Tag Archives: Brevity of Life

This Moment

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Will we live to see another sunrise? What if we do? Will we live to see the sun at high noon? How about to see the sun set? We have no guarantees of this. Time is passing, but life is fleeting. In a moment, everything we know can change. In a moment, life can be gone. If you have seen the news lately, that fact is probably pretty evident to you. This is something we typically do not like to think about, however. We are prone to quickly brush the thoughts aside and move on to something else to distract us, to comfort us, to cheer us. But it is of utmost importance that we take this moment to think on these things. 

We need to prepare for “this moment,” the time when our moments will come to an end. What have we done with our lives? 

First and foremost, we need to think about whether we are ready for the eternity that will come after our final breath. Have we prepared ourselves to meet our Maker? We have two choices in this matter. We can choose His plan and spend all eternity with Him, or we can reject His plan and spend all eternity separated from Him. His plan is to love us forever, shown by the provision of His Son, Jesus, to provide salvation to all who will receive it. We have this moment to choose whether to receive it. 

After we have finished this moment of decision, the next thing to consider is how we will spend each moment until the time of eternity. As we move from moment to moment, time is passing; and every moment matters. We have the opportunity right now to make each moment count or not.

“Life is made up of moments, a whole compilation of them—moment after moment after moment. And suddenly, they have made a lifetime, and a life has been made, whether it is long or short. A personality has been formed, a character developed, a reputation established.

Although each moment is different, something happens within each one that is the same: life happens, and choices are made. Will we choose to love, forgive, serve, and heal; or will we choose to hate, grow embittered, act selfishly, and wound? Will we choose self, or will we choose God? Will we live each moment in the flesh, or will we live in the Spirit? Will we walk independently, or will we cling to His hand? This is the time to decide, in this moment—once it passes, it cannot be changed; and we do not know how many moments will comprise our lifetimes.

Moments are gone in an instant, and so, too, can be our testimonies, reputations, credibility, and opportunities. Life itself can be gone in a moment, before we have a chance to change, improve, or make amends. Don’t wait another moment. Turn your moments into a beautiful legacy.

Choose this moment for Jesus.

Choose this moment for love.

Choose this moment for life.

This is your moment.”1

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.2

For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 3

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.4

[I]f you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.5

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.6

NOTES

1 Repost of a blog entitled “Moment by Moment,” ©Francee Strain, April 23, 2018

2 John 3:16

3 Romans 10:13

4 1 John 4:15

5 Romans 10:9

6 2 Corinthians 6:2b

Scriptures taken from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible, ©1982 by Thomas Nelson.

©Text and photo, Francee Strain, June 9, 2022. The photo features an American robin at sunset.

The Forefront

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Another Easter holiday has passed, and we have moved on to the next thing, bypassing it on the calendar and moving toward tomorrow.  But did we focus on the significance of the day, the true meaning and the ramifications it has for our lives?  Has the day which was in the forefront of our minds and activities now become an afterthought?

Day after day passes by on the calendar as our lives, too, pass. Do we focus on the significance of each day and the ramifications for how we live it?  We only have this day to live—and really, only this moment.  At any moment our lives could end.  What do we have to show for them?  Have we lived well?  And most importantly, have we prepared for the eternity that is yet to be lived?  Our decisions today make all the difference, and the timing matters.  We cannot relive and redo the past, and we cannot guarantee we will even make it through the rest of this day.  Thus, there are important things to be considered.  Taking our days and our lives for granted can put us in a precarious situation where we have procrastinated about the most important decision that can ever be made: where we will spend eternity. What has become an afterthought needs to be brought to the forefront. 

I have been reflecting on a post I wrote in 2019 entitled “Three Crosses” in order to bring the afterthought of Easter back to the forefront of my mind.  I am posting it here for you to read and reflect upon as well.

There were three crosses, and upon each one an important decision was made.  On the cross in the middle hung Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  He willingly chose to offer up his life as a sacrifice to pay for our sins and give us an opportunity to spend eternity with Him.  On either side of Him hung a man who was facing the end of his life and was about to pass into eternity.  They each had time to make a choice.  One chose at that moment to reject who Jesus was and what was being offered to him—salvation and eternal life.  The other chose to believe and asked Jesus to save him.  To this man Jesus said, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.”1 On which side of the cross will you stand?  What choice will you make while you have this moment of time?2

NOTES

©Text and photo Francee Strain, April 11, 2021. 

1 Luke 23:43 taken from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible, © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.

2 “Three Crosses” text and photo originally posted by Francee Strain, April 19, 2019.

Moment by Moment

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Life is made up of moments, a whole compilation of them—moment after moment after moment. And suddenly, they have made a lifetime, and a life has been made, whether it is long or short. A personality has been formed, a character developed, a reputation established.

Although each moment is different, something happens within each one that is the same: life happens, and choices are made. Will we choose to love, forgive, serve, and heal; or will we choose to hate, grow embittered, act selfishly, and wound? Will we choose self, or will we choose God? Will we live each moment in the flesh, or will we live in the Spirit? Will we walk independently, or will we cling to His hand? This is the time to decide, in this moment—once it passes, it cannot be changed; and we do not know how many moments will comprise our lifetimes.

Moments are gone in an instant, and so, too, can be our testimonies, reputations, credibility, and opportunities. Life itself can be gone in a moment, before we have a chance to change, improve, or make amends. Don’t wait another moment. Turn your moments into a beautiful legacy.

Choose this moment for Jesus.

Choose this moment for love.

Choose this moment for life.

This is your moment.

IMG_6801

 

Francee Strain, April 23, 2018

Photo by Francee Strain