REDEEMING THE TIME

Eph. 5:16 says “redeem the time, because the days are evil.”

How we handle our time is important indeed. John Lubbock stated that “Time, indeed is a sacred gift and each day is a little life”. Time is a gift from God, it is life, and if I waste time I am wasting life.  As Benjamin Franklin put it “Lost time is never found again.”

The Amplified translation of Eph. 5:16 says “Make the most of our time – buying up each opportunity – because the days are evil”.

One of your greatest dangers in life is letting the urgent things crowd out the important things. Take time to do those important things and take time to enjoy life. Remember, life is not a dress rehearsal, it is the real thing. The following choices need to be made constantly.

Take time to laugh – it is the music of the soul.

Take time to think – it is the source of power.

Take time to play – it is the source of perpetual youth.

Take time to read – it is the fountain of wisdom.

Take time to pray – it is the greatest power on earth.

Take time to love and be loved – it is a God-given privilege.

Take time to be friendly – it is the road to happiness.

Take time to give – it is too short a day to be selfish.

Take time to work – it is the price of success.

Value the importance of this moment. Enjoy totally the gift of the day and all that God has for you.  Do not waste time, for time is the raw material of life. 

By Gerald H. Bradley – from the book “Powerful Inspirational Motivation”  

 

THE SINLESS LIFE

 

The Sinless Life (1 John 3:6)   Posted on October 27, 2016 by Paul Ellis

When the Holy Spirit came into your life the change in you was like night and day. It’s like you were given a heart transplant. Your old heart, which was captive to desires of the flesh and enslaved to sin, was replaced with a new heart with new desires and appetites. Your new heart beats with new passions and they are the passions of the Holy Spirit. This is why John can say outlandish things like this:

No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. (1 John 3:6

Before I understood what was new about me, I used to look at verses like this sideways. “No one keeps on sinning?!  John, have you lost touch with reality?”

In a manner of speaking I think this is exactly what happened. John understood that there is no comparison between the life we had in Adam and the new life we have in Christ. Sinning is characteristic of Adam’s nature, not Christ’s.  For us, sinning is a part of that old reality that died with Christ on the cross. It does not describe our new reality in Christ.

“But Paul, are you saying we won’t ever sin? Now you’re starting to sound like you’ve lost touch with reality.” Maybe I have. Maybe I have traded the flawed and false reality of my old life for the better and truer reality of his.

 A promise, not a threat

So what is John talking about when he says no one who lives in him keeps on sinning? There are two ways to read this. Someone schooled in the sticks and carrots of the old covenant will interpret these words as a threat. “If you want to remain in him and stay saved, you had better stop sinning. Don’t be deceived. God is holy and intolerant of sin. Slip up and you’re outta here!” 

What an awful distortion of God’s unconditional love! Can you imagine being married to someone who threatened to kick you out every time you made a mistake? You would be an emotional wreck. You would walk on eggshells for fear of upsetting your hyper-sensitive and ungracious partner.

Come to think of it, this is exactly how many Christians live. Since they don’t know what makes the new covenant new, they are filled with performance anxiety. They are ever fearful of enraging a temperamental God. 

Look to the cross! If God loved you enough to die for you when you were a sinner, he surely loves you now. He didn’t stop loving you after you got saved and he will never kick you out. Your union with the Lord is not conditional on your behavior. In case we had forgotten this, John gives us a reminder:

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. (1 John 4:15, NKJV)

God abides, he dwells, He stays. The moment you acknowledged Jesus as Lord, he moved into your life and he will never leave.

John’s remarks about not sinning should not be read as a threat but promise. He is describing the new life that we have in Christ. Jesus didn’t sin and he never will. If you let him live his life through you, then without any conscious effort on your part you’re going to start talking and walking just like sinless Jesus. It’s inevitable. Live with someone long enough and you begin to resemble that person in manner and thought. 

Sonful, not sinful

I am not saying your behavior will attain a level of sinless perfection this side of eternity. I am saying that living in fellowship with the sinless Son produces desires in us that are informed by his righteous nature. You are Sonful not sinful. This is how John explains it:

No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:9)

 This is not about your performance but your pedigree. Look at the verse again. Three times John refers to your parentage; born of God, God’s seed, born of God. John is trying to tell us that while Adam breeds sinners, God does not. This comes out clearly in the Message Bible:

People conceived and brought into life by God don’t make a practice of sin. How could they? God’s seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It’s not in the nature of the God-begotten to practice and parade sin. (1 John 3:9, MSG)

Origin determines destination. In your old life you followed in the faithless footsteps of your father Adam. You walked after the desires of the flesh because they were the only desires you had.

But you have been taken out of Adam and placed into Christ. You have become a partaker of his divine nature. The evidence of this is the new desires and new ambitions you now have. As far as sinning goes, you are just not that interested anymore. Sure, you still have the capacity to sin. But you don’t enjoy it like you used to. Sinning makes you miserable because you know who your Father is, and when you know who your Father is (not a sinner), then you know who you are (not a sinner).

In the next verse John adds, “This is how we know who the children of God are” (1 John 3:10).

  Who are the children of God?                                   

It is those who practice righteousness, not because they have to, but because they carry the righteous DNA of their righteous Father. You don’t practice righteousness to become righteous but because you are righteous. You are a righteous branch on a righteous vine doing what comes naturally.

Extracted from The Gospel in Ten Words.

 

THE LIFE AND MINISTRY OF ANNA - Text: Luke 2:36-38

 “And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:36–38) 

The story of Anna is contained only three small verses of the Scripture, but contained in this brief account of her life are several significant principles to guide us in becoming a more effective witness for Christ.

From these three verses in Luke, the following is known of Anna:

She was a prophetess. She was a daughter of Phanuel. She was a member of the tribe of Asher. She was widowed after seven years of marriage (her husband is not named). She was a devout Asherite Hebrew who regularly practiced prayer and fasting. Luke describes Anna as "very old“ and she was 84 years old.

I. Anna Practice Holiness

a. The first lesson revealed in the text is that Anna practiced a life of purity. The text says she was a prophetess, she fasted and prayed, and she never left the temple. The KJV contains an additional phrase, "she lived with her husband seven years from her virginity." All these references reveal that Anna lived a separated or holy life.

The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy instructing him, "If a man cleanses himself he will be a vessel of honour, made holy, useful to the master and prepared for every good work." (2 Tim. 2: 21,22).  NIV

This psalm teaches us what it means to stand in holy places. “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” – Psalms 24:3, 4  KJV

Our Psalmist says as we are worshipping God we stand in holiness. We need to have clean hands a pure heart and not living in vanity and deceitfully lifestyle.

II. Anna Pray Consistently

a. The biographical account of Anna reveals that she was a prayer warrior who prayed night and day. When God chose a handful of believers who testified at His Son's birth, God chose someone who prayed. Through prayer she gained an insight that many failed to grasp.

b. Anna’s Prayer and Fasting: She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.  Jesus gave His disciples authority to cast out demons but one day they came upon a possessed man and they could not make the demons leave. Perplexed they asked their master what was wrong and He told them that “this kind” only comes out through prayer and fasting.

Anna. Instead of turning her ministry over to the younger generation, Anna was like the righteous people described in Psalm 92:14, who “still bear fruit in old age; are ever full of sap and green.” (fruits are fresh and flourishing)

c. Anna prayed and God used her to tell others about Christ. We should follow her example. The Scripture says she spoke to all who were looking for redemption (v.38). II am convinced that she told people for whom she had been praying.

III. Anna Persevere Patiently

Anna’s example also invites us to pray for the Lord’s appearing, not as a baby this time but as the triumphant King. In the discouragement of exile, we need to fix our eyes on Jesus—looking expectantly for his work in the world now and for his final revelation one day soon. Like the saints of old, we keep praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20).

This Verse Leads Us to Ask the Lord to Come Quickly

In light of this scene, we pray it today over and over again in the rest of Revelation 22:1–5. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. We long for the day, when we will see your face, we will be with you, you as our light. And we will reign with you, Lord Jesus. Amen!

IV. What I've learned from Anna?

         She didn't give up. There have been times in our ministry that we                          could have given up.

        She did what God told her to do. Obedience

        She taught me about being strong.

        God provided for Anna.

        Fasting produces results.

        She was committed.

        She had a lot of courage.

        She was a strong witness for Christ. 

So be strong in the strength and might of the Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you all.