The Tyranny of Time

Scripture

Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away.

~Psalm 90:10, NLT

Quote

God is loving, but He is not lax.

~John Philips

Jonathan Cahn’s devotion made reference to Psalm 90 so I opened my bible and read this Psalm again. I preached this Psalm not long ago and I have used it in COLS many times but after reading it, I prayed for a deeper understanding. Verse 9 has always troubled me, but I knew there was an explanation so I opened John Philips commentary and began reading. Moses wrote this Psalm after God passed judgment on the rebellious Israelites. They disobeyed Him one time too many and He put the death sentence on them and it included Moses. For forty years, the Israelites wandered aimlessly in the wilderness. One by one, all those over the age of 20 died and their bodies were buried in the sand. It was a self fulfilling prophecy {Exodus 14:11}, the wilderness became their graveyard. Like our ancient parents, they sinned against God and their punishment was death. Sin can turn a garden into a graveyard. Ironically, Jesus was buried in a garden. The rebellious Israelites were all living under the tyranny of time. Moses said, Who can comprehend the power of your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve. Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”

You are all familiar with the hourglass no doubt. Two glass containers are connected by a tiny opening and it takes the sand one hour to fall from the glass container on top to the one in the bottom. Due to sin and rebellion against God, we all live under the tyranny of time. Try as you may, you cannot live one single day without thinking about time. We drive by Brewer High School on the way to the POINT and they have an electronic sign that is a countdown until the first day of school. June mentioned the cruelty of such a sign. How many students and teachers are looking forward to school starting? I know of none. I mentioned July the other day and Lori said immediately, “Shush granddaddy, don’t talk about July.” I can promise you that she and Josie don’t want to see a countdown sign. However, the sign is an ugly reality and a reminder that the clock is always ticking.

Let me share a little 72 plus insight: the older you get, the louder the clock tics. Wasting time bothers me more now than ever, and trust me, I waste too much. You see, I realize that I don’t have much left and that makes every moment precious. There is nothing wrong with playing golf if: you truly enjoy playing and if you are spending quality time with friends or family or playing with a lost friend in order to share Christ with them. But, if you are like me and you are no good at golf and don’t really enjoy it, why waste precious time. My biggest issue with golf is it takes all day and I rather be doing other things that I enjoy. Anyway, time is running out for us to do a lot of things: live by faith, take a stand for Christ against opposition, witness to the lost, help someone in need, give your tithes and offerings or make a sacrifice in Christ behalf. There is no need for faith in heaven; no opposition to Christ in heaven, no needy people in heaven, no lost people in heaven and no need for sacrifice or tithes and offering. If you are going to give or witness to a lost friend, you better get at it. The clock is ticking and time is running out.

Extra

PTL for the shower last night. We didn’t get that much but Danville got a soaker. The corn field by the elementary school look great. I started to call Curk and congratulate him. I think that corn will make and our garden corn will to if we can get another shower or two. Thank You LORD for the rain. Our attendance at the POINT was down again, four weeks in a row. Of course the youth were gone and we have a little covid in the congregation. Otherwise it was a good day. Today is a travel day for the YOUTH {Danville and the POINT} so pray for a sake return.

Have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.

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