With the onset of another season of football, there will be plenty of cases of confused plays, dropped balls, and interceptions.  In Upward Flag Football that's OK, because it is all part of the learning experience, and Upward places emphasis on sportsmanship and Christ-likeness rather than on game winning.

However, in professional sports it is the athlete's job to perform at a certain level. The players have a much higher level of
responsibility and expectation placed upon them.  Nevertheless, bloopers, or "oops", still occur.  A famous example can be seen below, where DeSean Jackson is guilty of premature celebrations in both a high school game and in a September 2008 professional game:
 

The announcer says, "And who knows what's going on inside that helmet!" . . . Oops!

But who am I to talk?  How many "oops" have taken place in my life?  Of course, mine are not nationally televised.  And ultimately, even professional football is just a game.  Some other possible examples of "oops" include:

• Realizing that my car's inspection sticker was due two months ago, not 10 months from now.

• Going to the wrong school to pick up my daughter for an appointment.

• Leaving my perfectly organized paperwork on the table at home instead of taking it to a meeting.

• Forgetting to set my clock back an hour in the fall and showing up an hour early (or maybe a half hour early instead of a half hour late).

• Accidentally leaving my diet Mountain Dew in the freezer overnight leading to a crystallized explosion . . . Oops!

All of these are fairly harmless mistakes; mostly mistakes of inattention with no earth shattering consequences.  But just like a professional athlete's "oops" being more significant than an amateur's, mistakes can rapidly become much more serious:

• I thought I changed the battery in the smoke detector.

• I thought I buckled the car seat.

• I thought I took my medication.

• I have plenty of time to lose weight, stop smoking, stop drinking, etc.

• I have plenty of time to make a decision about serving at church, about joining a Sunday School class, about going to church, and about making God the top priority in my life.  I have plenty of time to accept Jesus Christ as my personal savior . . . Oops?
   

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The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-21)

There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'
 

There are a number of important themes in this parable, but for the purpose of this devotional I would like to focus on a minor theme, but one of no less importance.  The rich man in the parable either neglected to, or chose to not make God the number one priority during his life.  After he died, his fate was sealed, and he ended up in agony.  After death, he could not change the choices made during his life.  Life is the window of opportunity that will seal our eternal future.

Now that Jesus has lived, died for our sins on the cross, and rose again to conquer death on our behalf, our choice becomes whether or not to accept Jesus Christ has our Lord and Savior.  This choice will seal our eternal fate has to where we will spend eternity.  Unfortunately, many people procrastinate or find excuses not to accept Jesus has their personal Savior.  This is the biggest "oops" one can make in life.  Some excuses include:

• I need to understand the Bible more before I accept Jesus as my personal Savior.

• I need to find I church that I like before I accept Jesus as my personal Savior.

• I need to wait until a new pastor comes to the church before I accept Jesus as my personal Savior.

• I plan to accept Jesus as my personal Savior during a big revival.

• I need to get my life in order before I accept Jesus as my personal Savior.

• I need to get rid of all of my bad habits before I accept Jesus as my personal Savior.

• I don't deserve Jesus as my personal Savior.

• I need to serve in the church before I accept Jesus as my personal Savior.

• I was already sprinkled and dedicated as a baby.

• There are many ways into Heaven besides Jesus.
   

• OOPS!!!

All of these excuses are wrong and unnecessary.  Jesus will accept everyone into the Kingdom of God right now where they are if they ask forgiveness of their sins and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth - Jesus is Lord - and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." 

It is really that simple.  To accept Jesus as Lord and seal your eternal fate, pray and believe the prayer below.  For more information and Bible verses about Jesus' gift of eternal life, click here.