“Therefore be careful how you live, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:15-17.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
The sanctified life is a life lived in the present moment in the beauty of holiness. Live every moment to the fullest, with one eye on the future and the other eye on today, for each moment is building your future days and your forever. Every moment is important. Never just “kill” time as some people say they are doing, waiting for a future event. You do not know if you will even be there. Prepare but be aware of the here and now. Redeeming the time, not letting it slip by never to be recaptured. Do not miss your visitation.
What if Zaccheus had not climbed that tree to get all he could out of the present moment when Jesus walked by? He was right where he was supposed to be for his destiny. And it changed him forever. He is with Me even now.
Today I want to talk with you about living in the present moment and making it count for eternity. Most people do not know how to live in the present. By this I mean they are either living for the future or living looking back to the past. They do not know how to enjoy, concentrate on, and squeeze every opportunity and good thing out of the present moment. You should make every moment count by redeeming the time.
Let Me explain further, many people are so involved with their past or concentrating so hard on their future that they miss the present moment. In this I mean they are oblivious to the present needs of those around them and miss opportunities that I send to them by concentrating excessively on where they want to be rather than where they are, even to the point of despising where they are, the people around them, and what they do have. They put their life on hold and end up losing what they have, such as their spouse, friends, family, job, and wasting their life.
When you really think about it, all you have each day is the present moment. I am the God of the present. All things are present for Me. I AM WHO AM. I live in the present moment. I am there for you, always available.
I tell you not to worry about the future. To seek My Kingdom and righteousness today, that is at the present moment, and all your future needs will be met. What you are doing at the present moment at any given time will be determining your future.
Be alert, you know not the day or the hour I will come. Be busy about the work I give you to do each day and it will open doors to a future filled with hope. Remember how My Son Jesus, even at twelve years old, was about My business?
Please understand that the present moment is the most important one you have and the only one you have for sure. Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation!
Enjoy your time with Me at every moment. Be conscious of My presence in your spirit. Be conscious of what I am doing in your life. I fill your day with good things, but you can miss them.
Make the most of your time, seize the opportunity, be led by the Holy Spirit, consult Me in everything. Never just “kill time.” Ask Me what I would have you to do and to send you the opportunities to promote My Kingdom on earth.
Be conscious of the people around you. Your family, your co-workers, your fellow students, your friends, the people you pass by on the street or stand in line with at stores, and be quick to show them kindness and courtesy. Do not put off doing good when you have the opportunity to do it today. Notice people, they need you now.
Do not just concentrate on what you think people should be, celebrate who they are now and encourage them to be all I have planned for them to be.
Do not wait until you have more time and more money to do something generous and kind. If you do not do good with what you have now, you will not in the future. You will never reach the place where you think you have enough time and money. Do not put off for tomorrow what you can do today.
I tell you to become as little children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Little children live in the present moment. That is why they can play, laugh, and get excited about things in such a sweet and innocent way. They notice things that adults do not and are fascinated by them.
Adults tend to make life very complicated. It does not have to be. But if you do not live in the present moment, your life will be complicated and burdensome. You will never really live because you will be putting yourself on hold until some event which may never happen takes place.
I urge you then, My beloved children, recognize the signs of the time and make the most of every opportunity. Love from the heart and follow the lead of the Holy Spirit. Determine that you are going to squeeze every good thing you can get out of every moment of your life.
Consider the present as a wonderful time. Rest in Me. Cast your cares on Me. Seek My Kingdom and your future will be taken care of. Look around at the world and see it. Seek Me and you will find Me in every moment of your day and night. I AM, I was and I am to come.
If you do not live in the present moment, your love will grow cold. If you do not focus on Me and those around you, you can lose them. So live every moment and follow My ways, which are faithfulness and love. Be alert and sober. Do not despise small beginnings. Those who are faithful in small matters I entrust with greater responsibilities. Know that what you do with your present moment counts for all eternity and will determine your reward. I want to reward you.
I would like to close with a lesson from the past to apply to your today. All Scripture is useful for instruction, edification, and exhortation. It is from the book of My prophet Jeremiah and it has to do with My message to the people of Judah who had been captured and carried off in exile to Babylon away from their homes in Jerusalem. The temptation was for them to do nothing but put their lives on hold and give up. In fact, they were tempted to despair, be resentful, and be rebellious, uncooperative and unproductive in their captivity. They were obviously in a place they did not want to be. But I sent them the following message:
This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
Jeremiah 29:4-9. In other words I told them to make the most of the present moment and not to waste it. I took them back to Jerusalem after seventy years of captivity but My message gave them favor in Babylon and prepared them for a wonderful future back in their country. They became stronger and better during a time of captivity by making the most of the present moment. And when I sent them back I not only allowed them to return but I returned them with funds from their captors to rebuild Jerusalem, beginning with the Temple. Their pagan captors sent them back with riches from their treasury and their own funds!
By turning to Me and repenting in defeat, captivity, and lack, they let Me come back into their lives to again prosper and bless them. Never despair of the present moment, you should instead get busy planting the seeds for a glorious future—no matter where you are now. Just turn to Me and be faithful. And begin to thank and praise Me for what you do have as you look forward to increase.
I love you. Make every moment a “God moment.” I make every moment a “you moment.” I am always thinking of you, My thoughts about you are more numerous than all the grains of sand in the world. Psalm 139:18.