– – – – he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.– Acts 17:25
Every day I thank God for the gift of life, the gifts of life, and the Giver of life— Christ. While I doubt that we give the attention we should to any of these, I suspect that the first is the most neglected.

We speak of “life” as one of our “inalienable rights” in the Declaration of Independence, but I fear that we often forget that life is a precious gift from God. I don’t know about you, but I kind of like it. Actually I love life. We should be thankful for it and we should  use it wisely. As has been said, “A life is a terrible thing to waste”. Life is God’s gift to us. What we do with it is our gift to God.

Being able to live is a great privilege, but it is also an awesome responsibility. Seeing that we received it from God we ought to spend it for God. We have no right to live as we please– unless we are pleased to please the Lord. The same God who gives us life holds us accountable for how we spend it. To waste our life would be a shame— and a sin. Like someone said, “Life is like a coin. You can spend it anyway you want, but you can spend it only once”. How are you spending it?

Different people do different things with their lives. While some use it to the best advantage, others are not so smart— they find a way to waste it. As one fellow said, “If you give one million people a paper clip, 2 will find a way to kill themselves with it”. Even so many do basically the same thing with their lives. While they start out with the same opportunities as others, they find a way to make themselves perfectly miserable, hurt others, and waste away what could have been of great eternal value. How smart is that?

It seems strange– some people who don’t know what to do with their life, and complain about everything under the the sun, want to live forever. Why? They are merely existing rather than truly living. They spend all their days without a sense of purpose, never finding any lasting peace or satisfaction. That is truly tragic! And senseless. Life doesn’t have to be that way. Through Christ you can have peace that passeth all understanding, joy unspeakable and full of glory, and a purpose in life, plus much more. It can be more satisfying than you ever imagined. Invested in Christian living it is not in vain.

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain!” Philippians 1:21

Death will not be gain to me–unless my life is lived for Christ!

It must be my passion to know Christ. Every day I ought to learn a little more of Him and His truths. Every day I ought to become somewhat more conversant with His will. In His school, it is impossible for me ever to finish my education, for . . .
  there is so much to learn,
  there are such mysteries to master,
  there are such heights to scale!

It must be my ambition to follow Christ.
Jesus going about doing good in the Galilean fields;
Jesus praying on the cold mountains;
Jesus bowing to the Father’s will in the garden and on the cross–
He is to be my Pattern, my Model, whom I set deliberately before me!

It must be my joy to speak with Christ. I should always be lifting up my heart to Him. I should keep telling Him . . .
  my every thought,
  my every desire,
  my every need,
  my every problem,
  my every misgiving and fear.
Between friends so close and true–there must be no reservations, no secrets.

It must be my longing to serve Christ. Though I cannot do it in a conspicuous sphere–yet, up to the farthest verge and limit of my ability, I will labor for Him. And I rejoice to remember that mere show and public ministry count for nothing with Him–the humble and loving heart is everything! — Alexander Smellie, 1899

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil– 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

The standard by which we are to accept or reject every idea, emotion, or opportunity is whether it is “good” or “evil.” No middle ground is mentioned.

How do we know what is good and what is bad, what is right and what is wrong? The only infallible benchmark we have is God’s Word, the Bible. We can not make decisions based upon our feelings at the moment, the advice or rationale of others, or society’s changing ideas of what is acceptable.

Nor are we to make decisions only after “trying out” all our options. We are not told to “experiment with everything” but to prove (test) all things. Experience, emphatically, is not the best teacher. Instruction is. And in the Bible we find the instruction we need regarding how we are to live, what priorities we are to hold, and how we are to view the world around us.

Once we have applied God’s Word to any particular issue in our lives, we are then told to whole-heartedly pursue the indicated course of action. If a thing is good, we are to “hold fast” to it, not substituting or selling it for anything. If it is evil, we are to “abstain” from it, not sampling or teasing with it in small doses.

Do you have a decision to make? Test it by the touchstone of God’s Word, and then cling to the good and right path, abstaining from even the appearance or possibility of evil.–Baptist Bible Hour

“Lord, what is man!” Psalms 144:3

BY nature he is an enemy to God, in open rebellion against Him, and justly condemned by Him. He is in love with sin, a slave to lust, a servant of Satan. He is blind to his best interest, deaf to the call of God, and dead in trespasses and sins. He is an open sepulchre, a mass of wretchedness and disease, abominable and filthy beyond description. And can such a creature be the object of Jehovah’s love, the purchase of a Saviour’s blood and the habitation of the Holy Spirit? Yes: as such,— Jesus was sent into the world to redeem them; as such, the Holy Spirit came to quicken, cleanse, justify, and save them! O amazing grace! Astonishing mercy! And will God in very deed dwell with such creatures upon earth? Yes: “To this man will I look, and with him will I dwell, even that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at My word.” Well may the patriarch exclaim, “What is man, that Thou shouldest magnify him? and that Thou shouldest set Thine heart upon him?’

O what is feeble, dying man,
Or any of his race,
That God should make it His concern
To visit him with grace!
That God, who darts His lightnings down,
Who shakes the worlds above,
And mountains tremble at His frown,
How wondrous is His love!–James Smith