A Convenient Time

"... Felix was afraid and answered, 'Go away for now, and when I have a
convenient time I will call for you.'"

Acts 24: 25

I was reading in John 18 this morning, where Jesus appeared before Pilate, and Pilate asked Him: "What is truth?"

Isn't that the universal question of all time? Just what is the truth, amongst all the lies and madness surrounding us? Truth was standing before Pilate, yet Pilate did not have the eyes to see Him, at least at that time.

In looking up cross references, I found the interaction of Paul with Felix in Acts 24. Felix was the Roman governor of Judea from AD 52 to 60, and presided when Paul was arrested there.

The account in Acts 24:24-27 says:

And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.

Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, "Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you."

Meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him.

But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.

Felix was talking to the "chief Apostle," the one who went from cheering the martyrdom of Stephen to being God's man to dispense the truth of the New Testament and the mystery of Christ and the Church.

It appeared that they had a deep discussion about Jesus Christ, but then Felix said he would call again for Paul at a more "convenient time."

Is there ever a "convenient time," really? 

The enemy never wants us to have a "convenient time" with the Lord. That's why he sends so many distractions, just at the time when someone might be serious in wanting to know more about the Lord.

It's tragic, really. Because the Lord is a gentleman, He won't force Himself upon us. But who knows if another opportunity to place our faith in Christ will arrive before our moment of death?

Scary and sobering, as it should be.

The Philippian jailer had his "time" when the great earthquake occurred. Before the earthquake, he was a Roman jailor beating his prisoners and only concerned about not letting them escape. After the earthquake, he received the new birth, along with his household, and even had a chance to minister to Paul and Silas.

Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods.

And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.

Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed.

And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.

But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here."

Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"*

So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household."

Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.

And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Acts16:22-34

An eternal gulf separates the jailer's response from the response of Felix. He did not put it off for a more convenient time. In a split second, his destiny was changed.

There are many other examples. In Matthew 22, Jesus told the Parable of the Wedding Feast. The king arranged a marriage for his son and sent out invitations... 

"But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business." Matthew 22:5*

 Jesus was offering the Jews the Kingdom, but they refused it, so instead it went to the Gentiles. But it also applies to any of us individually. We can say no or yes every day to the Father's bidding us to fellowship with Him.

In Luke 8: 34-37, the negative response of the townspeople in Gadara after Jesus healed the man filled with many demons displayed an awful choice. 

They saw with their own eyes that the man was no longer naked, raging and foaming at the mouth, but rather sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. 

 Instead of praising God for what a glorious healing He had performed, they only wanted Him to go away. The demons begged Jesus to be sent into the pigs, who were a great source of business for the townspeople. Money was more important to them than the visitation of God in the flesh.

When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.

Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.

They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.

Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.*

 They missed their golden opportunity.

What does this have to do with me, one might ask? That was then. 

But each day that we are still breathing, fogging a mirror, we have a "convenient time" too. If we do not know the Lord, we personally believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did for us by dying on the cross, and we exchange a destiny of perishing to one of eternal life in heaven with God. (John 3:16)

If we already know the Lord, we only have so much time left on this earth, and He wants us to know Him more and more each day. Like the Apostle Paul said in Philippians,

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14

"... Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts..." Hebrews 3:7

*emphasis mine 

Days of our Lives

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary and tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength: They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary."
Isaiah 40: 28-31

I recently traveled to the Midwest to visit with my relatives. I accompanied my elderly parents, riding  for two days straight both ways, with about 4 days for visiting. When I was a little girl, I made this trip many times during the summer with my parents and two sisters. We girls loved it as it always seemed an adventure, sitting on tractors, watching the cows and chasing the barn cats. This trip made me think about the quick passing of my life, and the benefits of having God for my strength for each day.

God faithfully bestowed safe travels and good times with our beloved relatives. Even though our legs cramped and backs ached, God renewed our strength. As I am in midlife now, I see things so much differently than way back then. Mainly, I have been thinking about the passing of time, and how quickly one red letter day fades into the next. We visited the graves of our departed relatives, who are only in our memories now.

It made me think about my own life. We talked about relatives that had passed away. What might people of what people  say of me when I pass away, what will I  be remembered for? Do I really believe that there is a day appointed for me to die as well as them? How then should I live today as if I might depart and go and be with the Lord tomorrow?

 God is always faithful on His part. I only hope and pray that He will find that I have been faithful unto Him as well. Each day His promises seem to grow more precious. Each day I must make choices each day on whether to spend time doing things that entertain me, or make deposits that end up with heavenly rewards.

While the world laughs and carries on as if there is no God, we who believe know that one day this life, this world of iniquity that we live in will be dissolved in an instant.  In yesterday's sermon, my Pastor Scott Warne reminded us that the time allotted us is given to help us gain momentum in our spiritual life. It comes from learning His Word and results in us being a blessing to others. There is a day approaching, even after being guaranteed my salvation through faith in Christ, I will give an account to the Lord for what I did with the time He gave me while I lived on Planet Earth.

Now is the time of opportunity. Tomorrow will be too late.

If you aren't sure you have eternal life, you can choose today to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that He died bearing your sins to the cross and that God the Father was satisfied with His payment so He rose Jesus up from the grave three days later. See John 3:16, and II Corinthians 5: 20-21. In believing this, you will receive eternal life as a totally free gift. It is the one crucial choice each human being must make, and to put it off means to say no to it.

Eternal life is waiting, will you answer the call?

And for those of us that believe,God will help us to learn the precious truths in His word while we have our life and vitality, if only we are willing.

Tears of the Oppressed

Habukkuk 3: 16 "I heard and my inward parts trembled,
At the sound my lips quivered.
Decay enters my bones,
And in my place I tremble.
Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress,
For the people to arise who will invade us.
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail
And the fields produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold
And there be no cattle in the stalls,
18 Yet I will exult in the LORD,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
19 The Lord GOD is my strength,
And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet,
And makes me walk on my high places.
For the choir director, on my stringed instruments."

I have been thinking a lot about oppression lately, about so many in this world who are downcast right now. Whether it is from standing up for their faith and receiving persecution, or from sin which ensnares us, or just the state of the world as it is right now. In fact, I woke up this morning feeling oppressed myself. Long standing difficulties don't appear to have an end, I feel pain in my body, and sadness about the state of the world all contributed to this. But thank God, I know where to go when I am sad: only to my Lord. The other day I read in Ecclesiastes, chapter 4. It seemed the first verse leaped off the page at me, as if Solomon spoke for the whole world:

4: 1 "Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them." (emphasis mine)

It was as if the Lord said to me, think about all the other people in the world who are oppressed right now! Yes, I have problems, yes I have difficulties and sorrows, but there are millions, billions even, who walk in darkness and don't see where to turn in the midst of their troubles. On the other hand, I know where the solutions are: in Jesus Christ, the ultimate solution who died for our sins on the cross. I am encouraged then to pray for them, the downcast in North Korea, China, Vietnam, Eritrea, Kenya, Sudan, Honduras, Mexico, Laos, Tibet, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, and on and on. I could list every country in the world, for their are those that suffer in every land. God knows their names, God knows their faces,and He longs to be gracious to them.

So I ask Him to look upon them today, the ones who are searching. I pray, "Oh Lord, send out laborers into Your harvest while their is still time!"
John 4:36 “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest."

for He says,
“AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU,
AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.”
Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION”—

II Corinthians 6:2

As I prayed to Him this morning, I felt empty as I approached His throne of grace. But I lifted myself out of my own pit by praising Him, even though I didn't feel like it. As I did, I saw that I am able to rise once again over my problems. Not in my own power, but in His power, His strength, His stamina. Mostly today, I just prayed back His Word to Him. Though struggling, I praised Him with Psalm 150, the last Psalm of the Bible, which is a command to praise the Lord. It says:

1 Praise the LORD!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
3 Praise Him with trumpet sound;
Praise Him with harp and lyre.
4 Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.
5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD!

Yes, there may be no fig tree blossoming, or no fruit on the vines. But God wants me to ask Him to send forth laborers, to hear the cry of those in this world who have no hope at all. A good friend of mine just had a death in the family. It was her mother in law, who was over 100 years old and a believer. This woman knew she was dying and asked for her family so she could say goodbye. Near the very end, she looked up, gasping in anticipation before taking her final breaths. Her family rejoiced more than grieved, for they knew where she was going, and knew that she was in a place where there is no more sorrow or pain. They were not ones that grieved with no hope (I Thessalonians 4:13).

This is the kind of hope you can have too if today you are without Christ, if you don't understand what is going on all around us, if you are feeling oppressed. Take the gracious cup of salvation that is offered to you by believing in the One who died in your place, so that you can have eternal life and no separation from God in eternity. It is called the "Great Exchange." He took our sins, and we in turn take His righteousness. What a gift!

18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and fnHe has fncommitted to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. II Corinthians 5:18-21

Do it today, before it is too late!