Kobe Bryant, Chadwick Boseman, Sean Connery, Pop Smoke, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, B B King, Michael Jackson, Robin Williams, Phife Dawg, James Gandolfini, Heath Ledger, Lisa Lopes, Philip Seymour, Betty White, Sidney Poitier, Hoffman, Bob Hoskins, Bernie Mac, Isaac Hayes, Michael Clarke Duncan, Desmond Tutu, James Avery and Prince.
These are but a few of famous celebrities that tragically passed within the last 15 years. If you are like me, with every report comes a sobering thought: We are not built to live forever. In 100 years time everyone currently on earth now (over 7 billion people) will be dead.
So what are we living for? Before I was saved, I regretted a lot of things I did. As a disciple of Jesus, I don’t want to regret what I didn’t do! We have ONE life, one shot to live for God. That’s it. What will the sum total of our lives mean on the scales of eternity? I want to live a life that matters, not JUST a life that is fun, or pleasurable or secure.
“But you know if God should stamp eternity or even judgement on our eyeballs, or if you’d like on the fleshy table of our hearts I am quite convinced we’d be a very, very different tribe of people, God’s people, in the world today. We live too much in time, we’re too earth bound. We see as other men see, we think as other men think. We invest our time as the world invests it. We’re supposed to be a different breed of people. I believe that the church of Jesus Christ needs a new revelation of the majesty of God. We’re all going to stand one day, can you imagine it- at the judgement seat of Christ to give an account for the deeds done in the body. This is what- this is the King of kings, and He’s the Judge of judges, and it’s the Tribunal of tribunals, and there’s no court of appeal after it. The verdict is final.” – Leonard Ravenhill.
“Where, oh, where are the eternity-conscious believers? Where are the souls white-hot for God because they fear His holy name and presence and so live with eternity’s values in view?” – Leonard Ravenhill.
“What are you going to do when you get to eternity, if you can’t stick in an hour with God down here?” – Leonard Ravenhill.
“Paul never glamorized the gospel! It is not success, but sacrifice! It’s not a glamorous gospel, but a bloody gospel, a gory gospel, and a sacrificial gospel! 5 minutes inside eternity and we will wish that we had sacrificed more!!! Wept more, bled more, grieved more, loved more, prayed more, given more!!!” – Leonard Ravenhill.