Pastor Chris and I have picked out a verse (well technically two verses) for the church to memorize in 2024. They come from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus. Ephesians 5:15-16, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (NKJV).
We are about to enter a new year, a new year called 2024. Not one of us knows what the future will hold. We do not know what 2024 will look like for each one of us, or for our family, and friends. Yet, we can trust our future to the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever: Jesus Christ!
Corrie ten Boom once said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” That is so true. If you are going to trust in someone, trust God! He has always been faithful. He keeps His word! He keeps His promises!
Yet, due to the fact we do not know the future, we must be wise and use discernment. Paul writing to the church in Ephesus tells them to walk circumspectly. Now the English word, circumspectly, that the New King James translators brought over from the King James translators, means to be careful. So, the Apostle Paul wanted the believers in Ephesus (and us) to walk carefully. King Solomon had many words in the Proverbs about where you walk and how you walk.
The word that Paul uses at the beginning of the statement translated as SEE, or in some translations as LOOK, is an imperative (meaning it is a command). So walk carefully, and it is not suggestion. SEE (command) then that you WALK circumspectly (carefully). So, how is your walk with the LORD as you enter 2024?
Paul continues on saying how the walk should not be and what it should be like. “Not as FOOLS but as WISE.” Once again, Solomon had much to say about the wise and the fool (Proverbs 1:7), Jesus would also talk about them (Matthew 7:24-27). Who are you listening to? What is going in your eye and ear gates? Are you being wise or foolish with your time, talent, and treasure? It is all from God, how are you spending it?
Paul goes on in his statement writing: REDEEMING the TIME. The Apostle Paul would use the same Greek word translated as “Redeeming” here in Galatians 3:13, “Christ has REDEEMED us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’).” He also uses it later on in Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to REDEEM those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” So, we as believers in Jesus Christ, are told why we need to be wisely walking carefully in this world. We need to make the most out of each moment, each breath, each heartbeat. As Moses would write, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Redeem, treasure each moment. What are the motives behind what you do? What are the motives behind you spend money on? What are the motives behind what you watch? How are we redeeming the time?
Then the Apostle concludes this thought. Why are we redeeming the time as we wisely walk carefully in this life? The days are evil! That is why we are wisely walking and being careful. That is why we are redeeming the minutes, hours, days, and weeks. The world we live in and flesh we dwell in are evil.
Paul writing to the church in Galatia tells us that [Jesus Christ] “who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (Galatians 1:3). He has delivered and redeemed us from this evil world, now we have been put out into that world to be agents of change. We are His witnesses (Acts 1:7-8), ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), and royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) in this evil world.
So, as you enter 2024: How is your walk? Is your walk and talk matching? We are going into 2024 in a few hours, but there is no guarantee that everyone reading these words today will enter 2025. Redeem the time. Redeem this year. Use your time, talents, and treasure for God’s glory and kingdom.
Happy New Year!