Goodmorning and welcome in everyone. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
On the North face of Edinburgh Castle is a large artillery gun which is fired at 1 p.m. each day, except on a few holidays and Sundays. Some people who live in the area have become so accustomed to the cannon that they don’t even notice when it goes off anymore. It has become commonly known as the one o’clock gun, or the time gun. In these modern days, it has become a frequently visited tourist attraction but originally, the firing of this cannon began in 1861 as a time signal for ships. Before GPS, ships needed to know the exact time so that they could know their exact longitude and location. The firing of the cannon saved them time from having to come ashore to adjust their timekeeping equipment. Years ago, it took four men to load the 18 lb Cannon that was fired from the half moon battery. The gun could be easily heard by ships in Leith Harbor 2 miles away. The cannon was eventually replaced with a 25 pound Howitzer in 1953 and is currently fired from Mill’s Mount Battery on the North face of the Castle. It is fires precisely at one o’clock, signaling that another day had just passed by.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
The firing of the Cannon at Edinburgh Castle is a constant reminder to all of us, that another 24 hours has ticked away.
24 hours in which a person could repent.
24 hours in which a person could pray.
24 hours in which a person could worship.
24 hours in which a person could fast.
24 hours in which a person could seek God.
24 hours in which a person could obey.
24 hours in which a person could convert.
24 hours in which a person could forgive.
24 hours in which a person could apologize and reconcile with others.
24 hours in which a person could humble themselves in the sight of God.
24 hours in which a person could ask for forgiveness
24 hours in which a person could confess your faults.
24 hours in which a person could show God you love him
24 hours in which a person could turn from sin.
With every boom of the Edinburgh cannon, all of us need to consider what we have done with the last 24-hours that God has given us. Did you redeem the time or did you simply throw it away?
Colossians 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
When you redeem something it means to reclaim, to buy, get, or win back. Each person has to decide what they are going to do with the time that they have been given. It’s like somebody giving you $100, and you have to decide how to spend it. Will you use it wisely? Will you spend it correctly? To truly redeem the time, is to use the life that you have been given by God for His purpose rather than your own. Oh sure, we could spend our life playing on the beach or making all kinds of money. We could travel around the world or exert all of our efforts on building a million dollar home. But every day that passes by, with every sound of the Edinburgh Cannon, is another opportunity that God has given us to do his will.
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.
God has allotted a certain amount of time to each person while they dwell upon the face of the Earth. He is watching to see how people utilize the gift of life that He has given them. True believers in Jesus understand that life comes from God, and everything that we are belongs to Him.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
All of us are sinners, who’ve wasted years of our lives doing immoral and wicked things, but God grants us a gift that many courtrooms or juries will refuse to offer, even when asked for. God offers us all, complete forgiveness. It only takes one unforgiven sin to keep you out of heaven. From the highest people in society to the lowest, there is not one single person who’s going to be capable of escaping God’s judgment without accepting Christ Jesus as your Savior. From a king to a peasant, a judge to a defendant, all will have to bow before Jesus Christ at Judgment day and explain what they have done with their lives, whether they were merciful or not. Whether they did His will or rejected it. When we become a Christian, God wants to see our faith in His beloved Son. He wants to see us do the things that His Son did. He wants to watch us live the life that His Son lived. The only way we can do this is by doing an abrupt about-face from sin, and using the rest of the time that we have to serve and obey Him. This is truly what it means to redeem time. We cannot change our past, but we can change our future by making some life-altering decisions today.
Many people because of their age feel like they can’t redeem time, because they’ve wasted so many years of their life. To them I say this. When you become born again through Christ, you start life over as a baby. All of your past is forgiven and forgotten through Holy baptism. What matters as a Christian, is examining the last 24 hours of your life, and asking yourself this question. Did I serve God today? Did I abide by His perfect will today? Did I obey His Word from my heart today?
True wisdom from God is understanding that there will be repercussions from Him for acting like a disobedient child. If you possess the quality of being circumspect, it means you understand that there are going to be punishments that happen because of your behavior. If a child is disobedient to their parents, more than likely they will end up with some sort of punishment. A Christian must learn to do the will of God.
Over many years of my life I’ve seen a world that is filled with waste. I’ve seen a world that throws away perfectly good food into a dumpster, that could have been given to the poor, I’ve seen a world that throws away good and functioning possessions that could have been given to the needy. I’ve seen a world that wastes time, like ants building an ant hill, only to be demolished by a four-wheeler.
The Apostle Paul is an example of what a person can do, when you choose to redeem the time. His life went in a completely different direction when he believed in Jesus. His days were filled with purpose serving Christ. Are you professing to be a Christian? Are you redeeming the time that God has granted to you? What do you have planned for the next 24 hours? What will you have done the next time that you hear…..
……..The Edinburgh Cannon
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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