{"id":3779,"date":"2017-03-22T15:44:58","date_gmt":"2017-03-22T21:44:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/?p=3779"},"modified":"2023-08-29T11:21:06","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T17:21:06","slug":"redeeming-the-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/redeeming-the-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Redeeming the Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having just turned 50 a few weeks ago, I\u2019ve been thinking about time<\/em> a little more than usual these days, and just a few weeks ahead of Lord\u2019s Supper. It is not dreaded, depressed thoughts \u2014 only that keen awareness that time is not waiting for me. It is like that proverbial hound that dogs my trail. He\u2019s more familiar than dreadful, though \u2014 if untamed.<\/p>\n

Last week I received an unexpected call from an old friend of the family. It\u2019s been 35 years since we\u2019ve talked. And April 9 will be my thirty-fifth time to eat this sacred meal with my church family; I\u2019m looking forward to it. But looking back at these big numbers, I cannot help but wonder: Where has the time gone?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m thinking about the other direction too. My sister phoned on my birthday to cheerfully announce that I was halfway to 100! Yep! It takes a sister to give you the good news. Time is marching on or slipping away, or whatever metaphor you like. As a Christian, I\u2019m guided by the words of Apostle Paul: Best be \u201credeeming the\u00a0time\u201d; life is short (Ephesians 5:16).<\/p>\n

The Lord\u2019s Supper is a beautiful occasion to address time and its Lord. Luke\u2019s account of that meal is the one I read most years at our service, mainly due to Jesus\u2019 revealing, bi-directional teaching on time that fateful night:<\/p>\n

Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said,\u00a0\u201cTake this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.\u201d And He took bread, gave thanks and broke\u00a0it,\u00a0and gave\u00a0it\u00a0to them, saying,\u00a0\u201cThis is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me\u201d (Luke 22:17-19, NKJV throughout).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The cross is a point in time. It is history. We may rejoice that our Savior has redeemed time along with each of us. He \u201cis\u00a0the same\u00a0yesterday,\u00a0today, and forever\u201d (Hebrews 13:8). I am aware of it on this night above all others. At the Lord\u2019s Supper, we sit at our points in time, our present, on a continuum. At Christ\u2019s command we look forward to the kingdom of God coming and our reunion with Him. And at His command we also look backward to that night when He gave Himself for the cosmos and tamed time itself.<\/p>\n

At the Lord\u2019s Supper we gather to remember and anticipate the Lord of all and His gift for us. And that makes all the difference for the uncertain now<\/em>. With His blood and His body our time<\/em> \u2014 finite and fleeting, a \u201cvapor,\u201d James says (4:14) \u2014 is caught up and redeemed in His time<\/em>, which, by a crucifixion then a resurrection, is timeless<\/em>. As we drink and eat in Him, our timeline is stretched backward and forward into Divine time<\/em> \u2014 the eternity of God over all.<\/p>\n

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from\u00a0everlasting\u00a0to\u00a0everlasting, You\u00a0are\u00a0God (Psalm 90:2).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This Lord has \u201cbeen our dwelling place in all generations\u201d (v. 1). He who is our King and Redeemer declares, \u201cI am the\u00a0First\u00a0and I\u00a0am\u00a0the\u00a0Last; besides Me\u00a0there is\u00a0no God\u201d (Isaiah 44:6; Revelation 1:17). This God-made-flesh puts my fifty years into perspective. I am thinking about time these days, but those thoughts are leading excitedly to the Lord of time whom the Lord\u2019s Supper celebrates.<\/p>\n

May we all redeem the times, knowing that our Lord has tamed time. And as we gather April 9, let\u2019s look forward and backward joyfully and confidently in Christ. Praise His name forever!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having just turned 50 a few weeks ago, I\u2019ve been thinking about time a little more than usual these days, and just a few weeks ahead of Lord\u2019s Supper. It is not dreaded, depressed thoughts \u2014 only that keen awareness that time is not waiting for me. It is like that proverbial hound that dogs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":3749,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[41,39,44],"tags":[780],"yoast_head":"\nRedeeming the Time - Bible Advocate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/redeeming-the-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Redeeming the Time - Bible Advocate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Having just turned 50 a few weeks ago, I\u2019ve been thinking about time a little more than usual these days, and just a few weeks ahead of Lord\u2019s Supper. 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