Maximizing Our Moment in Time
As
I listened to the speech by Benjamin Netanyahu I realized that I was listening,
not to just a politician, but to a statesman. He was very sober and somber and came
across as being more concerned for the safety and security of his people than
for the outcome of the next election and his own political career. He was a
refreshing contrast to the politicians of late in America.
One thing that stood
out was his warning that if Iran gets a nuclear weapon it will spark a nuclear
arms race in the Middle East because other nations already fear Iran’s aggressive
character and vision for conquest. In other words, other Middle Eastern nations,
to defend themselves, will begin building their own nukes creating a nuclear
tinderbox in the Middle East that could well lead to Armageddon.
Another high point for
me was when Netanyahu recognized an elderly Holocaust survivor in the audience
and then admonished his hearers to not forget the lessons of history. He was,
of course, referring to the Holocaust wherein six million Jews, and God knows
how many Christians, were subjected to a genocidal slaughter by the Nazis while
the world and the church silently stood by and allowed it happen.
The modern parallel he
was referring to is Iran and its pursuit of nuclear weapons with the stated
intent to destroy both Israel and America. Hitler, early on, also made his
intentions known in his book, Mein Kamph,
which delineated his hatred of Jews and his desire to see a change in the German
form of government. Much like today the world paid no attention and allowed him
to implement his genocidal program of exterminating the Jews and anyone else
who stood in his path.
Netanyahu takes Iran’s
threat of annihilation seriously and emphasized that, if necessary, Israel would
act alone to deprive Iran of nuclear weapons. He would obviously agree with the
Lutheran pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who lost his life for opposing the Nazi
regime, but before he died, wrote, “Silence in the
face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to
speak. Not to act is to act.”
The same evening after
Netanyahu’s speech, in our live stream, Sue made a statement that lodged in my
heart and added to the somberness I was already feeling. In discussing the
power of the 17th century Quaker Movement she emphasized that they “maximized
their moment in time.” Through their sense of urgency and all-out commitment to
Jesus, they impacted their generation and played a profound role in the
founding of the United States of America.
So today, with a sense
of soberness about the times in which we live, I am asking how I can maximize
the time I have left on this earth. My questions are not what, but how. I have
no question about the call and commission, but how to maximize this moment in
time.
I recall Jesus, with a
sense of urgency, exhorting His disciples about how they must maximize their
moment in time. He said, We must work the
works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can
work (John 9:4).
This is no time to be
passive or lukewarm. Let’s maximize our moment in time!
Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt is an author, historian and Bible teacher. He is the founder of The Revive America Project whose purpose it to reclaim the vision and restore the hope for another Great Awakening in America and the nations of the world. His books on Spiritual Awakening and Christian history are available from Amazon and from his website at http://www.eddiehyatt.com/bookstore.html.
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