C.S. Lewis wrote in "Mere Christianity," "Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it." On the journey of life, you will have checkpoints, chances and choices.

First, there are the checkpoints you meet. These checkpoints are divine encounters as we are convicted by the Holy Spirit about whom Jesus said, "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged"(John 16:8-11). Someone explains, "The author of Hebrews quotes the words, 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion,' three times, in Hebrews 3:7–8, 15, and 4:7. These quotations from Psalm 95 are meant to exhort people to receive Christ and not have 'a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God'(Hebrews 3:12)." Checkpoints are times to remind you of where you stand with the Lord. Paul exhorts in 2 Corinthians 13:5a, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith..."

Second, there are the chances you miss. Oswald J. Smith states, "No one has the right to hear the gospel twice, while there remains someone who has not heard it once." Every unbeliever will be haunted throughout eternity with the memory of the chances they missed to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin and to receive His glorious salvation. You do not want to live forever saying, "I woulda, coulda, shoulda." Jesus warns, "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more" (Luke 12:48b). If you are an unbeliever, one day you will be accountable to Jesus at the great white throne judgement for all the chances you missed.

Third, there are the choices you make. Adrian Rogers explains, "You are free to choose. You are not free not to choose. You're not free to choose the consequences of your choice. And, when you make a big choice, you make a lot of other choices right along with it." C. S. Lewis cautions those still unbelieving who stand before Jesus at the end of life: "It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realized it before or not." As Moses called the Israelites to choose in Deuteronomy 30:15, I call you to choose while you can.

Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, of Robertsdale, is the author of "Don't Miss the Revival! Messages for Revival and Spiritual Awakening from Isaiah.