Teach Me How To Successfully Finish Boot Camp

"The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow, for it is soon cut off, and we fly away." Psalm 90:10 On a yardstick, our lives on this earth take up 1/16th of an inch, and then we "fly away." The rest is eternity. How important then, to find out here what it's all about. Life is so short. Then eternity. Forever. The status of a believer's life in eternity depends on how well he finished boot camp. It's not a matter of salvation, that's an entirely different issue, this message is to those who are saved. One's status in eternity will depend on the degree to which he grew in the Lord and fulfilled God's plan for his life. We spend our lives here in boot camp. Why? There are things that can only be learned in this present life. In heaven, you can't learn unconditional love because there's no one there to frustrate you or cause you pain. You can only learn unconditional love by achieving it here, in the settings of stress and frustration. Growing in the ability to love unconditionally is a great, VERY great virtue in God's eyes. Another purpose for believer's boot camp is to learn how to walk by faith. In heaven all is provided freely, there's no unseen circumstance calling for the walk of faith. Only here can we learn to walk in God's Word when things seem bleak or when we're presented with circumstances we don't understand. It is in this life that we learn and grow, only here can one acquire "treasure in heaven." “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; BUT LAY UP FOR YOURSELVES TREASURES IN HEAVEN, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21 Picture yourself on the day you stand before the Lord in heaven. There you will see what "could have been" had you used your days on earth wisely. If you think that you might have regret, now is the time to change that. Now is the time to get with the program. "So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12 Pray with me: Father, the cares of this world force me to place my concentration on them. I'm so involved in the things I have to do, that I have very little time for you. I pray you Father, get the message across to me that it is of the utmost importance that I place my concentration on the things I need to learn as I walk through boot camp. Help me to bring YOU into all that I do, all that I care about, every circumstance in life, so that I be not consumed with anxieties and cares, but instead that I might learn what it is you would have me learn in each of the stories of my life. Help me be mindful that every event in my life has been ordained by you, and has been ordained with PURPOSE. Father, I don't want to have REGRET when I stand before you and see what "could have been." Help me, oh help me Lord to embrace all the circumstances that come my way and to use each one to grow in them with a totally surrendered heart. Help me to be willing for you to change me. Instead of fighting my circumstances, help me to allow you to grow me up in the faith. I only have one shot at this Father, please help me to make it a good one. In Jesus's name I pray.