Ecclesiastes 3: 11
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”
“I know what time is until someone asks me to define it.” St. Augustine
We are told in Ecclesiastes that God is at work in time bringing about His good purpose in our lives (see also Rom. 8:28). While we are confined to time, as creatures in time, we have been given an inward sense of eternity. This means that time has significance for the Christian in light of eternal reality. Here are a couple of things to note about what the Bible teaches us about time.
Time is always experienced as now. Time is just the successive events of what we experience as now. Right now as you read this, wherever you are, you are in the now of time. When we look back at what has just happened, it now belongs to the past. The future is still to come. For Christians the future is anticipated as a glorious hope. We have hope because we know that God has all time in His hand, and we have the promise of His salvation, which entails, the past, the present and the future. As Paul states in Titus: “a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.” (Titus 2). Therefore time is a gift and not a right. C.S. Lewis wrote in the Screwtape Letters about the man who thought “time was his own,” and was very distraught over those “interruptions” that “stole” his time away. Looking forward to a quiet evening at home and then interrupted by an unexpected visitor. Feeling that his time was stolen, this is thought as an intrusion into his rights. For the believer, God has given us time as a gift and there are no claims to our time. It is God’s time. Where you are now, and whatever interruptions or the persons who needs you now, is not a violation of your rights, but an invitation to live in God’s now -present time.
There are two Greek words for time used in the New Testament. One is the word Kronos, which means measured time, or calendar time. It is where we get the word chronology. The second word is Kairos; it is not measured time, but momentous time. It is the time not measured or predictable, but the opportunities God gives us to obey, to respond to Christ, to say yes to God. It is the word most used in the New Testament.
The pop rock group, Chicago in one of their songs asked the question, “does anyone really know what time it is?” For the Christian, that is not the primary question. What is important is what you are doing with “your” time. Right now is God’s time and it belongs to Him.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
A Prayer for Distressing Times
O LORD, be gracious to us;
we long for you.
Be our strength every morning,
our salvation in time of distress. Isa. 33:2
The nation of Judah had faced the onslaught of political bullying and acts of terrorism by the Assyrians. They lived under the threat of national survival, just as their northern brothers were toppled and exploited. But things were going from bad to worse. Isaiah’s prophetic ministry was constantly to remind God’s people of a coming kingdom – when nations would gather in Zion and the rivers of righteousness would fill the barren lands. Babylon and its great empire was yet to come and bring its terror, but this was not end of the matter. A righteous King will come to Zion. If, the book of Isaiah could be divided into two parts, then chapter 33 is right in the middle. Like the Bible, Isaiah has 66 books or chapters. So, smack in the center of this great book is a little prayer that is good for believers living in distressing times.
Fast forward many centuries and life is about the same. Distress and anxiety does not always come by way of sword and spear or earthly rulers. God’s people look forward to the time when the righteous King will destroy all his enemies. We are reminded on every side of the struggles, the pain and the disappointments of this frail life. But, we can still sing the songs of Zion in a strange land. We pray realizing our dependence is not upon our outward security but upon the gracious deliverance of God. We pray with the certainty of being a redeemed people that our strength for living each day is found in Christ. It is a prayer for God to grant us the unmerited favor of his love for undeserving sinners. It means we acknowledge that our righteousness is not the basis of God’s goodness – it never is. Yes God desires obedience and blesses it, but never think we earn God’s blessings. At times we think our resources will be enough and that the strong arm of our abilities and talents are what will decide the day. This prayer understands that like small children we need the strong arm of a mighty Father to pick us up in life. Distress comes as a blessing in disguise, because it is then we run to the arms of our Father. “O Yahweh, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our arm of strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.” Amen.
we long for you.
Be our strength every morning,
our salvation in time of distress. Isa. 33:2
The nation of Judah had faced the onslaught of political bullying and acts of terrorism by the Assyrians. They lived under the threat of national survival, just as their northern brothers were toppled and exploited. But things were going from bad to worse. Isaiah’s prophetic ministry was constantly to remind God’s people of a coming kingdom – when nations would gather in Zion and the rivers of righteousness would fill the barren lands. Babylon and its great empire was yet to come and bring its terror, but this was not end of the matter. A righteous King will come to Zion. If, the book of Isaiah could be divided into two parts, then chapter 33 is right in the middle. Like the Bible, Isaiah has 66 books or chapters. So, smack in the center of this great book is a little prayer that is good for believers living in distressing times.
Fast forward many centuries and life is about the same. Distress and anxiety does not always come by way of sword and spear or earthly rulers. God’s people look forward to the time when the righteous King will destroy all his enemies. We are reminded on every side of the struggles, the pain and the disappointments of this frail life. But, we can still sing the songs of Zion in a strange land. We pray realizing our dependence is not upon our outward security but upon the gracious deliverance of God. We pray with the certainty of being a redeemed people that our strength for living each day is found in Christ. It is a prayer for God to grant us the unmerited favor of his love for undeserving sinners. It means we acknowledge that our righteousness is not the basis of God’s goodness – it never is. Yes God desires obedience and blesses it, but never think we earn God’s blessings. At times we think our resources will be enough and that the strong arm of our abilities and talents are what will decide the day. This prayer understands that like small children we need the strong arm of a mighty Father to pick us up in life. Distress comes as a blessing in disguise, because it is then we run to the arms of our Father. “O Yahweh, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our arm of strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.” Amen.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
The Reign of Jesus
Another great quote from Lesslie Newbigin I used in my sermon last Sunday. From his book, "The Sign of the Kingdom."
"The question about which everyone has to enquire is the question: am I living in total faithfulness, trust and loving obedience to him who is the sovereign? The sharp words of Jesus have to be heeded in every situation- whether the temptation is to a worldly optimism or to a worldly pessimism. Our attention is directed to God himself. He alone is king. What is called for in us is a total trust which-whether in success or in failure -simply places all its hope in him; which accepts the promise: Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
The great need today is to live in obedience to this King and for the people of God to depend upon the provisions of our Sovereign promised to us.
"The question about which everyone has to enquire is the question: am I living in total faithfulness, trust and loving obedience to him who is the sovereign? The sharp words of Jesus have to be heeded in every situation- whether the temptation is to a worldly optimism or to a worldly pessimism. Our attention is directed to God himself. He alone is king. What is called for in us is a total trust which-whether in success or in failure -simply places all its hope in him; which accepts the promise: Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
The great need today is to live in obedience to this King and for the people of God to depend upon the provisions of our Sovereign promised to us.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Momentary Compassion - Jonah Series
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/20036692/Momentary%20Compassion%20-%20Jonah%20Series.MP3
Sermon preached at First Presbyterian Enterprise on Dec. 14, 2013 by Todd D. Baucum
Sermon preached at First Presbyterian Enterprise on Dec. 14, 2013 by Todd D. Baucum
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