“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation.”
The context of this verse is that the Corinthian’s were not to let the grace of God slip by them. God acts in our lives in grace and He gives us opportunities in His grace to serve Him, to have better our lives, and to live more effective Christian lives. What we need to do with this verse is that we do not need put off doing what God has plainly given us to do. Now is the time to do whatever it is that God knows needs to be done in our lives. Paul wrote that “now is the day of salvation.” There are many people who have no interest in the salvation that God offers through Christ. They are busy with their mundane lives and do not want to take the time to surrender to God. They might say, “I’m too busy to worry about that.” On the other hand, there are many people who believe that they need to be saved, but they continue to put it off until another time. Both of these people need to heed the admonition in this verse, “now is the day of salvation.” yesterday is gone and there is no guarantee of tomorrow. What remains is now. I hope that you do not belong to either of these groups and that you have settled the matter with the Lord, but if you have not, now is the time. Confess your sins to God and ask Jesus to come into your life. Beyond being saved, “now” is always a pertinent word for us to heed. We need to realize that now is the time for us to do God’s will. Perhaps there have been people that God wants you to witness or minister to. You know that this is what God wants you to do, but you just keep putting it off. At this point, this verse whispers to you, “Now is the accepted time.” Perhaps there is something that God wants you to do at your church, but you keep putting if off until it is more convenient. No matter what the task is that you know God is calling you to, no matter how large or small, it needs to be done or God would not have put it in your mind and heart. There might be a sick, or lonely, person that God wants you to visit and share a little time with. That person desperately needs your time, or God would not have put them on your mind. Now is the time to do God’s will for you, whatever it is. There might be a particular job in your church that needs filling, and God is leading you to fill it. I remember a young lady came to me several years ago during the invitation and told me that she had intended to give up her Sunday School class. During the sermon, she heard something that reminded her that now was not the time to give up her class, that she was needed in that class. There are many things that go undone in churches because people are hesitating to do what needs to be done. Classes are going untaught, various tasks are waiting to be fulfilled, only because people will not heed the biblical admonition that, “now is the accepted time.” The reminder that “now is the accepted time,” is not just for church. It is for all of life. There are many things that God wants His people to do in their communities that only they can do. God’s people must not hide behind stained glass windows and ignore the needs of their communities. Christian people need to be involved in all of life. We need to develop a sense of urgency to take our Christian witness into our communities. Bad things happen because good people will not become involved. I don’t know what it might be that we can do specifically to be better witnesses to our communities, but God knows and we need to heed that still small voice that tells us what needs to be done. Christian people need to give positive input into the daily lives of their communities, not just to complain about bad things, but to point out good things. Now is the time for us to do whatever it is that God is leading us to do. If it wasn’t important, God would not be leading us to do it. Bro. Joe
2 Comments
Norma Burden
7/17/2015 01:31:49 pm
Thanks so much for sharing this. Before coming to Camilla, I volunteered at The Easter Seal Foundation. I worked in the warehouse on Palmyra. God led me there. My main job was just to strengthen and encourage the employees, The management let me speak of God and my faith and share with the workers I had such a good time doing that. The workers apparently enjoyed it too. There wasn't a dry eye in the place the day I left (including mine). I have recently considered going to the Mitchell Convalescent Center and see if I could volunteer there. At the present I have some blood pressure problems that I have to address first. I love to volunteer. I am always asking God to show me ways that I can do something for Him, to promote His name.
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Margaret M Jones
7/18/2015 02:14:55 am
Was considering giving up my class. Now will reconsider
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