Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."¹

A few years ago one of my best friends was cut down in the prime of life. He was only forty-something. His doctors gave him only a matter of months to live. His passing was a shock and a sad loss for many of us. One of the last things my friend said to me before he died was how much he regretted not being able to do some important things he planned on doing. "And now it is too late," he said.

As John Greenleaf Whittier said, "Some of our most painful regrets are for opportunities lost."

Another person who will know the tragedy of opportunity lost was King Agrippa who said to the Apostle Paul when he shared the gospel with him, "You almost persuade me to become a Christian."² But King Agrippa, as far as we know never did accept Jesus as his Savior, and if not, is lost forever. And all the regrets forever will never ever give him that opportunity again.

You and I, too, will be lost forever if we fail to accept God's pardon for sins forgiven and His gift of eternal life. None of us has any guarantee of tomorrow, and as God's Word reminds us, "Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation." Remember too that opportunity comes to passâ€"not to pause.

As William Shakespeare so eloquently expressed it:

     There is a tide in the affairs of men,
     Which taken at the flood leads on to fortune.
     Omitted, all the voyage of their life
     is bound in shallows and in miseries.
     On such a full sea are we now afloat;
     And we must take the current when it serves,
     Or lose our ventures."

"Of all sad words of tongue or pen. The saddest are these: It might have been!"

If you have never accepted God's free pardon for all your sins by accepting Jesus as your Savior, or are not sure you have done that, please do it today. Don't wait until tomorrow for tomorrow may be too late. For help go to http://tinyurl.com/8glq9 for the article. "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian." Don't be an almost-persuaded-might-have-been person.

And if there is some unfinished business you've been putting off doing for some time, don't put it off any longer. Do it today. And if there is someone you need to call or contact and let them know you love and appreciate them, and haven't yet told them, do it today.

Suggested prayer, "Dear God, thank You for another reminder of the things I need to take care of today. With Your help I make a commitment to do today what I need to do. If I have never accepted Jesus as my Savior, I will do that right now.* Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name, amen."

*Again, for help to accept Jesus as your Savior be sure to read: "How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christianâ€"without having to be religious," at: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9

1. 2 Corinthians 6:2 (KJV).
2. Acts 26:28 (NKJV).

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