Recently I was privileged to read one of my youngest daughter's lessons that she had prepared for a Sunday School class. Malinda is now with the Lord, but the message she left is powerful and can be a jumping off point for many devotions or lessons. This particular one, as you can see from the title, deals with a fact that all of us face many times during out lifetime.

The words, too late, unlock the pain of opportunity lost. The silent talent that has withered away. The loss of time that has seeped away through the hour glass of hours and minutes. The words of a doctor who utters those words to family members when all has been done that could have been done to save that individual. But drugs, alcohol, an immoral lifestyle has taken its toll and now it is "too late."

How many times has it been said, "I wish I had done things differently, lived my life differently, raised my children differently. Now it is too late. The time has long since passed when things could have been different.

The good news of the gospel is, it is never too late unless you choose it to be too late. While there is life, there is hope. There can be change in your life, in the life of your family. But the choice is yours. The words in Luke say, "Your daughter is dead, don't trouble the Master." But Jesus said, "Fear not, only believe and she shall be made whole."

The first step toward coming to the place of it not being too late, is recognizing that you need Jesus in your life. By that I don't mean Jesus as a spare tire to be used only when you are in a crises. But Jesus as Savior, Lord, Master of your life. How do you accomplish that? By recognizing that you are a sinner and are in need of a Savior. Then Confess that you have sinned and Ask Him to forgive you of those sins and make you one of His children. Jesus is always ready to be "troubled" by one who calls on Him for salvation.

Can there by obstacles in your quest to come to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you? Most definitely! Expect them and be aware of them! The foremost one is the enemy of your soul. Satan does not want you to come to Christ. He does not want to lose one who has belonged to his kingdom. He will make you think things like, "this really isn't real," "who needs church? not you," "what will your friends think?" And on and on it goes. Remember though, Satan is a liar and the father of liars. So whatever he says, count on the opposite being true. Another obstacle is "friends." These friends want you to stay where they are, lost. Trust me, there are others who are waiting and wanting to be your friends and who will help you on your journey to heaven. Other obstacles are feelings, rational thinking, "when I get better, when I quit _____, then I will be good enough to go to Jesus and ask Him to forgive me and make me one of His."

Truth is, you will never get that good.

Romans 5:8 tells us, "But God commended His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Paul, writing to the Corinthians said, "...Now is the day of salvation." (II Corinthians 6:2) Again, Hebrews 4:7, "Today if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts." Hebrews 2:3, "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation...?"

Too late! When your last breath is taken, then whatever decision you have made will be your final decision, it will be too late to make any changes. None of us know when that time will come when we will stand in judgment before the throne of God, hearing the words, "Enter into the joys of your Lord," or "Depart from Me, I never knew you." Today I plead with you, make the decision to accept the Lord as your Savior, before it is Too Late.