2 Corinthians 6:1-10 The Message
Staying at Our Post
6 1-10 Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don’t squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us. God reminds us,
I heard your call in the nick of time;
The day you needed me, I was there to help.
Well, now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped. Don’t put it off; don’t frustrate God’s work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we’re doing. Our work as God’s servants gets validated—or not—in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly . . . in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we’re beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we’re telling the truth, and when God’s showing his power; when we’re doing our best setting things right; when we’re praised, and when we’re blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Nothing confronts us with our creatureliness quite like the watch that we wear on our wrist, the pocket watch in our vests or the clock that ticks on our wall.
Try and think about no time.
It’s virtually impossible for us to do. God, who is outside of time, created time so that we might each live each moment that He has given to us for His glory.
We don’t like to face it, but Scripture frequently calls us to face life’s brevity.
It tells us that our life is “vanity, a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:13-15 The Message).
Nothing but a Wisp of Fog
13-15 And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, “Today—at the latest, tomorrow—we’re off to such and such a city for the year. We’re going off to start a business and make a lot of money.” You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, “If the Master wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that.”
The Bible confronts us with transience in this way not to manipulate us or crush us but in order that we maybe more amendable, favorable and sensible to God.
We all need to be reminded of how quickly time passes, especially when we are all “young,” because we tend to think that we have more time than we really do.
Throughout the Bible, Scripture almost always addresses us in the now: “Now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
Now, in other words, is the time to be reconciled to God.
Now is the time to take heed of our salvation—not someday over the horizon.
Now is the time to hold out the gospel message to those around you.
You and I are not to live dominated by the regrets of yesterday or the anxieties of tomorrow.
You and I are not to live as though you and I will always have a tomorrow in which to do what you and I should absolutely be doing today.
You and I are to face the fact squarely, head on, that the future comes in at the constant and continuous rate of exactly 60 seconds a minute.
“See! I AM Making All Things New …”
Revelation 21:3-5 The Message
3-5 I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: “Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone.” The Enthroned continued, “Look! I’m making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate.”
Some imagery that appears in the beginning of the Bible is contrasted or expanded upon in the final chapters of God’s grand story of salvation.
The unformed abyss in Genesis 1, for example, is contrasted with the stunning architecture of the heavenly city in Revelation 21.
The tree of life in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9; 3:22-24) is multiplied in Revelation 22 and described as constantly bearing fruit and providing healing for the nations.
And the image of the Spirit hovering and brooding over the waters is contrasted with the One who is now seated on the throne.
The promise of Creation will be complete, fully formed and mature, and we will each enjoy glorious, delightful friendship with our loving Creator, who at a time which is favorable to Him, invites us to live with Him in the perfect unity of love that has always characterized God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The awe-inspiring creation that we live in today will be the foundation for the new creation, and on the days of the Lord’s favor we can each look forward to rejoicing along with birds and all other creatures in the new heaven and earth.
Not only is Christ seated in the heavenly realms, but we who love and trust him are also raised up with Christ and are seated with him even now (Ephesians 2:6).
He Tore Down the Wall
2 1-6 It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.
This means our lives are firmly grounded and maturing in Christ as we enjoy the favor of God, the intimacy of living in communion with God each day while we are each waiting and watching, eagerly expecting His coming Advent again.
The time which God has allotted you and me is always quickly passing us by.
If you and I are not even minimally careful, it will be gone before we realize it.
In Psalm 90, the psalmist prays, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).
Psalm 90:12-17 The Message
12-17 Oh! Teach us to live well!
Teach us to live wisely and well!
Come back, God—how long do we have to wait?—
and treat your servants with kindness for a change.
Surprise us with love at daybreak;
then we’ll skip and dance all the day long.
Make up for the bad times with some good times;
we’ve seen enough evil to last a lifetime.
Let your servants see what you’re best at—
the ways you rule and bless your children.
And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us,
confirming the work that we do.
Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!
May this urgent and most timely prayer become our own, and may the favor of Almighty God enable us to be a good steward of the time He has given unto us!
Today is a great day remember the favor of the Lord, to enjoy our salvation and to always seek out and find the favorable moment to speak ever so highly of it.
Now is the most favorable time – Let us each be sure to most favorably use it.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 16 The Message
16 1-2 Keep me safe, O God,
I’ve run for dear life to you.
I say to God, “Be my Lord!”
Without you, nothing makes sense.
3 And these God-chosen lives all around—
what splendid friends they make!
4 Don’t just go shopping for a god.
Gods are not for sale.
I swear I’ll never treat god-names
like brand-names.
5-6 My choice is you, God, first and only.
And now I find I’m your choice!
You set me up with a house and yard.
And then you made me your heir!
7-8 The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake
is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I’ll stick with God;
I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.
9-10 I’m happy from the inside out,
and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
that’s not my destination!
11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
I’m on the right way.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 