It is a new year.

I wonder if you have taken some time to consider your life.

I have done such considering these past days. Not because of the calendar however, but as the result of a message received this past gusty, freezing Thursday night.

A friend since junior high, a fellow pastor, hubby & daddy to two young children, John Franklin, was dead. He died in a hunting accident. But he lived. Wow, did he live to the fullest.

If you asked for one word to describe John, I'd say: Passionate. Passionate in his love for Jesus. Passionate in his love for his wife. Passionate about loving his kids. Passionate in loving anyone he met. He loved in a way that elevated the object of his love. He loved otherish.

We live like we will live forever. Expecting tomorrow. Assuming next year. Procrastinating actions. Delaying decisions. Reasoning that we'll have time. Yet. In an instance. We might die. A accident. An illness.

Consider your life.

Not because it is a new year, but because you do not know how many years, or hours, you may have.

Consider your life.

Are you absolutely certain that if you were to die right now that you could say, "I have trusted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior & Lord"? If you confess Jesus as Lord & believe God raised him from the dead you will be saved states Romans 10:9. You do not need to have all the answers. You do need to know you have sinned, broken God's laws, & that you need a Savior.

Consider your life.

If you have given your heart to Jesus in the past, are your truly living for him today? John posted on his blog the day before his death, quoting a prayer from Ephesians 3:17-18 "...that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge." You won't get it right all the time. You can ask God to know his love more intimately & live like Christ more fully moment by moment.

Consider your life.

John & his dear wife, Penny, are pictured here. Pray for her, his two young children, his family & friends.

Click here to go to John's blog. Listen as he sings & chats with his kids. Recorded just 15 days before his unexpected death.

Consider your life.