IQ #241 "When God's Word becomes a Living Testament"

"Improve Time in time, while the Time doth last.
For all Time is no time, when the Time is past."

--From Richard Pigot's "Life of Man, symbolized by the Months of the Year", 1866.

Greetings friends and followers of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, rejoice in the knowledge that God is alive! Embrace with all your heart that God came to us in human form as Jesus Christ to redeem all who believe in him, through his crucifixion on the cross and then defeating death, to free us from the world’s curse and sinful nature, and by the grace of God, given salvation and the keys to enter his eternal kingdom. Celebrate with praise and worship to God for his almighty acts, and give thanks that his Holy Spirit resides in your soul to guide you in the path of righteousness for His names sake!

To be honest with you, I have been very tired this past week. Maybe it is from the lingering cold I’ve been treating or from the increased work load over the past several weeks, but I believe it is from experiencing God’s Word coming to life right in front of my eyes.

Last Sunday our high school and middle school students were looking at God’s Word on time usage and how we waste a lot of it with needless junk that disconnects us from our relationship with Jesus Christ, and disconnects us from developing a deeper fellowship with other believers. One of the key verses we looked at was:

Psalm 90:12

¹² Teach us to number our days,
    that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

No one knows the amount of time each one of us has left on this earth and I believe it is for good reason. If we did know our time of expiration we would most likely live our lives quite differently. God gives us the choice on how we live and many examples on those who chose wisely and those who did not.

By studying his Word and obeying his commands we gain the knowledge he wants us to have and through life experiences we also gain wisdom.

At the end of the service that followed our classes I got to talk with a young man who survived a horrifying car crash that claimed his car but spared his life. Was God giving him another chance to live a healthier life and reconnect with Jesus? My thoughts and heart says yes. Many prayers have been said over time for this young man.

Immediately following my conversation with the young man I checked my cell phone to see if my lovely wife left me a message about having lunch. I did have a message from her, but when I read the message my heart sank. All it said was, “J….. R….. died. Seizure!!!! This was a 26 year old young man I have known since his birth. His mother was part of the first youth groups I had worked with.

The very next day (Monday) I was talking to one of my venders and she told me her two teenage daughters were having a real hard time, because two sisters that they were very close with and their father were killed in an automobile accident over the weekend. I offered prayers and support in any way.

As my prayers for all these families were mounting I kept thinking of Psalm 90:12.

Here is God’s Word, laid out for me to take in, and then having it unfold in front of me in real life time. But, God wasn’t through with showing me His Word in real life.

Two days later during our youth program, the middle school students were in a discussion about the burdens we carry and how Jesus wants to free us from this heavy load we often carry around within our heart and mind.

Matthew 11:28-30

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

It was during an activity to get a physical understanding of the burdens we carry, one of the students was weighed down with a barbell and then weights were slowly added one by one. When she could not handle the increasing weight any longer, friends came to her rescue to relieve her of her heavy ‘burden’.

Galatians 6:2

² Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

While each friend was carrying off an individual weight, one slipped out of the hands of a young girl and landed directly on her foot. With tears of pain rolling down her face, everything was put down and everyone came to her aid. Ice, comfort, compassion and prayers were administered. Sitting on the floor with her, applying the ice, calming her emotions and checking for any significant injury our discussion continued, but with a real live situation and not off the printed material.

Sometimes when we carry another’s burden it becomes our own weight and the friend’s pain becomes our own.  By giving all our burdens to Jesus Christ, even the ones we carry for each other, he “will give you rest”.

Confessing all your sins to God will free you from these burdens that can affect how you live. Confessing to a fellow believer or believers so that you can pray for each other is the other step to be taken. Let God take control of your burdens, so that you will live a joy filled life.

Just reading the Bible is only part of what God wants from you. God wants to cleanse you from this world’s sins, to become righteous and holy by his grace, gaining His knowledge and the wisdom he has revealed to all who believe in him, and to be a living testimony for all mankind. Praise God for his almighty acts!

I pray for all the hurting families I have encountered this past week and will continue to do all I can for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, If I am tired from it, so be it. Rest will come.

On any day, at any hour, or at any minute, can be the time; “When God’s Word becomes a living testament.”                       

Papa John 9:4:15