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In Psalm 42 verse two we read these words from the Psalmist:

I thirst for God, the living God.  When can I go and stand before him?

            These are confident words, words of a soul that believes he or she has resolved any issues that might have been a problem when they would stand before their maker.  So confident that he or she is anxious to go.  All of us will find ourselves in that position some day, affirmed by these words from Hebrews 9:27&28:

And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people.

            I think there are many people who have heard the gospel message many times and perhaps in a variety of ways but are procrastinators.  “Someday I need to give this more thought but for now I’ll just go on living my life”.  I know those were my thoughts for a time in my life.  Are later life or even death bed conversions possible?  Yes, the thief on the cross is an example.

            But if one has not taken the steps necessary to ensure our relationship with God is healthy and we can claim the same confidence as our friend from Psalm forty-two are we not gambling our eternal future on the premise that we will have more time to decide?

            I lost a favourite uncle when I was a child. He was a Baptist Pastor in Pittsburgh journeying home to visit his relatives here in Ontario and died in a Cambridge hospital before his arrival. He had left his next Sunday’s text on his bulletin board. “Prepare to meet thy God”.  We never know when our time will come.

             Psalm 90:12 (KJV) says: So teach us to number our days, That we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

            Our text above from Hebrews not only reminds us that death and judgment are sure things, but that Jesus Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people.  Surely one of the wisest use of our days would be to ensure we have taken advantage of the provision Jesus made for us at the cross.

            And there’s one more thought about last minute conversions. Surely it will be difficult to stand before God and explain what and why we did what we did for most of the time he allowed us to live here on earth.

                                                                                    Pastor Dave