Live Like You Are Dying!

I grew up on country music! It was a pretty big part of my life as a child. Of course one might ask if I really had a choice since I grew up in upstate South Carolina! There was a song that came out a few years back by Tim McGraw called “Live like You Were Dying.” I rarely ever listen to country music anymore, but I did recently hear this song and it got me to thinking about so many things.

The song basically talks about a guy who is close to death and he explains things that he is doing differently with his life now that he knows he is dying. He has a long bucket list of things he did that he had never done before like sky diving and other things! He also explains how he changed as a person as far as the way he lived. He then goes on to say that he hopes everyone gets the chance to live like they are dying! What would our lives look like if we lived this way?

I know it would affect the amount of time I spent with my wife and children. I would never take for granted anything that involved them, which is so easy to do. It would also radically change the way I live my life in day to day conversations. I am not trying to be melodramatic but I am haunted by the number of people that I have crossed paths with that I never shared my faith with. There are many people that I used to work or went to school with that I never told about Jesus, and I knew at the time that they probably weren’t saved.

I can’t do anything about the past, but I can do something about the present and the future. I think as believers we should live our lives with eternity in mind. When I go out to eat, I should consider that the conversation I have with my server may be the last chance I have to share Jesus with them. When I tuck my children into bed at night and pray over them, I should consider that it could be the last time. That homeless person you pass by that you see everyday may just be the last time you see them!

In all honestly, we usually live like we will be on this earth forever, when the average person lives to be about seventy five years old. Compared to eternity that is not a long time, and we aren’t even promised to live that long. Scripture says that life is like a vapor, we are here one minute and gone the next.

My challenge for all of us to ponder during this Christmas season is to live everyday like tomorrow will not come. Share the gospel with a lost world, love on somebody, bless somebody, encourage somebody, hug your family, and tell them you love them! When we live this way is when we truly do experience the life Christ desires for us!

Why do you go to Church?

Why do you go to church? What is your main motivation? Do you go because you have always been forced to go and it has become a habit? Is this something that your family has always done so you wonder why you should stop now? Is this a time of the week where you can catch up on the latest gossip or just a genuine time to see some close friends and enjoy some fellowship? Do you go to worship and be encouraged to live your faith out loud?

These are questions we all should ask ourselves when we meet with other believers and that is: Why am I ultimately here? Are my motives honoring to God? Think about these as we continue to compare and contrast Cultural Christianity vs. Biblical Christianity. Here is my comparison:

Cultural Christians go to church out of habit, family tradition, or to socialize, while biblical Christians go to church to worship and grow in Christ as well as closer to other Christians!

What is our purpose for getting together on Sunday mornings? Scripture does actually command us to do this! Hebrews 10:25 states: “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” So we as Christians are COMMANDED to meet together in some sort of community in order to encourage one another in Christ. We see that the main reason for meeting was to encourage one another to be focused on Christ and His return. Christ is what the meeting was ultimately all about!

I recently had the opportunity to read the book “Radical” by David Platt! This book challenged me on so many levels I can’t even begin to describe. What struck me in the early chapters were Platt’s stories of having church with Asian believers in secret. They would meet in small, dark venues with a dim light and nothing but a bible. There was no entertainment, no speakers, no padded pews, and no air-conditioning. Oh yeah, and they would have a bible study that would last twelve hours sometimes. These people were hungry for the word of God! Oh and by the way, if they were to get caught, they would face prison time and possibly death. This really caused me to evaluate my own walk with Jesus, and ask the question: Why do I go to church? Here in cultural Christianity many of us complain if the service goes over five minutes or if it’s too hot/cold, the band played a song we didn’t like, etc! All the while we are allowed to worship without fear of any kind of persecution!

My prayer is that the church today in any culture would return to the place of wanting to gather together with other believers out of a love for Jesus and a desire to worship Him.