Happy New Decade!

Yea, yea yea... I know it's a new year. But in my mind that is totally eclipsed by the fact we're beginning a new decade! There are only so many decades a person sees. Maybe seven or eight... possibly nine. This new decade will be my third. The children of the 80's are turning thirty!

I think I'm finally starting to see that life goes by in a hurry. Things that seem like they happened just yesterday actually took place in the year 2000... 10 years ago! So we've only got so long to live for Christ. There's only so long that we can wait to get things done for the kingdom. As 2010 rolls around, the Lord is giving me a sense of urgency about His work.

People don't live forever; they need to hear the Gospel... today!
Your spouse/your parents won't always be here; they need love... today!
Those kids grow up too fast; they need a godly upbringing... today!
Youthful zeal doesn't last long; use it up... today!
Christians struggle in bad churches; they need biblical churches...today!
Our nation is quickly fading; they need a strong Gospel witness... today!

"Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Co. 6:2) We need to recapture that sense of urgency as we move one decade closer to Christ's return. We need to get moving!

At the same time, though, we must remember that we have a very patient (long suffering) God. 2 Peter 3:8 says, "Do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."

There's much to be done. Much to be done in my life, in my marriage, in my home and in my church. But, thankfully, God works on a far greater timescale than me. He is carrying out His great plan of redemption with perfect and precise timing. I just don't want the few decades that I have (that you have) not to count for eternity. So as we enter this new decade, rejoice that God is patient (2 Pet. 3:9), but remember that the day of the Lord is coming (2 Pet. 3:10)... faster than we think.