Time and Our Eternal Destiny

The Best Use of Our Time

How we use those precious minutes God gives us each day can determine our eternal destiny. Even David failed to use his time wisely on at least one occasion. The Bible describes that time, “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle…but David remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house and from the roof he saw a woman bathing and…” (2 Sam. 11:1-2). He missed the opportunity to destroy the enemies of Israel, and this missed opportunity ruined the rest of his life.

Choose your actions carefully because you cannot turn back time.

Choose your actions carefully because you cannot turn back time.

Now think about us as we apply the words of Paul, “Redeeming the time” (Eph. 5:16; Col. 4:5). Are we unconsciously missing opportunities to use our time better? Consider these suggestions.

Every day at school, work, home or in our daily walk we encounter people. Do we miss opportunities to let them know of a far better life they could have? Let me ask you, do you have any church advertising with you right now? Remember to redeem the time.

How often do we get so busy that we are blind to obvious opportunities to impact our visitors? What do you do as soon as services end? The tendency of so many is to engage those friends sitting around them in conversations and “opportunity” walks right by without any welcoming greeting. Remember to redeem the time.

Think about how little investment of time it would take to use that list of visitors sent to you each week. Think of the accumulative effect it would have if dozens of cards came to them. Remember to redeem the time.

We also can so easily miss how special it is to encourage each other in worship. Our Lord clearly states to us that each of us is to speak to all others in psalms and hymns. There is the power of united prayer together. When two or three pray together, it makes a difference. It is so uplifting to worship and visit with each other. Think of the impact if we did this more than one hour each week. Remember to redeem the time.

In the verse preceding the instruction to “redeem the time,” Paul told the Ephesians to “walk circumspectly.” That is, to inspect all the things that are around us. The ESV translates, “Look carefully then how you walk, not unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time” (Eph. 5:15-16). That just about sums it up. To redeem the time is not to focus on the misuse of the past but the present. Think carefully. Is there a way to make better use of your time? Is one hour a week making the best use of the many hours He gives to us?

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Inspiracion Verbal

Inspiración Verbal
La inspiración que la biblia reclama para sí misma es “Inspiración Verbal plena”. Dios usando las palabras del autor o del escritor para comunicar su mensaje. Nosotros podemos notar con claridad que esto ha sido aprobado por Dios y ratificado por el mismo Señor Jesús en Juan 10:34, cuando se refirió a los salmos como ley. El basa su punto en una palabra particular en Mateo 22:34. Jesús dijo que Exodo 3:6 era Dios hablando a Moisés. Esto prueba que Dios espera que todas las personas en la tierra  observen su palabra como autoritaria para todos los seres humanos. Pablo también afirma inspiración verbal en 1Corintios 2. El dice que su predicación y su palabra no eran palabras de sabiduría humana (V.4). Sino que sus palabras fueron con demostración del Espíritu. Reclamó que tanto él como sus compañeros apóstoles estaban hablando con sabiduría de Dios. Explicó que lo que ellos habían estado enseñando lo habían hecho por el Espíritu Santo. Que dicho sea de paso era una de las misiones fundamentales y la obra del Santo Espíritu en influencia directa para estos hombres. De seguir trabajando hoy de una manera directa, a parte y separado de la Palabra de Dios, las preguntas siguientes son: ¿Que hace?, ¿Cuales son sus funciones?, ¿Le revela palabra nueva? y sino, ¿Porqué no, si habita directamente en la persona?. La inspiración Verbal sirvió por un determinado periodo en el siglo primero, pero cumplido su propósito no hay razón para que continúe obrando de la misma forma. La inspiración Verbal plena entonces, envuelve las palabras que el Espíritu Santo ha escogido para ser parte del sagrado texto sin violar la personalidad y estilo de la persona que escribe  sino mas bien utilizando la esencia de tal autor. Parece realmente necesario que esto haya sido el caso. Si Dios hubiese transmitido su mensaje a travez de dictación mecánica, probablemente la transmisión del mensaje hubiese encontrado limitaciones en la comprensión de los receptores.  Podemos identificar solamente una vez o dos cuando Dios usa de dictación mecánica y es cuando la mula de Balaam habla en Números 22 ya que tal animal no poseía vocabulario propio. Dios siempre ha respetado la voluntad de cada persona y su libre albedrío aún en la transmisión de su excelentísimo mensaje.

Dios usando las palabras del autor o del escritor para comunicar su mensaje.

Dios usando las palabras del autor o del escritor para comunicar su mensaje.

Inspiración en el Nuevo Testamento 
  Un sin numero de eruditos liberales alegan que el Nuevo Testamento por si solo no reclama inspiración de ningún tipo. Este reclamo simplemente no es válido. De hecho en 2 Pedro 3:16 Pedro mismo clasifica las epístolas de Pablo como “escrituras” y las coloca al lado del resto del canon. Pedro afirma entonces que los escritos de Pablo son de carácter divino de tal manera que quienes tuerzan sus escritos serán destruidos es decir; condenados. Debe de observarse también, el como Pedro une a los apóstoles  con los profetas del Antiguo Testamento (1Ped.1:10-12). Ni siquiera por un minuto los escritures del N.T se consideraron ellos mismos menos que los grandes autores del A.T sino más bien como ministros del Nuevo Pacto (2Co.3:6).  El hermano Hugo McCord hace notar 8 aspectos grandiosos de las santas escrituras. El nota la siguiente lista:
  1. Unidad y diversidad.
  2. Simplicidad y Profundidad.
  3. Imparcialidad.
  4. Brevedad.
  5. Perfección.
  6. Restricción.
  7. Excelencia Literaria.
  8. Indestructibilidad. 
      (“The holy Scriptures” editado por Wendell Winkler pg. 327)
En estos 8 elementos se ve claramente reflejado lo que es inspiración verbal divina de las santas escrituras, la Biblia. Jesús refirió varias promesas directas a los apóstoles  en Juan 14,15,16. Jesús prometió:“Aún tengo muchas cosas que deciros, pero ahora no las podéis sobrellevar. Pero cuando venga el Espíritu de verdad, él os guiará a toda la verdad; porque no hablará por su propia cuenta, sino que hablará todo lo que oyere, y os hará saber las cosas que habrán de venir”. (Juan 16:12-13).  El Espíritu pondría palabras en ellos, de hecho no los iba a obligar pero los iba a guiar…una vez más ahí en esa frase observamos inspiración verbal pero no dictación mecánica. Numerosos pasajes indican el cumplimiento de estas promesas del Señor a los apóstoles para extender la predicación de ellos que era el mensaje del cielo (Hechos 4:8,31;5:32; 15:8, 27-28; 16:6-8). 
El cristianismo  debe defender la inerrancia de las Escrituras con un compromiso teológico sano, un compromiso que sea consecuente con lo que la Biblia dice sobre sí misma. Hablar de la inerrancia significa que cuando todo es dado a conocer , las escrituras tal y como fueron escritas por sus autores y con sus apropiadas traducciones, probarán ser verdad en cada una de las cosas que afirma (Juan 17:17).  Esto prueba que si Dios inspiró a sus hombres que escribieran uno esperaría que Dios no se contradiga a sí mismo y de hecho no lo hace ni un solo instante. 
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Reconciliation with God

Reconciliation with God

The weeping prophet pleaded, “Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored!” (Lam. 5:21). In a sense, the entire message of Genesis through Revelation can be summed up in the concept of restoration…Jehovah reconciling man to himself. We see God’s plea with us in the inspired pen of Paul when he wrote his second letter to Corinth: “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20). His love for us is so great, his compassion so deep, his kindness so beyond comparison, that he was willing to give his only begotten Son for our redemption (John 3:16; 1 John 3:16).

Reconciliation with God could not nor cannot come by the hand of man.

Reconciliation with God could not nor cannot come by the hand of man.

Our Father is the source of “every good gift and every perfect gift” (James 1:17). His love for man is so far-reaching that he sends blessings every day even upon those of us who reject him and do not even try to follow his ways (Matt. 5:44-48), which in the end will be the majority of his creation (Matt. 7:13-14). The plate of food for which the atheist refuses to give thanks to a God he refuses to acknowledge, each breath of air taken by Muslims who adhere to corrupted views of their Creator…all come willingly and freely from a God who loves them in spite of themselves, a God who freely offers us all the gift of salvation and eternal life which none of us deserve (Rom. 6:23; Tit. 2:11).

Yet it takes two for complete reconciliation to occur. God’s hand has always been outstretched from Eden until today, and will continue to be held out for us until the day of judgment. Are we willing to take his hand and allow him to pull us back to his side? We are given the choice as to whom we will serve (Josh. 24:15). The Almighty is pleading with us to make the right choice. The apostle wrote, “Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain” (2 Cor. 6:1). God loves us with all his being, and only asks that we do the same by submitting our lives to his will (Matt. 22:37; John 14:15; Rom. 12:1-2).

How Satan tries to deceive us into thinking that we can offer God less than our all and still be restored to him…and how sad it is that he succeeds more times than not! From the beginning God’s followers have often wrestled with the sin of giving him lukewarm, mediocre service (Rev. 3:14-22; Mal. 1:6-9). We love the idea of God saving us from our sins by his grace…and yet we also love to follow own desires instead of his! This leads us to believe Satan’s lie that we are still reconciled to God even if we unrepentantly and rebelliously usurp his authority and turn away from his commandments (Rom. 6:1-2; Heb. 10:26-31; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).

Friends, our Father in heaven has done and continues to do more than enough to bring us back to him. His hand is outstretched. We must take hold of it by giving to him what is rightfully his…our lives, our service, our obedience.

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Little Eyes

Little Eyes

We have a song that is often sung in our children’s classes: “Oh, be careful little eyes what you see.”  The song continues and speaks about being careful about what we hear, say, do, and where we go.  No only little eyes, but big eyes ought to abstain from the “lust of the eyes” (1 John 2:15-17).  Several years ago, a study found that teens that watched and listened to sex and sexual situations on television were TWICE as likely to have sex within the next year as teens not so exposed. In other words, one out of every two teens who watch such on television will end up behaving that way.

Remember the Bible’s warning: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). We are what we think; if we allow evil things to permeate our thoughts, then our ways will be evil as well.  Jesus said, “But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, railings: these are the things which defile the man…” (Matthew 15:18-20).

We must be careful to protect the little eyes and our own as well.

We must be careful to protect the little eyes and our own as well.

Now, if television can have such a significant effect on the lives of teens when it comes to sex, what about other matters?  What about drinking ?  Smoking?Cursing?Taking God’s name in vain?  Lying?Cheating?  What are the numbers on these other areas of morality that don’t require a physical encounter with another person, but simply a thought, word, or careless action?  My guess would be that the percentage is a lot higher.Awake to righteousness! (1 Corinthians 15:34). God bless you and I love you.

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The Law, Pattern, and Nature of God

The Law, Pattern, and Nature of God

There has been so much misunderstanding about the nature of God and His law among men that the simple truth isn’t always so apparent today even among the children of God. The law of God in the Old Testament (i.e. the Law of Moses) was not about vengeance, but justice. It was in great part God’s way protecting the helpless and innocent, providing for the needy, and blessing the righteous. He gave the children of Israel a pattern to follow in all things. As God continued to direct His people through Moses He gave them very detailed plans so that they would be able to fulfill His will. Stop and think of just how thoughtful the God of heaven is who does not leave His people without guidance and instruction.

He is a God of justice. He loves us enough to provide a pattern for our lives.

He is a God of justice. He loves us enough to provide a pattern for our lives.

He too has given us a law for justice, protection, provision, and blessing, as well as a pattern to follow that we may remain in a covenant relation-ship with Him. Indeed, if we love the Master, and our families, we will allow Him to pierce our ear, and we will serve Him faithfully forever (21:5–6). How sad it is when anyone turns from the Lord’s instruction and leans on their own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). Be thankful, be obedient, and be faithful!

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