You can learn much from observing the world about us. But, most people travel too quickly and don’t take the time.”
                    –Cliff Hudgins  (Viejo and the Locoweeds)

       “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”
                    –Habakkuk 2:3 (ESV)
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Time!  I’m running out of time.  Out of time to get done the things I want to leave behind.  No, nothing’s seriously wrong with me other than that old outlaw time is wearing down on me.  Have I done everything on my “bucket list”?  I never have made one of those.  Oh, sure there are/were things I would like to do, but too many people who make bucket lists go out of their way, spend too much money and time on doing them that they forget the more important things in life.  In fact, the time spent on fulfilling their own desires might be put to better use in the kingdom.
     Time, we cannot really understand it.  Solomon speaks of it saying that there is a time for everything.  Time, something that binds us to this earth.  Time, something we often do not use wisely enough.  Time, something that God expects us to be good stewards of–we are to “redeem the time…” (Ephesians 5:16).  The CEV translates it this way, “These are evil times, so make every minute count.”  If we are to make every minute count and if the days are evil, then to counter that we should be doing good to the best of our ability.
     Even harder to comprehend about time is that of eternity.  We have a minute grasp, but our feeble brains cannot grasp it for it is beyond and outside of time.  The words of Jesus come to mind, “‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!'”  No wonder there was contention, who besides God is beyond time?  No one–Jesus was making an emphatic statement.
     Time, something that man cannot reverse.  Oh, they try.  There are creams and pills, and foods along with supplements.  There are all types of experiments to try to keep the body from the rages of time, the wrinkles, the crevices in the brow, the aches in the joints…  Someone said that “Human beings are apparently prisoners of the movement of time in one direction.  We are, with some limitations, able to move about in space as we wish (or as we must), but we cannot do so in time.”
     Time makes us move along with it.  “There is no way to right a past wrong, recover a missed opportunity.  The future is unknown and unknowable until it becomes the present; there is no way to guarantee that it will be as we wish it to be.  The only time in which we are free to move–the only time we have–is the present.” (Richard Luman)  But look again at the words of Jesus.  He is not bound by time.  Think of it, He is in time, yet He is also outside of time.  He is here, right now, in the present, but He is also back in eternity past, and is in the future (and beyond?).  Time was created by God but it does not have a hold on Him; it is not a condition of His existence.  
      Today, right now, is the day of salvation.  Today is given to each of us–not tomorrow and yesterday is gone.  What you do today is important.  Your choices today will determine your eternal destiny, that region that is beyond time.  Choose wisely–Christ is waiting to answer your cry.  We are in time, but our souls and spirits will go beyond time either into eternal glory with Christ, or to the depths of eternal damnation that is for those who reject Him.  We must face the consequences of time, but in this life and in eternity.  However, Christ is there, in one manner of speaking to “redeem us from time.”  We should pray, “Lord, give us time.”  Then we should also add, “Make us good stewards of the time you have given us.”

On a late afternoon when the clouds gather around the peaks and the lightning begins to play its games over the mountain meadows, the high country is no place to be, but it can be spectacular to watch from a safe distance. At such times the hills can be alive with the sound that isn’t music, but it has a magnificence of its own.”
                    –Louis L’Amour  (Passin’ Through)

       “Then the Lord will be seen over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord God will blow the trumpet, and go with whirlwinds from the south.”
                    –Zechariah 9:14(NKJV)
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I am in the process of organizing and cleaning up some of my Bible studies.  In completely redoing Habakkuk one verse keeps coming back to my mind.  Note, that prophecies in the Old Testament could have dual purpose:  first, it was for the people of the time, and second, it could be eschatological in nature.  Let’s ponder for a while Habakkuk 1:5.

          “Look among the nations and watch–be utterly astounded!  For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you.”  (NKJV)
          “Look among the nations! Watch! Be horrified! Be frightened speechless! For I am accomplishing a work in your days— You would not believe it even if you were told!” (NASB)
 
Be astounded, be frightened, be speechless–something is coming.  Regarding the time it was a prophecy against Judah.  God was raising up the Chaldeans to judge the evil of the inhabitants of Judah.  But then, chapter 3 is also eschatological in nature.  God gives a glimpse of the future to Habakkuk.  How much of this Habakkuk understood, I don’t know, but he was told to be ready and to be astonished, and to realize that he would not understand it all.
     Daniel was given a more specific and detailed glimpse into the future, and it made him sick.  Daniel 8:27 states, “And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days…” (NKJV)  In chapter 7, he was grieved because of the vision, and in chapter 10 he says that he has no strength left.  The things that Daniel saw not only did something to him spiritually but they affected his mind, emotions, and physical body.
     What is it that could be so astounding?  What is it that would make a man, such as Daniel, sick upon seeing it?  Here’s a little homework assignment–read Revelation.  Don’t try to decipher all the things in the book, but look at what is going to take place.  In the “Seals” there is destruction and death.  The “Trumpets” strike at nature.  We know that nature “groans and labors” (Romans 8:22), but after the time of the Tribulation, the curse will be removed.  The 5th Trumpet speaks of “locusts” rising from the bottomless pit to torment man.  Think for a moment of the sounds that will come forth during this horrendous time.  There will be moaning and groaning, along with screaming and howling.  Man will feel the pain and torment of his evil ways.  The 6th Trumpet tells that the angels that were bound at the Euphrates will be released to kill one third of mankind.  These are only the Seals and Trumpets, the Bowl Judgments are yet to come.  Can you get an idea of what Habakkuk and Daniel might have seen?  Can you understand a little bit better why God tells Habakkuk that he would be astounded and won’t believe what is being told him?  Can you see why Daniel might have become sick for several days?
     Now, get this!  Man is so foolish, so stupid!  Revelation states this after the 6th Trumpet, “But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.  And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.”  (9:20-21, NKJV)  Not just stubborn or foolhardy, but stupid and blasphemous.  Now is the time of salvation!
     One more thing that might have astounded them.  A couple of weeks ago, Annie and I were sitting in the living room, when POW!!!!  There was a lightning bolt that hit thirty feet in front of the house.  The flash and sound were at the same time and it got the attention of both of us as well as our two cats.  POW!  The flash was bright!  Annie said she could smell it.  Now, I turn to Revelation 4:5, “And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices…”  It will not be a little lightning show that we see in the sky or the rumblings that follow.  It will not be fireworks, but it is a CRASH!  A brightness that we cannot understand, comprehend, or handle.  The throne of God is glorious beyond all imagination.  It is a horrifying sight in one manner of speaking; frightening because it is where the power and glory of Almighty God sits.  It is the place of the majesty of God, the Judge of the universe.

The house you live in don’t matter so much; it’s your feelin’s that count.”
                    –Elmer Kelton  (The Day the Cowboys Quit)

       “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’”
                    –James 4:6  (NASB)
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This morning we finish with Proverbs 3.  One thing about the Proverbs: they come right at you and it is up to us to heed its instruction.
          (NKJV)
          .31 — Do not envy the oppressor, and choose none of his ways;
          .32 — For the perverse person is an abomination to the LORD, but His secret counsel is with the upright.
          (ESV)
          .31 — Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways,
          .32 — for the devious person is an abomination to the LORD, but the upright are in his confidence.
There is no benefit in feeling any sort of envy for the wicked as God detests wickedness.  “Only a fool would wish to be detestable to God!” (NKJV Study Bible)  To envy someone is the first step to becoming like him.  That is dangerous for you may end up choosing his ways.  To be a friend of evil, of the world, is to become God’s enemy.  Know this that sin breaks our intimacy and fellowship with God, therefore we should not envy those in the world.  God especially takes notice of those who know to do right.  Ezekiel speaks to the priests, those responsible for knowing the law and doing of the right, “Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.  This is an indictment, not only against those in the pulpits, but also the priest of the home.  There are certain people who are actually an abomination to the Lord–that is an intense loathing.  One of those is a person who would use their power to injure others.  Look at what happened to Pharaoh when he became hard towards the Lord–a lesson to remember.  On the other hand those who choose the right way God will become a close friend and will even confide in them.
          (NKJV)
          .33 — The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the just.
          .34 — Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble.
          .35 — The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools.
          (ESV)
          .33 — The LORD’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous.
          .34 — Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.
          .35 — The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace.
God will literally “sweep away as the dust” those who live a wicked, lawless life.  The term “wicked” literally means, “lawless,” thus Paul writes about the man of lawlessness in Thessalonians–the antichrist.  Michael Jermin writes, “The debauched people of the world dwell in the dirty houses of their wicked lives, and cannot be gotten out of them.”  In the house of the wicked there is no true joy, no true cheer.  Swinnock says this regarding the house of the wicked, “How can thy sweetest dish be savoury, when the curse of God is thy sauce?”  A curse of God, imagine that!  The house of the wicked can expect no more; they shall be promoted and lifted up, just like Haman–lifted up on their own gallows.  Someone said that stupid people only add to their own disgrace.  
     However, the faithful family is an inspiration.  The blessings of the Lord are felt in this home.  As J.L. Flores writes, “The righteous are submissive to the Divine will–they are the ‘lowly who are willing to learn of Him.'”  Have you ever been to the home of the wicked and then visited the home of the righteous?  Oh my!  What a difference.  The person, the family who follows after righteousness is certainly blessed and favored of God.  
     In our walk, and as we look at the above verses there is no middle ground, no gray area.  There are no intermediate steps between wickedness and righteousness.  There is one or the other, no inbetween.  There is either eternal honor and glory or shame and death.  To the wise comes honor and as Dan Dick tells us, “The truly faithful person doesn’t have to go seeking acclaim.  It will come to them simply because of the commitment they exhibit.”  See, as the fool mocks the things of God, he is in turn mocked by God.