When
I was a child, people seldom locked their doors, children played freely all
through the neighborhood without fear, and murders were only heard of in the
big cities, and that was few and far between. Times have changed. We lock our doors and install security
systems. Children have to be watched
carefully so they will not be abducted.
Murders happen on a regular basis even in small town neighborhoods. The
places that used to be considered safe havens are no longer safe. Because the days are evil, we have changed
how we live, how we think and how we act in order to protect ourselves and to survive.
We
need to have the same diligence in protecting ourselves spiritually. Ephesians 5:15-16 says, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as
wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” In these two short verses, we are given a clear
message of who we are to be, what we are to do, and the reason it is all so
urgent.
First, we are urged to walk
circumspectly. We don’t hear the word ‘circumspectly’ very often anymore, but
it simply means to walk carefully, cautiously and discreetly. There are several characteristics that show
up in the life of one who is walking carefully.
The Amplified Bible says they live
their lives with honor. Those who have
the Spirit of God in them have high standards of behavior because they have
high standards of godly principles established deep within them. We are so used to people flaunting their evil
lifestyles, but true followers of Christ still honor and love Him enough to
live respectfully toward His Word, themselves, and other people…even the people
who choose evil over honor. Honor and
respect seem to be lost in our world, so we should be careful not to shift into
that gear, like blending into traffic on a highway. Living life with honor may
be abnormal in our culture, but it is normal among those surrendered to Jesus.
We also need to be careful to live our lives with purpose. What do we want to have accomplished when we reach the end of this life? We cannot wait until the end and hope it comes
to pass. We have to work closely with
Jesus toward that goal on a daily basis.
If you set a goal to make a cake, you can’t just sit back and wait for
everything to come together. You have to
gather the ingredients and then follow the directions before you will reach
your goal. Jesus guides us through life
to give us the provisions for the work He has called us to do, but we must
cooperate with Him, draw close to Him and listen for His voice. Only then can we hear and follow His
directions. Although our primary purpose
in life is to make the gospel known to everyone, there is no rubber stamped
method to carry it out. Jesus equips
each of us with just what we need to accomplish our part. There is a diversity of methods, but one main
purpose - to take the gospel to the nations.
Courage is another
character trait of one who is walking carefully in this world. We must be bold and intentional about how we
live our lives and share the gospel. When
God speaks to us through something we see in the Bible, we need to immediately
obey. It takes boldness to stand when we
face opposition. There is plenty of
opposition in the world, but God will give us the boldness and wisdom to
overcome.
The Amplified Bible also tells us that those who walk carefully
and discreetly will be “shunning those who tolerate and enable evil.” If we blend in with those who choose to live
apart from the Word of God, we will find ourselves on a downward trend. When
we become like those who do evil, we have ceased to show them the truth by our
lifestyle, and we have ceased to speak truth to them. We cannot make a person change inwardly by
forcing them outwardly, but we are not to partake of their evil deeds in any
way. Accepting sin is enabling the
sinner. Jesus was clear about sin and
its wages. He was equally as clear about
His love for every person and His desire that all would be saved.
Another characteristic of those who walk carefully in these
evil days is discernment. Discernment
enables us, by the Spirit of God, to see through a thing whether it is right or
wrong, whether it will bring harm or good.
Have you ever felt a warning in your spirit about a certain situation or
an alliance with a person, but you saw nothing that should make you feel that
way? That is how discernment works. God shows us things we have no way of knowing
on our own. He doesn’t show us things
about people so we can tell everybody else.
He may show us so we can avoid making a wrong choice as who to align
ourselves with. Or He may show us so we
can help guide them to Him. When we have
discernment, we can make choices with our
eyes wide open rather than in uncertainty and confusion.
Redeeming the Time
If somebody gives you money, you probably want to get the best
value for whatever you exchange it for. We
are to do the same with the time God has given us by exchanging our time wisely
for things of eternal value. Misuse of
time keeps us from reaching our goal of what we want to accomplish with our
lives. Also, if we use our time
frivolously, we won’t hear God speaking to our spirits, and we can’t be
obedient to a voice we haven’t heard.
The Amplified Bible says, “making
the very most of your time [on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each
opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence].” God gives us certain
commodities to use in this life to accomplish something of value. Time, money, and talents are definitely some
of them. Opportunity is also one of
those commodities. Opportunities come to
us daily. Every time we have an
opportunity to pray for someone, share Jesus with them, or be in God’s presence
to hear from Him, we need to take advantage of that opportunity.
My family and I often have opportunities to share with
congregations, nursing homes, on the internet, and on television. We seize those opportunities to proclaim the
word of God. But we also have
opportunities to pray for individuals and share encouraging words with people
one-on-one. Every opportunity is
important. We can’t afford to miss them.
Years ago, I met up with a friend in the grocery store. I hadn’t seen her in quite a while and was
glad to see her. She told me that the
Lord had been bringing me to her mind, and she had been praying for me. I
hugged her and cried. I had been having
some problems at the time, and it was so encouraging to know God had spoken to
her to pray for me even when she had no idea what was going on. I don’t remember what the problem was, but I
do remember the faithfulness of God and one of His saints to lift me up in
prayer. Seize the opportunities that
come up, no matter whether they seem insignificant or overwhelmingly
significant, whether they are big or small.
Many opportunities are open to us.
We need to open our eyes to see them and set our hearts to redeem the
time. It’s time to start buying
everything of eternal value that we can with our allotted time on this earth.
Before we leave this idea of redeeming time and recognizing the
opportunities God gives us, let’s consider social media and the internet. People spend many hours there, but what do we
use it for? I know there are a lot of
bad things on the internet, but we don’t have to visit those places. We have the power to take the opportunity
some are using for evil and use it for something good. Be careful what you read, what you post and
what you like. Recognize even the common
opportunities that are right before us.
What will we do with the time we have? What will we leave behind of eternal
value? Today is the day to seize every
opportunity we have. Life goes by faster
than we realize.
The days are evil, so what we do
matters. Why is that so urgent? Because someone needs to point the way to
Christ. Someone needs to live in such a
way that others can have hope of a better life.
Someone needs to let others know there is a place of peace even in the
midst of turmoil, freedom in the face of physical restrictions, and a way to
fill the void that every soul hungers for.
We don’t have to keep struggling and failing on our own. Jesus is the only One Who can satisfy our
soul hunger.
Live
life carefully and discreetly.
Don’t
miss any opportunities to share Jesus Christ.
Use
your time to ‘buy’ things of eternal value.
Because
the days are evil.
