Time is now

Time is of the essence.

Most people are familiar with this old expression.

For believers, time and the fact that it is flying by us is a call to action.

John 9:4 (KJV) – “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”

Most of us are caught in a time crunch where life – job, family, hobbies, church – keeps us constantly struggling to find time to do anything more than get through each day.

But we’re called for something more than just existing. We are called to minister, to teach others about Jesus.

Matthew 28:19-20 (KJV) is a direct command from Jesus to “teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

And then He speaks about time.

“Observe all things” that He has commanded, and “lo, I am with you always …”

For Jesus, and the proclamation of His Word to all the people, time is now.

He is with us “even unto the end of the world.”

Now, disciple, as time flies by where will you carve out a few moments to share Jesus with someone in your world?

3 Questions for now

The next time you look at your watch, or phone, to check the time, think of someone who needs Jesus.

Use this moment in time to share a kind word or ask a caring question.

Here are three questions that could help you start a conversation:

• If you could do anything with your life, what would it be?

• What would you say is your biggest life goal right now?

• What do you believe gives life meaning?

Be kind. Love them. Be bold.

Be in the moment.

Shawn’s noodling rant:

(“Noodling” is a term I swiped from my mentor. The meaning is to “ponder” or “think deeply about” a topic that God is challenging us with through scripture or the Holy Spirit, or both.)

In an instant time in this life will end

Time is fleeting.

And this life can end in an instant.

I experienced this earlier this year with the suicide of a friend … a veteran, a father and husband.

One moment I was editing news stories about local meetings, then the next the story was about the death of someone I knew.

Time stood still in that moment of knowing he was gone. And all time going forward was lost.

James 4:14 (KJV) – “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.”

Something similar to the loss of my friend happened this week.

A family was spending time with their son at sports events. They stopped at a construction zone traveling between events.

Then, their time on this earth ended in an instant when a tractor-trailer truck crashed into their car.

Dad, mom, son, all gone. A child – a daughter, a sister – was left at home, now alone.

Time. It never stops flowing forward. It waits for no one under any circumstance.

Think about time ahead for you, for me.

There are 24 hours in a day, and – counting from tomorrow – there will be 28 days left in the month, or 672 hours.

Time is not a democracy, and it does not play favorites.

Rich or poor, suburbs or projects, penthouse or bungalow, air-conditioned executive office or outside digging ditches, no one can “make time.”

You can only spend it. We must spend it wisely.

Ephesians 5:15-16 (KJV) – “15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

Time is a treasure. Don’t treat it casually, as if it will renew forever.

Protect your time on this earth. It can be your most valuable resource, and it is always the most vulnerable.

And we will never know when our time is up.

Time is of the essence, and it is moving quickly.

This is the beginning of a new month, disciple, what can you accomplish in those 672 hours that – for now – lie ahead?  

Romans 13:11-12 (KJV) – “11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.”

Now is the time, disciple.

P.S. Love on the ones you love … and especially the ones who don’t know Jesus, yet.