Midweek Encouragement - "All the Time in the World”

"All the Time in the World”

     ^“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”

John 5:24 NIV

         They call it Methuselah. It’s one of the oldest trees in the world. This ancient tree is a Great Basin bristlecone pine growing high in the mountains of Inyo County in eastern California. Scientists calculate that the tree is 4,854 years old. By the way, don’t try to find it. The U. S. Forest Department is keeping its exact location under wraps to prevent you and everyone else from taking a branch from it.

         Think about the people who have come and gone while that tree has stayed standing. It’s lived through and beyond the lifetimes of Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington. That tree has grown while Leonardo da Vinci and William Shakespeare have lived and died. That tree dates back even before the reigns of King David and King Solomon in ancient Israel.

         Methuselah has seen individuals in many generations come and go, but our Lord Jesus isn’t among them. Jesus was alive before that tree sprouted, and Jesus will live forever, long after that tree is dead and gone. Jesus Himself has promised: I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, thought he die, yet shall he live.

         Are YOU rooted in Christ? No matter how old you are, being rooted in Christ means being rooted in eternity. You’re alive in Christ now and forever. Death couldn’t defeat our Savior, and because of His cross and empty tomb, death won’t defeat you either. If your faith is in Him, you have life in Him . . . forever life! Consider the ways that truth changes your life in the here and now!

         I think we’d all have to admit that this world is driven by the clock. Wasting someone else’s time or having someone waste your time is a huge offense. That’s because people feel as if they’re running out of time. Life today is go, go, go. All . . . the . . . time.

         Today I’m writing to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way. Having the promise of eternity, you have time. In fact, you have all the time in the world . . . and beyond!

         In Jesus, you can take time to pause and reflect on God’s abundant blessings. You can spend time in prayer. You can give someone else your time, listening to them and helping them. You can be generous with the time you invest with your spouse, your children, and your neighbors.

         In Jesus, your time is NOT running out. Rooted in Christ, your time has only just begun!

         Let’s thank Jesus for giving us eternity! He can teach us how to be generous with our time.

Knowing I’m going to live longer than Methuselah in the glory of heaven,



Pastor Dale

Pastor Dale (PD) and Pamela his wife are honored to serve the Mt. Laurel Church of God. If this Mid-Week Encouragement has helped you, perhaps it may encourage someone else. Feel free to share this email with anyone you choose. And if for some reason you'd like to stop receiving PD's Mid-Week Encouragement, just send me an email (kingdomguy@gmail.com) and I'll accommodate your request.