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Old Father Time
Devotional for Friday, May 24, 2002 by Rod Marshall
Matthew 4:6-7 - "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" (NIV)Does the following little vignette sound reasonable to you, or outrageous?
- Over the passage of time I have allowed myself to be put under a lot
of pressure, some external and some personal. As I have taken up the
reins of responsibility, it appears that God has distanced Himself from
me.
Lately, it seems that God, as Old Father Time, like me, has been getting older. He has allowed Himself to become a part of the quiet life, to be less involved in what His calling and job description was and is. I think He has been straining to recognize my name when I pray. I seldom seem to get a valid answer. Of course, it has been getting worse as He has become older. I think He must find it a bit of a struggle to run the universe these days, what with all these newfangled gadgets and inventions.
His creation days are long past. If only we could find some nice quiet celestial retirement home for God somewhere, with little embarrassment, we could let the whole salvation and omnipotence thing settle, to be talked about no more as we walk away and leave Him in His own little world of "I Am".
For me, we are either "in" or "out" of the Kingdom of God. There is no halfway house, no diminution of God's power to love, to care, or to speak into our lives, ever. He is time, and not subject to it.
Jesus knew this when Satan challenged Him, "If...". Satan attempted to bring doubt and reason to undermine Jesus' awareness of who He was, The Son of God. Today, with me, be reminded not to doubt or to be too reasoning about our Saviour, our faith, and our militant commitment to follow and serve.
Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we doubt You. Let us not put You, or Your holiness, to the test. We praise You for Your faithfulness and grace brought to us through Jesus the Saviour each day. Today, show us the way once more, and enable us to walk in it, so that we can be with You, the great "I Am", one day to enter Your rest. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Rod Marshall <rmarshall@glos.ac.uk>
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
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Today's Music:
Shout To The Lord.