Tomorrow Is Not the Gift

    
Tomorrow is a gift, but it is not "the" gift. Today is the gift. Today is the only day that we have been given that we are assured. If you really stop and think about it we have no guarantees about tomorrow. Not to be a depressing thought, just a call to action. Not a doomsday thinker, just a realist that realizes that when we put off things till later, later does not have to come just because we still have to get that thing done. In I Thessalonians 5:2 Paul posed this question to the church of Thessalonica, "You know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night". Why is it that we think we can always put things off until tomorrow? 
     It isn't that we are all compulsive procrastinators, it's just some things are out of our comfort zones, some things that we are destined to do are tough to do, or even some things that we were created uniquely to do are just down right challenging. Even Moses tried to talk God out of being His spokesperson to the Egyptians and the children of Israel because he stumbled over his words and wasn't a public speaker.  Moses wasn't let off the hook, but because he was faithful, Aaron his brother was allowed to speak for Moses. It comes down to faith and trust. When we have something to do and we have the urge to put it off until a better time, that is our lack of faith and trust. We are called to action not to complacency. If you need to do something, you need to do it today!
     Why today? Well what if you are needing to tell someone that you are sorry for a wrong in your relationship and that someone never wakes up tomorrow? What if you need to tell someone you love them, and a calamity strikes you or your home, leaving you with no tomorrow? What if you are tasked with telling someone about God's love. I mean you feel it in your gut, an urge to tell them about what God did for you and for them, and you just don't want to risk being rejected or ridiculed so you are struggling with moving on what you were created to do right now at this moment in time. Tomorrow is not always going to be the option. Jesus also spoke about a thief in Matthew 24:43 which also speaks to this sense of urgency that we should all feel, “Understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into,”. I'm pretty certain if we had a calendar of events that showed when our last day was, we would get a great number of things done today if the next day on our calendar was our last. That's the crux of the matter, we do not have that guarantee of tomorrow.
    There are many things that I want to get done, projects, plans, and places to see. I have a laundry list and a bucket list that seem to never go empty and I work hard to reach the bottom of those lists each day, but there is one thing that I NEED to do each today that I am given. I need to share what God did for me and what He will do for you today. I not only fail those I love or those God has placed in my life when I do not respond to what I have been called to do, but in essence I fail the One that has provided me with these opportunities in the first place. So here it goes. I am tasked with sharing this message with each of you on this Easter Sunday. John 3:16 tells us that God so loved us, each of us, yes you too, so much that He sent His son, Jesus, to be born of a virgin, to live, to teach, to preach, to heal, and to prepare others to carry His message forward. His life here on earth had a purpose beyond that though, and through His life and His death we are given the opportunity to gain an eternal life with Him. Jesus was born to die for our sins, and so He did. Persecuted and wrongly convicted, beaten and ridiculed, He was sent to die on a criminal's cross. But His death was not Jesus's purpose, His purpose was to be a sacrifice for our sins, a sacrifice in death so that we might have the chance to live, forgiven and made new. The story doesn't end with death, but with life, just as we are celebrating the life of Jesus today. Jesus arose from the grave to ascend into Heaven where He sits by His Father's right hand today. Why did this all take place? So that You and I could experience this same opportunity to live eternally in Heaven with our Lord and Savior. If you have accepted Jesus as your personal savior then you have a job to do today, it is the same job we all have been given to do today, share His good news. If you do not know Jesus as your savior then you can do so today. To know Him is to acknowledge Him, confess your sins to Him, and then to ask Him into your heart to guide you for the rest of your "todays". There is someone that cares for you and He is always there for you. In the midst of your sorrow or pain He is there to lead you and to comfort you. Call on him today and do not put off till tomorrow what needs to be done today! It is my prayer that you will find Him today because He is always there waiting on you. May God bless you and yours on this Easter Sunday! I am blessed beyond anything I deserve and I am thankful for the gift of today.
Coach Carter