One of the blessed privileges of a bible believing Christian is his awareness of the times and the seasons. When the common man is confused and troubled over the disturbing events around the globe, a bible student knows well that everything takes place in accordance with the perfect plan and purposes of God.

Divine schedule

The word of God states very clearly, that God who created the world and everything in it, has also determined the boundaries for man’s dwelling as well as the period of time. Act 17:26. This appointed time is not only in connection with what is happening around us, but also applicable to the minute matters concerning our individual life. Cf. Job 14:5; Psa 31:15; Ecc 3:1ff. God who lives from eternity to eternity chose to come down, deal with man in a fixed time frame. As we look back we see how God in various times and manners dealt with man. Similarly look ahead through scripture pages and notice the plan of God for the ages to come. Heb 1:1; Eph 1:10
        Apostle Paul says the incarnation of Christ took place at the completion of such period of time. Gal 4:4. The Lord Jesus also referred to this ‘fullness of time’ as He began His preaching. Mark 1: 15. In fact the He repeatedly referred to His ‘hour’ to accomplish His mission. He did everything with the clear consciousness of the period of time designed for it. Nobody could force Him to do something, nor could anybody stop Him. He did everything at the right time and perfectly finished at the appointed moment. Cf. John 2:4; 7:6, 30; 9:4; 13:1; 19:30 etc.

Christ & time

It is the desire of the Lord Jesus that God’s people must be well aware of the times. Matt 16:3. Yes, there are certain aspects of the divine time table that has not been revealed. We are not supposed to speculate and worry about those things. Act 1:7; Matt 24:36. However, as the Spirit of God has revealed a lot about the eternal program of God and we notice His purposes being fulfilled one after another, shall we not pay attention to it and respond accordingly.
        Knowing the passing time the Lord Jesus worked untiringly. Rest and food was just secondary to Him. John 4:34, 35; 9:4; Matt 9:35. John narrates a very touching act of Jesus Christ as He approached His time of departure from this world. “He loved them to the end”. John 13:1ff.
        Knowing that the hour of His departure is near we see the Lord Jesus expressing His deep love and affection for His disciples. He washed their feet, spoke words of encouragement and comfort to them. Cf. John 13 – 16. Even His intercessory prayer also was prompted by this realization of His hour. John 17:1ff

Act now

How important it is for us to really examine, are we really conscious of the passing moments. Remember our opportunity to work, pray, love and encourage etc are slowly and steadily diminishing. Just as the Lord did, our day to day activities must be based on this truth of brevity time. We may not get another occasion to complete our responsibilities. There are many scripture passages that tell us to act now.

• “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2cor 6:2b
• “Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.” Isa 55:6
• "TODAY, IF YOU WILL HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS..” Heb 3:7b, 8a
• “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all” Gal 6:10 a
• “Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep...” Rom 13:11

Notice, how categorically the word of God calls upon Christians to be aware of the times and act in view of that. It is time to seek the Lord, get saved, hear His word, obey His voice, serve His people etc. There is so much a Christian has to do before he leaves this shore. Let us be wise as well as zealous in fulfilling our obligations, as we know for sure that our days are numbered. Psa 90:12
        Certainly, it pains the heart of our Lord that we value our time in connection with the worldly things yet be careless towards the things of God. We know how to calculate and scheme things in accordance with the ‘golden opportunities’, yet pay no attention to spiritual commitments.

Perilous times

Paul says further in Ephesians, it is foolishness to waste God-given opportunity. More than ever it is true, the days very evil. Eph 5:16. The world around us is changing very fast. The political, social and moral situations in many lands are changing rapidly, often not for better. What happens in certain countries is unpredicted and unprecedented. Naturally many are concerned about this deteriorating situation and try their best to find solutions.
        In such a world scenario what should be our duty to our fellow being? What would be our Lord’s command for us to today? Awake out of sleep, live a true Christian life. Much time is already gone. Seek the perfect will of God for our lives and fulfill it. Eph 5: 15 – 17; Rom 13:11. Thus one day we may be able to say with Paul “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2Tim 4:7.

NTK

Related topics: - Time to examine ourselves // Opportunity: seized or skipped? // A New Beginning

To all our esteemed readers, well wishers and prayer partners, we prayerfully and sincerely wish a very happy and Christ-centered New Year 2018.

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Out line:-

Five Points of Time

1. The fullness of the times. Gal 4:4 – The birth of Christ.
2. The consummation of ages. Heb 9:26 – The cross of Christ.
3. The end of the age. Matt 13:39 – Close of the age of grace.
4. The fullness of time. Eph. 1:10 – The millennium.
5. The end of time. 1Cor 15: 24