Time for God

June 29

2 Kings 21-23

Psalm 76:7-12

Proverbs 16:28-29

Acts 24

Time for God

“After some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and listened to him on the subject of faith in Christ Jesus. Now as he spoke about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became afraid and replied, ‘Leave for now, but when I find time, I’ll call for you.’”

Acts 24:24-25 HCSB

Felix sent for Paul. He was seeking. He wanted to know about Jesus, but when Paul started talking about righteousness, self-control and judgment, Felix got scared and sent him away. “When I have time, I’ll call for you.” I think that is all too common. We want to know about Jesus. We want to hear about how much He loves us, takes care of us, and helps us, but then when the subject of righteousness, self-control and judgment comes up we don’t really want to hear about all of that. Unfortunately, many churches have succumbed to the temptation to “tell them what they want to hear” to increase numbers. I don’t think it is all vanity, although I suspect there is some measure of that involved. Rather, I think they believe that it is better to hear part of the truth than nothing at all, so they present only the parts that will keep people coming back. The problem with that thinking is that if you don’t present all the truth, it is not really the truth at all. Jesus is loving and caring, but He is also righteous and just. We don’t just need a helper; we need a Savior. If we do not recognize our own sin and our position before a holy and righteous God, we cannot understand our need for salvation. A watered-down gospel is not really the gospel at all. If we are not accepting Jesus for who He is, then we are not really accepting Him. We don’t get to pick and choose the parts we want to hear and dismiss the rest. If we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we are accepting that He is in control of our lives. We are His servants. He gets to call the shots. He isn’t just someone we turn to when we need help.

It seems that Felix didn’t really want to deal with the idea of judgment and personal responsibility and righteousness, so he decided to wait till later. He kicked the can down the road. We are just like that, aren’t we? We hear a sermon or read a devotion that hits a little too close to home. Instead of addressing the issue and asking God to reveal to us what He wants to teach us, we dismiss it and choose to brush it aside, thinking, “I’ll deal with it later when I have time.” Unfortunately, we rarely ever find the time and the issue is left unresolved. When we accept Jesus into our hearts, He begins the process of shaping and refining us. It is a lifelong process of teaching, correcting, and training us in righteousness. We must deal with the hard stuff to grow. Let us allow God to show us areas where we need to grow and cooperate with Him so that we may become mature in our faith.