Redeeming the Time

By James W Aikens

A new view of this chronological sequence of life and its significance to biblical teaching. The different situations and events we go through during our span of life actually define who we are according to what we believe (because what you believe matters more than you may realize). In times like these, most people usually fall into two extreme

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Jul 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781637693513

Book preview

Section 1

What is Time?

The Global Value of Time

A Measure of Existence

The Right Time for the Season

Section 2

Time Management

God’s Relationship to Time

Redeeming the Time

The Span of Life

Section 3

For a Time Such as This

Wake-up Call

Peace in Perilous Times

The Rest of Your Life

Enjoy the Fullness of the Moment

Food for Thought

Are We Missing the Signs?

When All Is Said and Done

Redemption Principals

The Best is Yet to Come

Returning Home Redeemed

Where will You Spend Eternity?

Epilogue

A Few Biblical Facts in Time

Sanctify them by your truth, Your Word is truth (John 17:17).

Introduction

What is the purpose of man? There are many people in the Church environment looking for or seeking to find their purpose. The Bible makes it clear that God created man in His image and for His glory. Therefore, the ultimate purpose of mankind according to this powerful, living Word is simply to glorify God. Which raises another question, what does glorifying God look like? Psalm 100:2-3 gives us this, Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

All people are called upon to praise, worship, and glorify God as their creator, preserver, and benefactor. He has given each of us an allotted space of time to fulfill our purpose of glorifying Him by living our lives in a relationship with Him. The events that took place in the Garden of Eden has lasting effects on mankind. The fallen state of man has separated us from God. Sin makes it impossible to glorify God on our own, with a sinful and carnal mind, and there is now an end to the physical life of mankind. But in the fullness of time, God sent us a Savior. Through Jesus Christ, our relationship with God can be reconciled and will remove the barrier between God and man. The more time we spend in a relationship with God, the more we will love Him and gain an understanding of our true purpose. So, how are we spending the time that is allotted to us? Do we even realize what time is and the importance of how we choose to use this precious commodity? David said in Psalm 90:12, So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Divine teaching can give wisdom which is essential to true happiness in this physical life and to blessedness in the world to come. God created man for something beyond what we experience in the here and now. We have become people who spend our time pursuing many things like good earthly relationships, entertainment, business success, and wealth. But many goals reveal their true emptiness after we spend wasted years in their pursuit. I wish someone would have told me that when you reach the top, there is still a deep void inside that material things cannot fill. If we go to the book of Revelation, it shows us that God is truly concerned with restoring the true meaning of life in the time He has given us. Jesus continues to carry forward His work of redemption in the hearts of those who choose to spend time with Him. In this fast-paced humanistic culture we live in, it would be wise if you took some time to consider how you are spending your allotted time and the results of the life you choose to live.

Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.

Psalm 62:8

Prologue

The Holy Bible is God’s written Word which is given to mankind. Its foundation is historical truth. The biblical facts contained within are about real people and real events. We learn doctrinal truth about God, His creation, and His original plan for mankind. We see where and how sin originated and also see the need for salvation. This living Word was left on record for the spirit, heart, and soul of mankind. Reading this Word will encourage us if we focus on the spiritual enlightenment and allow it to speak to us. Receiving it will change the direction and outcome of each living soul. Every scripture is not written to us directly but for our benefit. It is written to warn us of the dangers we face every day, and it also offers us a way out. This Word gives us deliverance from the past, strength for the present, and hope for the future. It will do these things when we receive it personally. I admonish and encourage you to pray this Word into your heart and your inner being. We that have an ear to hear.

Let’s go!

To get this message out to the casual reader, I have chosen to use scripture quotations from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible. If you compare the original King James version with the new version, you will notice that the message from both versions are the same (the New version might be a little clearer for the casual reader). To understand the heart of the new version, you don’t need to look no further than the original King James scholars. With this writing, I am not by any means or in any way trying to lessen or do away with the original King James Version, but it is an attempt to help make that which is already good an easier read.

Let’s begin with the definition of redeem and a few transitive verbs:

Redeem—to recover ownership of; to set free, rescue or ransom; to save from a state of sinfulness and its consequences

Rescue—to free from imminent danger

Ransom—applies to buying or bringing out of captivity

Deliver—release from bondage, confinement, slavery, or suffering

Reclaim—bringing back to a former condition

Redeemer—the person making the payment.

Redemption is the custom of gaining back something that formerly belonged to the purchaser but had passed into the ownership of another. The Old Testament scriptures clearly show the condition of man during the space and time immediately after the creation. It also shows an evil spiritual power that leads the forces of evil and opposition to God. This evil is the cause of the fall of man and the consequences it produces. This reality of evil is outside the scope of human will. It rules over the demons and indicates a spiritual power structure. The workings and purpose of this evil is to separate man from God spiritually. Jesus came into the world to redeem mankind from this evil power by destroying the works of the devil. During His earthly ministry, Jesus maintained the power of His message, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel. He silenced the demons while His healing power spread throughout the land. He came to save the lost and reclaim the souls of mankind. He was victorious in His salvation mission, and He went back to the Father. But the story and mission of our Savior is not over. He continues to fulfill the salvation mission whenever His name is confessed and His teaching is obeyed.

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

Titus 2:11-14

Section 1

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 4:17

What is Time?

What is Time?

The indefinite continued flow or the progress of our existence and the events that occur in succession throughout our life is what we call our life cycle. The human concept that often comes to mind or the first thing we usually think of when the topic of time is raised is a clock, a watch, or maybe a calendar. These are actually instruments and devices used to monitor or measure a span of time. But what actually is time? And what are we measuring? Let’s look at the meaning of the word time that is found in the search engines and according to Webster’s dictionary:

The measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues.

A nonspatial continuum that is measured in terms of events that succeed one another from past through the present and on to the future.

The point or period when something occurs.

An appointed, fixed, or customary moment or hour for something to happen, begin or end;

A moment, hour, day, or year as indicated by a clock or calendar;

A person’s experience during a specified period or on a particular occasion;

In music, we have the grouping of the beats of music or the rhythm.

Time is the phenomenon of continuous change during this physical life we live. The most basic idea or understanding we have of this thing called time is that it is a unit of measurement for an order of events. It is the continued progress of events that actually occur in succession. The instruments we invented to measure these events are equipped with such denominations as seconds, minutes, and hours, days, months, and years. Keep in mind also that these denominations are human inventions designed to govern our days and our business during these days. But they really have no bearing on the more intricate views of time as stated by various philosophers and scientists, or how God Himself first established our days and the events that take place within our lifetime. For hundreds of years scientists, philosophers, and physicists have tried to gain the understanding and meaning of the phenomenon of time.

Let’s take a look at a few of the famous physicists’ views and their research of time. We will begin with Albert Einstein, who wrote, The important thing is not to stop questioning; curiosity has its own reason for existing. Einstein was born in 1879 in South Germany. He actually developed an interest in mathematics and science at an early age, but it took him longer than most children to learn other common things. Oddly one of the things he struggled with was learning how to speak his own language properly. At one point, his parents had worried that he might have a learning disability, but Einstein simply had a different learning style, and he also had different interests than most children. In spite of the significant doubts and concerns his parents had about his academic potential, he eventually astounded them all by going far beyond anything they could have imagined. He became a leader of leaders in his field. The most important contribution Einstein made to time physics was his famous theory of relativity. His basic theory presented a variety of ideas. One is that time is relative to the physical universe, a universe being defined by the presence of movement, matter, and consciousness.

In accordance with Einstein’s theory, the passage of time will differ for objects which move at different velocities or speeds in and through space. An interesting paradox, commonly referred to as the twin paradox, arose from Einstein’s theories. This particular paradox or statement that is contradictory or opposed to common sense (and yet it is perhaps true) addressed the problem of relative age between a set of twins born seconds apart. If one twin were to remain on earth while the other twin traveled into space for a period of time, the twin that traveled into space would return to earth younger than the twin who remained on earth. The twin traveling through space experienced a slowing down of time while moving through space, which in turn altered the relative ages of the twins when the space-traveling twin returned to earth; because each twin actually perceives a different amount of time has passed. Since we inhabit the earth, which is a single body moving at one speed, we do not directly notice Einstein’s theory in our everyday lives. Due to the basic nature of the theory of relativity, it was a difficult topic for the average person to understand.

Einstein made this statement in order to make his theory