December 1, 2020 – Click here to listen
Several years ago my wife and I donated a large piece of waterfront property to our church in Key Largo. The project languished for years for one cause or another and I was very disappointed that they didn’t ever do anything with it. So we left for a little over a decade and a year and a half or so ago some friends told us that the church had received the permit to build and construction had begun. We were elated! So last Sunday we decided to make the drive down to see the property. We were amazed when we got there. An almost completed beautiful church is sitting there.
My Bible study partner recently lost his election and is spending time trying to sort out what he might do next. This morning he asked if the nearly completed church is close enough to attend there from my home in Duck Key. My response is as follows along with some advice for the next phase of his life:
“No, we do not live close enough to the Key Largo church to attend regularly there – Wish I did – It is extremely gratifying to see it nearing completion. I’ve done many things in life, but nothing has given me as much satisfaction as contributing this property to establish a church in the keys and seeing it take shape. The same goes for building Honey Lake Church, discounting and donating enough property to Honey Lake clinic where it could be established to help heal people far beyond my lifetime, founding the Jesus Alliance and seeing it sharing God’s love with people located all over the world, writing Words for the Day for 22 plus years, writing a book of how God transformed my life, and spending decades speaking in prisons and elsewhere throughout the country and giving my testimony.
Nothing else even comes close to the wonderful-wonderful feeling of serving God! I urge you to seek God’s will for this next phase of your own life and find some kingdom building work that will live on well after you are long gone. It is more rewarding to do things for Jesus than anything I’ve ever experienced, (and I’ve experienced a lot.) Knowing that I had a part in leading thousands of souls to follow Jesus into heaven is the ultimate experience in life.”
I hesitated to share this post with you today, because I’m sure some will immediately think I’m boasting. Phooey on you . . . I’m not interested in trying to impress anyone. I went ahead and posted it however, to encourage those of you who are interested in making a far-reaching impact that goes beyond the grave to go for it. At some point the swimming pools, big screen TV’s, fancy cars, business accomplishments, parties, boats and planes will no longer be around even if you are the richest person in the cemetery. But what you do for the Lord lives on and on and on and on . . . Think about God.
1 Timothy 6:17
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.