God's Presence - In the Now
John 5:17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
What does time mean to a born-again believer? It means we must reclaim time by not "putting off" things like we have control of time. Some may say "Why do this today when I can do it tomorrow." But James wrote in James 4:3 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.”14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. Our life is "like a vapor" and it seems like time is escaping our grasp and moving faster every day. It used to be that only those who were older would think the time was now moving faster. But in today's present world condition it seems everybody is realizing that time is slipping away. The old DC Talk song lyrics seem to apply and they are as follows: Time is tickin' away, time is tickin'
[Tick tock!] Time is tickin' away, time is tickin' Tick, tick, tick, tock, tickin'.
Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:15-16 Paul writes 15 So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise,16 making the most of your time because the days are evil.
An unwise person is a person who takes life for granted and that is dangerous because time will escape our grasp so quickly. The word procrastinate means to delay or postpone action. To procrastinate means we think we have control of time, but only God has that control. Peter came to Jesus and told Him the following words when Jesus revealed it was time to go to the cross. Peter said this in Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to point out to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem and to suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised on the third day.22 And yet Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You!” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but men’s.”
When God is moving to do His purposes the worst thing we can do is put it off or wait. I have heard more and more people use the Word wait in the last few years and I understand to not get ahead of what God is doing. But in reality, our God is always moving and He is usually having to wait on us because we are putting off things for today until tomorrow. Keep in mind that God is working, always working, and we should not take for granted the time we have to "get in" on His work. If I am in step with Him I realize an urgency to live "In the Now" and live that fluid life of commitment that is found through the Holy Spirit. Proverbs 6:4 says 4 Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do.
God is working and we need to get in on His work and join with Him in what He is doing. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane and praying for what was about to happen to Him, He told the disciples to stay awake with Him. They fell asleep. God is doing a new thing in our midst and His call to us might be "don't fall asleep amid this work." But stay awake and be on guard, ready to move when God says move. Paul's instructions to Timothy 2 Timothy 4:1-5 are a daunting reminder to us to keep the flame burning. 2 Timothy 4:I solemnly exhort you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction.3 For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers by their desires, 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5 But as for you, use self-restraint in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry.
We need to be at work "In the Now!" God is working, so get on board and begin to let Him work through you....TODAY! Don't do tomorrow what needs to be done today. We don't control time, but we serve the God who does. Live each day to its fullest and let God be God in the results. God is present and accounted for and God is calling. Are you listening? Time to listen NOW!!
The Pilgrimage Continues.....
David Warren