The Appointment You Cannot Reschedule

 

What the Math on Your Remaining Years Should Do to Your Soul

Recently, while on social media, I came across a short video with sobering statistics for people blessed enough to reach fifty. The narrator said that a fifty-year-old in the United States has about twenty-six years left, on average. That figure is not a promise, but it is a warning. Twenty-six years sounds like plenty until you convert the years into days: nearly 9,490 of them, spread across roughly 322 more full moons. By fifty, you have already spent two-thirds of an average lifetime. The years remaining arrive one day at a time, and none of them come with a guarantee.

Average life expectancy in the U.S. is often summarized in the mid-70s, with men typically lower and women typically higher. Somewhere inside those years waits a last conversation with your spouse and a final visit with your parents, a goodbye you will not recognize as final until the moment has already passed. Nothing on your calendar warns you which day holds the goodbye.

The numbers matter because they strip away the illusion that time is an endless resource. They do not merely ask how many years remain; they ask what those remaining years are being spent preparing for.

Death ends every earthly account, finished or not. The apology you keep postponing and the project still sitting half done on your desk matter nothing once death closes the book, regardless of how the rest of the story stands. More than an ending, though, death performs an extraction: the separation of your spirit from your body, so the real you, not your job title or your bank balance, moves into a world your five senses were never built to measure.

The manner of death rarely matters. A heart attack or a slow disease only supplies the method, and neither one changes what follows. What arrives after the extraction is the only detail worth your attention, and Scripture states the ending in blunt terms:

"For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, ESV)

Most of us assume another day is coming, especially right after good news arrives: a clean report from the doctor or a new marriage. Good news, and the joy attached, adds no days to your allotted time. You already know someone, or know of someone, whose death arrived despite a new wedding ring or a promotion letter still sitting on the counter.

So here is the real question, the one most calendars never make room for: what is your relationship with God today, not in the version of your life you plan to build after this next milestone? Death carries no bias and negotiates with no one. Your degree, your job title, and your bank balance hold zero value on the other side of the extraction. What matters instead is whether you have met the one requirement for eternity with Jesus Christ.

Scripture returns to this appointment again and again:

"And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment." (Hebrews 9:27, ESV)

"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12, ESV)

James puts the same warning inside a single image:

"Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." (James 4:14, ESV)

None of this calls for despair or for hiding from every joy life still offers. Enjoy your marriage, your children, and the work in front of you, since Scripture itself commands this enjoyment in Ecclesiastes 9:7, urging you to eat your bread with gladness and drink your wine with a merry heart. The tension is not between living and dying, but between living carelessly and living prepared.

Preparation looks less like a mood and more like obedience. Call the parent you have been avoiding, or repair the relationship you have let rot over pride. Open a Bible you have not touched in years and read the book of John in one sitting, then come plainly to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith, trusting Him as Savior and surrendering to Him as Lord. Do not file the question away for someday; confess your need for Him now, because someday is not a date on any calendar.

Your own remaining years may be many, few, or fewer than you imagine. No test, scan, or fortune teller can hand you the true number, which is why preparation belongs to today rather than later. Your appointment with death already carries a fixed date, set long before you read this sentence, and the only wise response is to get your soul ready now, while mercy is still being offered.

Written by Kevin L A Ewing
ewinglakevin@icloud.com
kevinlaewing.blogspot.com
www.kevinlaewing.com

Get Your Life Together Before Your Appointment With Death

Death marks the end of our earthly life and the separation of our spirit from our physical body. Our participation in earthly affairs ends, whether we have fulfilled our plans and responsibilities or left them unfinished.

We spend considerable time preparing for life’s milestones, yet how much attention do we give to eternity? Beyond our earthly existence, we must face God. Our relationship with Jesus Christ deserves serious attention while we still have the opportunity to respond to Him.

Whether someone dies through an accident, illness, or another cause, the circumstances often bring painful questions for those left behind. Their grief deserves compassion. Yet alongside the question of how someone died stands another question each of us must consider: Am I prepared to meet God?

Ecclesiastes 9:5–6 describes the end of our participation in earthly life:

“For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.”

Consider those words, “under the sun.” Our opportunities to work, serve, repent, and fulfill our earthly responsibilities deserve attention now. We should never assume we will always have time to address what we keep postponing.

A favorable medical report, a job promotion, a marriage, a new baby, or a recently purchased home often gives us reasons to celebrate and plan. These blessings deserve gratitude, but none guarantees another day. We have heard of people who died shortly after reaching a milestone they had spent years anticipating. Their plans were sincere, and their expectations were understandable, yet their lives ended unexpectedly.

My question to you this morning is direct: While preparing for everything else you consider important, have you seriously considered your relationship with God? Have you responded to the gospel of Jesus Christ, or have you continually postponed this decision?

Death does not give preference to education, wealth, influence, or popularity. Your achievements do not buy you more time, and your position in society does not remove your accountability before God. Hebrews 9:27 reminds us of death and the judgment which follows.

Many of us hear the gospel regularly. Some grew up in Christian homes and learned Scripture from childhood. Yet familiarity with Christian teaching does not replace personal repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. You must consider your own response to the truth you have received.

Education and achievement have value in our earthly responsibilities. The danger arises when pride leads us to trust our understanding above God’s Word or believe our success removes our need for Him. The God who delivered Abraham, Moses, and Joseph still deserves our trust and obedience. We must never let His blessings become reasons to disregard Him.

My friends, your degree, job title, possessions, and public reputation do not secure eternal life. Salvation comes through God's grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, as Ephesians 2:8–9 teaches. Have you placed your trust in Him? Have you turned toward God in repentance, or are you depending on your upbringing, good intentions, and achievements?

Do not postpone this examination until you face a crisis. You have an opportunity today to respond to God, seek His forgiveness, and submit your life to Jesus Christ. Give this decision the attention you give your career, family, finances, and future plans.

As you read this message, consider the opportunity before you. You are alive, you have heard the invitation, and you have time to respond now. Second Corinthians 6:2 declares, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

The passing days remind us how brief our earthly lives are. Weeks become months, and months become years. We should allow this awareness to produce wisdom, gratitude, and obedience.

James 4:14 asks:

“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

Prepare responsibly for your earthly future, and give serious attention to eternity. Place your faith in Jesus Christ and live according to His Word. Tomorrow is uncertain. Respond to Him today.

Written by: Kevin L A Ewing
ewinglakevin@icloud.com
kevinlaewing.blogspot.com
www.kevinlaewing.com

Redeeming the time

Anyone with a brain in their head must have noticed that time is moving at a far greater pace than it once did!

While this may be good news for those looking forward to a vacation, school breaks, graduations, and so on, it is not good news for those who refuse to pursue their purpose for being here on earth. Since January 2015, many of us have lost loved ones or know well-known people we never would have imagined would meet their end this year.

Nevertheless, we remain committed to the routine of posting photos of our deceased loved ones all over social media to express our loss, but we still behave as if we have plenty of time to get our affairs in order. I am sure those who have passed this year have also attended funerals of their friends and family members, probably not realizing that their next visit to the cemetery would be in celebration of their life here on earth.

The purpose of this post is to ask you, the reader, how much longer you will continue procrastinating in getting your relationship with God in order. How much longer will you stay committed to your plans instead of aligning with the purpose for which God allowed you to be here?

Scripture clearly states that the living know they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their names are forgotten. Their love, their hate, and their jealousy have long since vanished; they will never again have a part in anything that happens under the sun, Eccl 9:5-6.

With the above scripture in mind, one must consider that, given the swift passage of time, it is safe to say that time is running out for all of us since none of us knows when our time to cease to exist will come. However, while we may cease to exist here, we are very much alive somewhere else, and there is absolutely nothing our friends and loved ones can do on earth to alter where we will end up after death.

Why not ask God right now, "Lord, what is my reason for being here"? Father, am I on the right course that you originally intended for me? Father, help me to align myself with the destiny you have chosen for me. For those of you who do not have a relationship with God and His son, Jesus Christ, why not fix that right now while you still have the opportunity as a living person? As the scripture says, the dead will have no more participation in the earth, and eventually, their names will be forgotten.

It is my prayer tonight that this post will inspire you to change and that everything happening around you and in the world is urging you to consider the return of Jesus Christ, or that your time may come to an abrupt end.

Written By: Kevin L A Ewing
kevinewing@coralwave.com
kevinlaewing.blogspot.com

Your life is like a vapor

Death is the permanent transition from our natural physical world to the spirit world. Death is also
the bringing to an end of all earthly matters whether its purposes were fulfilled or not.

More importantly however, death is the only way in which the real you which is your spirit can be extracted from your physical body to join the billions of souls that have gone ahead of you in the spirit world to either eternal rest or eternal damnation.

The reality is, it really does not matter how you die, meaning whether it was by a motor vehicle accident, a heart attack, plane crash etc. These means of death are just the extraction of which permanent separation is made between spirit and body.

Unfortunately, folks are more challenged concerning the extraction process of death which is entirely irrelevant as oppose to what happens after the extraction process. Many of us manipulate ourselves by convincing ourselves that we are guaranteed another day of existence. This is primarily due to such events such as: a good health report from the Doctor, a job promotion, a new marriage, a new baby a new relationship etc.

However, I am certain you would agree with me in that you either know of or have heard of the above instances where death unexpectedly showed up to perform the extraction process, in spite of the new marriage, the new baby, the recent job promotion etc?

My question to you this morning is simply this, during the course of your daily preparation for everything else that is of importance to you, have you seriously given thought as to what will really happen to you when your appointment with the extraction process presents itself to you?

"You have no idea what tomorrow will bring. For what is your life? Is it not like a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away?" James 4:14

Written By: Kevin L A Ewing
kevinewing@coralwave.com
kevinlaewing.blogspot.com

What determines death?

About a week ago I was at a friend’s funeral. While sitting on the outside of the church, because it was overwhelming packed on the inside, I began to toss around the idea in my head as to what qualifies who will be next in regard to their appointed time with death.

I was compel to take on this line of thought because my friend was relatively young, and just like you, we all wonder how is it that the guy up the street who has been an alcoholic or drug addict for years, however he lives to be 60, 70 or probably 80 years old. On the other hand a young child 7 years old is shot to death or knock down by a vehicle and instantly dies. You have to wonder how is it that the 80 year old drunkard, who would have seemingly wasted his life gets to live a long  life, but the 7 year old who’s just starting life, their life is cut short in such a short space of time.

During my earlier years, I was led to believe that if one does not live to see three score and ten (70 years), then somehow they have been cheated as it relates to their life. Also some would say that sin was the result of that person’s short time here on earth (be it sins of the parents being passed on to them or their own sins), for not reaching the seventy year mark according to (Psalm 90:10).

As you would imagine I became curious as to what exactly determines our appointed time as it relates to death. Was it sin, Was it being connected to the wrong people, health issues or could it be we just randomly die?

Well the bible pointed out to us well in advance that the wages or payment of sin is death, so this clearly indicates that we will all eventually die. Well, seeing that the qualifier for death is sin, then could it be that the one which commits the most sin becomes the next candidate for death? As you would probably imagine I passionately disagree with that thought, simply because how much sin could a child commit at the age of seven that would out number the sins of an eighty year old, who’s demise preceded the demise of the eighty year old?

So, the grand question is what qualifies or determines who will be next for death? Well the answer to this perplexing and elusive question is quite simple, and that answer is, purpose! Yes you’ve read correctly, purpose is what determines one’s demise and not the totality of sin or any other reason. Firstly, purpose is the original intent of a person, place or thing; the truth is, it is the real reason why a person exists. As a matter of fact I would venture to say purpose guarantees an individual life for a determine period of time. Another way we can look at purpose; purpose is the batteries that causes us to exist in this life and when these batteries or should I say purpose has died then so do we.

Now, how does death factor in with all of this? Well a person’s death is based on one of two things, and they are; either they’ve completed their purpose or time has ran out on their purpose. Of course every one of us has a specific period of time to accomplish our purpose. There is no negotiating as it relates to that set time. King Solomon verified this very important point when he said, “To everything there is a season and time to every PURPOSE under the sun, Ecclesiastes 3:1. Therefore the age at which one dies is irrelevant when compared to whether they’ve completed their purpose or time ran out on their purpose.

We automatically assume that we should have long life, we automatically assume that as parents our children should bury us, we automatically assume that folks like Martin Luther King, our favorite preachers, our favorite singers and folks that have made an enormous impact in this world should be around for a long time. However, purpose is what determines their tenure here on earth, and incorporated into purpose is an assigned time to fulfill that particular purpose.

The interesting thing about purpose is even if we’re not fulfilling or being hindered in completing our purpose, time is still ticking away at our assigned time to complete that purpose, so what does this mean? This indicates that our PURPOSE is what really matters (what is the reason God has allowed us to exist in this world). This is very important to note because the greatest hindrance to one’s purpose are:   Hate, rage, unforgiveness, bitterness, pride, confusion, frustration, fatigue, depression, loneliness, selfishness, being vindictive and the like. These things are eating away at our time and distracting us from what really matters and what really matters is our PURPOSE!

Many folks have left this planet, without doing or completing what they were sent here to do all because they became consumed by placing all their efforts on hating others, seeking revenge, being bitter, refusing to forgive and most of all planning the demise of others, not knowing that their demise may advance that of the one that they are plotting against. As a reminder while you are focusing on these things that are insignificant time is ticking away at your purpose.

Purpose cannot be accomplished or fulfill in isolation. This is so because nothing in God's creation was made or designed to operate independent of itself. Meaning no one that has, presently is or will be a part of your life was by chance, luck or accident. Their job for the most part unknowing to them was to make a deposit or a withdrawal in your life be it good or bad all in an effort to assist you in accomplishing your purpose. The catch is you must know when they have exhausted their time in your life and you must be strong and wise enough to except however that separation presents itself. I understand quite well that you cannot make others forgive you; neither can you force them to love you. Therefore, because your purpose is what matters, you must see how they factor in as it relates to your purpose and if they don't or have exhausted their time, then the choice is clear and that is, IT IS TIME TO GO FORWARD WITHOUT THEM!

My words of wisdom are quite simple this morning, and they are life is short, focus on what really matters and that is your purpose, because it is your purpose that determines how long you’ll be here, and it is also your purpose that God will judge you on. As a reference point Jesus die when he was thirty three years old he didn’t live to see seventy, right!, why? Because his purpose was completed, so please seek and complete your purpose, but for the sake of your eternal soul DO NOT LET TIME RUN OUT ON YOUR PURPOSE.

Heavenly Father your word says, the heart of the king is in your hand and you turn that heart however you desire. It is my prayer that you turn the hearts of your people towards the purpose of their existence and that they would place emphasis on completing their purpose before it’s too late, I humbly ask this request of you in the name of your son Jesus Christ. Amen!

Written by: Kevin L A Ewing

kevinewing@coralwave.com
kevinlaewing.blogspot.com