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No thought is more significant than that men are dying creatures. David said in 1 Chronicles 29:15, “our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. Job said that man “cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not” (Job 14:2). The best statement a man can make, at any time, regarding his stay on the earth is to say “there is but a step between me and death” (1 Samuel 20:3). Can you say for sure that you will be alive next year? next month? next day? hour? minute? If you don’t know the future, isn’t it about time you became better acquainted with the God of the future? The Living God has given His Living Word to a dying humanity. Philippians 2:16 calls it the “word of life. Hebrews 4:12 says that the word of God is “quick (living) and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.
This old world is one of ultimate winding down. The metal rusts; the wood rots; the flesh decays; but there is an incorruptible substance called the “Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever” (1 Peter 1:23). Wouldn’t it serve your best interest to exercise a greater awareness about the contents of that word? 1 Peter 2:2 admonishes “desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may be able to grow thereby. The Christians of Berea were said to be “more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily” (Acts 17:11). The Bible is the means by which you can achieve speaking terms with God as James 1:18 teaches: “of His own will begat He us with the word of truth…” The Bible commands all men to repent (Acts 17:30,31) and every creature to be baptized (Mark 16:15,16). The shame of our day is that so many are found to be ignorant of the imperishable Book of the Ages. To be ignorant of God’s Word is no sin, but staying that way is! If you’re going to change for the better, then do it now—your time may be about up!
Bill Dillon
from Gospel Gems Vol. 1