Craig Clouston

Time Is Running Out

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.
Hebrews 9:27

Joe had invited several friends over to watch game four of the NBA finals: Cleveland versus San Antonio. The Cavs had made it to the finals for the first time in franchise history; the Spurs were last season’s league champs.
The score was tied at ninety-eight, and the Alamo Dome was alive with anticipation. It was Cavs ball with thirty-seven seconds left in the fourth quarter and two timeouts. Spurs were up three games to none in the best of seven series; it was win or go home for the Cavs. Inbounding the ball, they moved up into the frontcourt. With eight seconds left, James drove the lane. The screen went blue! “Nooooo!” everybody screamed. “Not now!” Joe was livid. He tried to find the game on another channel, but all one hundred fifty-eight channels were lost; he dropped into his recliner in disbelief. By the time the picture was restored the game was over.

†

In the same way, the clock is counting down on our lives. Time is running out on each of us, and the game will end without warning. From the moment of our birth we are headed toward the day of our death. There is no guarantee of our next breath. Yet some of us live in denial of that truth.
As suddenly as the satellite signal was lost in the basketball game, our lives will end. We will find ourselves before the One Who offered to set us free. If Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives, we should live in such a way that makes those who don’t know Him curious about where we get our strength.
We are spiritual beings in a physical body. Our spirit will live for eternity, either in heaven or hell. Both are real, only one is inhabited by God. In the other will be realization that any chance of being near your Creator has been missed forever. Don’t allow the world to feed you lies that imply you have all the time you need. The clock is ticking.

Prayer

“Father of all Creation, speak the truth of this message to every heart that reads it. Please draw them into a relationship with You, now. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”