Now is the Time
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Now is the Time
Now is the Time
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
eph 5.
1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
Boundaries - By Dr. Cloud
Margins -
Time waster
In my office, a Post-it note hangs from my computer monitor with this question: “What will people remember about you once you’re gone?” It’s a subtle yet sobering reminder that life is short. I need this reminder every day.
Time is precious. It doesn’t offer reset buttons or do-overs. And, I suppose this is good. If time operated like a video game, I’m not sure any of us would get serious about much of anything.
Speaking of time, you have about 78 years of it. Or, if you prefer, 936 months. Seventy-eight years is a decent amount of time—unless you’re 77.
If you break down your years, however, the window for living out your purpose and making the most of your life closes considerably.
Just for giggles, I’m going to throw out a few numbers. Cool? OK, great.
You spend 25 years sleeping and another 10.3 years working. No real shockers there. But, wait. There’s more.
On average, you spend 3.6 years eating and two years in work meetings.
You spend 1.5 years in the bathroom (said no man ever) and 92 days on the toilet.
Women spend eight years shopping and one year deciding what to wear.
And, for the big finale, the most striking statistic of all: You’re awake around 53 years, and the average person spends 70 percent of that time in front of digital media.
A lot to digest, I know. Here’s the point: If you and I plan to make this life count, we better get on with it. Our days are numbered.
They’re also sacred, divine gifts from God. How we steward them matters. Paul says it this way in :
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
BE CAREFUL, THEN, HOW YOU LIVE — NOT AS UNWISE BUT AS WISE, MAKING THE MOST OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY …
Undoubtedly, you know someone who has wasted their life. I
But, what about you? Are you wasting your life? Are you fully engaged with your God-given purpose?
Never put feet to prayers ..... all talk
Never put feet to prayers ..... all talk
I fear this will be my generation’s epitaph:
“HERE RESTS A PROMISING GENERATION WHO NEVER REALIZED ITS POTENTIAL BECAUSE THEY BUSIED THEMSELVES WITH MANY GOOD THINGS AT THE EXPENSE OF THEIR ONE THING.”
I have another Post-it note in my office that says this: “What did you do today that scared you?”
Why such a note? Your God-given purpose will scare you. It will stretch and push you far beyond your comfort zone. It will ask more from you than you have to give. That’s because your path is bigger than you. If you don’t need God’s help to make it happen, it’s probably not your one thing.
Discomfort and unknown aren’t exactly buzzwords. So, how might one avoid this path and also clear his or her conscience? By busying yourself with good things, a lot of them. Volunteer at church. Join a small group. Support your family. Go on a mission trip. All good things, right?
Change is hardest at the beginning, messiest in the middle and best at the end.”
But not necessarily your one thing. And only you know whether you’re using good things to avoid engaging your one thing.
2. Avoid what’s right in front of you.
2. Avoid what’s right in front of you.
So, you’re not sure about your one thing. Thankfully, God isn’t into sending you on a hopeless game of hide-and-seek. Your one thing is right in front of you. Always.
“There's a cure for aging that no one talks about. It's called learning.”
Dang it. I hate hearing that. It means you can’t check out of this moment. It means reminiscing about the last thing or holding out for the next thing is all but useless in God’s economy.
“God has bigger plans for you than you can possibly know.”
Make no mistake, you will waste your life if you avoid what’s in front you. Maybe you’re not where you’re supposed to be. You were created for more. I believe you. But God has you where you are for a reason. And your obedience to the present moment determines the legacy you leave.
“Each day, life will send you little windows of opportunity. Your destiny will ultimately be defined by how you respond to these windows of opportunity.”
Talk about what you should do but never actually do it.
Talk about what you should do but never actually do it.
You know who doesn’t have enough time? Everyone who says so. We’re all on borrowed time. You’re not the only one.
Cursing the clock does nothing to change this reality. Father Time shows no partiality. You can’t manipulate or bribe him. Fair or not, he gives every human the same thing: 24 hours each day. You choose what to do with it.
And don’t forget, you serve a God who exists outside of time. He can take a few years and make them last a few centuries or more. Think about people like Moses, King David, Mary, Jesus and Paul. Or, and in more recent days, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa. All of them breathed their last years ago, yet their lives continue to shape the world.
You have just enough time to fulfill God’s purpose for your life.
4. Talk about what you should do but never actually do it.
4. Talk about what you should do but never actually do it.
If you want a fast and quick way to waste your life, tell everyone what you’re going to do. Talk about that mission trip you’re going to take. Tell everyone about that co-worker who doesn’t know Jesus. Tell yourself you’re going to do whatever it takes to beat that addiction. Tell everyone what’s wrong with the world.
[5 reasons most people don’t change the world]
Draw up a battle plan. Make it look good. Use some computer program to straighten up those lines and make your plans clear and coherent.
Then, do nothing.
A meaningful life has a strong bias toward action.
Watch a lot of TV or spend endless hours on social media
Watch a lot of TV or spend endless hours on social media
I didn’t mention this earlier, but the average person spends 9.1 years watching TV and another two years watching commercials. That’s more than 11 years in front of a TV. Now, I’m not against TV or Netflix. How else would I feed my Breaking Bad addiction?
But I want to say this directly: Those who spend 11 years in front of the TV are wasting their lives. Once you find something to give yourself to, something that continues living after you stop breathing, you don’t have much time for binge-watching or vegging out.
Avoiding Change and Conflict at All Cost
Avoiding Change and Conflict at All Cost
Your brain is a story-forming machine. It takes your experiences, draws conclusions and judgments about them, and then pieces them together in a nice, coherent narrative. Some of these stories are helpful. Others, not so much. And you must be the final editor. Thoughts aren’t necessarily facts. And you must decide which narratives frame your worldview.
You see, behind almost every wasted life is a plethora of negative storylines: “I’m not good or smart enough. I will always be overweight. I will never overcome this.” And so on.
To make the most of your life, you must take control of the inner chatterbox and get him working for, not against, you. You can’t silence him. Nor should you. But you must have a serious conversation with him, if you haven’t already. You don’t need to say much. Just let your inner voice know you’re calling the shots now.
Many people wast their life perusing the status quo! Following the least path of resistance is wasting your life.
“The only things more hurtful than change is regret”
He’s free to share his thoughts. But you’re the head honcho. Numero uno. And you will sort out which thoughts are lies and which are truth.
Then, direct him to the back seat. And kindly ask him to fasten his seat belt.
If you sit around waiting for a permission slip or board to validate your purpose, you will waste your life. God signed off on your permission slip the moment he placed you on this earth. All you need is faith—in yourself, yes, but more importantly, in your Creator, who is working through you.
Your voice matters. You have something to give the world, something no one else can give. We need your contribution.
Step out in faith and give it to us.
God placed you here for a reason. As long as you have breath in your lungs, you can make a difference in this world. Get busy making something of your life. I’m cheering you on.
Before you go, I want you to chime in. What are some ways people waste their life? Leave a comment below.
10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; And if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, Yet is their strength labour and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
The length of our days is 70 years - or 80,
strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and
we fly away. "The length of our days is 70 years - or 80,
First of all, we must be very careful how we live because our time on this earth is
limited.
4 Lord, Make me to know mine end, And the measure of my days, what it is; That I may know how frail I am.
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
james
know how frail I am.
I Wake-up
I Wake-up
14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
The Work of the Savior (5:14)
(2) The Work of the Savior (5:14)
“Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
Light and life go together.
Life craves light and cannot in its higher forms exist without light.
The phrase “shall give thee light” (another rendering would be “shall shine upon thee”) comes from the Greek word epiphauō, which occurs only here.
It was a word used to describe the rising of the sun.
In epiphauō means that Christ will “shine upon” the believer. The whole verse is a paraphrase of .
Don’t wast the light!
The Christian has new light and new life.
The new light chases away the darkness in which he once groveled. The new life replaces the deadness that once possessed him and held him in corruption and uncleanness.
Just as Lazarus, coming forth from the death and darkness of the tomb, was glad to be relieved of his vile graveclothes, so the new Christian throws off with horror the conduct and conversation that characterized him before he came to Christ.
Imagine a surgeon wanting to keep on the gloves that he wore while performing an autopsy on a decaying corpse! Obviously the doctor would want to get rid of the contaminated gloves and scrub his hands in antiseptics. Likewise, the idea of a Christian still wanting to walk and talk as he did before he came to know the Savior is incongruous.
We wast our life walking in sin and the former life.
Wake up you are wasting time....
II Wise Up
II Wise Up
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
“Walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.”
The Greek word translated “circumspectly,” akribōs, is one of ten synonyms in the Greek New Testament for the idea of being perfect.
This verse could be translated, “Walk carefully or precisely, exactly, assiduously.”
Could your time spent be described as “perfect”
In some European countries, property is often protected by a high wall, the top of which is covered with embedded broken glass to discourage intruders who might try to climb over it. One can sometimes see a cat walking along the top of such a wall. The cat walks circumspectly, carefully, precisely, and assiduously. It picks up one paw and carefully places it where there is no glass. When that paw is in place, the cat reaches forward tentatively and gingerly with the next one.
Should not we evaluate out time that way ?
We are to walk circumspectly during our relatively few years on earth. We are to be testimonies to the Lord Jesus Christ.
How much time is wasted by not waKing carefully?
Making foolish decisions that take years to make up.
Young people - do not seek counsel......
We Are to Be Wise concerning Our Days (5:16)
We Are to Be Wise concerning Our Days (5:16)
Evaluate time in regards to the vileness around us ....
“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
The Greek word translated “evil” is ponēros, from which we derive our word “pornographic.”
We live in a pornographic society. Pornography is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid, especially during our spare time. Some of the books we are given to read plant impure thoughts in our minds. At strategic locations magazines wait to be picked up so their stories and photographs can pollute our minds. And television is the worst pornographer of all.
The biggest contributor to pornography is boredom and too much time...
Once impure thoughts plant themselves like evil seeds in the receptive soil of our souls, they are difficult to eradicate. They grow like poisonous, prolific weeds. Their deadly fruit is temptation and sin.
We must convert our spare time into another kind of time: time when we study the Bible; time when we turn our thoughts toward the throne of God in prayer; time when we pick up a good book, go for a walk, do some gardening, or visit someone in the hospital; time when we do what we have sinfully neglected because we were “too busy.”
b. Concerning Truth (5:17)
Time is wasted by not understanding the will of the Lord.
“Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”
Failure to do what the Holy Spirit says is the height of foolishness.
The Greek word translated “unwise” here is aphrōn; it can also be translated “senseless.”
Surely it is the height of stupidity to have in one’s hand the very Word of the living God—inbreathed by the omniscient, all-wise Creator of the universe—and neglect to read it, study it, memorize it, and obey it!
The angels must look at our foolishness in astonishment. We spend years going to college to study medicine, physics, chemistry, business management, engineering, and history. We invest time and money to sit at the feet of those we consider to be learned. We buy their books, attend their lectures, apply our minds to master what they have to say. But we neglect our Bibles. What an exposure of our warped sense of values!
There is no wiser, no more knowledgeable being in the universe than the Author of the Bible. There is no more patient teacher than the Holy Spirit.
There is no greater book than the Bible. There is no greater privilege this side of Heaven than to have a copy of the inspired Word of God. Yet we often let it gather dust.
The average church-attending, professing Christian knows little about the one Book in all the world that should mean the most to him and about which he should know the most. That same person may know who starred in Gone with the Wind, the score of yesterday’s football game, or the Dow Jones industrial average.
III Work UP
III Work UP
[
14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
eph 5.14-15
eph 5.1
III Work UP
III Work UP
eph 5.15
18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
eph 5.18-
III
Going from the general to the specific, Paul explained how wisdom, as an intellectual and spiritual capacity, works out in one’s conduct.
Verse 18 includes a negative command and a positive one. The negative is to abstain from getting drunk on wine with which there is incorrigibility.
The word asōtia is translated debauchery (niv, rsv), “excess” (kjv), “riot” (asv), and “dissipation” (nasb).
The idea of time wasters
All these give the idea of profligate or licentious living that is wasteful.
All these give the idea of profligate or licentious living that is wasteful. In this verse the literal sense of incorrigibility seems best, for a drunken man acts abnormally. Rather than controlling himself, the wine controls him. Conversely, the positive command is, Be filled with the Spirit. Thus a believer, rather than controlling himself, is controlled by the Holy Spirit. It may be more accurate to say that the Holy Spirit is the “Agent” of the filling (cf. ) and Christ is the Content of the filling (). Thus in this relationship, as a believer is yielded to the Lord and controlled by Him, he increasingly manifests the fruit of the Spirit (). The Spirit’s indwelling (; ; ; ; ; ; ; ), sealing (; ; ), and baptism (; ) occur at the time of regeneration and thus are not commanded. However, believers are commanded to be filled constantly with the Holy Spirit. Each Christian has all the Spirit, but the command here is that the Spirit have all of him. The wise walk, then, is one that is characterized by the Holy Spirit’s control.
Conversely, the positive command is, Be filled with the Spirit. Thus a believer, rather than controlling himself, is controlled by the Holy Spirit.
It may be more accurate to say that the Holy Spirit is the “Agent” of the filling (cf. ) and Christ is the Content of the filling ().
Thus in this relationship, as a believer is yielded to the Lord and controlled by Him, he increasingly manifests the fruit of the Spirit ().
The wise walk, then, is one that is characterized by the Holy Spirit’s control.
5:19–21. Paul then gave four results of being filled with the Spirit.
First is communication with one another with psalms (psalmois, OT psalms sung with stringed instruments such as harps), hymns (hymnois, praises composed by Christians), and spiritual songs (a general term).
Second is communication with the Lord by singing and making melody (psallontes, singing with a stringed instrument) in the heart. Church music, then, should be a means of believers’ ministering to each other, and singing should be a means of worshiping the Lord.
Third is thanking God the Father (cf. 1:2–3, 17; 3:14) continually for all things (cf. ; ).
Fourth, Spirit-controlled believers are to submit to one another, willingly serving others and being under them rather than dominating them and exalting themselves. But basic to Christians’ attitudes toward others is their reverence for Christ. Paul next elaborated on this subject of submission ().[1]
Signing,joy laughter and ministering one to another ......
"I wish it were next month," or "something." Kids go to school & say, "Boy,
a. Concerning Time (5:15–16)
sh this day were over."
(1) We Are to Be Wise concerning Our Ways (5:15)
ILL. Gary Freeman tells about a girl who went to college & she just hated it. But she told
“Walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.”
herself, "If I can ever get out of college & get married & have children, I know I'll finally be
The Greek word translated “circumspectly,” akribōs, is one of ten synonyms in the Greek New Testament for the idea of being perfect. This verse could be translated, “Walk carefully or precisely, exactly, assiduously.”
able to enjoy life."
In some European countries, property is often protected by a high wall, the top of which is covered with embedded broken glass to discourage intruders who might try to climb over it. One can sometimes see a cat walking along the top of such a wall. The cat walks circumspectly, carefully, precisely, and assiduously. It picks up one paw and carefully places it where there is no glass. When that paw is in place, the cat reaches forward tentatively and gingerly with the next one.
So she stuck with it. She went to classes every day & finally graduated from college. Then
We are to walk circumspectly during our relatively few years on earth. We are to be testimonies to the Lord Jesus Christ.
she got married & had children, & discovered that children are a lot of work. So she told
(2) We Are to Be Wise concerning Our Days (5:16)
herself, "If I can just get these kids raised, then I'll be able to relax & really enjoy life."
“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
But about the time the kids were entering high school her husband said, "Guess what? We
The Greek word translated “evil” is ponēros, from which we derive our word “pornographic.” We live in a pornographic society. Pornography is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid, especially during our spare time. Some of the books we are given to read plant impure thoughts in our minds. At strategic locations magazines wait to be picked up so their stories and photographs can pollute our minds. And television is the worst pornographer of all.
don't have enough money to send our kids to college. I guess you'll have to get a job."
Once impure thoughts plant themselves like evil seeds in the receptive soil of our souls, they are difficult to eradicate. They grow like poisonous, prolific weeds. Their deadly fruit is temptation and sin.
Well, she didn't want to, but she knew he was right & they needed the money, so she went
The way to keep our thoughts pure, of course, is not to allow this world to plant vileness in our minds in the first place. Some contamination cannot be avoided, but much could be avoided if we simply decided to redeem the time. To “redeem the time” means to “buy up the time.” We could avoid many traps if we were to buy up our spare time when the temptations of pornography are strongest. We must convert our spare time into another kind of time: time when we study the Bible; time when we turn our thoughts toward the throne of God in prayer; time when we pick up a good book, go for a walk, do some gardening, or visit someone in the hospital; time when we do what we have sinfully neglected because we were “too busy.”
to work. And she hated it. But she told herself, "If I can just get these kids out of college,
b. Concerning Truth (5:17)
& get all of the bills paid, then I can quit work & really enjoy life."
“Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”
Finally, the last child graduated from college, & all the bills were paid. So she walked into
Failure to do what the Holy Spirit says is the height of folly. The Greek word translated “unwise” here is aphrōn; it can also be translated “senseless.” Surely it is the height of stupidity to have in one’s hand the very Word of the living God—inbreathed by the omniscient, all-wise Creator of the universe—and neglect to read it, study it, memorize it, and obey it! The angels must look at our foolishness in astonishment. We spend years going to college to study medicine, physics, chemistry, business management, engineering, and history. We invest time and money to sit at the feet of those we consider to be learned. We buy their books, attend their lectures, apply our minds to master what they have to say. But we neglect our Bibles. What folly! What an exposure of our warped sense of values!
her employer's office & said, "I quit." He said, "Oh, you don't want to quit now. If you stay
There is no wiser, no more knowledgeable being in the universe than the Author of the Bible. There is no more patient teacher than the Holy Spirit. There is no greater book than the Bible. There is no greater privilege this side of Heaven than to have a copy of the inspired Word of God. Yet we often let it gather dust.
with us just another 8 years you'll have a pension for the rest of your life."
Refer the average professing Christian to the book of Habakkuk, for example, and he will probably have to turn to the index or flip pages in order to find it. Ask him to name the covenants—what they contain and where they are found—and he cannot do it. Ask him the difference between the sin offering and the trespass offering, and you are speaking to him in a foreign language. Ask which Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and he might know, but ask which Herod murdered the apostle James and he will likely be unable to answer.
She thought, "Well, I don't want to work another 8 years, but there's all that money there,
Ask when Paul wrote Romans or why he wrote 2 Corinthians. Ask whether Isaiah and Jeremiah were acquainted with one another or why David wrote . Ask the significance of the feast of weeks or who reigned when Amos preached. Ask in what ways Daniel filled in the details of the silent centuries between the books of Malachi and Matthew. Ask him to name the twelve apostles or the seven churches of Asia to whom John sent letters. Ask when Jesus was transfigured. Ask him to name the “I Am” sayings of Jesus. Ask him to quote or give the reference for “Jesus wept.” Ask him to name three of David’s soldiers or the differences between the beliefs of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. You will be appalled at his abysmal ignorance.
& I really can't turn down the opportunity." So she worked for another 8 years. Finally, she
The average church-attending, professing Christian knows little about the one Book in all the world that should mean the most to him and about which he should know the most. That same person may know who starred in Gone with the Wind, the score of yesterday’s football game, or the Dow Jones industrial average.
& her husband retired at the same time. They sold their home & bought a little retirement
No wonder the Holy Spirit says, “Don’t be senseless, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” The will of the Lord is found in the Word of God. To know the will of God, we must know the Word of God. We must make a conscious decision to study the Bible as much as, if not more than, any other subject.[1]
)cottage.
Then they sat down on the swing on their front porch & looked at the family picture album
[1] Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring Ephesians & Philippians: An Expository Commentary (). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.
& dreamed about the good old days.
(ILL. Someone said, "Life is what happens to you while you're making plans t'O —tio
something else." )
Stop being a time waster .....