The Time Is Now

Lord I come to You today Father as humble as I know how, to give You thanks Lord.  Thank You Lord for blessing me one more time with the ability to wake up Lord.  Thank You Father for my family and friends Lord, for giving them life to see another day.  Thank You Father for all that You have provided me with Lord. Thank You Father for  forgiving us of our sins Lord, known and unknown Lord, And Father I Thank You for Your son Jesus, who because of him Lord we are able to have everlasting life.  These we pray in Jesus name.  Amen.

                                                                                                                  Prayer by: Judith Notice

As humans, we are bound by time.  It is what it is.  Everything that we do has time associated with it.  If we go to school, we have to reach school at a specific time.  Whatever we need to do to prepare, we have to do it within a time frame that will permit us to reach school on time.  The same is for work.  Those of us who plan for the future, this too is also dependent upon time.  We want to work and save as much money as we can because there will be a time where we will be too old to work, and we want to have something in addition to social security to live off of.  Again, there is a dependency on time.  When you come to think of it, time is a precious commodity that we must handle with care.

Because of time, and how it seems we hardly have enough of it, there is something that I encourage us to do while there is time.  The bible states “Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.” (Isa 55:6-7)  When I think about these verses, I am reminded by a gospel singer and Pastor by the name of John P Kee.  He has written some powerful songs.  One is titled “It's Time to Praise the Lord” The first stanza goes as follows:

It's time to praise the Lord
Oh, it's time to praise the Lord
Oh don't, don't you wait, it might be too late
It's time to praise the Lord

This man of God penned a song that is similar to what we just read.  He emphasized on my title “The time is now.”  He emphasized on the verse “Call upon Him while He is near” by saying “oh don’t, don’t you wait, it might be too late.”  Indicating that there may be a time where we will no longer have the opportunity to call on the Lord.  Indicating that there may be a time we will not have a chance to seek Him.  INDICATING THAT TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE AND WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF IT!!! 

Isaiah had to live up to his name.  His name means simply, messenger of Jehovah. His chief task was to convey messages from God to men.  His aim was ever definite - the establishment of the worship of the Lord in righteousness and truth. Redemption through suffering and sacrifice (Chapters 49-57) He was a prophet!!!  When a prophet speaks, it is as though who is speaking?  God!  So if a prophet says “Make search for the Lord while he is there, make prayer to him while he is near” Who really is saying this?  God!  Today’s message serves as a reminder to those who are saved, and as a warning to those who have yet to be saved.

If the word says the time is near, then don’t play with your time.  If the word says repent to God, and He will remember your sins no more, then do it.  Don’t allow the enemy to sway your thoughts thinking you have no chance, or that you can willfully sin but repent later.  Get out of that habit.  Live your life as though whenever you close your eyes, that there is a possibility you will not wake up.  Know in your heart you have served your Father with sincerity and have no worries where you will spend eternity.  Amen.