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Scripture for the day: Luke 9:51; John 13:3 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for him to be received up, that he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem …Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, rose from the supper and laid aside his garments, took a towel and wrapped it around himself.
Thought for the day: I know I’ve touched on this subject before but let’s take a moment to think about the time we’ve been given here on earth. If you knew you had just 24 hours to live, how would you fill them up? It’s Wednesday; tomorrow is Passover and Jesus has just 24 hours before he is to be betrayed, arrested, tortured and killed – and he knows it. What does he do? How does he spend his time? What can he say in those last few hours before he is taken to the cross and the disciples are scattered in fear? The Bible tells us nothing of that Wednesday except that he taught in the temple as he had done for the past few days, and that he almost certainly spent some time at the home of his friend Lazarus. But can you imagine what it may have been like for Jesus? He had been with the disciples for over three years, taking whatever time was needed to teach them the things of the Kingdom. Now the time was short. Had they gotten the message? Had he been successful? Would they carry on as he’d planned for them to do? What could he say? What could he do in this last day to make an eternal difference for them?
What if it were you? Oh, I don’t mean what if you were going to a cross to die for the sins of others. Heaven help us never to get to the place where we think we could do anything like that! But what if it were your last 24 hours? What would you do with it? Let’s think of it this way:
There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension. One of these days is Yesterday with all its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back Yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed; we cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone forever.
The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow with all its possible adversities, its burdens, its amazing potential and its possibility for poor performance; Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control. Lord willing, Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in Tomorrow, for it is yet to be born.
This leaves only one day; Today. Any person can fight the battle of just one day. It is when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities Yesterday and Tomorrow that we break down.
It is not the experience of Today that drives a person mad, it is the remorse or bitterness of something which happened Yesterday and the dread of what Tomorrow may bring. Let us, therefore, live but one day at a time.
That is not to say we don’t plan, “if the Lord wills,” to do what needs to be done. What is the bottom-line application for each of us? I think the lesson is just this: each of us has exactly 24 effective hours to live (maybe less) and what we do with those hours will have eternal consequences. What will you do with yours?
Now go take on your world. - Bill