(Jesus said) "I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." John 9:4-5

If your church is anything like mine has been, you will find one thing on the agenda of every board, committee or congregational assembly meeting.

That item is "unfinished business."

Unfinished business are the things we meant to do, but haven't done yet. They are the things which took too long to finish, the things which are more complex than we had imagined, the things which, in spite of our best intentions, had to be left incomplete.

In recent years I've noticed many people also have unfinished business in their lives.

No, they don't call it "unfinished business." They give it a nicer, cuter name. They call if their "bucket list." By that they mean those things which they want to get done before they "kick the bucket." A person's bucket list might include places or people who need to be visited. A bucket list might have apologies that need to be made, restitution which needs to be offered, a statement of love which needs to be shared. A bucket list might even be the mastery of a foreign language or a musical instrument. It might even be a complete reading of the Bible.

A bucket list is anything and everything we need to do before we die.

Now, generally a bucket list is a pretty personal and private thing. What is on your bucket list may never show up on mine. What is at the top of my bucket list may never be written down on yours. Still, there is one thing that ought to be on the bucket list of every man, woman and child in this world. That one thing needful is to have faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior from sin.

Now I don't want you to get the wrong idea. Faith in Jesus is not something you can do. That's because faith is a gift that comes from God. The plan, its completion, its placement in our hearts is all an unearned present from our gracious God.

Even so, if having Jesus as your Savior is not an item that is checked off your bucket list, I encourage you to let the Holy Spirit work in your heart. Let Him work now because, as Jesus says in the text above, a time will come when "no man can work."

It was Jesus' way of saying, "believe today while you still can." It was His way of saying, "faith in Me shouldn't be unfinished business."

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, today I pray for the millions who do not know You as Savior. Grant the Holy Spirit touch their hearts, so they may know the wonders of Your sacrifice and the power of Your love. This I ask in Jesus' Name. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Isaiah 5-6    2 Corinthians 13

To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File As"