WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
JULY 31, 2024
TOPIC: YOU HAVE ONLY ONE LIFE TO LIVE!
BY T. O. BANSO
“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27 New King James Version).
You have only one life to live. We all have limited time to live on earth. There is nothing like reincarnation. Once you die, you’re dead! Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 says, “Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it” (New King James Version).
You have only one life to live. What awaits you after death is the final judgment. “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27 New King James Version). Praying that God should grant the dead eternal rest or saying, “May his/her soul rest in perfect peace” is just a mark of respect for the dead! It changes nothing.
You have only one life to live and once you die, nothing can change anything you’ve done. There is no repentance in the grave. You have just one life to live – only one life. But you can make a life-changing decision during your one-time sojourn on earth that will give you access to spend eternity with God, and not eternity in hellfire.
Revelation 20:12 says, “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books” (New King James Version). According to verse 15, anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. May that not be you. But you determine that before you die.
Don’t live your life as if you have control over your breath and you can do whatever you life with your life without consequences. Once your current life on earth expires, you are not entitled to another on earth – no one is entitled to it. Just one life is what everybody is allowed to have. As it is often said, “Life has no duplicate.”
After death, many things won’t matter. Your wealth, fame, businesses, achievements, degrees, titles, honours, etc. won’t matter. What will matter after your death is if you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and lived in obedience to the Word of God and His will for your life. Another important thing will be if you fulfilled the purpose of God for your life on earth. This is not to say everybody must be a pastor! It won’t matter that you were a minister of the Gospel and performed outstanding miracles unless you truly belonged to Jesus. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23 New King James Version).
After our life on earth, the Bible says in Romans 14:10 that we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. But judgment for the saints and judgment for the sinners mean different things. According to 1 John 4:17a, love has been perfected among believers in this: that they may have boldness on the Day of Judgment. John 3:18 says, “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son” (New Living Translation). The New International Version puts it this way: “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” Do you believe in Jesus Christ? What are you living for? Is it pleasure, money, fashion, fame, etc.? You shall give a personal account to God one day (Romans 14:12).
In his famous eight-verse poem, “Only One Life”, a British missionary, C. T. Studd, says in the fourth verse, “Only one life, a few brief years. Each with its burdens, hopes and fears; each with its days I must fulfil, living for self or in His will; only one life, ’twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.” Note this: “Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
What have you done for Christ? Or what are you doing for Christ? Your life will soon be past. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me’” (Matthew 25:34-36 New International Version). How can one do all this for Christ? “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’” (verse 40 New International Version).
Live for Christ, not for yourself. Paul says in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (New King James Version). Is Christ living in you? Are you living for Christ?
Surrender your life to Jesus today, if you haven’t. Live to fulfil the purpose of God for your life. Accept responsibility for your life. Avoid procrastination. Live your life in full obedience to the Word of God. Love God and love fellow human beings. Forgive all; eschew bitterness (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:29-31; Luke 10:27-28; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Romans 13:8-10, Ephesians 4:31; Hebrews 12:14-15).
You have only one life to live. What are you doing doing for Christ? Ephesians 5:15-16 says, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (New King James Version). Life is short! You have only one life to live. You shall pass through this world only once. Live for Jesus, not for worldly things or things that won’t matter on Judgment Day.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. Take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, help me to live this one life You’ve given me to do Your will, not my will. I shall not live a wasted life in Jesus’ name. My destiny shall not be perverted; I shall become all God wants me to be.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
