Spiritual Sunday

I have a bad habit of worrying about the future.  Presuming the future.  This bad habit of mine gets worst around my birthday.  Another year.  Somehow freaks me out.   

So, the message today at church about facing the future, and the three common mistakes we make in facing the future, was really poignant.  Here's a summary of the message based on James 4:13-17: 

Three Common Mistakes We Make In Facing the Future

(1) Planning without God.  It is wise to plan.  The Bible tells us to plan.  But the issue or problem is self-sufficiency - when we forget God in our daily lives.  Planning without God is "presumptuous atheism."  As Christians, and children of God, our business is God's business, so we must include God in our plans.

(2) Presuming about tomorrow.  Life is unpredictable.  We don't know what's going to happen.  And we don't have any assurances.  But, that shouldn't scare us.  Instead, let it move us to trust God more.  Life is short.  It goes by really fast.  We cannot presume that tomorrow is going to be the same as today.  The solution: do not be anxious for tomorrow.  Plan for the future, but we must live for today.  For right now.  Today is going to be the good old days we're going to talk about someday.  Make the most of it. 

(3) Putting off doing what is good.  This is about procrastination.  When we procrastinate, we presume that there will be a tomorrow.  There are three things we can do with our lives: waste it, spend it, or invest it.  Remember that there is another kind of sin in the Bible, which is the sin of omission.  Doing nothing with our lives is a sin.  The solution: Do it now.  If you can do it now, do it now.  Good intentions are not enough.  Whatever you intend to do for God, do it now.  And make your life count.     

The pastor asked this question at the end: If you only have one week left to live, how would you spend it?