Tag: One life to live

Time Coins of Life

In the beginning when God created the heaven and the earth He separated light from darkness on a scheduled time of sharing upon the earth. He called the light day and the darkness night. This time-sharing of light for the day and darkness for the night did not have a counting down clock of time, but an endless rotation of sharing upon the earth. Nothing was decaying and dying at this point of creation only an undetermined time of existence.

When God created Adam, the first of mankind, from the building material of the dust of the ground/dirt of the earth, forming an image and likeness of what God would be if He was in solid form. God breathed a part of His own eternal Spirit into the man Adam and he became a living soul (Ge. 2:7), a child of God. We are God’s offspring (Acts 17:28), part earth and part eternal spirit from God.

God created Eve, the first mother of mankind, from one of Adam’s rib bones (Ge. 2:22). Adam and Eve was the first couple of the human race without any impurities or time limit of existence. They were free to live with all of creation and no fear of their paradise coming to an end.

The day and the night would rotate, the four seasons would cycle, and life would continue without an end. In this world all things had no end except the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Only the end of time was upon this tree. God warned Adam and Eve that everything was free except this one tree would bring the bondage of death. If Adam and Eve ate from this tree it would start the clock of death-bringing life to an end.

The entire world of complete timeless freedom versus the one tree of the knowledge of good and evil to the countdown of an ending death. I know it is hard for us to wrap our minds around a morning of day to a darkness of night without the diminishing and aging of time, but this is what Adam and Eve had in the beginning. There was no growing older, no disease/sickness, and no ending of life.

When Eve and Adam made the choice to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil the clock of time started counting down to their moments of death. God-loving His children so much He pointed death’s clock towards their bodies made from the earth and placed a promise child of His own Spirit to be born to the saving of mankind’s eternal soul from the eternal death of hell that was made for the devil and his angels only.

COINS

In the old days a car could park in the city near the building by putting coins into what was known as a parking meter. The driver would get out of his car, walk up to the meter, reaching into his pocket, pulling out coins, sliding them into the slots that fit the size of the coins (determining the amount of time he could park there) and then turning the knob winding it to the beginning of a countdown of time for the car to be legally parked in that spot. When the time ran out the car was supposed to be no longer there and had moved onto another place.

Adam and Eve lost their legal right to live in this world. Death was upon both of them because of their free right to choose ignoring the warning of God, their Father. God walked up to them, reaching into His pocket, pulling out the “Time Coins of Life”, sliding them into the slots that fit the size of the coins and turning back the knob winding the clock of life to the beginning for the countdown to death. Their bodies became that car parked for a certain amount of time here on earth and death would claim that car releasing the eternal spirit driver inside to another place and moving on into eternity.

God knew that death had to be paid. He put the “Time Coins of Life” upon the fleshly bodies of mankind starting with Adam and Eve to all their children, but placed inside the offspring a child to be born to save the souls of mankind from eternal death in hell meant for the devil and his angels only.

Thus the beginning of the “Time Coins of Life” was born to all of mankind. Every baby is born with a bank account of “Time Coins of Life” fed into their meter counting down to the end of times up. An automatic withdrawal starts subtracting from that life bank account. The seconds of time could be like pennies vanishing away from that account. Minutes could be like nickels, times, and quarters disappearing from that account. Time cannot be stopped nor can the taking away of our “Time Coins of Life”.

“Time Coins of Life” is our allotted amount of existence here on earth. As history and our present day memories show the “Time Coins of Life” have ran out on our friends, family, strangers, and other loved ones. Their fleshly bodies carried their spirits for a certain amount of time before their “Time Coins of Life” ran out. The death penalty must and will be paid because of what Eve and Adam passed onto all of their children in mankind. It is not a matter of “if” it will be paid, but on “when” it shall be paid.

It is difficult to see our life  bank account is being taken from every second of life and our time is counting down to an unknown time to us that our body will end. If we could see our “Time Coins of Life” disappearing while we are healthy like a terminally ill diagnosed person the devil would have a harder time selling us to live a selfish and reckless life.

The question is ‘if God gave you a certain amount of time coins here on earth how would you spend them?’ Some people have the mind-set of eating and drinking without any hope believing that their tomorrow has nothing to offer but death (! Cor. 15:32). Just by you reading these words your seconds of life are given to by a loving Father of life. God has given you life and your life is precious. You have a free choice what goes into those “Time Coins of Life” disappearing into the past.

NOT ORDINARY

“Time Coins of Life” are not ordinary coins like man has made. The only thing man’s coins and time coins have in common they both have a measure of value upon them. Man’s coins are made with materials that are temporary of this earth. “Time Coins of Life” are the recorded words and deeds we have done every second we have lived on this earth.

Man made coins like quarters are given away to machines for games, parking, washing/drying, pleasures, food/drinks, tobacco, and the list goes on. The quarter disappears into the machine forever gone from us and we think nothing about it because we can get more quarters.

“Time Coins of Life” are like the quarter that disappears into the machine out of sight – out of mind. The difference of quarters and “Time Coins of Life” is that the time coins started disappearing when we were conceived and will not stop until they run out. The clock of time started counting down and subtracting the “Time Coins of Life” from us without us being conscious our bank of life here on earth was getting less every second. We have come to know it as growing older and aging.

“Time Coins of Life” are out of the majority of people’s sight and therefore out of their thoughts. Only the people who have been diagnosed with terminal illness start counting the seconds of their “Time Coins of Life” with their family and friends. Quarters are something we believe we can get more of with no worries, but “Time Coins of Life” are out of our control and cannot be added to like quarters (Matt. 6:27).

KEY DIFFERENCE

Man made coins have different metals from the earth. “Time Coins of Life” have encapsulated inside them of what we did in those seconds and the choices we have made. Time Coins are carried away instantly into the bank of accountability until the day our fleshly bodies run out of life coins releasing our eternal spirit to face those coins of our life passed on earth before God.

When we speak words those words goes into storage of those seconds forever recorded in the “Time Coins of our Life” that we will have to face again after this life (Mtt. 12:36). When we are watching a movie those seconds are disappearing from our life filling those Time Coins with the movie. They are filled with our choices. They are filled with our heartaches. They are filled with our laughter. They are filled with our anger. They are filled with anything and everything we have said and done.

EXAMPLE

A young man who has lived his life doing the right thing and saying the right thing wanted to know what good thing could he do to get eternal life. Jesus knowing the heart of the young man said to him, “If you want to enter life, keep the commandments“. The young man had been filling all of his “Time Coins of Life” with the commandments and he asked Jesus “Which ones?” Jesus wanted to extract from the young man and he said, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, love your neighbor as yourself.‘ ” The young man said, “All these I have kept.” “What do I still lack?” Jesus replied, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.“When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mtt. 19:16-23).

This is where the Time Coins of Life play a part in all of us including the young man speaking to Jesus. Filling your moments of time with keeping the commandments is great, but hanging onto things in this world that you cannot take with you through the grave is not. Jesus knew what the young man valued above God and that was the riches of this world. Everything in this world is going to pass away. To have treasure in heaven is to be able to give all of yourself, all of your time, and all of what you have to God. The treasure is filling your moments of time with following Jesus and selling whatever it is holding your soul to this world.

You can have all kinds of things in this world, but keeping them in their proper place of value is the most important part. Your “Time Coins of Life” being subtracted from you are more important moments to spend wisely. You and I are giving away our life to something every day and that something must be examined to be worth our “Time Coins of Life”. You can’t get your seconds back, but you can find another job, a better friend, doing what you were gifted to do, and living the life God’s wants you to have.

Now, we can look at ourselves and people around us with what things are being put inside their “Time Coins of Life”. We can see people spending their “Time Coins of Life” on bitterness, jealousy, anger, lust, obsession, hatred, selfishness, dissensions, drunkenness…etc storing up a bank account to be recounted before the judgment seat of God for how they spent their time allotted life on earth. Life is too short to be filling it with bitterness and being upset all the time.

When God showed me this “Time Coins of Life” being subtracted from my bank account of life to some unknown day my body will die releasing my spirit really sobered me up to count my seconds wisely in words and deeds that I do. I did at one time allow hatred to fill my days of wanting revenge. I did let jealousy deform my thinking into a monster. I did allow many other things to drive my days into evil darkness. Those Time Coins of Life can never be changed or taken back. No matter how much we wish we could go back in time those “Time Coins of Life” are gone.

What is most important is not looking into the empty part of our bank account of life, but to focus on the right now coins that are being extracted into the past. None of us know how much more of “Time Coins of Life” we have left in our bank account, but we do know our living right now has moments that we could be filling those time coins with the words and deeds God has called us to do.

I could not find words to express when I took the time to repent of my evil and sinful ways allowing God to give me a second chance of being born again in Him; giving Him those seconds and minutes to baptize me in water in the name of Jesus washing away all my past sins and filling me with His Holy Spirit. My “Time Coins of Life” now have Him filling them along with me in a oneness partnership that have eternal spirit and life in them. There is a glow inside my heart I cannot find words to describe having Him helping me to live this life the right way.

I realize now when I say, “I love you, Jesus” those words are encapsulated into those seconds returning to God in storage of that day my spirit meets Him before His throne. I cannot translate the joy of knowing the evil person I was in the past has been born again with a new person filling his “Time Coins of Life” with things that really matter.

I want my “Time Coins of Life” to be filled with the opposite of hate (love), opposite of sadness (joy), opposite of fighting (peace), opposite of being mean (kindness)…etc. I have done my share of bad things in life and I want to change them into goodness, trustworthy, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. To have all these good things I know I need God to help me every second a “Time Coin of Life” passes from me.

What words or deeds do you want God to break open from your “Time Coins of Life”? We are not only choosing what to do with our time, but we are also filling those around us into their “Time Coins of Life”. We do not live unto ourselves only, but all those we encounter daily. Their “Time Coins of Life” will be opened up with mine and your deeds that were done unto them.

It is amazing to think God walked up to our parents and inserted the “Time Coins of Life” giving us a chance to live. Some of us have been a blessing of time coins to our brothers, sisters, parents, co-workers, and many others. Even the children that died before the age of accountability went straight to heaven never-dying to God, but only to us. Their “Time Coins of Life” filled us with memories to change us to cherish what is left in our banks of life that we may have to reach others to not waste one second, but to fill them to the fullest of life and life more abundantly graced to us by God. We have to count our life to be very precious and to live a life worthy of our God and those who have gone on before us filling every Time Coin to the fullest.

Our bodies are meant to fade away and die, but not our souls. They are meant to go to heaven to be with our Heavenly Father. Anywhere else than heaven was not meant for us, but we do have the power of choice in every second we have breath on this earth. It is a fearful thing when you start thinking about time coin‘s in our bank of existence in this world. Every second that is ticking by the time coin is being removed from our account ticking down to that day, that moment, that hour that we leave our bodies.

I believe there is no better life to live in the seconds of this world than with the time-keeper of all eternity. Don’t roll the dice gambling on how much is left in your meter of life. Start a fellowship with God and you will find the seconds of your life filled with a joy unspeakable and feel full of a glory you cannot describe.

I am here to tell you the driver of your temporary vehicle (fleshly body) your existence is extremely important to God. Your time here on earth means everything to Him. The car (your body) can be replaced, but the driver (your spirit) cannot. He wants you to come home to Him when your body runs out of time on the meter of this life bringing your spirit to live with Him in heaven forever. God loves you allow Him to help fill your “Time Coins of Life” with things that really matter.

Invisible Bridge of Love

We miss so many things on a daily basis. It saddens my heart when I see myself and others running over to quickly the things that matter most. I may never be debt free, financially set, possess all the things I dream about, bless my children, or go to the places I desire. You and I can have some things no matter our status in this physical world. I see us taking steps towards the invisible bridge of love by our eyes of faith into the sweet and blessed fellowship of the Spirit of God and His word. The only cost is our time and after that whatever our heart wills. We, unfortunately get to busy in this life in what “WE” call living. We rush by some of the most important treasures we could have in our minds, hearts, and souls that no physical things of this world could ever give us. I am making myself slow down and savor every moment with God and His word. For I know it is making me a better person inside and out irregardless of my classification in this world. Walk with me and see this invisible bridge of love that is in front of us everyday that all we have to do is look.

Jesus the man, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, with the fullness of God inside of him (Col. 2:9) walking among us headed towards a town called Nain (Luke 7:11). I believe this fullness of God inside of Jesus had the perfect Love looking upon us with patience, kindness, no envy of our earthly possessions, not boastful of who he was, not proud with a better than you attitude, not rude towards us, not selfish, not easily angered by our faults, keeping no records of our wrongs – but forgiving, no delight in evil, rejoices with the truth, always protecting us in various ways, always trusting for a better outcome, always hopeful for us, always persevering for our good, a love that never fails us (1 Cor. 13:4-8). As Jesus walked towards this town with a large crowd following him to see what he would do, but inside his eyes was the look of God’s invisible bridge of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Gal. 5:22) gazing into all the souls.

Coming Down the Road:

As Jesus and the large crowd following him approached the gate to enter into Nain a large crowd was approaching the gate to go out of the town of Nain. The crowd with Jesus going into had the resurrection and the life with them. The crowd the mother going out had the death and the loss of a precious life with them. Life going in and death coming out. Life meeting death at the gateway of the town.  Jesus, God manifested in the flesh, saw the mother with a sight of complete clearness of her heart, mind, and soul. What Jesus saw specifically inside of her is unknown exactly, but whatever it was drew the compassion out of him to cross over the invisible bridge of love and said to her “Don’t cry” (Momma don’t cry). The life crowd and the death crowd are meeting face to face. Jesus walking past the mother touched the coffin and said “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The man who was in the grip of death was loosed by the hands of Life sat up and starting talking. Jesus gave him back to his mother (Luke 7:11-15). This is what I see: Jesus with one hand holding the young man’s hand sitting up in the coffin and his other hand holding the mother’s hand to receive her son. Jesus between them in a bodily form of the cross showing us the invisible bridge of love God has towards us.

Jesus changed the uncleanness of death to purified of life. He returned that which was lost to the mother all because he saw something inside of her that redeemed a second chance. The crowd of life following Jesus witnessed the crowd of death turned into life. Jesus said the time is coming and has come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear (key word is HEAR) will live crossing over from death to life (John 5:25, 24). This crowd was seeing a type and shadow of what Jesus was going to do on the cross for all of mankind. In one hand of the cross he had death and sin, the other hand he had forgiveness of sin by the blood of the lamb of God. He returns us to the fellowship of God no longer separated by the laws of death. All that is required of us is to have that something inside our hearts that causes Him to redeem us with a second chance.

That Something Inside:

After Jesus died on the cross, was buried in the tomb, and rose again to life on the third day he passed on the ministry he had received from God the Spirit to his apostles. A crowd was gathered again around the apostles and was made aware of their death sentence state, even though they were physically alive death was upon them. They wanted to know what should they do to be free from this coffin of death waiting for them. The invisible bridge of love from death to life was revealed to them to repent (turn away from sins) and be baptized in water in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God applying the blood of the Lamb, which is in the name of Jesus, for the forgiveness of sins and receive the Holy Spirit just like the apostles for it is a promise to you, to your children (generations) and for all who are far off (Acts 2:38, 39). Jesus is still the bridge of love between us and God made visible by the word of God and His Spirit.

Let Jesus say to your heart “Don’t cry” (sorry for your sins), feel Him touch your spiritual coffin of death (water baptism in Jesus name), hear Him say the words of “get up!” (receive the Holy Spirit of life), and let Jesus return you to the fellowship of God our Father. Those same eyes are upon us right now as you are reading and as I am typing. I want my eyes and your eyes of faith to see this and feel this ever-present bridge of love every moment though invisible to the flesh, but undescribingly present upon our spirit. Are our thoughts alive and sensitive to Him? We cannot afford to read God’s word so quickly. His word is full of Spirit and life. May you start your daily journey with God having a quickness to hear with perception and understanding and a slowness to speak and anger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spent, Spending, and Will Spend

“Spent, spending, and will Spend” automatically makes you think of money in your hands to do whatever you need to do with it or whatever you wish with it. There is another kind of spending that escapes us everyday. It is very much different from money that we can work for and at the end of the pay period accumulate more of it. Money is something we can gain and spend over and over, time and time again. What is something we can spend, but never get it back? It is invisible to our senses, yet we spend it everyday none stop.

I had a dream to wake me up early this morning with a great sadness in my heart. In the dream I was holding my little boy in my left arm with his legs dangling by my side. He was busy eating some food with still some fragments in his tiny hand. In his tiny nostrils his nose was showing signs of infection, needed to be blown and cleaned. I reached into my back pocket for a handkerchief. I raised it to his nose and he allowed me to clean his nostrils.

I awoke after this completely awake and wishing for no more dreams like this one for the sadness that covers my whole system. I know I will be fighting this dream for the rest of my day. I love my son and my daughter that God gave me with all my heart. When I see my son or daughter whether by photographs, video, or mentally it brings tears to my heart and soul. I am now just starting to understand what my parents went through at this stage in life. Those little children I could pour my love upon when ever I wanted to with hugs, kisses, tickling, chasing, and being there for their scrapes are no longer. They are not dead just gone their own way in life, which no longer needs the love I would pour upon them in a different way. Now, they only need what little financial support I can offer them.

“Spent, Spending, and Will Spend” is a revelation of the past, the present, and the future. This was a morning as though I had woke up on a mountain top with the view of all the unmarked paths and narrow trails of life that I had taken from childhood progressing through each stage of growing older to the present moment. The memories of my past came to me as a time that was spent that could never be taken back. The present time is speeding by me being spent before my very eyes without stopping. The future will be spending without any controlling on my part as long as I have life in my body.

“Spent” is not the money we have used, but the choices of our past. I spent myself as a young child, young adult, and adult on the choices I made with the relatives, family, neighborhood, and school. The things I spent myself on whether good or bad can never be taken back for exchange for something else. The physical and mental memories cannot be changed. It is gone completely. Some things I spent myself on hurt myself and/or others. All of us have “Spent” the most valuable irreplaceable gift we possess and that is time given to be here on earth. I could not see this vision of truth when I was a young person because time means nothing to me. I acted as though I had an endless supply of time to spend. As a young adult I “Spent” time on things that mounted to nothing, which is gone and cannot be replaced with things that would have mounted to something. We all have chased dreams well into years realizing it was never meant to be and all that time spent chasing it is gone and cannot be taken back.

Time has a way of moving us into needful areas of life whether occupational or commitment. When this comes along “Spent, spending, and will spend” kicks into high gear. You become so busy with taking care of different kinds of needs the day comes when you realize you are a great deal older than what your mind registers. You physically and mentally enter into a mode of being spent for others on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. People come to rely upon you to spend yourself for them. You become a means to an end. Then you find yourself on top of a mountain of memories looking around asking “where did time go?“. This kind of thinking comes at different times in life. Some people calls it “mid-life crisis”. The time in life that it comes to you can vary, but none the less the wake up call is still very sobering when it is our seconds that are being spent. We started out as babies as our parents were once upon a time, children as our parents were once upon a time, teenagers, young adults, become parents ourselves, middle-aged, and senior citizens. We all are spending our physical and metal existence daily that cannot be stopped as long as we live on this earth.

Those that have been in combat, life and death situations, or something traumatic have seen this invisible spending of time. The soldier laying behind whatever cover he can find as the bullets are flying by sees the slow ticking of seconds being spent to survive the assault.  The person walking along when the heart attack strikes every second that ticks by becomes crucial for their survival. The car accident goes into slow motion with their life flashing before their eyes is the clock of time of how they have spent it. They all came away from it changed. Some things in life that was thought of important before are not as valuable now. Spending those seconds of life focus on the most important things around us the ones we love the most.

I tried to encourage my son to enjoy his senior in high school with no regrets for when it finally arrives everything will become nothing but a memory with no going back. Freedom from high school feels great at the moment, but when you look at how you spent your time could be filled with regrets. I am encouraging my daughter to enjoy everyday as though it was her last day in high school creating good memories before it all enters into the past and can never be repeated.

My wife had an Uncle of whom I grew to love and appreciate. He developed a heart condition. I felt like I needed to video tape our family get together because it may be the last time we see him alive. Unknowingly, it was a short time later he fell over with a heart attack and was gone. I am glad I spent the time carefully recording the laughter, the games, and the family fellowship. I became the family video guy for all occasions. I spent my time recording others having a good time with no regrets because one Christmas was the last Christmas my brother-in-law would have with his wife and 2-year-old son. When the son reached his upper teenage years I put together all the videos of his dad before he was killed in a car accident. We are all under the time spout flowing out the seconds that we live not knowing when the time will come for it to turn off on us. Someone or something will spend your life for you. Take control of your seconds and live them fulfilled as much as possible.

In the movie Saving Private Ryan the last words he spoke at the grave site really leaped out to me when he said, “Everyday I think about what you said to me that day on the bridge; I’ve tried to live my life the best that I could. I hope that it was enough. I hope, that at least in your eyes, I earned what you have done for me.” I have buried my earthly father of whom I love very much and am grateful for the life he taught me how to live. He may not have been able to give me large amounts of money to spend, but he spent his life giving me the example of how to live this life the right way without wasting precious time on meaningless things. Spend yourself in a way that those around you will talk about you for years to come as a person who earned their spot in life worthy of those who sacrificed.

You only have one life to live, live it wisely. Life is too short to go through it bitter and upset. Thank you for reading and have a great day in-spite of what comes your way.