Redeem the time:Part 1

"Wherewith he saith,Awake thou that sleepest,and arise from the dead,and Christ shall give thee light.
See that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools,but as wise,
Redeeming the time,because the days are evil."-Ephesians 5:14-16

"And that,knowing the time,that now it is high time to awake out of sleep:for now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed.
The night is far spent,the day is at hand:let us therefore cast off the works of darkness,and let us put on the armour of light.
Let us walk honestly, as in the day;not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying."-Romans 13:11-13

"This know also,that in the last days perilous times shall come."-2 Timothy 3:1

Indeed we are living in the last days,for we see much evil.2 Timothy3:1-7 is fulfilled and each day is a testimony of how much little time we have.

What is our duty? "Wherefore be ye not unwise,but understanding what the will of the Lord is."-Ephesians 5:17

Our present duty is to be aligned with God's will.To clearly know what our duty is towards God and man.That's a study for another day.

But if you read most of the New Testament,you will realise the overall theme,amongst many is:Now that we have been redeemed we should no longer live according to flesh, instead,through God's aid,we are to live for others and be constantly growing in grace.And through this growth,many will be drawn by our consistent,holy lives.

Christ's redemption also means we have a duty to the next person:to tell of God's desire for them to be saved.Our talents,mental endowments,strength,speech,writing,preaching, teaching,have been given for the plan of salvation.

So,our duty revolves around obeying God,thus being purified to meet Him and to let others know Him.

Lastly,we are to watch and pray.

Just from the conflict that is happening in my life,you can tell that we are drawing to the end.Daily,you have to consciously choose between the temporal and that which will affect your destiny.Satan is constantly trying to draw our minds from that which is of most importance:working out our salvation (Philippians 2:12).

He makes sin appear glorious, like glittering gold.He's constantly bringing seemingly exciting things.And his desire is such that we may grow careless,while he breaks the boundaries making us easy targets. A life of ease is also his way of distracting us.He accomplished this in Sodom and what a sad ending it was.

"Idleness is the greatest curse that can fall upon man,for vice and crime follow in its train.It enfeebles the mind,perverts the understanding, and debases the soul.Satan lies in ambush,ready to destroy those who are UNGUARDED,whose leisure gives him opportunity to insinuate himself under some ATTRACTIVE disguise.He is never more successful than when he comes to men in their idle hours"(emphasis added).-Patriarchs and Prophets,pp.156,157

Hence the admonition to redeem the time.