Seventh-day Adventist® Church

The Olympic Torch toured from Reading to Salisbury today. Nearing Stonehenge, but not going there today. It will go there tomorrow. Possibly the oldest object the torch went near today was Salisbury cathedral. 

In the cathedral is a clock dating back to 1386. It is the oldest surviving mechanical clock in Britain, and the oldest working clock in the world. It has no face. In those days clocks only rang out the time. Nowadays, it is accurate to within 2 seconds every 12 hours. That is amazing. 

There is one thing that really bugs me, and that is poor timekeeping. So I was really mad tonight when I arrived late for a meeting. Timekeeping, and timing is important. 

I read with my kids this week about a kind of fish that has to get the timing right according to the moon and tides. Within a certain three day window, the females follow the tide and wash themselves up on the shore, they lay their eggs just under the sand, and catch the next wave back into the sea. The male fish fertilise the eggs, and the tide action buries the eggs deeper into the sand. 

Without the perfect timing, the eggs will get lost, the females will get stranded, the males will not get to fertilise the eggs, and the waves will wash away the eggs, or bury them too deep.

Timing is important in nature, man can make clocks to keep very precise time, and timing matters to God.

Reportedly the wisest man who ever lived said in Ecclesiastes 3 (NLT):

For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbjSWDwJILs
Earlier today I shared this from my DVLA facebook subscription. It is a promo about not using the phone to text while driving. Basically, concentrate on your driving when you are driving, and your texting when you are not doing anything else. 

This makes me ponder about timing. In nature, timing is important. In life timing is important. When driving, timing is important. (It's then not time to text!) With God timing is important. Mark 13:32-37

And what of our time with God? Do we watch like the fish for the right time and give that time to God? Are we as precise as an old clock ringing out "it's now my time to spend with God"? 

Or do we allow distractions (texting) to interfere with our journey with God (driving). If you have not been experiencing the presence of God in your life recently, maybe you need to think about your timing.

-Pr Nathan Stickland