Old and New

Depending on our age we have different perspectives about what is “old” and what is “new.”  When we were young, old things seemed irrelevant, outdated, and invaluable. As we matured, older things appeared meaningful, were accepted as antiques to enjoy, and were items to be conserved and cherished.

Actions, attitudes, and physical things from the past may be old but they are good and should be valued. For example, wisdom comes from those who are older. “Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?” (Job 12:12). Good things that are old need to be valued. “Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you” (Deuteronomy 32:7).

Jewish religious leaders enjoyed their old oral traditions, so they added others to the written law. Of course, it is not surprising that the religious leaders wanted to keep these traditions because they had great meaning for them. However, when Jesus came on the scene, he brought something new – a personal relationship with God. That meant that certain old traditions should be set aside because the new had come and it was much better.

The new is exactly what Jesus came to offer including a new life. “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4). In addition, freedom in Christ was now possible. “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin” (Romans 6:6).

The Apostle Paul pointed to the new when he identified a lifestyle with Christ. The new begins with being “in Christ.” He said, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here” (2 Corinthians 5:17). With faith and trust in Christ we can enjoy a new life through the power that God gives us. That means that we can do away with the old self and become a new and different person in all that we think and do. It is time that we become “new” in Christ because it will make a tremendous difference in the way we live. With a personal relationship with God through faith and trust in Jesus Christ we can become involved in a companionship that empowers us to live for God by the power of God’s Spirit.

The Bible and Time

God is a God of Time.  Acts 17:24 states, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.” Since God was the creator of everything, He is the creator of time.  Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”  Time can be specific – as indicated in the Ecclesiastes passage above – or it can be a season of the year or a specific period.  Time can also be identified as a critical point when action needs to be taken.  I Chronicles 12:32 refers to a point in time by saying, “men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.”

Time can be measured in many ways:  It can be marked by: (1) Seasons – summer, fall, winter, or spring; (2) By the Calendar System – years, months, weeks, and days; or (3) By Units – hours, minutes, and seconds.  Time can also be a specific period in which something happens.  For example, God does things in his time such as sending his Son, Jesus, to this earth.  The Bible says, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (Galatians 4:4).

Here are a few other things the Bible tells us about time.

1)    Time is valuable.  Psalm 90:12 – “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

2)    Time is brief and it can be lost.  Job 14:5 – “A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.”

3)    Time is a marker.  Ecclesiastes 3:11 – “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

4)    Time should be used wisely.  Ephesians 5:16-17 – “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

What are you doing with the time God has given you?  The time He has provided is valuable, it is brief, and it needs to be used with great wisdom.  Are you using your time to make a difference for your family, for others, and especially for God?

Summer's Lesson

When people think about “summer” the name seems to conjure up different meanings.  For those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere, summer is the season that falls between spring and fall, from late May to late September.  To others summer is the three months of June, July and August.  Still others consider summer to be the months of July and August – the hottest months of the year.  Can you believe that some people consider summer as just the month of August? The Bible has a lot to say about summer and here are some of the things it explains.

1)      God created the summer.  “It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter” (Psalm 74:17).

2)      Summer will always bring heat.  “For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer” (Psalm 32:4).

3)      As the earth exists there will be summer.  “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Genesis 8:22).

4)      Some people use summer for saving food.  “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!  It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest” (Proverbs 6:6-8).

5)      Wisdom considers summer a time to gather produce.  “He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son” (Proverbs 10:5).

6)      Living water will one day flow in both summer and winter.  “On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter” (Zechariah 14:8).

All of these things are interesting; however, think for a moment about another idea regarding summer.  Summer and harvest represent God’s opportunities for us to repent. That is an interesting concept, but even those times will pass as the scripture states.  “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved” (Jeremiah 8:20).  How would you answer these two questions: (1) Have you repented?  The Scripture says, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19).  (2) Are you ready for the Lord’s return?  The Bible says, “So you also must be ready, because the Son of man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew 24:44). So, let’s learn a lesson from summer and take the action that God suggests in His Word.