In just a few days at the beach it is impressive at the differences can be found in the behavior of the ocean.<\/p>\n
Today the waves were big and frequent, pummeling people as they try to advance into the ocean. People got knocked down a great deal and tire quickly. They\u00a0might look for a break in the waves, an opportunity to slip through, but wave upon wave presses in, relentlessly. There is\u00a0also a terrible rip current that drags at legs wherever they\u00a0are, making things more difficult and dangerous.<\/p>\n
But this was just one day.<\/p>\n
Yesterday the waves were calm, but still present. A person\u00a0needed to be aware of themselves\u00a0but the situation in the water was very manageable. A person could stand on his or her feet and last a long time in the water before tiring. The hot sun was more of what drove them\u00a0away eventually, lest they\u00a0become crisped beyond recognition.<\/p>\n
But this was just one day.<\/p>\n
The day before was stormy. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled. People\u00a0peek out and think that things were letting up but by the time they\u00a0were ready to go out, the deluge intenstified.<\/p>\n
Not long before these days were hours in the car, cramped conditions, and this after having to plan, prepare and pack. Life was no beach at all then.<\/p>\n
All this just makes me think of life’s seasons, the ups and downs that sometimes are long and arduous and sometimes change in an instant. Some days you feel that you are being slammed and battered and just can’t stand. Some days are just okay, not too intense.<\/p>\n
Whatever your days are looking like, Paul had good advice for Timothy and I think it is good advice for each of us as well.<\/p>\n
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,\u00a0who is to judge the living and the dead, and by\u00a0his appearing and his kingdom:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>preach the word; be ready in season and out of season;\u00a0reprove, rebuke, and\u00a0exhort, with complete patience and teaching.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
2 Timothy 4:1-2<\/p>\n
Whatever life is throwing at us, this says that we need to be active and aware and make the best of the time for Christ. Always be ready. Don’t let the hours pass by\u00a0fruitlessly. Know that time is short for this life and must be used to connect human beings with their Savior.<\/p>\n
May God have mercy on us and grant us all strength and all wisdom to accomplish this goal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In just a few days at the beach it is impressive at the differences can be found in the behavior of the ocean. Today the waves were big and frequent, pummeling people as they try to advance into the ocean. People got knocked down a great deal and tire quickly. They\u00a0might look for a break […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=228"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":230,"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228\/revisions\/230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}