Appointed Seasons - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and
majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him today and what came to my heart and mind in Titus 1:1-4,

"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the
faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to
godliness— in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie,
promised before the beginning of time, and which now at his appointed
season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me
by the command of God our Savior, To Titus, my true son in our common
faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Savior."

In his salutation to Titus, Paul mentions that the promise of eternal
life has been brought to light through the preaching entrusted to
Paul. Paul says this eternal life was promised beforehand and that the
advent of the preaching of it had come at God's "appointed season."
These things of God do not unfold willy-nilly but are predestined and
planned. What we learn is that God has appointed different seasons for
the different things he does within the affairs of mankind. Failing to
recognize this just might cause us some misunderstandings.

An example of God appointing certain things for a certain season may
be seen in God's disclosure of the "new covenant" he will establish
with his people. It will be different from the covenant he had already
made in Moses day. In Jeremiah 31:31-34 we read, "'The days are
coming,' declares the Lord, 'when I will make a new covenant with the
people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the
covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to
lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a
husband to them', declares the Lord." Here we see God doing a new
thing in a new season, at a new time.

Jesus spoke of a new age coming when he comes back to planet earth.
"And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the
Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.
And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will
gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to
the other. Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its
twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is
near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is
near, right at the door." Matthew 24:30b-33. A new thing happening in
a new season!

If we attempt to live within the confines of what God was doing with
mankind in a different season, say, the garden of Eden, or during the
patriarchal times of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or from the time of
Moses to John the Baptist, we are going to become confused and find we
are not living out what God has for us. God's revelation to us is
progressive as are the things he has for us from age to age. Living
within the age we find ourselves is important.

We need to acquaint ourselves with the things of God and to know their seasons!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

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