David Teems, an excellent writer of devotionals, has presented an intriguing theory concerning God’s ability to throw our confessed sins into the sea of His forgetfulness. He writes that “God doesn’t operate in the the dimension of ‘time’ like we do; that is, linear, sequential “time”. Our experiences are “past, present, future but God operates in eternity and eternity frustrates the order of things we experience in ‘time”, i.e. to look back, or forward or remember or forget something and renders all that a non-issue to God.”
God looks at everything NOW. He is a NOW God. What is happening NOW is existentially HIS realm. Teems says, “Love looks beyond and is capable of keeping no such memories for there is no “time” to place them in.”
God has the capability to see everything all at once (which is most difficult for us to fathom for we are creatures of TIME) from beginning to end and He already knows of our repentance, our accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, and our being a member of the Kingdom of God. He already knows that if we miss the mark and sin and repent, He already knew it before we did. He knows of our sorrow for our sin and He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness by the blood of the Lamb of God. For He saw us from Eternity.
It is our response to the message of the Gospel, that is, receiving Christ as our personal Savior that occurs in “time” that puts us in that ETERNAL MODE of His Kingdom. It is of utmost import that we keep a check on our attitudes, intents and purposes of our hearts and be quick to repent, daily, and turn from the sins that so easily beset us. When we truly repent, He does cast our sins into the “sea of His forgetfulness” and will remember them no more. That is the beauty and the glory of living the consecrated-to-Christ life. We can step out of “time” and into eternity with Christ, even while here in this “time” bomb!
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It just occurred to me concerning ‘time” & “Eternity” That:
you can’t have one without the other. You must be born of water and the Spirit in the dimension of “time” in order to gain, through receiving Christ in “time”,…to gain Eternity.
Jesus thrust Himself into “time” when He left His Heavenly home and inserted Himself into the dimension of humanity so that we human, mortal beings who exist and function in the milieu and context of time might have the inexpressibly fortuituous opportunity to live in Eternity, while on earth, and to live immortally not in everlasting punishment but in Heaven with Christ. How rich is that?
Peter writes to the church(s) “[B]eloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8). Peter used a figure of speech known as a simile to compare a day to a thousand years.
Ray C. Stedman, Commentary on 2 Peter writes…” ONE DAY. . .THOUSAND YEARS: Again Peter reminds his readers that there is something they must keep in mind when thinking of the parousia of Christ. First, vv. 1-7 have assured them that the scoffing unbelief they hear is itself proof of the fact; now, second, vv. 8-9 recall to them the nature of God as different from men. Time and Eternity are two quite different entities, and since God is eternal and man finite, they look at time in different ways. The quote is from Psalm 90:4 where man is pictured as “numbering his days” while God is “from everlasting to everlasting.” In eternity there is no time, i.e. past or future, but only the present. Thus “time” and “delay” are virtually meaningless to God, and man must learn to adjust to that. This should help us greatly in facing the centuries that have passed since New Testament times.”
Maybe it would be wise for us to live in the MOMENT. Not always looking at the past and worrying about the future. Be in the moment…..and let God handle His moment.
Precisely. If our God is a NOW God, why would we want to “BE” anything else? To live ‘in the moment’, give it our focus, to see what God’s will is from moment to moment, to resolve to be OBEDIENT to His will from moment to moment,
is “better than whole burnt offerings.”
Stedman goes on to say in 2 Peter:3:12 -13 “THE DAY OF GOD: This is not the same as the Day of the Lord of v. 10. It is what believers wait for and even, by godly living, hasten in its coming; and it is the reason why the present heavens and earth must be destroyed (Gk. di hen “because of which”), but it is described as the new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. It is, therefore, the eternal state, pictured in vivid imagery in the New Jerusalem of Revelation. 21 and 22. In the present age, righteousness is under constant attack; in the millennium righteousness will be the dominant lifestyle, though evil is present; in the new heavens and earth, righteousness will dwell, i.e. be at home, in its natural environment, without having to struggle with sin or weakness”.
3:14 BE DILIGENT: Peter now returns to his word of 1:5 and 1:10 “be diligent,” to urge a practical result of their forward-looking hope. Jesus is coming again, it could occur at any moment, what will you be like when He returns? That is his question. Jesus himself had raised the question: “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8). He left the question hanging in the air, waiting for each hearer to answer in his own heart. Peter suggests a diligent response that seeks to avoid the shame of the false teachers (“spots” and “blemishes”), has dealt biblically and honestly with any personal failure and therefore has found peace that passes understanding. Peace is the heritage of Christians and its presence indicates one whose expectation of the return of Christ has given a sense of balance and proportion despite whatever chaos the world may present.”
This reminds me of a Gaithers Song:
SHELTERED IN THE ARMS OF GOD
by The Gaither Singers
I feel the touch of hands so kind and gentle,
They’re leading me in paths that I must trod;
I have no fear when Jesus walks beside me,
For I’m sheltered in the arms of God.
So let the storms rage high, the dark clouds rise,
They won’t worry me for I’m sheltered safe within the arms of God;
He walks with me and naught of Earth can harm me,
Sheltered safe within the arms of God.
Soon I shall hear the call from Heaven’s portals,
Come home my child, it’s the last mile you must trod;
I’ll fall asleep and wake in God’s new Heaven,
Sheltered safe within the arms of God.
So let the storms rage high, the dark clouds rise,
They won’t worry me for I’m sheltered safe within the arms of God;
He walks with me and naught of Earth can harm me,
Sheltered safe within the arms of God.
Sheltered safe within the arms of God!
Time and eternity are so different yet so related. Even though God is eternal He still takes time to be interested in our personal timelines. In Exodus 3:13-15 the eternal God stepped into Moses’s timeline and defined Himself as ‘I am who I am….I AM’. He was the now God who was on time to deliver Moses and His people from the slavery of Egypt.
Our eternal destination today is intersected by Eternity Himself in the Cross of Christ. In Revelation 22:13, the eternal Father continues His work of deliverance for us through Jesus His Son. Jesus defines Himself by saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Rev 3:20 is telling us that the eternal Jesus takes time to stand at the door of our hearts and knock. He want us to invite Eternity in.
What happens when we invites Eternity in our hearts? And, how does one know if Eternity is standing at the door of our hearts knocking. And, how do we acknowledge that Eternity can come it.
Whee, this is a mighty big thing in my mind.
Eternity is big in my mind, too…much more than I can grasp. These scriptures ,as I understand them, help me break it down into bite-size pieces.
Rev 3:20 says we have to hear Jesus (Eternity) knocking to know that He’s there at the door of our hearts. Romans 10:14 asks us the question, how can we hear unless someone tells us about Him. And Romans 10:8-10 helps us understand that we open the door to Eternal Life in Heaven with God the Father and Jesus by faith when we believe the message of salvation. When Eternity (Jesus) comes in, Rev 3:20 says He will share a meal with us as friends (NLT). His eternal life in us makes us new. (II Cor 5:17)
Romans 10:8-14
“The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.”
And that message is the very message about faith that we preach:If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?”
Sara shared the verse in 2 Peter, verse 8. Here are the footnotes for verses 8 and 9, read with me: “God may have seemed slow to these believers as they faced persecutiion every day and longed to be delivered. But God is not slow; he just is not on our timetable (Psalm 90:4). Jesus is waiting so that more sinners will repent and turn to him. We must not sit and wait for Christ to return, but we should realize that time is short and we have iimportant work to do. Be ready to meet Christ any time, even today; yet plan your course of service as though he may not return form many years.”
From footnotes Needles has posted makes me wonder if the return of Jesus is based on the diligent work that we do or should be doing. I am so glad He waits for more sinners to repent and turn to him. I hope I pray enough and do all I should do to make sure that all that will turn to Jesus Christ and His teachings will.
I yearn that all would know His marvelous light and the power of it’s beam in their lives.
This anonymous quote seems to tie in w/ what Needles and Sara are saying and gives a little perspective on Jesus telling us that he would make us fishers of men.
“Sitting still and wishing
Makes no person great
The Lord sends the fishing
But you must dig the bait.””
Like the poem, Debi. It seems to say it all, doesn’t it?