IS GOD SCHEDULED IN YOUR PDA?

Good Evening Everyone!

This is going to be a bit different in format tonight. The reason for that is because I don't have a specific verse for what I want to discuss. It is just something that I feel impressed to speak about tonight.

People today are "plan oriented". What I mean is they are so busy they keep planners, or PDAs to help them remember what they have scheduled every hour of the day. I know, because I'm one of them. Mine isn't necessarily because I am so busy, just forgetful! LOL! Joking (not so much) aside, I wonder how many people include "go to church", or prayer time in their schedule. They put little Johnnie's softball game or practice, Susie's gymnastic class, Julie's recital, hairdressing appointment, lunch with a friend and so on. NONE of WHICH has to do with where they will spend eternity if "God forbid" they should be in a fatal car accident or the victim of a random shooting, or have a heart attack tomorrow.

We all seem to think we have "forever" to repent for our sins and "get saved". The problem is how long is forever? Tomorrow? Next week? Fifty years from now? No one knows. I have seen some TV shows where Nostradamus seems to think he knew when the end would come, (Dec. 21 2012), but I think that's a bunch of malarkey. This same show said that even Sir Isaac Newton was obsessed about trying to find out the end of time by using his mathematical skills and matching his math findings to events in the Bible. The Bible says NO MAN knows, and therefore, I don't think that God would have put a "code" in the Bible that a man could figure out when it would happen. Hollywood will do ANYTHING to sell movies, even if it means misguiding people and preying on people's fears and curiosities.

Back to my original thought- we always need to be thinking about where we want our soul to end up for eternity. My favorite saying is "better safe than sorry". I would rather study God's word, live for Him and love Him, and KNOW that my soul is going to end up with Him for eternity, than live the way the "world" wants me to and take the chance of ending up in the pit of fire below. Living for God is not hard, it's not boring, it's not sad. The more you love God, the more fun it is to Live for Him. We as Christians can have just as much fun doing things as the world does, but not putting our souls in jeopardy. We can watch movies, just stay away from sex, violence, and evil type movies (evil meaning movies about witchcraft, vampires, and so on).

Family movies are great. Speaking of which, I saw a good one tonight called "Change of Plans" on TV. It starred Brooke White (American Idol contestant) and Randy Jackson. It was about the road of situations and problems of career-minded couple who inherited 4 children from Brooke's friend who was killed in a plane crash. I won't tell you anymore about it because I tend to give too many
hints. It was a great family movie.

We as Christians can also do all kinds of other things such as Bowling, going to sports games, or most anything else. It's just we need to be careful about what we listen to or watch because "garbage in equals garbage out". I think of it this way. What goes in our eyes and ears goes in our brain, then goes to the heart, then comes out our mouths. If you don't believe it, listen to your kids talk sometimes. Not necessarily around you, but especially around their peers. They mimic what they hear and see. I remember when my mom caught me smoking, she told me it's not good for you, it makes you cough, it smells bad, and so on. The first words out of my mouth were, "well, you do it". Of course I got spanked for "talking back", but my point was made. It didn't make her stop smoking though, and I continued to smoke until 6 years ago. Which was 40 years. (I started when I was 11).

Anyway, what I am trying to say is that all of us must take responsibility for our lives and our souls. We must pass down good habits, good traditions to the children I say "the" because I don't have children, but I still try and be a good example for the children with whom I come in contact with.

This is not only about the children either. I even noticed several years ago, (before I got serious about my relationship with God), I was friends with this girl who was very overbearing and intimidating. She was even bossy to her husband. You might say "she wore the pants in the family". Anyway, after a while, my hubby told me that I was changing and becoming just like her. I was flabbergasted. I never realized it. Evidently it was a subtle change, little by little until my hubby couldn't stand it anymore and told me he would rather I didn't socialize with her anymore. I abided by his wishes and my attitude changed back to the way I was before, but it took a conscious act to do so. I had to un-learn those bad habits. It was a lot harder to un-learn them than to adopt them. I am of course not totally free of bad habits, but church has helped me a lot, reading my Bible has helped me a lot, and having the Holy Ghost to nudge me when correction is needed has helped tremendously.

Some GREAT habits to pass on to your children would be going to Sunday school and Church, a specific time for Bible reading, Get your children interested in the Youth Program at church so they will have kids with the same Christian values to "hang with" and not have to rely on just their "school buddies" who may not have the same "moral compass". Be good examples for your kids and your own peers around you. For example, just because one of your peers or maybe even your boss tells a dirty joke, don't think you have to listen to it, or laugh. I can't count the number of times I've walked away from that situation. Someone would always follow and ask why, and I would tell them I don't like "off color" jokes of that sort. After that, they wouldn't tell dirty jokes around me.

I know you probably think I'm all over the place tonight, but my main thought is please concern yourself with your relationship with God, where your soul will be headed if you are taken from this earth unexpectedly, and also the example which you are setting for your children and those peers and friends around you. Who knows, maybe if your friends see you changing your habits, maybe they will too. Wouldn't it be neat to be able to think that you helped to save a soul so that it would be sure to go to heaven? "Just a thought".

People today are too worried about being "politically correct", or not wanting to hurt other's feelings. I don't deliberately hurt others, but if I feel disrespected by someone using foul language or telling dirty jokes, I will let them know. We all need to take notice of things like this.

To sum this post up, I hope this will help people realize that they need to make time for God in their busy schedules. Make it family time. Time to pray, time to go to Sunday school and Church, time for Bible Reading, and even time for "church functions such as pot lucks, or whatever else the church which you decide to go to does. All of this can and will help you in your walk with God, your goal toward heaven and your life with your family and others around you while here on this earth.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!