It was just a simple wave

We don’t have a fenced-in yard, so for our dog to get his energy out, we need to walk him twice a day.  We don’t mind doing so, because it gets us out of the house and moving, too.  Our neighborhood doesn’t have any sidewalks, but it’s safe enough to walk along the outer edge of the street.  Generally speaking, when cars approach us, they slow down and give us space…but there have been times when people are going too fast and not paying close attention, and I get a little nervous about potentially jumping up into someone’s yard to avoid being hit.

So about a year ago, I came up with a simple step to help the drivers notice us as we walk along the road – as they got close, I’d raise my hand and give a little wave.  Honestly, my initial thought was that the movement would help them see us and give a little extra room, as if my wave was saying “hey…we’re walking here…please don’t hit us!” I typically mouth the words “Thank you” as they pass by, because, well…I appreciate not being hit.

But after a while, something unexpected happened – people started waving back.  And now it’s kinda become a thing.  We smile and wave at the cars that pass by…and I can see a lot of people smiling and waving back, especially kids and passengers.  There’s a pond near our home with a short walking path around it, and there have been times when people in cars would spot us on the pond path and still wave at us, even though we weren’t on the road.  Which means…if you think about it…they’re actively looking for us, and they’re happy to see us.

I don’t think I’m over-stating or embellishing to say that our waving has made an impact for some people.  I can see the look on their faces when they wave at us – maybe we’re the only friendly face they saw today, maybe they find it comforting to know that they always get a smile and wave from us, or maybe they haven’t heard someone tell them “Thank you” in a while. 

While the vast majority of the New Testament was written to believers, telling them how to live in light of their new identity in Christ, many of the authors also addressed how we should act toward those who are not Christians.  Here are just two examples from the Apostle Paul’s writings:

Galatians 6:10
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.

Colossians 4:5-6
Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time.  Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.

Whatever good our neighbors are receiving from us while we walk, we’re happy to keep giving it.  We have met a number of people in our neighborhood simply because of our dog.  He’s super friendly and an easy connection point to help bridge the conversation gap between strangers. 

As we go about the busyness of our day – gotta go to work, gotta run the errands, gotta walk the dog – let’s not get so hyper-focused on our own agenda that we forget to do work for the good of all around us and make the most of our time.  Doing good work doesn’t have to be some massive community project, it can be a simple “Thank you” and a smile.  People are desperate for warmth in this cold world, so let’s be the ones to show them the warmth that comes from the Light of the World that lives inside us.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Clock's ticking

There never seems to be enough time…at least not enough time to do the things I want.  As I have gotten older, I’m recognizing just how fast time moves and how short our lives truly are.  There seems to be a daily battle on several fronts with regards to my time: work responsibilities, family responsibilities, unexpected demands…it’s far too easy to descend into survival mode and just live there.

If you’ve been in Christian circles long enough, you’ll have heard the phrase, “make the most of your time, because the days are evil.”  That phrase has always struck an ominous tone with me, to say that each day was “evil” in some way.  As usual, reading the verse in context gives us a better understanding of what God is actually saying.  Here’s the full sentence:

Ephesians 5:15-16
Pay careful attention, then, to how you live – not as unwise people but as wise – making the most of the time, because the days are evil.

Typically, any teaching on this verse will focus on the last phrase “because the days are evil”.  I can understand that, since the phrasing is a little different than what us modern folks are used to.  The best explanation I’ve heard taught that the “days are evil” phrasing should be understood as the “days are working against you” or “time stops for no one” – which is why Paul begins with saying we should pay careful attention to how we live.  In the context of the previous verses, Paul discusses living as children of the light among the darkness – so, this explanation of the “days are evil” fits in with the context of the passage.  As always, context clarifies what we read.

However, I must admit that this hasn’t felt very impactful.  I’m certain this is a “me-thing” and not an issue with the text, but whenever I’ve heard teaching on this verse, I’ve pretty much just nodded in agreement and then gone on with living life.  I don’t remember any immediate transformation or change in thought because I’ve read it or listened to teaching on it.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I discovered that I had spent over 15 hours in one week playing a game on my phone.  Since that time, I have turned on a timer to help me reduce the amount of time that I’ve been spending there.  The timer keeps track of my total time per day, so if I play a little at lunch and a little on break, or a little in the evening, I won’t lose track of how much of my day I’m actually devoting to this small piece of entertainment. 

It amazes me how quickly a 30 minute timer can go by if I’m not paying attention, but this timer helps me recognize when it’s time to stop with the entertainment and move on to something more useful.  God’s been working on me recently, pointing out how I’m spending my time.  If I’m not being intentional with my time, then it’s easy to let it fritter away…because the days are evil and they’re working against me.  Time isn’t on my side.  Time isn’t on your side, either.  The clock is ticking, and we can’t stop it.

Which brings me back to Ephesians 5:15-16.  Rather than focusing on what I can’t control – the days being evil – there is another part that I can control: making the most of the time I have.  The Greek phrasing literally says “buying back the time”.  Other Bible translations aptly render the phrase as redeeming the time.

To me, this resonates.  To redeem something is to pay a price in order to recover something valued.  This concept also fits in perfectly with Paul’s context a little earlier in this letter:

Ephesians 4:32-5:2
And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.  Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.

Jesus gave Himself for us – He redeemed us by sacrificing Himself – and we are to imitate Him.  We can best imitate Him by buying back the time we have, sacrificing our now-focused desires for His greater, eternal good.

But let’s get practical with this.  How much time do we spend on our phones each day?  How much time do we spend watching TV or YouTube videos each day?  If we added up every time we checked social media throughout the day, would the total time surprise you?

What if we took a little bit of time away from these things…could it really make a difference?

Here’s some perspective:

30 minutes/week = 1 day/year
30 minutes/day = 1 week/year
1 hour/day = 2 weeks/year
2 hours/day = 1 month/year

This doesn’t have to be time spent without interruption.  Anything can be broken up into smaller chunks of time throughout a day.  For example, if we read the Bible and/or pray for 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes at lunch, and 10 minutes before falling asleep – we will have spent an entire week this year talking with God. 

What good thing would you like to do that you don’t think you have the time to do?  Has God shown you people in need that you don’t think it’s possible to help because you just don’t have large amounts of time to give?  Break it down into smaller, actionable pieces. 

If we sacrifice a little of our time each day to buy back the time we have, we will be loving on others, imitating Jesus, and we’ll also please God the Father.  Isn’t that worth giving up a couple of YouTube videos or some time spent scrolling social media?

Don’t feel bad about the time that’s gone.  I’m still working on this and through this, too.  But let’s move forward, making the most of the time that God has given us.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Alex Trebek and thoughts on eternity

I’ve watched Jeopardy as long as I can remember.  While growing up, like many US families, our five-nights-a-week routine was to watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.  For me, this familiar routine lasted through grade school and Junior High, but dwindled a bit when I was a busy High School student.  As you can imagine, I didn’t have much time for a nightly quiz show when in college or starting out in my career…but I was always aware that Alex Trebek was still running the show.  That thought was always steadying, in a comfortable sort of way.

The last several years, my wife and I have found ourselves watching more of Wheel and Jeopardy.  Maybe it’s because of our months of 2020 COVID lockdown, but we probably watched and enjoyed the gameshows more than any previous year.  However, it was still a “watch-it-if-you-feel-like-it” situation each evening.  No urgency to see that night’s show.  The news of Alex Trebek’s recent passing wasn’t all that surprising – I mean, after all, he was 80 years old and fighting one of the most difficult cancers known to man.  Like many Americans, the news left me feeling as if some part of my childhood had also died.

But in the short time since he passed, I have noticed a change in my nightly habits…I’m much more intentional about making time to watch Jeopardy.

Maybe watching Alex’s final episodes is a weird way to cope with the idea that a consistent voice from my childhood is now gone.  Perhaps I’m looking for signs that his time was almost up.  But what I think my intentions boil down to, is this – his last episode will be aired on Christmas day, and that’s not very far from now.  I recognize that time is running out.

Tight deadlines and impending endpoints force us to focus; however, we also find the opposite is true – when deadlines are far off in the distance and the endpoint isn’t near, we tend to slack off.  We allow ourselves to be distracted.  If I was told in 2010 that Alex Trebek would stop hosting Jeopardy by the end of 2020, would I have started watching it more?  Likely not…

I think I finally understand why God doesn’t tell us the exact dates of His plan for human history – because we would treat Jesus’ return like the time in college I stayed awake all night to read the Odyssey and write a 5 page paper the night before it was due.  Never mind that I was given weeks of notice to complete the assignment…I waited until the last moment possible to start.  I procrastinated until it was nearly too late, and I was not in good shape afterwards.

Another danger would be that if we knew Jesus would not return for another 250 years…would we continue to live for Him, or would we give in to simply living for ourselves?

But we still want to know when God’s plan will unfold, don’t we?  Well, so did the disciples.  Here’s what Jesus had to say when they asked about the timing of His triumphal return:

Matthew 24:36, 42-51
Now concerning that day and hour no one knows – neither the angels of heaven nor the Son – except the Father alone…Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.  But know this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into.  This is why you are also to be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time?  Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing his job when he comes.  Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.  But if that wicked servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’ and starts to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards, that servant’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know.  He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus doesn’t want His disciples to focus on the day of His arrival, He wants them to focus on their faithfulness until His arrival.  Look at Jesus’ parable – their status as servants is not in danger; however, their fellowship with the master and their future opportunities are at stake.  A faithful servant will be rewarded, whereas an unfaithful servant will be embarrassed, demoted, and regretful.

Paul said something similar to the believers in Thessalonica when speaking about the day of Christ’s return to rapture His church.  They were actually afraid that they had missed the event and had been left behind:

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 8
About the times and the seasons: Brothers and sisters, you do not need anything to be written to you.  For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.  When they say, “Peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the dark, for this day to surprise you like a thief.  For you are all children of light and children of the day.  We do not belong to the night or the darkness.  So then, let us not sleep, like the rest, but let us stay awake and be self-controlled…But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled and put on the armor of faith and love, and a helmet of the hope of salvation.

It’s best we don’t know the exact day of Jesus’ return…we would not handle that information very well.  There will not be an announced deadline for our work to be turned in.  We won’t know ahead of time when the last episode of human history will broadcast.  However, Jesus does not want us to worry about when He arrives, but for us to maintain our faithfulness until He arrives.  For those of us who take that challenge and do it, there are great rewards to be had!

For some encouragement, let’s look at something Paul wrote to the believers in Galatia:

Galatians 6:7-10
Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked.  For whatever a person sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.  Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

A God-promised blessing

The angel has completed John’s tour of the New Jerusalem.  Additionally, the prophetic revelation Jesus has brought to John is coming to a close.

Revelation 22:6-7
Then he [the angel] said to me, “These words are faithful and true.  The Lord, the God of the holy prophets, has sent His angel to show His servants what must soon take place.”

and then Jesus adds:

“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

In these statements, God’s purpose for giving the entire revelation to John is disclosed.  Do you see it? 

This dialogue must have had a profound effect on John, because he borrows these words to introduce the book of Revelation to his readers:

Revelation 1:1-3
The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His servants what must soon take place.  He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, whatever he saw.  Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it, because the time is near.

If God takes the time to communicate something to us – it’s worth our attention.

If God repeats himself – then the topic’s importance cannot be understated!

At both ends of Revelation is the encouragement of a blessing from God to those who take hold of the words in this book.  We shouldn’t let our own insecurities keep us from reading through and grabbing a hold of God’s truth found in Revelation.

Think about what we’ve seen from looking at the last two chapters – the many statements of encouragement, learning that justice prevails, learning that there is a reason for suffering, discovering the rewards from God for right-living in the here-and-now, seeing the beauty and grandeur of New Jerusalem, and we had a preview to our final destiny, of humanity partnering with God in eternity future…just to name a few.

If that’s what we’ve discovered in just two chapters, how many more great things await us in the first twenty chapters?

I highly encourage you to read through Revelation.  I doubt anyone has ever said that to you.  However, if I told you I knew of a sure-fire way for you to be blessed by God – I’m pretty sure you’d want to know what it was.  If God says there’s a way to be blessed by Him…will you take Him up on it?

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it…

I suggest that you read Revelation with a pen/paper nearby…and just write down what you learn about God and who He is as you go through the passages.  You don’t have to understand every symbol and every reference.  However, I firmly believe you’ll understand more than you think you will.  If you need to, find a mature Christian to talk through your questions.  If you feel like you’re getting bogged down, just keep looking for observations that reveal who God is in the passage you’re reading.

The book of Revelation contains the things that God wants us to think about now…because the time is near.

Keep Pressing,
Ken