I want to talk to you about why TODAY MATTERS, living on purpose and living intentionally every “Today” you are given.

James 4:13

13 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow, we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make money." 14 Why, do you even know what will happen tomorrow? What is your life like? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16 As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

The first thing I want to express is that salvation happens in the now, in your today. Religion likes to put it always in Tomorrow, but God is a NOW God, He is a “Today” God. We are looking for the Kingdom of God to manifest in our Todays.

Life is meant to be lived in the NOW! We need to live it on purpose, to live all of the todays we are given fully! This kind of spiritual attitude will cause you to flourish.

Several years ago, I started talking about a phrase, “Squeeze the day,” which is basically my Norweigian translation of Carpe Diem or Seize the Day.

The concept of Squeeze the Day came; as I heard stories of my pastor staying up late with his daughter, not wanting the day to end, trying to squeeze as much out of the day as possible. Now the concept of “Squeezing the Day” is not about staying up late, which my kids have tried to use on me over the years, but it means intentionally making the most of every day you have been given on this earth.

The question we need to ask ourselves is this: What can I do today to live out this life in God? What good can I do?

James 4:17 says, “ Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.”

My friend, the way you live today impacts your tomorrow. People create success in their lives by focusing on today. It’s too late for yesterday. You can’t depend on tomorrow.

That’s why today matters. That is why you need to “Squeeze the Day.”

Most of the time, we fail at this, Because we over-exaggerated yesterday, overestimated tomorrow, and underestimated and undervalued our Todays.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist William Allen White observed, “Multitudes of people have failed to live for today. They have spent their lives reaching for the future. What they have had within their grasp today they have missed entirely, because only the future has intrigued them, and the first thing they knew the future became the past.”

The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda and schedule.

Benjamin Franklin rightly observed, "One today is worth two tomorrows; what I am to be, I am now becoming."

The answer is found in how we steward our todays.

Why don’t we have a prayer life? Why don’t we have a thriving relationship with God? Why don’t we spend more quality time with family and friends?

The excuses are expressed in some of these common phrases of our day are “I am too busy,” “There are not enough hours in the day,” “ I do not have enough free time,” and so and so on.

Here is a problem with these modern excuses. Studies show we have more than five more hours of “Free time” than in 1965 and 3X more free time than in the 1800s.

So why are people so stressed out these days? It is because people spend a lot of time on things that are not a priority in their life, and in fact, some of the most important items are often put on the back burner for more trivial things. Meanwhile, individuals see those items on the back burner and wish they had more time to fulfill them.

What is the greatest priority of your life? What is the most significant role you have? If I asked most Christians, they would quickly say their relationship with God, but then we can’t find the time to pray & worship in our daily lives.

It will not magically happen; you must make it a priority of your day. If God indeed comes first, then He comes before all the different squeaky wheels of our lives, the scroll of social media, Netflix, making money, sleep, and even our families.

When can you seek the LORD? It is only in our Today’s. The problem is we always give ourselves TOMORROW to Seek Him. The Holy Spirit is not the squeaky wheel in your life. He sits back and sees what you desire to spend your time on.

We must take action in our lives and start “Squeezing the Day”; otherwise, we will live a life of just good Intentions. And guess what? Good intentions never produce much, and you will not Flourish in this life that God has given you.

I hope that you will learn the art and practice of Squeezing the Day. It will help you flourish in every area of your life, and I believe it will put you in a position where God can do more through you.

Let me end with this great quote from the legendary John Maxwell, “Everyone has the power to impact the outcome of his life. The way to do it is to focus on today. Today is the only time you have. It's too late for yesterday. And you can't depend on tomorrow."