TOMORROW IS PROMISED TO NO ONE
James 4:13-17 (AMPC)
“Come now, you who say, Today or
tomorrow we will go into such and such a city and spend a year there and
carry on our business and make money.
14 Yet
you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen tomorrow. What is the nature
of your life? You are [really] but a wisp of vapor (a puff of smoke, a mist)
that is visible for a little while and then disappears [into thin air].
15 You
ought instead to say, If the Lord is willing, we shall live and we shall do
this or that [thing].
16 But
as it is, you boast [falsely] in your presumption and your self-conceit.
All such boasting is wrong.
17 So
any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin.”
Dear people of God, in the evening of Friday May 21, 2021, Nigerians
were informed of a tragic event, the death in a plane crash of the nation’s
most senior army officer, the Chief of Army Staff along with 10 other senior,
middle and junior cadre military officers.
They were reportedly on their way to a graduation ceremony of
some trainee officers over which the late Chief of Army Staff was scheduled to
preside but it was not to be as his life and those of others were abruptly and
unceremoniously cut short by the cold hands of death.
These men had woken up hale and hearty earlier that day with no
premonition whatsoever as to what was to be their last day on this earth.
They had hopes, aspirations and visions for their suddenly
truncated future. One of them was married for less than 3 months while another
had his wedding planned for a few months ahead but that was never to be.
And so it is with many humans who wake up daily with plans for
the day ahead, weeks, months and years without ever realizing that tomorrow is
promised to no one.
Every human in today’s world know his or her day of birth but
very few know their day of death. Some know their day of death or the period it
would occur because of the rare privilege of it being revealed to them by the
Lord Jesus Christ.
I had the privilege of watching the burial ceremony on Saturday
May 22, 2021 of the 11 military officers who died just the previous day.
Beginning from the former Chief of Army Staff down to the last
officer, citations were read for each person of how he started his career, rose
through the ranks and the medals received as achievement.
Truth be said, all these are mere human accolades in which God
Almighty and Father of my Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ has no interest
whatsoever. What is of utmost interest to the Lord is the state of the person’s
soul at the time of death, for that determines where the person ends in
eternity.
The Lord Jesus Christ makes it clear in John 3:3 (AMPC), “I assure you,
most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from
above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the
kingdom of God.
This is the ONLY qualification or achievement God is interested
in for every soul that is born into this world because He loves us with an
everlasting love and does not want any to perish in eternal damnation in HELL.
Dear friend, no matter what interests or accolades you seek in
this life, make sure to have the most important one, being born again of God’s
Word and the Holy Spirit, without which no one can enter God’s Kingdom.
If you die today, do you know where your life continues in
eternity? Are you not aware there is a life after this one and that death is
only a transition?
The only assurance you have of an eternity in heaven with God is
to become born again, that is, having heard the Truth of God’s Word preached to
you, you come to that realization by God’ grace and of your own free will that
you are a sinner in dire need of salvation.
You repent genuinely (have a change of heart), confess your sins
to God, forsake them and promise God to live in strict obedience to His
commands in the Holy Bible having accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour and
Lord.
Without this, there is no hope whatsoever for your soul. No
amount of prayers at your graveside over your corpse can save you because your
spirit, the real you, is already at the final place it remains forever.
Writing R.I.P. against your photo as many people do including
Christians cannot save you because the human spirit, the real you, enters
either heaven OR hell and remains there permanently depending on your spiritual
state using God’s infallible Word in the Bible as the ONLY reference.
So dear friend, don’t wait until you die to find out the truth about
this life, life after death and the consequences of living in sin. Pay great
attention to God’s Word preached by Christians about Jesus Christ being your
Saviour and Lord and without hesitation, do what you have been warned to become
born again before it is too late.
Whether you are rich or poor, politically savvy or not, of high
or low social standing, Caucasian, African, Hispanic, Asian, etc, American, all
your plans in this world come to an end the very day you die.
This is a reality every human must face and tomorrow is promised
to no one.
Jesus Christ is coming shortly to take in Rapture ONLY those who
are qualified according to His righteous standards in the Holy Bible.
Are you living a genuine life as His disciple? Are you ready for
Him? Repent and come to Jesus today, for tomorrow may be too late for you.
Once Jesus takes away His children, the entire earth would come
under God’s wrath and Divine judgement in a most terrible manner never
experienced before.
Why do you risk your life in sin and risk the grave danger, pain
and suffering ahead and risk ultimately damning your soul forever in the lake
of fire?
May the good Lord bless you as you heed His Word today, act on
it and share with others in Jesus’ Most Powerful Name, Amen.