Your Appointed Time

  1. Share
Southeast Christian Church
9 0

While some specifics of God’s will for your life may feel uncertain or unpredictable, some aspects of his will are made very clear for all believers throughout Scripture. For instance, it is God's will that you repent of your sins. It is also God’s will that you pray about everything in your life and that you give him thanks for all things. Scripture tells us consistently that being obedient in baptism is part of God's will for your life. In Acts 2:38, we read, "Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" It's God's will that you be a part of a church family. It's God's will that you forgive others as you have been forgiven. It's his will that you receive the gift of salvation through Jesus, because, before you know it, your appointed time will come. 

The concept of “appointed time” makes many of us nervous or gives us anxiety since we don't know when it's coming and we want all our ducks in a row, but it’s a reality that we all have to take seriously each day as Christ’s followers. After all, you are closer to home than you ever have been in your life, and each moment is a step taken towards that point in time. Every breath is a page turned; each day is a mile marked. Before you know it, your appointed time will come, so we are to be devoted to what really matters. Don't be distracted by the things of this world or by the idea that all these challenges around you are the most important things that need to be taken care of today. Eternity is what matters most, and it's God's will that you live with that in mind.

Reflection/Discussion Question: What comes to mind when you think of your appointed time: fear, anxiety, joy, hopefulness?

Community tags

This content has 0 tags that match your profile.

Comments

To leave a comment, login or sign up.

Related Content

0
Everyone on the Same Ground
When we feel the rejection of the world, we can remember that Jesus chooses us. When we believe the lie that Jesus is on the sidelines, we can remind ourselves that he is chasing us. He initiates a relationship with us. He invites us to experience his grace. We are the ones who sideline him, forget about him, run away, try to hide, and ignore him.  He is the only one in our lives who will consistently pursue us even when we reject him. Jesus’s love for us compels him to pursue us to no end. So, while it may feel trite at first to hear that Jesus is always reaching out when everyone else has rejected us, this truth actually carries an incredible weight. After all, when we die, it won’t be the people in our lives that testify to who we are in front of a holy God—it will be Jesus. And Jesus won’t tell God how awesome we are, he will show God how sufficient he is to make us holy. The Creator of the Universe, the King of Kings, the nothing-is-impossible God actually pursues us. I think you’d be surprised if your favorite celebrity called you up and asked you to have lunch. “What? Me? You’re choosing to have lunch with me of all people?” But it is even more shocking that the Great I Am would do everything in his power to have an intimate relationship with us. Famous people are made famous by their fans, God has been great for all of eternity.  When we grasp the weight of being chosen, we can unite with our brothers and sisters who are also chosen. We could have nothing in common with them, but the thread that unites us all is that the God of the Universe has chosen us. We can unite under that identity and in the purpose he has given us to love one another. This is enough to sustain us when we get caught up in human rejection. Reflection/Discussion Question: How does being chosen create unity among us as believers?
0
When the World Hates You
Acts 5:40b-42 says, “They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah” (NIV). Isn’t it incredible that these apostles rejoiced because they were counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus, and then they went on boldly preaching that Jesus is the Messiah? Instead of leaving in fear or shame, they were saying in excited voices: “Wow! We are following Jesus so closely that they had to beat us for it!” They lived in a way that shook things up wherever they went. Can the same be said about you? It’s incredibly uncomfortable for most of us to think about living in such a way. We want everyone to like us. We assume that if we are loving people like Jesus, then of course everyone will like us. But then we remember that Jesus became so hated that he was killed. If we are following Jesus, we will cause disruptions. Jesus wasn’t quiet about the things of God and his life was incredibly disruptive. But Jesus wasn’t disruptive for the sake of bringing the attention on himself, he was disruptive because he came into our world with God’s purpose. He disrupted our lives set on living the world’s purpose and set us on a path to follow him.  When we grasp that we have been chosen on purpose and for a purpose, we won’t care what people think of us. We won’t live to please other people. We won’t worry about being disruptive. The God of the Universe has chosen us to live out his purpose—worrying about approval or persecution becomes trivial in light of living our God-given purpose. When we grasp this, we can live just like the early apostles who rejoiced that they were persecuted for the name of Jesus and went on boldly preaching the truth about Jesus wherever they went. Reflection/Discussion Question: What are your initial thoughts and feelings as you consider the idea that the world will hate you if you follow Jesus?