Don’t Put it Off

“Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, and And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.” Isaiah 55:6-7 NKJV

In a story titled “State Fair run is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon” published last week by KSBN out of Nebraska, it was reported that runners who want to qualify for the prestigious Boston Marathon could get one last chance at the Nebraska State Fair.

They went on to report that “the State Fair Marathon, which is run this year on Saturday Aug. 29, is considered to be the fastest and flattest of all the Boston Marathon qualifying races.” That’s good news for those runners who are down to the wire—whether they were unable to meet the requirements thus far or they just simply put it off until the final moment.

In its 12th year, the State Fair Marathon attracts runners from 35 states and other countries around the world.

“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.’” John 8:24 NKJV

And, you know, while there are many decisions in this life that can be put off until the last minute with no real negative consequences, securing your salvation is most definitely NOT one of them. You see, if a person puts off the decision to accept Jesus as their Savior and passes away, that person will die in their sins and forfeit spending eternity in heaven. And every time a person puts it off, it makes it easier and easier to do it again.

Hence the reason, Isaiah wrote, “Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, and And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”

“For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’” Romans 10:13

“‘But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” Matthew 24:36

“whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” James 4:14

Isaiah made it clear that there would come a time when the opportunity for a person to “meet the requirements” to be saved, by calling on the LORD and turning from their wicked ways, would end. And since no one knows when that time will be since the hour and day of Jesus’ return is unknown, and life is fleeting and its continuance uncertain, the decision should not be put off.

“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” Matthew 12:30

So, if you haven’t made the decision to follow Jesus yet, don’t put it off for another moment my friend. The Bible is clear that there’s only two destinations after death—heaven or hell— and, by our choice to follow Jesus or to reject Him (there’s no middle ground) while we still have breath in our lungs, we choose where we will spend eternity.

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that we should never put off the most important decision that could ever be made and should encourage others to do the same. Help us to be bold in proclaiming that there is only one way to eternal life and that’s through Jesus Christ. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.

Happy Running!