11 May HAPPY NEW YEAR! (ARE YOU ADDING ANOTHER YEAR TO YOUR LIFE, OR LIFE TO ANOTHER YEAR?): PART 8

As a pastor, I have two hobbies that I truly enjoy that are “mental getaways” for me.  The first is college football and the second is shark fishing!  

Last September I was in South Carolina doing a little shark fishing.  My son, and a friend from church and I walked down to an oceanic sound where I fish often.  We walked to the spot where I always fish and we dropped our gear.  I was only there for a couple of minutes when I spotted two little children approximately three and five years of age drowning!  The father had a third child and was facing away from the ocean and attending solely to the third child.  The three and five year olds had waded into the sound and the current was quite strong.  They were both swept off their feet and had been pushed out into water where they could no longer stand.  Immediately I ran into the ocean and was able to grab the little five year old girl.  The little boy however, was under water.  

Now, if you know anything about drowning victims (I was a lifeguard for five years as a teenager), if a person goes under in a lake or the ocean, only the grace of God can save them; particularly in the ocean where the currents are so strong!  Out loud I exclaimed, “Where is the other child?”  As I said that the little boy bobbed up right in front of me!  I will never forget the look in his eyes.  This was likely his last breath and he was terrified!  I was able to scoop him up in my other arm and thank God, I was able to get them both safely back to their father!  This was a miraculous occurrence!

Earlier that day God had revealed to me Ephesians 5:16, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”  God was giving me a tangible revelation of this powerful verse!  Remember our key verse for this series from Ephesians 5:15-17:  

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”

Please allow me to break this verse down a little bit.  Notice the word “walk.”  This is the Greek word “peripateo.”  It is a Greek compound word that comes from “peri” which means “around” (we get our English word periscope from it) and “pateo” which means “path.”  Put those words together and it means “to beat a path around” or to be preoccupied with something.  

The word “circumspectly” is the Greek word “akribos” which means “diligently, exactly or straight.”  The Greek word translated “fools” is “asophos” which means “one who has no wisdom.”  Paul, by the Holy Spirit, is referring to unbelievers without Christ.  

In verse 16, you find the word “redeeming” which is the Greek word “exagarazo” which means “to buy back, ransom or rescue from loss.”

The Greek word translated “time” is “Kairos.”  There are two Greek words for time:  one is “chronos” where we get our English word “chronology” from.  This word describes normal time as we know it.  However the word “Kairos” is a divine opportunity orchestrated by God.  

The word translated “days” means “ages or time period” and is referring to the culture we now live in.

If you will allow me a little liberty, these verses could be paraphrased to mean this:

“See then that you are preoccupied with walking diligently in a straight line.  Not like unwise unbelievers that don’t know Jesus, but as wise (people who see life from God’s perspective).  Buying back all the Divine opportunities that you possibly can because this culture is evil.  Because of that, don’t be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is!”

That fateful day at the ocean truly revealed to me just how real those “Kairos” moments truly are.  What if I came down to the ocean just a minute later?  Those children would have likely drowned as there were no other people anywhere near us at the time.  I could have done a million other things that day and two children could have died!  That dramatic example has given me such a vivid picture that my life is truly on Divine assignment!  However I want you to know…SO IS YOURS!! 

Join me over the next few weeks as we continue our series….