2 Corinthians 6:2 (NIV) Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
Almost every morning, I have a routine. With a fresh cup of coffee in hand, I get out a couple of the bibles that I use for my quiet-time scripture reading. Then, after my scripture time, I spend time in prayer in a patterned way. I highlight this to give you an insight into how my prayer begins (I have this written down):
“Thank you Sovereign, Holy, Almighty God for today! I submit this day to you. May it bring glory to you. May I use it well as your steward no matter what circumstances that I face.”
When I pray, I also use Psalm 90:12, which says, “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”
Why do I share this example of prayer on just one day? Because I only know that I have today. I love to look down the road in life and aim for something for the future. I love to dream, plan, and look beyond the circumstances that are right in front of me. But I can only know for a fact that I only have today. What happens right now, today, is of profound importance. Human life is brief at best—but the Sovereign Creator God is eternal. Shouldn’t I want to pay very close attention to today? Today, right now, is all I have…so I must take that one day and put it into the hands of the eternal God.
This Sunday I will be teaching out of 2 Corinthians, from the end of chapter 5 through the beginning of chapter 6.
2 Corinthians 5:20 – 6:2 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, *“In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. *Paul quotes Isaiah 49:8
In preparation for this coming Sunday, April 10, I am asking you to spend time reading 2 Corinthians 5, 6 and 7. As you read and pray for this Sunday, look at the way Paul challenges the Church Body to live out the “martus” (witness/commissioned) life with a sense of urgency. We don’t know what tomorrow is. We have today.
Do we live and tell of the resurrected Christ with that kind of urgency?
See you Sunday morning at 10 a.m.!
