How Much Time Do You Really Have?
I want to provoke a thought to carry with you and ponder as you go through this day, night or possibly in the next hour. What is time and can we truly possess it?
Ever since man has existed the earth and the planets in our universe have rotated and moved in such a pattern that creates light and darkness that was called day and night. Part of the reason for this difference was so that the creatures that were created to live in darkness could surface and do their thing while the rest of the creatures rested. Another reason was because we have been made in such a way that we prefer to rest when it is dark and move about in the light.
Ever since the deceit and sinful nature of man has existed there have been dangers lurking in the darkness when it is easier to go unnoticed.
That is when more businesses are robbed, working people get plastered, people go to clubs looking for their one night stand, men and women walk the street offering their bodies for hire, cars are broken into, professionals slip off to the adult entertainment stores, drugs are sold on the street and I could go on with a list that would fill this page.
Why do people choose to do these things when night time comes?
It is a time when we feel that we are not noticed and we think that the darkness hides us from not only other people but from God. Ever since the time that Adam and Eve hid in the garden from God, we have been following in their footsteps.
What I want to bring to our attention today is something that I have found in my study that I feel would make a huge difference in the way that we see people and the world around us, hence causing us to change the way we live. Once a revelation takes place, there must be some type of change that takes place, good or bad. That is just a principle that we have no control over!
Today I want to introduce to you a revelation that will change the way you see time forever. If this is old news for you, then just bear with me.
"In the beginning of time". This is a phrase that has been the center of discussions for ages among scientists, scholars and theologians. Time is basically the identified location of when something took place. We never just talk about time. For example, I wouldn't say to you, "Hey, eight o'clock last night was a really good time to exist, wasn't it?" or "Did you like five o'clock yesterday?" Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? I might say to you though, "Hey, that concert downtown at eight o'clock was really awesome!"
The purpose for our having time is primarily for reference to what we have done, are doing or going to do in the future. It gives us a reference point and we can figure out the distance from now until that time. Ok, now we get to the point of what this understanding means to our lives today.
Until God made light, "the sun", and began the rotation of the planets, time didn't officially begin as we know it! All that existed before this point was Eternity because the planetary rotations had not started our reference for day, night, hours of the day, minutes and seconds. Are you with me? Understand?
If this had not begun and we were created without this put into motion, would we have what we call "time" or would we have what existed before which was "eternity"? If God allowed us to understand time by giving us a reference of light and darkness, what happened to eternity?
The fact is that "Eternity" still exists but "time" is all that we can see on our earth because we have created a time scale for everything!I know this is to much information for some people, but it is factual and can be proven right in the first chapter of Genesis.
This is very important for us to grasp and I will explain to you why it is so important! The reason that we need to understand is because God gave Moses the revelation to know and record what happened in the beginning.
God wishes for those who believe to know how the earth began and to realize that this is not all there is to life!
There is a time for us to spend here on this earth, but our spirits do not just vanish when this period of time has passed. We are going to go from tracking time in these bodies to another period that in the Bible is referred to as life or death for "eternity".Remember that "eternity" existed before the earth was created and put into orbit around the sun.
You see, "time", as we know it, is relative to the movement of the planets in our galaxy but it hasn't changed the fact that "eternity" exists. Considering the fact that we have no control over time and we cannot change the past or the future, what is it that God would have us focus our attention on?
Should we constantly be thinking about eternity and what it will be like to have all the time we want?
Should we be focused on the past and what we should or could have done differently?
Is it possible that anyone who believes in the infinite God; the great "I Am" who always has been and always will be there for them; should not focus their attention on either the past or the future?
There is a passage in God's Word that tells us that we shouldn't worry about the future in this world because we have no guarantee that it will come to pass.
Matthew 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
The only "time" that you have is right now! Take action and do those thing that matter most today! Share, care and be there for those who need your love!
So what is it that we should be focusing our minds on? I believe God's point to us is that we should focus on now and what we should do to show others that we love them. That goes for all of you guys out there too! I know it isn't macho in today's world to show love to your brother but it's ok in God's world and that's a world that is built on love! I love the following verses that put into perspective how things should work in this life for those who believe in God!
Matthew 6:24-34
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
What we are to do is this; Live your life for right now! This is the only "time" you really have possession of and only you can decide what you are doing with that "time"!
If you know someone that hasn't come to know God, then "now" would be the best time to tell them about the change that took place in your life.
There was a Spanish man that worked on a project that I helped supervise while we were building a thirty-three story building in downtown Raleigh, NC called the RBC Plaza . This man was only twenty-one years old and was always smiling and telling jokes in his broken spanglish. I always thought about talking to him when I would get onto the elevator since his job was to run everyone up and down for the last six months of the job. I must have seen him a thousand times or more and God had put a passion in my heart to reach out to him. The only problem was that the elevator was always jambed full of people and there was always something I was in a hurry to get to somewhere in the building.
As "time" went by I couldn't understand why God kept putting this desire in my heart but the time wasn't available. He would rush off right after work and was impossible to catch. I finally realized that the time had to be arranged by God alone.
I began to pray for this opportunity and it wasn't a week later that the elevator was occupied for the day by the owners and I was able to put him to doing something different. As I assigned him to clean up the parking lot where everyone had stored materials, it occurred to me that this was my moment. I started helping him pick up the debris and he thought I had lost my mind at first because the other superintendents just don't do that kind of thing in the commercial building business.
As I continued to help and ask questions about his family, he began to relax and open up. I had shown him that I was no better than he by picking up the debris with him and he was ready to listen to what I had to say.
It was on that day that I shared the message that God had made the world and that Jesus had died for us so we could have forgiveness and "eternal life" and how one day this life would end. He understood and told me that he believed in God right there in the middle of that trashy storage yard. You see, the time to share God with others doesn't have to be in the perfect place and perfect "time" that we would choose. The only perfect "time" is right now!
I told you this story because the project finally came to an end and Evelio went back home to Mexico while I stayed here in Raleigh, NC and was laid off due to the economic crisis of our country. It had been about three months when I received the news that Evelio had been tragically killed in a car accident with three other people. It was a head on collision and his death was instant.
He had passed from the "time" on this earth into "eternity"! It helped me to realize the importance of "time" and how I spend each moment!
Take "time" to talk to your children about the kingdom of God and the "time" to help them understand the revelation given to us of how the world was created and exists. This is a basic foundation of understanding that helps us relate the principle of time to life on earth.
Serve the Lord today, "right now", with gladness!
Finally, I want to say that there is another way, by which we measure life that I hadn't mentioned before and it is known only by those that are in their final days, hours or minutes on this earth. We can measure time in those final moments by the breaths that we take! Many times the length of a person's life here on earth is predetermined by nurses and doctors simply by watching their breathing. The breaths that we take are a measurement of time that we often don't even consider! I want you to take time to notice your breathing for one minute each day. Just for a minute stop, count and come to a realization that for almost every breath that we take someone passes from their "time" on earth into their time in "eternity". Eternity that God promises to those who believe in Him and share His love.
1John 3:23-24
23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
Show those that you know how much they mean to you today and make things right with those who are your enemies, at least in your own heart so that you can truly "live" for the "time" that really matters!
Remember my question at the beginning? How much time do you have?
The only time that you really have is "NOW".
Matthew 6:33-34
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.
Take this assurance with you today!
Philipians 4:13 I can do all things THROUGH Christ which strengthens me!
You may use or reproduce the messages written by Rob Bailes with permission, either by email or verbal. These messages are not allowed to be sold or used for advertisement purposes. Contact Rob Bailes by email at: robbailesministries@yahoo.com or call (919)745-1210
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