. Be sure to check out the FIRST official ChristDaily podcast up sometime this weekend.
Lots of Love,
-Matt
written by Matt
\\ tags: America, Bible, Christ, church, Doctrine, government, Jesus, Obama, politics, prayer, Predestination, Romans, Timothy, World
Today, I want to talk about someone who is very close and special to me. Her name is Grace.
I met Grace in 2004. I started going to a church nearby, and heard of this girl – she was quite popular. I heard she was very pretty, smart, and kind. I didn’t get to meet her for a while though – and that was because I partly didn’t want to.
I was very selfish. At that time in my life, everything was about me. I was in charge of my life and was doing what I thought was best. And while that wasn’t such a bad thing, it wasn’t such a good thing at the same time.
I didn’t meet Grace until February of 2004. However, up until that point, she’d always subtly try to get in contact with me. I knew it too – however, there were always other things I was doing.
I eventually hit a point where I realized life was not just all about me, and knew that someone much, much larger was in the center of it all. That certain someone was none other than God.
On February 1st, 2004, I finally made the decision to meet Grace.
If you haven’t already gotten the allegory, Grace was not an actual girl. Grace was God’s grace – the precious, amazing grace that washed away the sins of my previous selfish life and that still amazes me to this day.
I have continuously been reminded of Grace since that day. There have been many twists and turns in my walk with God, and times when I’ve wandered into the far country. But when I hit those points of confusion and feeling lost, I always realize it and call Grace – and she guides me back to the road, giving me a clean slate and some new energy.
That’s what Grace has done for me, and am continuously in awe by it. How about you? Have you met Grace? I’d be glad to introduce you…
written by Josh
\\ tags: church, control, God, grace, Jesus, life, renewal
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