Time Sensitive

Revelation 1:1-3  " The revelation from Jesus Christ, which 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 testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.  Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near."


         I've been sick a lot over the past month or so.  It used to be that a few extra doses of Vitamin C was the remedy for just about everything.  Now there is so much of this, that and the other to take and it's all time sensitive.  I'm supposed to take 'this' antibiotic every 12 hours, 'that' probiotic twice daily but not within 2 hours of the antibiotic, and then all the 'other' regular medicine that are part of my daily regimen.  It's a lot to juggle while trying to rest and get well at the same time.

        "God’s plan for our life also contains time-sensitive elements. He orchestrates events to accomplish His will, bring Himself glory, and benefit us. This is why cooperation with His timing is so crucial." [intouch.org]

        1 John 2:3-6  "We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word,love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did."

       "Sometimes we make the mistake of viewing the Bible as a list of rules. Certainly obeying God (John 14:21) and spending time with Him are important, but not because we need to be rule-keepers. Jesus and the Father had a loving relationship. When we have a relationship with God, we desire to spend time with Him and obey Him so we can become more like Jesus.  When we want to understand how to love, or how to be humble, or how to have faith, or even how to set our priorities, we can look at Jesus and follow His heart." [odb.org]

        Matthew Henry comments below [1-5] on the importance and privilege of reading Revelation, but it also applies to the reading of the entire Bible.  How can we follow Jesus if we don't know His Word?  Reading Scripture is time-sensitive, because it can guide you away from troubles before you encounter the temptations and worldliness of life.

 1. It is a blessed privilege to enjoy the oracles of God. This was one of the principal advantages the Jews had above the Gentiles. 

2. It is a blessed thing to study the scriptures; those are well employed who search the scriptures.

 3. It is a privilege not only to read the scriptures ourselves, but to hear them read by others, who are qualified to give us the sense of what they read and to lead us into an understanding of them. 

4. It is not sufficient to our blessedness that we read and hear the scriptures, but we must keep the things that are written; we must keep them in our memories, in our minds, in our affections, and in practice, and we shall be blessed in the deed. 

5. The nearer we come to the accomplishment of the scriptures, the greater regard we shall give to them. The time is at hand, and we should be so much the more attentive as we see the day approaching.

      
      May we all be time-sensitive to God's will for our lives and cooperate with Him.  Each of us must die to self, relinquish our own desires and plans in order to pursue His because the time is near and none of us know when the trumpet will sound.