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“Come now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain:  whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or that.  But now ye glory in your vauntings: all such glorying is evil.  To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” 

James 4:13-17

    What is your life? The answer may be scarier than the question itself. Yet, the Holy Spirit asked, “What is your life?” It is a vapor, something that is seen briefly. It appears and it is gone. So why do we try and hoard the time that we have on this earth instead of willingly giving it up for God? When we plan in such a way that we leave God out of our lives, we hold onto the temporary brevity of life rather than the eternal desire God has for us.

    Have you ever lived like there was no tomorrow? In one sense that could be a good thing. If we lived our lives like every action, every word, every thought mattered, how much more could we be like our Lord?  Perhaps this is a good thought to have when we consider what James writes. “If the Lord wills,” should be what we say in all things. The biggest little word in the Bible is “if.” Think about all the blessings that God said He would give to the children of Israel when they came out of the land of bondage. All of them were contingent on if the people would give up being slaves and accept freedom on God’s terms. If we still try to live with one foot in the world and one foot in the Word, we will certainly be sad with the results.

     God calls us to remain in His will. This is not a feeling or a tingle, but a "thus saith the Lord." The answers to what we are to do as individuals and as the church are found in the inspired Word of God.  Paul wrote, “prove all things; hold fast that which is good;  abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22).” God has given us the truth in which we can prove all things and give up the things that are sin. “Jesus therefore said to those Jews that had believed him, If ye abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples;  and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:31-32).”

Grace and Peace, 

R.D. Beavers 


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