10 Aug HAPPY NEW YEAR! (ARE YOU ADDING ANOTHER YEAR TO YOUR LIFE, OR LIFE TO ANOTHER YEAR?): PART 18

Our ministerial team just returned from a two day prayer meeting!  We were praying over and discussing our departmental one-year and five-year God-given goals.  

One evening we decided to walk and pray.  All of us had gathered around a little space to sit in a public area.  As we were praying, a teenage young lady walked quietly by our team.  She clearly saw us praying and circled back round to talk with us.  She came over to us and sweetly told us that she had noticed we were praying and wondered what church we were from.  She then shared her heart.  She had been away from God and was empty and wanted to return.  We were able to pray with her and get her connected with God and church!  It was truly a divine encounter.  

Miracles occur when divine orchestration meets human participation!  It was clear…our lives were on assignment that evening and so is yours!

The Bible tells us in 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!”

Join us next week as we continue our series…