Jesus said, “Here I stand
Won’t you please let me in?”
And you said, “I will tomorrow”
Jesus said, “I am He who supplies all your needs
And you said, “I know, but tomorrow
Ooh, tomorrow, I’ll give my life”
Tomorrow, I thought about today
But it’s so much easier to say”
Tomorrow, who promised you tomorrow
Better choose the Lord today
For tomorrow very well might be too late
And who said tomorrow would ever come for you
Still you laugh and play and continue on to say, “Tomorrow”
Forget about tomorrow, won’t you give your life today
Please don’t just turn and walk away
Tomorrow, tomorrow is not promised
Don’t let this moment slip away
Your tomorrow could very well begin today.
These are the words to a famous song written by Carvin Winans and Deborah Winans, and first sung by Carvin and his brothers Marvin, Michael, and Ronald in 1984. Carvin, Marvin, and their youngest brother, BeBe Winans sung this song again at Whitney Houston’s homegoing service on Saturday, February 18, 2012 in Newark, New Jersey at the New Hope Baptist Church.
The words to this song are a powerful reminder to all of us that tomorrow is not promised us. James 4:13-14 states, “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”
I am sure that Whitney Houston looked forward to attending her music mentor, Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy party in the days before her death. She even told him that she was working on getting her voice back and that she would be “ready by August”. By many accounts she was looking forward to the future and to doing what she loved to do and spending time with her precious daughter, Bobbi Kristina. And for those of you who think that Whitney Houston had a death wish or a suicidal mentality, I assure you that the last thing on earth she wanted to do was die with her daughter just turning 18 years old. But “tomorrow” never came for Whitney Houston.
Tomorrow is not promised to come for you or for me. Since today is all we have, this moment is all we have, the question is if you were to die today, are you ready to meet your Creator? Apparently, Whitney Houston was ready to meet Jesus Christ. Somewhere in her young life, she decided to believe in Jesus Christ. She loved Him and she knew that He loved her. She did not put off believing in Jesus until “tomorrow”. 2 Corinthians 6:2 states, “now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
Dear friend, many people who were alive yesterday are dead this morning. Many people who thought they would be here today are not here. So, “Don’t let this moment slip away.” Don’t put off accepting Christ until tomorrow or until some other time. “Your tomorrow could very well begin today.” If you want to be ready to meet your Creator as Whitney Houston was, allow me to show you how:
+ Plus, listen Carvin, Marvin, Michael and Ronald Winans singing “Tomorrow”
The night before Whitney Houston suddenly died, she sang the words to an old hymn titled “Yes, Jesus Loves Me” at a pre-Grammy party. This song has been sung by young children in Sunday School and prominent musical artists alike down through the years. Allow me to read a few lines of this wonderful song:
Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong.
Jesus loves me! He will stay
Close beside me all the way;
Thou hast bled and died for me,
I will henceforth live for Thee.
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.
As far as we know, “Yes, Jesus Loves Me” is the last song that the queen of pop, Whitney Houston, who many are calling “the Voice”, sung. We all want to experience love in our lives. We want to know that someone loves us just for who we are. Well, God is really the only Somebody who loves us just for who we are, unconditionally and fully, without fail. He offers the kind of love that makes life worth living. Yes, indeed, Jesus does love you and Yes, indeed, Jesus does love me, and Yes, indeed, Jesus does love Whitney. His love is a love that you don’t have to earn. It is an unconditional love that is stronger than any human love. We do not know if Whitney Houston was a Christian or not. We hope that when she was a little girl singing at New Hope Baptist Church that she accepted Christ into her heart. We do know however that if she received Jesus Christ into her heart and believed that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again, her soul is now at rest in Heaven with the Lord. Do you want to experience this unconditional love of God in your life and go to Heaven when you die? Well, let me show you how.
The New York Giants and the New England Patriots will meet today in Indianapolis for Super Bowl 46. And for so many Americans, this is the biggest event of the year. But some of the men who play on the field will be quick to tell you that football — even the Super Bowl — is not the main thing in life.
Devin Thomas, a wide receiver for the New York Giants who was a decisive player in the NFC Championship Game that sent the Giants to the Super Bowl says, “Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and I put Him first. He’s given me this opportunity to showcase on a large scale about the work He has done in my life.”
Danny Woodhead, running back for the New England Patriots and two time Harlon Hill Trophy Winner, says “Without my relationship with Christ nothing else really matters. This is obviously the greatest situation to be in in football and in my athletic career but my faith comes first.”
Prince Amukamara, cornerback for the New York Giants, says “My faith has helped me because I know it’s an audience of one and that I’m just performing for Jesus.”
Matthew Slater, wide receiver and special teams captain for the New England Patriots, says, “I’m a true believer that God is in control. You know, Romans 8:28 says that God is going to work everything together for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. So, you have to at the end of the day just trust the plan. And trust that we don’t always know what the plan is but it’s not up to us to know what the plan is. It’s God’s plan.”
Hakeem Nix, wide receiver for the New York Giants and one time NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month, says “I’m all in. I’m all in with Christ … He put me here to exalt Him and humble myself.”
Deion Branch, wide receiver for the New England Patriots, two time Super Bowl Champion, and one-time Super Bowl MVP, says “Life is bigger than football. You can’t do this forever. What I’m going to be is a God-fearing Christian.”
She is one of the most prominent American fitness and aerobics instructors. She has the #1 inspirational Fitness Video in America, “Sweating in the Spirit” followed by ”Body Gospel”. She has starred in more than 25 award winning videos including the best selling “Buns of Steel”. She was appointed to the Presidential Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition under both President Bush and President Obama.
She was inducted into the Fitness Hall of Fame and was named by Essence Magazine as “one of the twenty five most inspiring women in America”. She is also in the Guinness Book of World Records for creating and leading the world’s largest line dance, with over 50,000 participants at Bishop T.D. Jakes’ Megafest conference in Atlanta, Georgia. On top of all of that, she is a wife and a mother. She is the wife of the hardest working man in radio, the “Flyjock”, Tom Joyner, and together they have raised two great sons. Her purpose and passion in life is to educate, empower, and energize women, children and families about living a healthy lifestyle.
Growing up in the church, she came to a new level in her relationship with Jesus Christ when troubles in a relationship caused her to do some soul searching. She often encourages her audiences to honor God by taking care of their bodies. She says of her work, “For the past 20 years, I have traveled to over 30 countries helping people get healthier. My greatest challenge was here – my family, my church, my community, and our country. Most people have tried everything, but there was one missing ingredient: God. While it is easy to ‘fall off the wagon’, there is no such thing as falling off the wagon with God. There’s only the chance to be caught by Him.” Her name is Donna Richardson-Joyner.
He is a professional boxer and politician who has won six world titles and is the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was named “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000s by the Boxing Writers Association of America. He is also a three-time BWAA “Fighter of the Year”, winning the award in 2006, 2008, and 2009. Currently, he is the WBO Welterweight Champion. Aside from boxing, he has participated in acting, music recording, and politics. In May 2010, he was elected to the Philippine House of Representatives in the 15th Congress of the Philippines. Many believe that one day he will be president of the Philippines.
He says of the recent change in his life, “If I had died last year or in the last two years, I am sure I would’ve gone straight to Hell…My faith in God was there 100 percent but behind it, after prayers, I would still do evil things.” The change came about because of a dream that led him to give up gambling, alchohol and womanizing. He said, “I was in a beautiful forest when a bright light was shone upon me. A voice asked me, ‘Son why are you going away from me?’ I woke up crying. I remember I was crying in my dream and when I touched my pillow, it was wet.” After waking up, he looked through the Bible and found that God sometimes speaks to people in dreams. He said, “I told myself this dream is real and I have to change my life. The change came not just because I desired it, but because God changed me.” He goes on further to say, “Being a Christian means accepting Christ as your Savior, your God. That’s why you are called a ‘Christian.’ If you remove Christ, there’s only ‘IAN’ and that means ‘I am nothing.” His name is Manny Pacquiao (PAK-ee-ow).
