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Lets take inventory, I have...
my body,
my life
my time,
my mind,
my spouse,
my children
my actions
my belongings
my hopes and dreams
my place on this earth
... or do I.
My body is dying. I was born dying, an effect of sin and living in a
fallen world. It could finish this today, tomorrow, or years from
now. Only God knows...
Psalms 39:4-5
"Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let
me know how fleeting is my life. (5) You have made my days a mere
handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each
man's life is but a breath. Selah
One day this body will lie in a grave and see decay, my body is only
mine temporarily, as granted by God.
Job 14:5
Man's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months
and have set limits he cannot exceed.
The limits of this body limit my time. The only time I have is given
by God. I must "make the most of every opportunity (Colossians
4:5). With this knowledge I must cry out like the Psalmist...
Psalms 90:12
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
My spouse I have only for a fleeting time. The limits of each of our
bodies combined makes this time even more unsure. And after either of
us has died we are no longer husband and wife, because death has
separated us (Romans 7:1-3, 1 Corinthians 7:39). And in the life to
come, there is no marriage.
Matthew 22:30
At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in
marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.
My children I have for a very short time, even if my body holds on.
Just a few years and they will have independent lives of their own.
Psalms 127:3-5
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb
is a reward. (4) Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the
children of one's youth. (5) Happy is the man who has his quiver full
of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their
enemies in the gate.
Again, I must treasure the time with my children, and use it wisely,
for all to soon they are gone. I can not take them with me, but must
trust them to the Lord, having done all I can to teach them of Him.
Proverbs 22:6
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not
turn from it.
My belongings are not mine, thieves can (and do) steal them, rust and
decay destroy them.
Matthew 6:19-21
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth
and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. (20) But
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do
not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. (21) For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
My possessions are not mine anyway. They were given to me for a
purpose -- by which to do good. Having these things only for a
moment, I must look beyond the temporary and focus on eternity.
Luke 14:33
"So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has
cannot be My disciple.
Luke 6:30
Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to
you, do not demand it back.
I am not free to use my actions and mind in anyway that I would like.
I have been freed from slavery to sin, but have become a slave to righteousness.
Romans 6:18
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
I must count myself dead to sin (Romans 6:11-12) and take every
thought captive and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5),
for my old way of thinking dies hard and the mind I once had is now
being renewed in Christ.
Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to
test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.
This earth itself, my possessions, plus even my thoughts and actions
done of myself -- out of sin, pride, or from selfish ambition, are
mercifully no longer mine...
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ
lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son
of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
All that is impure, all that is corrupt, all that is tainted by sin
will be gone. It's all going to burn...
2 Peter 3:10-11
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will
disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and
the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. (11) Since
everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought
you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives.
1 Corinthians 3:11-15
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid,
which is Jesus Christ. (12) If any man builds on this foundation
using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, (13) his work
will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.
It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of
each man's work. (14) If what he has built survives, he will receive
his reward. (15) If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself
will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
And what is left? Only that which is made new in Jesus, for I live in
Him (Galatians 2:20). So what do I have?
In life, I have Jesus...
Colossians 3:3-4
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (4)
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear
with him in glory.
It is He alone who enables me to do any good...
II Thessalonians 2:16-17
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us
and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, (17)
encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
It is He alone who gives me peace and joy (Galatians 5:22-24) and who
strengthens me in time of trouble.
Philippians 4:13
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
It is our Lord Jesus Christ who teaches me all I need to know (1 John
2:27) and will see me through...
2 Timothy 4:17-18
But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through
me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might
hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. (18) The Lord
will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his
heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Even that last enemy death (1 Corinthians 15:26) cannot take me from
Jesus. He conquered not only sin, but death...
Romans 8:1-2
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus, (2) because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life
set me free from the law of sin and death.
When all else is gone -- and it will be -- for eternity, without end, all
I really have is Jesus.
Revelation 21:3-7
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the
dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be
his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (4)
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death
or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed
away." (5) He who was seated on the throne said, "I am
making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for
these words are trustworthy and true." (6) He said to me:
"It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the
End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the
spring of the water of life. (7) He who overcomes will inherit all
this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
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