The Time is Now

Jesus’ invitation has always been – and will always be – an invitation to action RIGHT NOW! 

Procrastination is a major problem in people’s lives – and it’s ALWAYS a stumbling block to progress.  I’m awful about procrastinating, and for a long time, my motto was, “Why put off until tomorrow the things you can put off until next week…!”  At one point in my life, I was so bad about gettin’ things done I even started putting off procrastinating! 

When I finally accepted my call into ministry, I had been stallin’ and puttin’ Jesus off for 18 years!  I kept tellin’ Jesus I had other things I needed to attend to first.  Sure, I was willing to follow Jesus – just not right now.  I had lots of things I wanted to do first… 

Anyway, by the time I decided to follow Jesus for real, it was April of 1996, and I had spent 18 years of my life avoiding Jesus.  In my heart of hearts – I was an emotional wreck.  I wasn’t upset about devoting my life to Jesus – what was tearin’ me apart was the thought I’d wasted 18 years of my life! 

…18 years I COULDA been helping build God’s kingdom on earth…

…18 years I WOULDA been fruitful for the kingdom …

…18 years I SHOULDA spent on my relationship with Jesus…

I thought I’d messed around and wasted years that Jesus needed me to be workin’ in the world and in people’s lives.  But here’s the thing – you can COULDA, WOULDA, SHOULDA yourself right into the grave.  You cannot go back and change anything you’ve thought or said or done.  Your life is what it is, and you are who you are today because of the things in your past.  But what IS changeable is who you are right now and who you and Jesus can turn you into! 

Now, I’m NOT sayin’ you should skip followin’ Jesus until it suits your timetable.  Jesus is fully capable of takin’ all your goofin’ around and turn it into good things in your life if you’ll let Him.  However, there’s no guarantee you’ll have the time!  When Jesus calls you – He fully intends that you answer Him TODAY!  The point is, if Jesus wants you to do somethin’, that means He wants YOU to do it – if He wanted someone else to do it, He’d as someone else.  And if He wants you to do somethin’ NOW, that means it’s urgent and needs your attention – otherwise, He’d ask you to do it later!  Every second we spend doin’ nothin’ is time lost.  And every minute lost is more suffering and misery and heartache for someone somewhere. 

So what is Satan’s most effective ploy for gettin’ people to slide their way into eternal Hell?  Is it to convince us there’s no heaven?  No…  Is it to convince us there’s no hell?  No…  It’s to convince us there’s no hurry…

Pastor Corey Jenkins

Sidney 1st United Methodist Church