A few weeks ago as the His Kid’s campers were arriving at Camp Luther in Schuyler, Nebraska I met the father of one of campers, one of the kids who had a learning disability. This man was a biker and he and his wife and some of their friends were heading up to Sturgis, South Dakota for the big biker rally. He was excited about getting up there and being part of this gathering with tens of thousands of other bikers. But more than being thrilled for himself getting to go to that big rally was the fact that he was able to sell an extra ticket he had to a guy from back east for the rally. This guy, the one who bought the extra ticket, has terminal cancer. As this man put together his “Bucket List”, one of the things that he wanted to do before he died was to get to go to Sturgis. This was probably his final opportunity. But he got to go – this was his golden opportunity.

I’m surprised that anyone is in church today – at least a dozen of our folks told me not to look for them today – they had other plans. Alaska on a cruise, weddings, family gatherings, all the Ascension campers at Lutheran Valley Retreat were great reasons for not being with us today. They all had golden opportunities and they took them. How good!!

St. Paul says, “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16) Don’t let the golden opportunity to live life and to live abundantly in faith and in the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit pass you by!!

Having a hard heart, keeping the ways of God at arm’s length, engaging in sin with no desire to change and repent is missing the opportunity to have God as the central person in our life. Earlier Paul warns the Christians in Ephesus, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30) He especially highlights getting drunk and living constantly on the edge in the party life as a way of grieving God’s Holy Spirit. Do not live as unwise but as wise, don’t be a fool - make the most of every opportunity.

We miss the golden opportunity of life when all of life, we think, revolves around ourselves. He reminds us that the world that we live in has a great amount of evil. Evil can infect us and control us, it can be the way that we choose to live - we may not consider or desire to follow the will of God for our life. Two weeks from now the epistle we will read, once again from Ephesians, issues this warning, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (6:10-12)

The great opportunity to live strong and confident in faith in Jesus and to live faithfully in this faith is not so easy. It is too easy to miss the opportunity, to forget the opportunity, to let every other opportunity in life take precedence over this great opportunity from Him!! Paul says this about the battle, “In my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.” (Romans 7:22-23)

When you look back at life do you see some wasted opportunities in all of this? Maybe you came to faith in Jesus later in life and you regret you didn’t trust Him sooner. Maybe you have struggled with being obedient to His will. Maybe you have some regrets about decisions you have made or how certain things in life have turned out.

That is why I love the opportunity, the great moment that God allows us to have. If anyone knew of opportunity – wasted opportunity and a new opportunity - it was St. Paul. He once hated Christ and all Christians. He made it his life goal to put an end to this new faith, that is, until Christ converted him!! This is what he writes to Timothy, “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief…Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life.” (I Timothy 1:13, 15-16)

It was the greatest opportunity for us when Jesus came to this world, when He died for all sins, (ours!!) and then defeated the ugly face of death. Don’t miss it. He did all this for you. Everyone who looks to the Son has everlasting life!!

You probably have heard of Michael Vick recently. He was the quarterback with the Atlanta Falcons and then was found guilty of supporting and being involved in a dog-fighting operation. He spent a few years in jail and now is out. The Philadelphia Eagles took a chance on him and signed him to a contact this week. He has expressed remorse for his actions and will be under some scrutiny now that he is a free man. But he said something this week that I don’t agree with. He said, “Everyone deserves a second chance.” Now, it is wonderful that people give others second chances. I know that God has given me a second chance thousands of times. Others have been so kind to me, as well. You have probably experienced this too. But we don’t deserve a second chance. It is not a right that we are entitled to. The thief on the cross that was being tortured the same day that Jesus died didn’t deserve a second chance. He didn’t deserve the words, “Today, you will be with Me in paradise” - but he was given them. When the Tax Collector and the Pharisee went to the Temple to pray, the Tax Collector knew that he had no right to ask God for good things and he would not look up into heaven as he prayed, but looked to the ground and said, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” (Luke 18:13) Neither deserved a second chance but the mercy of God gave it to them. And to us!!

Make the most of every opportunity, the opportunity for a heart that is true and turns to Christ, the soul that finds peace in the atoning death of Jesus and the life that is given a second chance, again!!

A couple of weeks ago I met Karl Mecklenburg, former linebacker with the Denver Broncos. Karl was in our Fellowship Hall on Monday evening, his son, Jeff is one of the boys in our Scouting troop. I went up to Karl (who is quite a big man!!) and introduced myself to him. I mentioned that I had heard that he had just written a new book. Pretty soon he leaves and comes back with an autographed copy for me!! (Now he’s my best friend!!)

In his book he talks about his faith. When he was growing up he went to church every so often, but not too regularly. But once he met his wife she changed that!! He became a Christian but said that it really didn’t change how he lived. But then in 1987 things went sour for him. The NFL went on strike and he was one of the player’s representatives. He had some instances where he didn’t come off very well in the eyes of the public and he admits that he had gotten a little full of himself. He writes, “I tried to turn to my family and friends for support only to discover that my pride had alienated them…I finally turned to God, and to my amazement he was still there. You see I had missed the fact that God wanted a personal relationship with me not just a one-time encounter. I had asked him into my life ten years earlier and pretty much ignored him since. The God I now serve was still there waiting for me to get to know him.” (Heart of a Student Athlete, Pg. 110) God gave to Karl Mecklenburg a golden opportunity to know Him in a deeper and richer and greater way!!

When Paul talks about redeeming the time or making the most of every opportunity he concludes the section with this, “Be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (5:18b-20) What a golden opportunity we now have to make our lives a glorious song of praise to God. What a glorious opportunity we have to make a difference in the lives of others because Christ has given to us a new life, a new beginning. In the book of Romans God says, “None of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (14:7-8)

Johann Sebastian Bach, the musician, often wrote Latin letters at the beginning and the end of his manuscripts. He would write J.J., the Latin abbreviation for Jesu juva – “Jesus, help [me].” At the end S.D.G. – Soli Deo Gloria – “To God alone be glory.” That is the picture of our life. As we begin it is the plea for help. And when it is all done we can only look at it all and thank God that His glorious opportunity of life and faith and blessing was given to us.

Everyday is God’s day for opportunities. Today is that day. “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity.” Amen!!