Day 15: God isn't Done with You Yet!

 

Day 15: God isn’t Done with Your Life Yet

Your Life: God's Unfinished Yet Finished Masterpiece

Rene Descartes the famous Philosopher made popular the notion and saying, “I think, therefore I am”, meaning that He was able to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He truly existed because of his ability to think and reason. I’m using my brain, therefore I exist. In one way, that line of philosophy has tried to do away with the existence of God, because who needs a personal God if all you need is yourself and your ability to think and reason to survive in the universe? However, true theological Method begins with God and ends with God. While a little deep and profound, I think you can handle the following statement. Notice what Dr. Norman Gulley, retired professor of Southern Adventist University writes.

“. . . authentic theological method turns the Cartesian (Descartes) method upside down. Instead of ‘I think, therefore I am’ (Descartes), true theological method says, “GOD is, therefore I think.’… The Bible begins with God, and presents a movement of God to humans, rather than the reverse.” (Prolegomena 19)

Man has not invented God, but God has invented man in his own image.“God is, therefore I think.” If you begin with God as the most important and top priority in your life, you can never fail, because as long as you have God in your life and plans they are destined to be successful and victorious. Wherever you are in God’s plans for your life, don’t give up, because God isn’t done with you yet. Notice God’s promise in Philippians 1:6.

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

You and I are still a work in progress. Don’t get discouraged or depressed if you aren’t the person you desire to be yet. You are still an unfinished project. Yet, rest assured that God is interested in completing his perfect work in your life. In fact, according to Philippians 1:6, God will complete it one day before the coming of Jesus Christ. You and I are a work in progress, therefore tell those who may judge you or criticize you. “I’m not perfect, just forgiven.” Tell them, “I am a work in progress, thanks for your patience and kindness.”

God’s Will for Your Life

As we shared earlier in this 30-day devotional journey, “Christlikeness is God’s purpose and God’s will for God’s people today.” We discovered that according to the Book of Romans and 2 Peter 3, there are only two things in all of the Bible that God specifically states that He has predestined us for: 1) God has predestined us to be saved, 2 Peter 3:9; And (2), God has predestined each of us to be conformed (or to be made more like unto) to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, Romans 8:29. Never forget this, because in your journey through this life, you will encounter obstacles, detractions, and derailments. However, never get sidetracked by forgetting your purpose in this life, and in case you have forgotten, let me remind you that your journey through this life is very short and temporary. Scripture says that the average age of man on earth is 70, 80 if you are blessed, and 90 if you are truly blessed in Psalm 90:10:

“The days of our lives are seventy years;
         And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
         Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
         For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”

Yet you must be aware and informed that in many instances, people don’t live to reach 70 years or even 80 years. I’ve known many people who have died in their teens, 20s, 40s, and even as children. Tragedies strike and unexpected news sometimes arrives, yet we must not despair for the God that we serve is in control and has the final word. Don’t despair or lose hope! As long as “God is”, there is hope!

I think for God the most important think is not how long the journey is, but whether we have made the most of our opportunities. In the end, will living 30 years or 60 years make any difference when compared with eternity? That’s like comparing the super rich and asking, who is richer? Warren Buffet with 25.6 Billion dollars or Mark Zuckerberger  of Facebook with 25.5 Billion Dollars? I believe God is more interested in knowing that we have come to know Him, and love him because He first loved us, than in whether we suffer or die. I know that is a strong statement, but notice the following bible texts that I am basing this declaration on.

“him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.” Jeremiah 9:24

“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”

2 Timothy 3:12

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:4-5

Did you get it? God is more interested in making sure that you know Him and are in a saving faith relationship with His Son Jesus Christ, than in whether you live to be 70 years old and end up losing your salvation. In fact, we know that not everything that happens to us is a result of God will. People get drunk and die in car accidents. People have sex outside of marriage and get pregnant. That isn’t God’s will, but just the natural laws that our world operates by. If you have unprotected premarital sex, guess what? You will get pregnant! If you drink and drive under the influence of alcohol and have an accident, you will die or end up in jail for having killed someone.

Yet, sometimes, tragedies and bad news strike our lives. Sometimes, no one is to blame, but bad things happen even to good people. People die in accidents, due to sicknesses or diseases, or are killed tragically. Rest assured, none of these are God’s will, even the death of the wicked!

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints. Psalm 116:15

"Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’ Ezekiel 33:11

When tragedy strikes, let us still not lose hope because we know that God that we have believed in! He is a FAITHFUL GOD! He is a MERCIFUL GOD! He is a LOVING GOD! So loving in fact, that He gave his unique and one of a kind Son, Jesus Christ, to come to this tennis ball called earth and die for you and for me. That’s love! Never forget that in your suffering and pain! You are still an unfinished project!

“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.” John 3:16 (Amplified Bible)

Putting it all together

One of my mentors as a new believer in Christ was a friend named “Jay”. He was pretty cool. He went to Oakwood College, was a missionary in Indonesia for a year, and had a God-given gift as an artist. His work can be seen today all around Southern California, even painting Houses that were previously owned by Rap Artists like Mac Ten in Pacific Palisades. (That always gets me! How can Gangster Rappers live in Beverly Hills, Belair, and super rich communities, when they rap about living in the hood and gangbanging? Somewhere between the artist and the consumer is the world dummy and fool!) 

My friend Jay was a great blessing to all those who knew and understood him. I didn’t always understand him, but I valued his friendship. He loved to teach and share God’s truth. I think I am a better person today for having known him. Unfortunately, he got sick and was in the hospital and needed to have surgery. The surgery was a success, but he contracted a bacteria and died in the hospital. He was barley in his 40s. I had met him when he was 30 or 31, and I was only 16 years old. I remember going to the Carter Report Meetings in Pasadena, CA when I was sixteen years old and returning from the “far country”, meeting him at the doorstep of the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and saying to my friend and I, “You guys want to come back tomorrow and next week. The speaker (John Carter from Australia) will be getting into some deep stuff.” Boy I’m a glad I did! My life was changed in those 30 days, and I thank God for my friend “Jay” who was also a “deep person.” He loved to talk to strangers and non-Christians about current events to arouse them to an interest and desire in spiritual matters, namely a relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior. 

For instance, I remember working in Beverly Hills and being harassed by a homosexual coworker and getting this advice from my friend Jay. He said, “Tell your friend. ‘In case your wondering about my love life, I already have a lover. I met a man who words cannot describe the way He looks! He’s handsome, attractive, and good-looking. I’d like to introduce you to him someday. His name is Jesus Christ!” I miss not having Jay around, but I trust that he is resting and sleeping in death until Jesus comes back again and calls him back to life with the words, “My Son, your Father calls you!” 

When I heard that he died, I was saddened because I had not been in contact with him for some time, and we had had an argument when I was out of college and without a job and living at his place. I moved out, and our friendship was never the same. He was a person of a sound mind.  He studied widely and even though he believed and accepted some ideas and teachings that I don’t believe or accept, I still consider Him a true Christian. After all, none of us will be saved and enter Heaven based on perfect theology, but on our faith, trust, and relationship in Jesus Christ as Our Savior! Rest in Peace godly friend!

A friend who visited him in the hospital when he was dying told me that Jay told him he was at peace with dying, yet still afraid. He was afraid of death, not because he didn’t want to die if it was his time, but because he felt he still had a work to do for God! Wow! I think most people would think of themselves selfishly, yet here was a child of God thinking about finishing an unfinished work for God. Jay probably thought about his nieces and nephews, his cousins, aunts, and others who don’t believe in Jesus or in the Advent Movement Message (Rev. 14:6-13). He felt there was still more to do to share the message of Jesus to a dying world. However In God’s eyes, Jay’s life was perfect. His life was “hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3. He is one of God’s sleeping saints who awaits the resurrection of the righteous and just at the Second Coming of Jesus. How about you? Are you ready today? If your time on earth is cut short, are you ready to stand before God? You can today, if Jesus is your Savior and Lord. Won’t you make Him your Savior and Lord today?

Practical Steps to take today

1. Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior today. Romans 10:9

2. Live today as though it was your last day on earth. 1 Corinthians 10:31

3. Read and study the Bible as never before. Jesus is coming soon! Romans 13:11

4. Commit your life to Christ today as a “Soul Winner” and tell others about Jesus through your kindness, love, tact, and mercy more than by your preaching. May your life be the best sermon people hear and see! Matthew 4:18-19; 28:19-20

5. Recognize that as a result of sin, we have all been sentenced to experience the first death (physical death) in our life; Yet Jesus Christ came to die and save us from the second death (a physical and spiritual death), from which there is no return. If we die the first death believing and trusting in Jesus, God will resurrect us. There also will be a final generation of people that will not experience the first death. They will be alive when Jesus returns. Live in such a way to be a part of that Generation. Revelation 14:1-6.

 ~ Pastor Sal Garcia