Time Changes - Are You Running Out of Time?
by Mark Parsec(350)
Blogz
Not long ago, I read a report in which scientists claim that the recent earthquake in Peru was so powerful that it actually slowed down the earth’s rotation on its axis by a fraction of a second. In other words, the day is now longer because of the earthquake in Peru.
So, I began wondering what the cumulative affect of all the great earthquakes throughout history have had upon the rotation of the earth. No doubt, the earth has slowed down tremendously and the days are far shorter now than they once were eons ago.
I began to wonder too, if an earthquake can slow down the earth’s rotation why not an impact from a meteorite or comet? And... not just the earth’s rotation but its orbit around the sun. Indeed, not just the days would grow longer, but the years, as it would take the earth longer to orbit around the sun.
Now, the reason I find this to be so fascinating is because many scientists are constantly lambasting the Bible and denying its authenticity claiming that much of the Word of God is incompatible with science. One of these accusations is directed toward the longevity of life that we find in many Biblical characters of the Old Testament. Some scientists, for example, find it absurd that the Bible tells us that Methuselah lived to be 969 years old, and they use this argument to ridicule the Christian faith.
Nevertheless, if you have been following me, then you should see there is a perfectly plausible scientific explanation for the longevity of ancient man in contrast to the brevity of human life we see today. If scientists can speculate that a meteorite impact could cause the extinction of the dinosaurs… why can’t they see how such a cosmic event could also explain why man’s life span appears to have shortened? A meteorite impact could easily have caused not only the Great Flood, but it could also have slowed down the earth’s rotation and orbit around the sun.
In other words… the clock changed after the Great Flood. It is only then, that you see men living significantly shorter and shorter lives in the Bible.
There is an expression that says… time changes everything. However, the reality is that even time itself changes! Anybody who has ever had a slow watch can understand this and it is something to ponder when considering Daylight Savings Time. Somewhere between March 14th and March 15th of 2010 we all lost an hour. Just when you thought it was midnight, SHAZAAM… it was One O’clock in the morning! Ready or not, time marches on.
What time is it? It could be time to get a new watch!
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 tells us…
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
Atime to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time for war, and a time for peace.
We all know that there is a time for everything and everything has its time. BUT, the problem we have is that we do not always understand when the right time is for some things. Sometimes we’re late. Sometimes we’re early. Sometimes we do things we should not do. Sometimes we do wonderful things… but just at the wrong time. What time is it? Does anybody know what time it is? Is it soup yet?
The Israelites had the same problems. They had been anxiously awaiting their Messiah for almost 2,000 years. Then, when he came… they missed the time!
In the Gospel of Matthew 16:1-4, we are told this…
And the Pharisees and Saducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather; for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.
Christ Jesus had already performed great signs and wonders when the Pharisees and Saducees demanded a sign. You see, the skeptics didn’t want to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, they weren’t ready for Him. It wasn’t the right time in their lives. It would mean they would have to change, they would have to repent, they would lose their positions of power and their comfortable ways of life. So, they acted ignorant and demanded proof that this was really the right time for the Messiah.
Jesus’ response to them is priceless. He basically told them that they didn’t know how to tell the time and then He predicted His own death and resurrection. For, just as Jonah was in the belly of a whale for three days, so also the Son of Man would be in the belly of the earth… in His tomb, and rise on the third day!
But… why then? Why did Jesus come when he came? Why did He come so long ago, some 2,010 years ago? Why didn’t He come sooner? Or, better yet, why didn’t he come in our lifetime?
Ecclesiastes tells us that there is, “a time for every matter under heaven.” You see, Jesus came at just the right time on heaven’s clock. Romans 5:6 tells us, “While we were still weak at just the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”
Jesus came at just the right time! We need to remember that. We need to also remember that Jesus is coming again, and that He will come at just the right time. Some of us will be alive when He comes, some of us will already have died. But, Gods Word promises that He IS going to come again.
We don’t want to make the same mistake that the Jews made when Jesus walked upon the earth and they didn’t know what time it was. Their Messiah had come… but they missed the appointed time because they weren’t ready.
In Psalm 90:12, David asks the Lord to, “...teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom.”
If we are to be wise, we need to number our days. We need to realize that none of us is going to live forever in this body of flesh. Proverbs 27:1 tells us, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” And in Colossians 4:5, the Bible tells us, “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.” How do we redeem the time? We make the most of it, while we can, because we don’t know when the clock is going to run out.
Many people live their lives like there is no tomorrow. They would seem to unconsciously think that they have ALL the time in the world. They seem to forget that they only have their life… that’s it! Nothing more.
To illustrate this point in Luke 12:16-21Jesus, “…told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, “What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
You see, this rich man was so earthly minded that he was no heavenly good. He thought he had all the time in the world to do all the things he wanted to do for himself and gave no thought to the brevity of life or to the things that God required of him before he died. He certainly wasn’t expecting to die when he did.
I wonder how many of us are like that. I wonder how many of us are living like we’ve got ALL the time in the world. We think we can do all the things we want to do, and LATER we’ll get right with God.
The Apostle James addressed this way of thinking in James 4:13-15 when he said, “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make profits”; whereas you do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and we shall do this or that.”
We are nothing more than a mist… a vapor… a cloud that appears for a little while and then it vanishes. Life is short... Shorter than we might think.
The point that I am trying to make is this… the clock is ticking! Are you ready to meet the Lord? Or… have you been putting off a deeper commitment to Him, thinking that you have lots of time? Maybe your thinking, “Someday I’ll get it together. Someday I’ll become a REAL Christian. Someday… someday…
When I was a little boy, my Mother used to say, “Someday never comes.”
So, the question is are you ready for your life to end today? If you were to die tonight would you know that everything is right between you and the Lord?
In Luke 13:22-28 we are given this account…
“He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. And some one said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us.’ He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!’ There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out.”
Jesus taught us that some people just are not going to make into heaven. Some will be left outside. They will be knocking and shouting and crying to get in, but Jesus will say, “Depart from me, I do not know you.”
You see, some “Christians” think they can slip into heaven through the back door. They figure they don’t have to do everything that is required of them. Jesus said, “Follow me.” But, they don’t follow Jesus. They are too busy following their own ways. They aren’t taking the straight and narrow way… they are going full speed down the wide and winding road. They figure they have plenty of time to make things right…. someday. They do not realize they are on a slippery slope.
In Hebrews 9:7 the Bible tells us, “It is appointed unto men once to die and then the judgment.” There are no second chances. We will not be able to come back and make things right. There is no reincarnation. One life and then the judgment.
Guess what time it is? It may be later than you think.
You may want to take a brief moment to examine your life and if you are not right with God then perhaps you need to ask Him to help you make it right. The Bible says if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. But… we have to ask. Call on Jesus. Come to Jesus, and ask Him to turn your life around before it’s too late. You may be running out of time.
Article submitted Monday, March 15, 2010 & read 202 times.
Leave Your Comments:
» left by Kathleen Williams(1) (176 days 12 hours ago.)
Timing IS everything.........good article Mark!Respond to this comment
» left by Mark Parsec(350)
Hi Kathleen,
I thought I had already responded to your comment... but I guess not. Thank you ! I'm glad you enjoyed the article.
God bless you!
Respond to this comment
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