Skip to main content

“Don’t leave it to chance. It’s a choice.”

A thought by Mark Batterson, Richard Foth, and Susanna Foth Aughtmon (2015-04-28) from their book, A Trip around the Sun: Turning Your Everyday Life into the Adventure ofa Lifetime (p. 188). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Mark continues, “Epitaphs are a powerful thing. What is said about us when we die is a window into how we lived our lives. Epitaphs reveal the innate desire each of us has within us to leave an impact on the world. Even after we have left this earth, we want to leave something of ourselves behind. We want to be remembered for something.”

So many people leave life and death to chance.  For one they have left the fact that there is a God who has made them and who has a purpose for their life to chance.  They have not acknowledge there need for Him.  They have just lived their life as if they didn’t need any help from their Creator.  No that is taking a chance.  And then death.  That is taking a real chance.

Mark shares, “Most people celebrate one birthday, but I get to celebrate two. November 5 is my first birthday, but my second birthday is July 23. That is the day I got my second chance at living after spending two days on a respirator, hanging on to life. To be honest, my second birthday is even more meaningful to me than my first birthday. At this writing, I’m fourteen years old. And that’s how I feel. Whenever I hit a tough spot, I just go back to July 23 and think, I’ve been worse than I am now, and I’ve gone through tougher times. This may be bad, but I’m still breathing. When you come face-to-face with death, you are bound and determined to truly live. In fact, I’d love to live to a hundred. I’m probably the least likely candidate given my medical history. But no matter how long I live, I’m going to squeeze as much adventure out of every day as I possibly can.”

God is the one who truly makes life worth living.  But serving him is a choice.  We can live our life by chance or by choice.


Which will it be for you from this point forward?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life.   It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed.   Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life.   Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you.   You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good.   Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...

“Sometimes we think we’re stuck simply because things are hard.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...