The Gift of Time

We have been given "time". When I say given, I mean, it's our's to do with as we see fit. A limited asset that has an expiration date. Each moment that goes by, means less "time", you have. We start off by thinking little about time. When young, we think about the future as a distant reality. Then we notice, as we get older, that time flies. We have all kinds of memories about the past. Though much of it we forget. Maybe that's why we look back and find it hard to believe it's gone so fast. It's then we begin to appreciate how little time we have left. Some use up their time productively, others don't.

The fleeting nature of time brings a certain challenge to our lives. For those who desire to please God and bcome all that He created us to be, understanding and utilizing time productively becomes even more significant. Here are a few biblical truths and principles to guide us in making the most of our time:

1. Recognize the Gift of Time

• Psalm 90:12: "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Recognizing that our days are numbered encourages us to live wisely and intentionally.

2. Seek God's Will Daily

• Ephesians 5:15-17: "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is."   Redeeming time means making the most of every opportunity and aligning our actions with God's will.

3. Transform Through Renewing the Mind

• Romans 12:2: "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Transformation through the renewal of the mind involves daily engagement with God's Word, prayer, and obedience to His guidance.

4. Live With an Eternal Perspective

• 2 Corinthians 4:17-18: "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."    Focusing on eternal things rather than temporal concerns helps us prioritize our time for what truly matters.

5. Serve with Your Gifts and Talents

• 1 Peter 4:10: "As every man hath received the gift, even so, minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."  Using our God-given gifts to serve others is a powerful way to honor God with our time.

6. Remain in Constant Communion with God

• John 15:4-5: "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."  Abiding in Christ ensures that our efforts are fruitful and aligned with God's purposes.

Practical Steps for Redeeming Time:

1. Prioritize Daily Devotion: Set aside time each day for prayer, reading the Bible, and seeking God's direction.
2. Set God-Centered Goals: Align your goals with God's will and purpose for your life.
3. Practice Mindfulness: Be present in each moment, fully engaging with the tasks and people God has placed in your path.
4. Eliminate Distractions: Identify and remove activities or habits that consume time without contributing to your spiritual growth.
5. Serve Others: Look for opportunities to minister and serve within your community, church, and family.

In living this way, believers can make the most of the time given to them, ensuring that each moment contributes to their growth in Christ and the advancement of God's Kingdom."By grace, through faith" is a profound truth that underscores the foundation of our salvation and walk with God. This phrase is rooted in Ephesians 2:8-9, which states:

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."

Understanding and applying this truth can greatly impact how we use our time and live out our calling in Christ. Here’s how this principle can be integrated into the concept of making the most of our time:

1. Foundation of Salvation, The Sacrifice of Christ

• Ephesians 2:8-9: Salvation is a gift from God, not something we can earn through our efforts. This truth should humble us and inspire gratitude, leading us to use our time to glorify God who saved us.

2. Living by Grace, the Lordship of Christ

• Titus 2:11-12: "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world."  Grace teaches us to live in a way that honors God, helping us to prioritize godliness in our daily lives.

3. Walking in Faith, All the Promises are in Christ

• Hebrews 11:1: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  Walking by faith means trusting in God's promises and guidance even when we cannot see the outcome. This trust enables us to take bold steps in using our time for God's purposes.

4. Empowered by Grace

• 2 Corinthians 12:9: "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."  God's grace empowers us to overcome our weaknesses and limitations, encouraging us to rely on His strength to accomplish His will.

5. Faith in Action

• James 2:17: "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."  Genuine faith results in action. By grace through faith, we are called to live out our faith in tangible ways, using our time to serve others and advance God's kingdom.

Practical Application:

1. Daily Dependence on Grace: Start each day by acknowledging your need for God's grace and asking for His guidance.
2. Acting in Faith: Take steps of faith, trusting God to lead you in how you spend your time and resources.
3. Serving with Grace: Use your gifts to serve others, reflecting God's grace in your interactions and endeavors.
4. Faithful Stewardship: Be a good steward of the time, talents, and treasures God has entrusted to you, recognizing that they are given by His grace.
5. Resting in Grace: Find rest in the assurance that God's grace covers your efforts, allowing you to live with peace and confidence.

Encouraging Others:

Encourage fellow believers by reminding them that their salvation and daily walk are grounded in God's grace. Share testimonies of how faith has guided your use of time and inspired you to live purposefully. Emphasize the importance of staying connected to Christ, who is the source of our grace and the perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

By continually returning to the truth that we are saved "by grace, through faith," we can approach each day with a renewed sense of purpose and a deeper commitment to living out God's will, making the most of the precious time we have been given.

And just like that! Time flies by.

Time waits for no one.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO REDEEM THE TIME?

In Ephesians 5:15–16, Paul instructs, "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." Other translations say "redeeming the time" (KJV, NKJV) or "making the most of your time" (NASB) or "making the most of every opportunity" (NIV). Colossians 4:5 expresses something similar: "Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of time." The Greek word translated as "redeeming" or "making the best use of" is exagorazo. Strong's Definitions explains it as, "to buy up, i.e. ransom; figuratively, to rescue from loss (improve opportunity):—redeem" (https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1805/esv/mgnt/0-1/). We also see this word in Galatians 3:13 and Galatians 4:5 where it refers to Christ's redemption of us. So what does it mean for us to redeem the time?

Most simply, "redeeming the time" refers to stewarding our time in a way that glorifies God. Each of us has a limited amount of time on this earth (James 4:14), and we are to use it in ways that honor God (Colossians 3:17).

Lord, thank you for your mercy and long-suffering. Continue to transform my thinking. Without your guidance I am lost. Your Grace is evident in all the blessings you deposit in my life. Help me be the example you want me to be in their lives. You've changed my thinking, help me change my ways, that I might be an example for them to follow. You've shown me mercy, let me be merciful. You've been patient with me, help me to be long-suffering. Your hope has been based on the person who you created me to be. Let me see them as you see them. Give me words that express your heart and mind that I might speak into their lives the Love, your love, that set me free to discover who you created me to be. I know I've only started. Thank you.

Present-tense: an attribute of the Holy Spirit.

Now is 'where" God is. Where "you are" is held together (action) by God in the now. He is present everywhere. He calls Himself "I Am". We "are" because "He is".

This all is going on in the present tense. Now!

Practicing the "Present-tense" of God

This is a play on the saying "Practice the Presence of God".

God is in the "present". "Now" is when we hear his voice. Now is when we should pay attention. Now is when He guides us. "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17) makes more sense when we understand we should not trust in what we understood in the past concerning His guidance today.

Prov. 3:5-6 also makes more sense.  "5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

You are Becoming?

There's no getting around it. Change happens. Mostly deterministic. Everything is becoming something other than what it was. What it is, is not what it will be.

You are swept along by the interaction of mass and energy. But choice affords an alternative to determinism.  The truth for you and me, Christ died for us.

Now will you choose the Lover of your Soul? Because of what He did, you have a choice.

Some random thoughts...?

What is the number of thoughts I can comprehend in any given moment?

The rate of change can vary in a given inertial frame. Does the rate of change affect the number of thoughts I can comprehend? I think... No, the rate of change is a constant of the inertial frame and therefore the number of thoughts that can be processed is also constant.

If the number of thoughts that can be processed (understood) in my inertial frame is limited then distraction can occupy my attention and I can miss the thoughts the Lover of my Soul has for me.

Are you occupied by distraction?

Notes on "Time"

Time: A succession of moments demarcating change in the physical realm of our existence*

(*1. The fact or state of existing; being.
2. The fact or state of continued being.
Synonyms:  actuality, being)

Only the now exists. Ongoing existence is continually being created and held together by God. Creation was not a single act of God but is an on ongoing activity. 

Colossians 1:17 "He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together."

The past is forever gone. The present now is where we exist and have our being. The future has not yet been created by our choices and God's deference to those choices. 

God has yet to exert his will completely, in hope that all will repent. Some of the future is determined and God knows it as a certainty, although it does not yet exist. Some of the future is open and God knows it as a contingency and it does not yet exist. Existence is the present now.

Now is the succession of moments demarcating Creation. Creation is continually held together by God and the concept of time is the result of the cause and effect progression of change in creation/existence. Creation is the ongoing task of God. He has chosen to share some of that task.

To some extent, we "create" our own existence by the choices we make. Our existence in the now is partly determined by the choices we have made in the past. Our future existence in creation is partly determined by choices we make in the now with the before ordained plan of God, manifested in Jesus Christ.

The plan of God finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ even before the foundations of creation/existence were laid.

Our present now is relative. Reality is comprised of a multitude of relative nows. The physicality of existence requires relativity in individual nows. My now is unique. No one else can experience my now except God.

Creation is created moment by moment. God is in the moment by moment, creating our existence. The future has yet to be created. Therein rests the Hope that motivates the Lover of our Soul.

You and I view existence from a particular perspective limited by our locale. This limited perspective inhibits our comprehension of reality as a whole.

Because God is outside the physicality of our existence, does that mean He is outside of time? To say God is outside of time makes no sense. Time is inside God. God creates and holds existence together as an ongoing activity. Existence is created by God moment by moment and is demarcated by change which results in the observance of time. To say it another way, time is the observance of change in existence as God creates it moment by moment. God is the creator of time.

It exists because of God’s ongoing activity of creation.

TIME exists because change is observed. Change occurs because things move. Things move because of the “Prime Mover” God.

The Past - Is Fact    
The Future - Is Potential
The present - God's ongoing act of creation enabling Existence.

To be "present" in the Now.

Have you ever been distracted? Has your attention ever been occupied? Have you ever lost track of what you were paying attention too?

Being "Present" in the "Now" is the last thing the enemy of your Soul wants you to be aware of, understanding the reality of your existence, being aware and cognizant of your surroundings, both physical and Spiritual.

It is there you "attend" to the need. It's the last thing the enemy of your soul wants you to realize. There is no better time than "Now". There are no other considerations as important, no other distractions that beg procrastination. Time and effort proclaim "do it now" there is no better opportunity for the doing,  and the promise "Be at Peace" is fulfilled when done. There is no greater Joy than to obey "Now".

"for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." ROMANS 14:17

Cause and Effect (As in "Swept along in the Now")

Cause and effect creates a flow within an inertial frame. Have you ever felt like you were in a rut? This flow tends to take the same path if free will does not exert a choice. The choice is hidden by a lie that presents unworthiness and concludes condemnation. And rightly so if we accept the flow.

Hope presents a promise and says, “you choose” 1 Corinthians 10:13 The choice is simple but most difficult. We can stay in the flow and trust in our own understanding or we can choose to trust the Lover of our soul and begin to see who He created us to be. The truth sets us free as we trust in the Lord with all our hearts.

Cause and effect appeals to self-interest. There the tension is manifest. The enemy clouds the truth that self-interest is ultimately fulfilled in giving.

Cause and effect if left alone ultimately will result in degradation, the second law. Life can overcome that degradation by accepting the truth that Hope offers. Choose the author of life and be an overcomer.

Have you ever thought, I just wish someone would tell me what to do? Have you ever wished someone would show you the way you should go?

“I am the way, the truth, and the light”
Jesus Christ

Most likely you’ve believed, as I did, that you have it within you to succeed. The problem is what you define as success.

Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. 

~ George Santayana ~ 

Remember the past? Each of us has a history. We reminisce with those we shared the past with. Remember when we say. Progress is not found there.

Our history viewed with clarity reveals the struggle. A struggle that gives us insight. The insight brings us to the realization that it is not within us to progress.

Come to an end of yourself. Humility is the fertile ground of a teachable heart. Allow the Lover of your soul to blast the light of truth into the darkness of your history to reveal the plan He has had for you from the beginning. He has one goal, to share himself with you.

Are you present? I am present, Here and Now.

My inertial frame is always present in my now. My now is limited to a horizon of relationship that is restricted to what or who is present in my "here". My here and now's horizon has been expanded by technology that allows me to communicate beyond geographic locals and synchronicity becomes evident.

My now is synchronised with everyone else's now because communication extends beyond my "here" and expands my "now".

This expansion of now reveals Synchronization and is proof that the present is all that exists. You are never not present in the now! No matter where you are.

Here you are. Now!, is the time.

When we believe time exists we think that the future is something that gives us the opportunity to put off the need to change. The need to change is presented to us by our current situation and the memory of how we got here. Here is "Here" and it changes according to deterministic laws outside our control, except for our ability to choose "this and not that".

You exist in the "Here and Now". The reality of your existence is brought into focus by your ability to remember how things were different and anticipate change before it happens.

The problem is your insight into the "Now' is limited to your inertial frame and what you can infer from your experience in it.

"Now" is all that exists. "Here", is your position in the now in relation to everything else.

Here is the dynamic. You are in a constant state of change. The change is incomprehensible to one restricted by their inertial frame.

Here you are and Now is the time. Tomorrow may never come.

However you define "Present" God is in the "Here and Now"

Jehovah Shammah: God is Present... The "present" is the time that is associated with the events perceived directly, not as a recollection of the past (memory) or a speculation of the future (reason). It is often called now.

Choices. The distraction.

Choices. The distraction.

Memory and reason are the foundation of an observer's ability to choose. It presupposses a comprehension of tensed facts created by previous choices. The truth condemns and choice proves to be my down fall. Why? I was not designed to rely only on my memory and ability to reason.

Two things make it more complicated. The accuser,  and the tense facts that I created.

It seems I am unable to foresee and comprehend the ramification of my choice and it's effect on the continuum.

Time? What I know.

“The true currency of life is time, not money, and we’ve all got a limited stock of that.” 

– Robert Harris

Time, a cruel master. Wait a moment and you have one less to work with. Time, the older you get the faster it passes. At some point you realize it's going to run out for you. But... why is that an issue? Why would you care? Maybe you think I need more time? Time for what? Change? Why do I think I need to change? Something about time makes me think... now is the time. Now is the time to be what I should be.

If you think time is real then you think you have a future. Our mind can anticipate what we call the future and we put our hope in it. Hope in the future gives us an excuse to put off the truth of the now.

If you know "Now" is all that exists, you'll pay much more attention to it. You'll cherish the moment because it is unique, priceless and then gone. You can now take full advantage of the opportunity the moment is providing you.

“Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.”

– Harvey Mackay

A conversation with my son.

As we sat on the deck, enjoying the fire we were watching in the fire pit, I asked Harrison, my son, what words he would use to describe everything that was happening in the universe at this particular moment. He seemed confused, my question held no context.

 I said look at the fire, what is happening there?

We started talking about oxidization and chemical reactions inherent in the fire. How would you describe the fire? We realized there is a lot of information generated by a fire and how to describe it accurately.

I asked him, as we watched the fire burn, what do you think is happening now to the stars in a galaxy on the other side of the universe? He said, "they are moving".

Now think about all the galaxies right now, what words would you use to describe everything that was happening in the universe at this particular moment. He said "overwhelming".

It was then I began to tap his knee. Every few seconds I would tap his knee. I said it looks like I am touching your knee repeatedly. He said yeh, you keep touching my knee over and over again. I said look at the fire, I'll touch your knee again. Was that the same as when I touched your knee earlier? Harrison said no, the fire was different. So each time I touch your knee it's different? Yes, each time you touch my knee it's unique.

I asked Harrison, "What does it mean that something is unique"? He said, "it's one of a kind." I asked him "if it's one of a kind, does that make it valuable"? We considered such...

Harrison is 11 and a half.

Every moment is unique, it will never be repeated. Its value is incomprehensible.

What is Time?

The illusion of Time is the observation of the interaction between Mass and Energy.

This interaction of Mass and Energy results in Movement. Movement produces change and it is the change recognized by an observer that gives Time it's conception. For each observer in a given inertial frame the rate of change is observed as constant.

Movement, then, is also continuous in the

way in which time is - indeed time is either

identical to movement or is some affection of it.

                                           (Aristotle, Metaphysics)

The rate of change can vary in a given inertial frame but since the change affects the whole frame of the observer it can not be detected. This change therefore appears constant for a given observer’s locale. An observer can compare frames and detect variations in the rate of change relative to each. This gives the illusion that Time slows down or speeds up.

We percieve time passing because we remember when things were different and we call it the past. We think of the future because we can anticipate how things will be different. The observer recognizing change brought about by movement is only possible because of memory. Reason can anticipate change and the mind imagines the future. This all happens in the present now. The Now is held together by God who upholds the physical reality that creates the illusion of time by the observation of change brought on by movement that is a result of the interaction of Mass and Energy.

Without the mind's memory and capacity to reason time has no meaning. The illusion of time helps us make sense of reality. It brings cohesion to existence and our place in all that exists.