I just found out a few  minutes ago that I lost an old friend, Jim Cogdill. Some of you will remember Jim preaching at FBCJ a few years back.

 Twenty some odd years ago we met at Southeastern Seminary, he as a professor and me as a student. I was his grader for several years. He was a good professor who became an even better friend. I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes, still shocked. He as only a few years older than me. Way too young to die.

Jim had been plagued with health issues for the last few years. Late Thursday, a huge blood clot hit his lungs and he died.. suddenly and unexpectedly. In the email his wife sent me, she said, "Jim met Jesus Thursday night..."

But while I am grieving for my friend, I am also being shocked by the Holy Spirit into examining my life. It' so short, this thing we call life. We need to make it count.. all of it! What good are all the "things" of life-  the big house or the luxury car or the degrees-  if we don't have anything of lasting significance?

When I look at my sinfulness, my selfishness, and my spiritual denseness, it shocks me into silence. But whatever it takes to overcome these flaws in myself, I want to make my life count for Jesus. I hope you do, too.

So, love your wife. Invest in your children and grandchildren. Pour yourself into a handful of fellow believers and disciple them in the Lord. Most of all, tell others about Jesus. Quit sweating the small stuff, and for heaven's sake don't stop walking intimately with Christ! Love Jesus, love your spiritual family, and love the lost around you!

Make it count.