The One Who Receives From The Lord

Family life can be challenging and exhausting at times but there are those moments when you set aside all your expectations and frustrations and you see the people God has given to you the way you were supposed to see them, as precious gifts and treasures with whom we get to share this life with. The good times and the bad are so much better because we have these amazing people with us. Our church family is no different. We need to value and treasure each other forgiving one another just as our Lord forgives us.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.  And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,  not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:23-25)

The enemy hates family! He hates the church and he is seeking to destroy us. Don't let him deceive you! We need each other, we were made for fellowship! We have to forgive each other and guard our hearts from bitterness. Bitterness is a poison...drown out that root with love overflowing from the Father. We are all good at offending one another. There will be more offenses that come...

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. (Gal 5:1)

This is it, your chance to defeat the enemy of your soul. Love never fails! Don't let your family go without a fight! Don't give up on love!

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Lord fill us all with your love so that we can love others. We are not able to love without your empowering. Remind us who we are apart from You. Remind us who You are and how You've forgiven us and show us a better way to live with each other. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.  Beloved let us love one another, for love is of God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God for God is love.  Love covers a multitude of sins, love believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never fails. You never fail Lord! Amen.

This would have been a completely different blog post had the Lord not corrected the error of my thoughts.
Thank you for your love and prayers Charles, Christina and Michaele! I am so grateful for you!

She Has Done What She Could

Have you ever wondered at a persons life? Have you idolized or despised someone? Have you ever considered Gods view?  I've been thinking a lot about how God views these men or woman that I either idolize or despise. Who am I to cast judgment on another, then again, how can I not cast judgement?
Lets face it, we all judge! Try as we may to deny it we know its true.

Most people have their bible hero's like the great apostle Paul, forgetting that he was a murderer or Abraham who listened to his wife Sara and took advantage of young Hagar, or Noah, who indulged in alcohol. I have a list of bible zero's. The top of my list was King Hezekiah. Oh sure the bible says he did what was right in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father David had done, (2 Kings 18:3) but I couldn't get passed Chapter 20 of 2 Kings. In chapter 20 the prophet tells Hezekiah to get his house in order because his death was near. After Hezekiah pleads for his life God graciously and mercifully extends his life. And how does the grateful king respond? By showing off his household and all his possessions to the Babylonians, as if he had anything to do with his wealth.  And then what really burns me and makes me despise him:

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 

‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, 

and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, 

shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord.  

‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, 

whom you will beget; 

and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”

So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, 

“The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” 

For he said, 

“Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?”

Because of my own personal filter I still get so angry when I read that! But as horrible as this kings complete disregard for the future of his children and his kingdom is, there are some truths that cannot be denied. 

1. Hezekiah was made in the image of God. 

2. The bible says he did what was right in the sight of the Lord.

3. God loves Hezekiah.

4. I only have a tiny piece and limited view of Hezekiah's life. 

5. God knows Hezekiah intimately and perfectly. 

Those facts are kind of hard to ignore. I was fine with my judgment of Hezekiah in fact I thought I was right to despise him for his obvious failure as a father and king. I was wrong! You see I forget that if not for the grace of God I wouldn't be sane let alone a christian. I could just as easily have made the same horrible mistake that Hezekiah made if not for the documented story of his sin in the bible. For that matter I would probably have made a lot of horrible mistakes if not for the mistakes of others. 

Here is that infamous bible verse we all love to quote. "Judge not, that you be not judged. for with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use it will be measured back to you." (Matt 7:1-2)

There's an account in Bethany as we read in Mark chapter 14 when a woman came and poured costly fragrant oil on Jesus' head in an act of worship. Something to be praised indeed and the Lord saw fit to include it in the gospel and to go so far as to bestow this immortal honor to her for all to read and reread and consider but her life up to this point hadn't been one of such honor and prestige. She was a sinner and despised by her fellow man, but not by Jesus. 

God dealt with This woman the way He saw fit and He dealt with Hezekiah the way He saw fit and with grater love than he deserved. In my own weaknesses and failures don't I desire the same mercy? How many times have I pleaded with the Lord to grant me my request and I receive it only to later take it for granted? How many of my mistakes have been publicized and immortalized for all to read and reread and shake their heads at and think what a fool? I'm grateful God hasn't decided to write my sins in a book for all to read. But we would all be more than willing to be honored by the multitudes as the woman in Bethany was.

 
I don't know who said it first but I heard a quote that sums it up for me and maybe for you too, "The best of men are men at best."

While we can idolize and despise men through the filters of our own eyes we should ask ourselves, do I know the whole story? Am I considering God's part in this persons life? After all it is God who wills and does for His good pleasure. (Rom 9:16, Phil 2:13) He is the potter and we are the clay. (Isaiah 64:8, Jer 18:6) He makes vessels for honor and vessels for dishonor. (Rom 9:21, 2 Tim 2:20)

The greatest of men are simply men who have submitted their way to the Lord and crucified their own flesh. The worst of men are simply the men who have rejected God and sought to live unto themselves. Only, no one really lives to them self. Every choice we make affects those around us for good or evil. Every choice we make is an indicator of our decision. What will we do? We will mess up, but will we return again to our savior? Only God knows and only God can use all things for good! 

So a proud king is humbled and a humble woman is exulted...The point of my ramblings...stop looking at men and fix your eyes on Jesus Christ! 

I Love You

Our church family gathered at the lake for a baptism.  I was excited about the baptism before I even knew who was being baptized. I'm not even sure why I was so looking forward to this event. Perhaps the Spirit who lives within me decided to fill me with joyful anticipation for this heavenly celebration.

The sun was out and shining gloriously all around. It touched our exposed skin and warmed us to the point that some retreated to the protective cover of the tall trees. Kids splashed and played, colorful rafts and tubes glided across the top of the water as many people gathered around and sang songs of worship to God. 
The beautiful melody rose above the sounds of the people swimming and playing all around. Curiosity took hold of some who intently watched our seemingly strange and impromptu concert on the shore. One young man pulled up his blue and white flotation devise and planted himself directly in front of the pastor as he faced the singers.    
The pastor addressed the crowd and explained the importance and the immense joy of our gathering. Then with solemn determination a little curly haired figure walked out into the shimmering water. Her voice uttered the thoughts of her heart and the reason she stood before us this day. The pastor standing beside her, with what I can only describe as a sort of humble pride, affirmed her words and with great joy prayed for her and confidently baptized her in the name of the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.
Our celebration continued as another soul professed his love for Jesus and with simple faith took the plunge as well. Our time ended with another song of praise and then the sea of believers parted and returned to their fellowship and play.

Charles and I sat in a sunny spot and discussed the possibility of purchasing popsicles from a nearby vender. A young man approached us mid discussion and began a friendly exchange of words. Almost immediately Charles asked the young man what he thought about God.  I watched intently as my husband engaged the young man in spiritual matters. I could tell he hadn't seriously considered these things before now.
Charles asked him if he knew God had a plan for his life. He responded with a sure yes but said he was just going to sit back and watch it unfold as if he was a puppet on strings and God was some kind of puppet master. My heart ached and I was compelled to ask him if he knew God loved him. He just a surly responded, yes, but I knew right away by his almost flippant response that he didn't understand God's love for him.
After a while the young man seeing his sister off in the distance took his chance for escape from what may have seemed to him an uncomfortable conversation and abruptly walked off.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

Probably the most popular bible verse in our nation, but have you ever considered it? A Father gave His Only Son, given to sinful and wicked human beings! Jesus came into the world, a baby born to die though He never sinned. God knew we could never do enough good deeds to be made right, to be justified from our sinful nature. So He in His infinite wisdom and loving kindness sent the answer to our hearts cry, Jesus. Incomprehensible! Though we all turned away from God to our own sinful and selfish desires God made a way for us to be reconciled through Jesus' shed blood. The blood of a perfect lamb, a sacrifice that would atone for the sins of the world if we would only believe in Him. 
What does that even mean? 
 How does someone believe? 
The definition of the word believe is: 

"To have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so: Only if one believes in something can one act purposefully."

I like that last part, "Only if one believes in something can one act purposefully." We all believe in something and we live our lives, we act purposefully, according to what we believe. What do you believe? Do you believe God loves you? Do you know what love is, or do you believe love is only what you've experienced in human form? Have you ever experience God's perfect unfailing love? Do you want to? 

I hope and pray you do! Please don't hesitate to pray right now to God and ask Him to show you His perfect love and to help you understand His love. Ask Him to help you believe in Jesus' atoning death on the cross for your sins. I know it sounds too fantastic to be true but be strong and courageous and take a leap of faith. 

This life is so much more than living for the weekend or a family vacation or a graduation or a wedding or a baby or a house or a job or money or fame. There is life after death. We were made to die once and then comes the judgment. But God made a way and it couldn't be simpler and God wants to help you. Don't let pride get in the way. Kill your pride, die to yourself now so that Jesus can live in you and give you a new life, a victorious and joy filled, abundant life. Not a life without trials or pains. God has ordained the good and the bad. Trust Him! He says He will use all things, even the bad in your life, for good for those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose. 

It's a new existence and its exciting and awesome to be made new! Read these exciting words in 2 Corinthians 5. 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I pray that young man we talked with at the park considers the things that were shared with him. I pray that he seeks to understand God's love and the plan God has for him if he surrenders his life to Him. I hope he remembers the baptism and the worship and the fellowship we shared. I hope he reads the bible and seeks to understand its teachings. I am convinced that God is who He says He is and that He is not far from anyone of us if we would only cry out to Him we will be saved.

 He shall regard the prayer of the destitute,
And shall not despise their prayer.

This will be written for the generation to come,
That a people yet to be created may praise the Lord. (Psalm 102:17-18)

While it is said:

“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” (Hebrews 3:15)

"The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. (Jeremiah 31:3)

God's love is sure and it is better than anything this life has to offer. That's what we witnessed at the lake in the lives of the two courageous souls who gave up their lives in a public profession of faith and were baptized into Jesus' death and resurrection. That's what I feel in my heart as I look around at where I am now and I remember where He found me and it blows my mind that He would seek me out and love me even though my heart was far from Him. I believe Him when He tells me, "I Love You!" God loves you too, do you believe Him?

 

 

 

God Does All Things Well

It's been five months since Charles and I were married.

Time is strange! Marriage is supernatural! I mean five months sounds like such a short amount of time but it feels like Charles and I have been married much longer. Maybe it's because God has made us one flesh, but definitely because I'm so in love with this man who has become my best friend. But, I was married before for nine and a half years to someone I loved very much and whom I considered my best friend. Nine and a half years is a long time and it went by too fast! How can that be? How can Five months feel long and nine and a half years feel so short? I love what the Lord has done in our lives but I struggle to understand the meaning of it all. How can I love Charles so much when I loved Kenny and still miss him?

God knows exactly how long or short a time it will take to accomplish His plans. His plan was to send Jesus to earth and after many years, at the appointed time, Jesus would begin His ministry. He would tell people that He was the light of the world and that only belief in Him and His words would bring salvation, eternal life. Jesus walked around healing people and raising the dead. He cast out demons and rebuke the pharisees. He forgave people and proclaimed the love of God to everyone. He did things and spoke words that no one has ever dared do or say before Him. And at the end of His astonishing ministry He gave up His life to become a sacrifice for our sins so that we could be forgiven and made new by His shed blood. His perfect blameless life is the only way to a right relationship with God and eternal life. God did it all, He created time and set in motion His masterful plan of redemption.

God created time. Time can be so hard sometimes! It relentlessly and faithfully ticks away. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says; "God has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." I struggle to believe that sometimes. Everything is made beautiful? But it's true! God can take the most tragic broken lives and completely redeem them and make all the past hurts and regrets feel like a distant memory or a victorious recompense.

The problem we have is that even after our Red Sea has been parted and we find ourselves on safe ground, pain can still cloud our thinking. We remember how we suffered in the past and question, why did it have to be? We look at the consequences we still face because of our past and wonder, what if things had been different? Pain can start a ripple effect of negative thinking that leads to discontentment and ungratefulness even after the battle is over, turning manna from heaven into loathsome worthless bread.  

What can we do? Trust God! Don't forget what He did in your life and the things He taught you! Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and be thankful! Learn how to be content with such things as you have! And never ever trust yourself! Grab on to faith and bravely march forward holding onto God's righteous right hand and pray, pray, pray!

That doesn't mean you wont feel sad and that there wont be difficult days. The pain is real but you can chose to carry it yourself or give it to God in faith and let Him lighten your load. Everyday we chose a way to walk, walk by faith not by sight. Walk knowing that one day Jesus is coming back and He will right every wrong and wipe away every tear and there will be no more death and no more sadness. Walk in love and that doesn't just mean receiving it means giving. Give your love away as Christ did. Abide in His word because the bible is living and active and it will accomplish the purpose for which it was sent to accomplish in your life.

I had to decide if I could love someone as my husband after Kenny died. There were times I was just lonely and there were times I was angry but I prayed a lot and I trusted God and waited to see what He would do. God blew me away with what He did! I know I don't deserve this incredible man God has brought into my life and my children's. Charles and I have a love that continues to grow even when I think it couldn't possibly get any better. That in no way discounts the love and happiness I had with Kenny. Instead it brings glory to God, I was given a blessing from God for an appointed amount of time and then God chose to take my blessing. Everything belongs to God first! And just because God is good He has blessed me again above all that I could ask or think with a man who loves me and my children as his own!

It's been five months. Five difficult, amazing, long, but short months. And the miraculous part is God knew all along. He knows our beginning and our end, He knows our joys and is acquainted with all our griefs! God is sovereign through the pain and sadness as well as in blessed happiness! The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.

Lord what an amazing life You've given me! Father help me to keep my eyes fixed on You no matter what may come my way! I can chose to be grateful or I can chose to be miserable. Everyday is a gift and my life belongs to You! Have Your way in me Lord. Thank You for teaching me and for never forsaking me! I love You, in Jesus name amen.

Is God mean?

Hosea 13:4-9

4“Yet I am the Lord your God

Ever since the land of Egypt,

And you shall know no God but Me;

For there is no savior besides Me.

5 I knew you in the wilderness,

In the land of great drought.

6 When they had pasture, they were filled;

They were filled and their heart was exalted;

Therefore they forgot Me.

7“So I will be to them like a lion;

Like a leopard by the road I will lurk;

8 I will meet them like a bear deprived of her cubs;

I will tear open their rib cage,

And there I will devour them like a lion.

The wild beast shall tear them.

9“O Israel, you are destroyed,

But your help is from Me.

Do you look at that bit of scripture and think, "what a cruel God!" Do you wonder at verse 7 and 8, "how could a loving God do such a thing?" I did! I thought those thoughts and I doubted God's faithfulness and His love.

What do you think? Is God an angry God, prone to wrath? Look at that scripture again, verse 6 says; "When they had pasture, they were filled; They were filled and their heart was exalted; Therefore they forgot Me."

In the beginning God created man and placed him in the garden of Eden. He gave him everything but that wasn't enough. Adam and his wife decided God was holding out on them. God commanded them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve forgot who they were in God or just disregarded God completely in order to exalt themselves and take the thing that their creator had forbidden. Sin entered in and the man and his woman fell away from the blessings and were cursed.    

There are lots of people who seem to have everything they've ever wanted and are perfectly content to live out their days without seeking to know their God despite the fact that they too are only human and will die like all the rest. People think in their hearts, "I'm not that bad of a person God will let me into His heaven." I know I use to be one of those 'not that bad' thinkers. You can't live a life of self worship and come to the end of that life and enter into the kingdom of God where the only worship will be unto Him.

Sin lies, not only in how we conduct our behavior but also in the belief that we can get there on our own. We have created a faith in ourselves. When a person believes they don't need God and goes about life with an, "I'm not that bad of a person," attitude (Ironically trusting that God's love will cover their ignorance), they invite the curse and court destruction. Only in America can a person call him or herself a Christian and not be able to explain the gospel or follow Christ's teachings.

God knows that our hearts are wicked so....God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Ask Him to give you a heart that desires Him. We all need pure hearts and only God can cleanse us from our self centered sinful hearts.
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing (John 15:4-5)."

God in His infinite wisdom, in His infinite love for us has made a way for us to be saved because there is no way we could ever save ourselves. God set it up so that we are all on the same playing field, "for all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23)."

As it is written:
“There is none righteous, no, not one;
There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one (Romans 3:10-12)."

Verse 9....“O Israel, you are destroyed, But your help is from Me." God didn't spare His wrath from His disobedient children so that He might save them. Have you ever had to punish your child for being disobedient? I hate having to punish my children because its inconvenient and difficult and exhausting. But when I do it, and I do it God's way, I get to see them learn from their sufferings and grow in wisdom and understanding. To withhold punishment from them for a wrong behavior would be unloving! God doesn't withhold punishments from those whom He loves.
Have you experienced that in your life? I have. I'm grateful for my sufferings since they have led me closer to my Savior!

God saw me in all my wickedness and He offered me His love.
1 John 4:8 says, God is love.
1 Corinthians 13:4 says, Love suffers long and is kind. God suffers long with His rebellious children and continues to be kind!

Don't put it off any more...seek the Lord while you still have a beating heart and breath in your lungs. Your eternal destiny depends on it!

"In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:9-10)."

Jesus is our only hope! What an incredible love we have in The Father and in The Son and in His Holy Spirit. Be content with the things you have been given. Your loving Father knows the things you have need of. Make your request to Him and receive His perfect peace as you wait in hopeful anticipation for the Lord to answer your hearts cry. May you be blessed today knowing that He will never leave you nor forsake you! "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9)."

Do Good, Not Evil

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good.

He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God. 

~3 John 1:11~

It's so easy to repay evil for evil! pain and suffering demand justification! But God says to love your enemies and turn the other cheek. God says to forgive others so that we may be forgiven. But how do we do good when we've been forsaken by the ones who were supposed to love us the most? 

I was teaching a class of young children this past Sunday at church and I met a boy. He looked like a typical young person. 5 and a half years old, sweet little face and big curious eyes. He was full of life and lots of energy. This boy had been placed in foster care because of his parents bad choices. Despite that reality he was excited to show us his super cool trick. His foster mom lovingly reminded him that "we don't do cartwheels in class." Then she proceeded to give him a high five for his super cool trick. 

His foster mom and I talked briefly about his sensitivity to people not understanding his speech. He struggles in school, she explained, and doesn't like it when people ask him to repeat himself. My heart immediately went out to him and I was anxious to love on him. 

We began our lesson with the story of Abraham leaving behind his home his family and everything to obey God's call to go to a new land. I asked the children if it was easy to obey. They all said yes so I said, oh really? Everybody stand up, everybody sit down, everybody stand up, everybody sit down. I watched as some children were eager to stand and sit on command and others wouldn't budge an inch. Eventually all the children were tired of my commands and didn't want to obey my sit and stand directives. 

Is it hard to obey? Yes, indeed! The story continued and I noticed the boy who was doing cartwheels earlier slowly walking towards me. I stopped our story and asked him if he had something to say. He struggled to get the words out. He rubbed his eyes and he said, I had to leave my home. My heart broke as he tried to fight back the tears. I hugged him and I looked at the other children and said it's not easy to leave your home and everything you've ever known even if it's for your own good. 

God always, always works things for our good when we love Him and obey His commands. That doesn't mean there won't be pain! That doesn't mean you won't get hurt! But it does mean that no matter what this world throws at you, God will be with you! He is all we need! 

This young boy reminded me of my past and the evil I suffered as a child. I thought my pain would never end, I thought my heart would never be healed. But God brought me through those years! I know this boy still has a long road ahead of him but he is in God's hands and there is no safer place for him to be. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me (psalm 27:10).

I know a lot of you out there suffered evil because of someone elses bad choices. I know how hard it is to let go of the pain and hurt you suffered! 

I made a lot of stupid mistakes growing up because I began to imitate evil. I thought if you can't beat em', join em'! I became filled with anger and hatred and it almost killed me! I hated my life and I just wanted the pain to end. I hit my limit one day after another painful blow was dealt to me when I was about 16. I was going to end my life that day as I walked down the road crying! I cried out to God and shortly after that a friend drove by me and said hi. He didn't know it but God used him to fill me with hope. I thought about how close I was to being able to drive and move out. I thought I just need to hold on a little bit longer and now I'm 33 years old and I have 3 beautiful children whom I would die for! My life certainly didn't become a walk in the park after I cried out to God! But I have this amazing love living inside of me now. It's God's love, He is all I need in this life! No matter what happens to me I know He will never leave me nor forsake me! I know one day this life will end and then I will be in His presence forever! I have seen God and He loves me and I love Him! I will not imitate evil, I will choose to do good because if God be for me who can stand against me?

I pray that if you are in a situation that seems hopeless that you would trust God! Seek to know Him more by reading His Word and by joining a bible teaching church. Cry out to God because He is faithful and He will work everything out for good for those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose. Don't let the evil in this world harden your heart! Receive His love! God bless you!

The Good News of Salvation is This...

Isaiah 61:1-3

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

What Time Is It?

Right now it's 1:31pm but by the time I post this.... the clock just changed to 1:32.

Do you ever wonder, "what's the purpose of time?" Today my car broke down and I was stranded, for a brief moment. Yesterday I locked myself out of the house and I was stranded, for a little longer than a moment. Has that ever happened to you? You're going about your normal routine then suddenly everything changes because of some unplanned event. Such waste of time! Or is it?

What is time anyways?
 TIME 

• the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.
• the progress of time as affecting people and things.
• a point of time as measured in hours and minutes past midnight or noon.
• the favorable or appropriate time to do something; the right moment.
• the appropriate or expected time for something, in particular childbirth or death.
• a prison sentence.
• the tempo at which a piece of music is played or marked to be played.

These are just a few of the definitions of time I read in a quick google search. I encourage you to google it yourselves or click the link above and read through the other definitions. It's quite fascinating to consider.

Ecclesiastes 3 must have been Solomons "time" of pondering time.  It starts with the words, "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven." You can read the rest of Ecclesiastes on your own. 

All of life has a beginning and an ending. All of life is encapsulated within the boundaries of time. Why? What is the purpose of time?

I was listening to Christmas music in the car last night on the way to church and my fiance says sarcastically, "Are you listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving?" Indeed I was. I love Christmas music! I love this time of year! The song playing on my CD, appropriately enough, was "Christmas Time" by Phil Wickham. The lyrics are awesome! In the background you hear the words, "God is with us, God is with us, Emmanuel, Emmanuel," and then you hear "It's Christmas time."

Christmas time and birthdays and other momentous occasions of life are great, but the days of heartache and pain, sufferings and sorrows are not so great. However, God has ordained the good and the bad. He designed our hearts with eternity in mind. He created us with a longing to know Him. Do you feel like you're missing something? It's God! Do you feel like there's gotta be something more? It's God! Do you long to belong to someone who loves you unconditionally? It's God you're searching for!

God came down to earth from His throne above to save our lives. It's miraculous and awesome and incredible! And now in the time after His birth and death and resurrection, He is still with us. In every season He is with us; in life and in death, in joy and in sufferings. He was, He is, and He will always be with us! When we're hurting, He comforts us. When we're joyful, He sings over us. When we're lost, He finds us. When we're broken, He heals us. When we are afraid, He is with us, He will uphold us with His righteous right hand!

When God is the focus of our lives what do we have to fear? What can time do to us when we know God? With God, time will accomplish awesome and wonderful things!
James 1 says, ....My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Hebrews 13:5-6 says, "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say:  “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear.  What can man do to me?”

In a sermon entitled "Why Does God Allow This," Ray Stedman says, "....God has a perfect plan that includes what we need, the painful as well as the pleasant. If we accept those as God's choices for us, coming from his loving heart -- not out of anger, not out of desire to punish, but out of love -- we will discover three wonderful things. First, we will be enabled to enjoy all of life, even the painful circumstances. Secondly, we will learn to know God. Jesus said, "This is life eternal, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." We will satisfy the sense of eternity which God has put in each heart. That will happen when our attitude toward life changes because of our relationship with God. Thirdly, this lesson will be repeated for us until we learn it, until we get it down right!

I think that is a beautiful explanation to the question, what is the purpose of time.

If you are breathing you still have time to come to Him and learn from Him. His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says:
“In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION."
(2 Corinthians 6:1-2)