Scripture: Ephesians 5 v 14 - 19: "Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;"
When we are born again its as if we woke up from a coma or rose from death. Everything is full of life and light. We are a new creation in Christ, conforming to His stature and His access to the Father.
We have real privileges that were unknown before this moment because Jesus said that we could not perceive His heavenly kingdom if we were not born again of our spirit. We are awakened to spiritual truth and the distinction between good and evil.
We should have one real desire at this point - to redeem the time! This means that we need to make up for lost time. The lost time is every day since we were able to know God, but didn't. Every day we wallowed in our sins and were indifferent to evil.
We should make a plan with Jesus and our families to redeem the time. Give up a few hours of TV or leisure time to get direction from the Lord on what He would have us do to share His Kingdom with others. He knows our situation, even how many hairs on our heads, and what we are best suited to do.
This is not about church and its functions, but about us in our individual capacity. It may start with sharing these blog posts with people who may never hear about Jesus from anyone else. Or inviting some people for a barbecue and saying a blessing over the food and company.
I am reminded of a friend, who is still a friend today, but back in the 80's we met when her son had a play date with mine, and she had come to collect him. There were certain Bible verses on plaques in my lounge which she must have noticed. She said she had something urgent to say to me.
During that week she had woken up in the night aware there was someone in the room. After her initial fear she felt peace. The room seemed alive and she heard the words repeated several times, Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Then it all faded away. She felt the need to tell someone, but didn't know who.
She had never been to church in her life. So she was relieved to be in a place with someone who had Bible verses on the wall. Over several weeks we met nearly every day until she informed me that she was ready to believe and receive Jesus as her Lord.
Those weeks were spent redeeming the time when she was empty of light and filling herself with knowledge. I had to leave the grumbling 99 righteous sheep to their own devices while going after this one lost lamb.
Just be available to God for any eventuality and when He calls on us drop everything else and go. He will guide us through the situation that He has set up to save a soul or bunch of souls. He is the Saviour, we are just sheep with a plan.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, its so wonderful being part of Your Kingdom but let me not waste time but be about Your business. Let me be available when needed, no excuses, just moving in the direction given. I want to understand and fulfil Your will as often as required. Thank You Father for this opportunity. In Jesus' name. Amen.
