If you wait too late in your life, you will not be able to build any character and integrity into your behavior and habits. There are certain things that you need to do in life, if you are ever going to do them at all. Life is kind of like the four seasons - you have the springtime of youth, the summertime of adult manhood, the fall of middle-age, and the winter of old age. The leaves begin to fall, the frost comes, the ground get hard and frozen, and then its tough to get anything accomplished. *Ecclesiastes 12:1* If a man lives long enough, the days of affliction will come to every man.
When you're young, form right and clean habits in thought, word, and deed, and they will stick with you throughout your life. It is good for a man to bear the yoke of Christ in his youth. *Matthew 11:28* The time to form a child's habits is in the high chair, not in the electric chair. Give them the Bible early, or they may wind up getting a Bible later in prison. It's easier to build the boy than mend the man. As the twig is bent, so the tree grows. After 30, the tree is normally fixed and bent a certain way, either towards good or evil. If you get a taste for evil, it will be hard to get rid of it later in life. Each victory over a sin now makes it easier later, and each defeat over a sin now makes it harder later. Sin always complicates life. Pretty soon it will be too late. Make hay while the sun shines.
You need to trust the Lord Jesus Christ Himself with your soul, and simply ask Him to forgive all your sins as soon as you can in life, because sin will only make your heart harder and harder the longer you neglect and reject Christ Jesus, God manifest in the flesh. Do thy diligence, to come to the Cross before you grow calloused in sinful habits. Blessed is the man who realizes his sinfulness, who knows he deserves hell, who bows low at the feet of Jesus under the burden of his sins, who is humbled by his guilt and rejoices only in the Atonement that takes away sins forever; the man who loathes himself for being such a sinner against such a kind and merciful Savior, and yet hopes in God's mercy through Jesus' finished work.
The earlier you get saved from your sins the better. If you love Jesus sincerely, you will hate your sins for sure. You need to be concerned about your soul's safety; trust to Jesus' Precious Blood right now. If you are consciously guilty of your sins, believingly look to Christ alone, and fix your hope only on Him. Ask God for light and faith and repentance to believe on Jesus. Ask the Holy Spirit to make you upset over your sins; ask the Spirit of God to take away your sins with Jesus' Atoning Blood, and your love for sinning. God help you to come to Jesus while you can.
Jesus may come back anytime, with all diligence keep your heart clean, keep thyself pure for Jesus' sake. Amend character; form integrity; put down selfish impulses; train your appetites, desires, affections, passions and longings. Lustful and wandering eyes must be brought under control; looking down your nose at other folks and thinking you're better than them must be resisted early. Small decisions early in life can affect you until you die (entertaining a habit, beginning a wrong relationship or friendship). If you tend to get discouraged and offended easy, you better kick that early too.
Seek wisdom from God above to make the right decisions daily. Exercise your memory early, make your mind memorize God's words and good songs and hymns that lift up Jesus. The fallen, carnal mind forgets the right things, and remembers the bad (worldly songs, dirty jokes, filthy web sites). Cultivate the habit of prayer early in life; exercise yourself unto godliness; always be afraid of yourself, and be fearful of beginning your day without prayer and God's help. Renounce self-confidence, always remember to lean hard on the LORD. Be afraid of sinning against God and hurting Him. Let the very appearance of evil be obnoxious and terrify you. Go out at night, look up at the stars, and realize little you are, and how it is a sure enough miracle that God has visited someone like you in mercy.
Learn how to say No to evil companions. Say No to your own depraved propensities and unclean impulses. Say No to evil thoughts and rude words. Always speak well of others, or just be quiet. If you don't make your body do the right things and to resist the bad things, there will come a time when you will be unable to your control your members (hands, feet, tongue, eyes, ears). Let the one aim of your life be to do those things which please God. Learn to fear God always, live so as to please God, learn to do well, make Jesus smile with your daily private and public behavior. *Psalm 34:11* Fear God, and hope in His mercy. *Psalm 147:11* When sin tempts you, quickly ask Jesus for more strength to do right, deny yourself, and put off the old man. Be instant in prayer.
We all need rest, for rest is what gives us strength to go on another day. Each night while you are resting on your bed, your body is rejuvenating itself and gaining strength for the coming day. Please make sure your soul gets sufficient rest in Jesus, and during that time, He will give your soul His strength to obey and go on down the road for Him. Remember, good rest gives us needed strength to go on for Jesus. No rest, no strength. Little rest always results in someone fainting in the way. *Matthew 11:28; Isaiah 30:15; Philippians 4:13*
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you control your carnal appetites and sensual temptations, or they will begin to control you. The habits you form when you're young will stick with you. Show kindness to your mom and dad and other loved ones and friends before its too late. Train your children early and earnestly, correct and discipline them while you can. A kid doesn't have any rights; the parents are always right. Be thankful for good health (physical and mental) while you still have it. If you're in good health right now, you have plenty to be thankful for. Get concerned over your spiritual condition.
If you're feeling good, don't worry, you'll get over it. You better thank God while you can. The time to show friendship, love and affection is early in life. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. If you have a good father and mother, you should tell them you appreciate their love through the years. The time to say and do the nice things are now. You need to apologize, forgive and make restitution to those you have offended and hurt. Grow in grace; get good at forgiving and forgetting. Pray for those who have hurt you. Give your resources and time to the Lord's work while you have the faculties, times, strength and money to give.
Read and study the Bible while you can, not everyone has a Bible. You need to witness to the unconverted around you now while you have the opportunity; some of the people that you associate with now may move away where you can never talk to them again. One day you won't have the chance you have now to influence, persuade and lead others to the Lord Jesus Christ. You need to witness to lost souls while you can still do it freely, because in some countries you can be jailed for telling sinners the Gospel of Christ. Start early in life with Jesus and live to glorify Him each day.
