Robert Cozby

Taking it one page at a time

Category: Bible (page 1 of 1)

November 3, 2020 / 0 Comments

Tis’ The Season…for Giving, and for Thanks

Seasons are familiar to all who live on this amazing earth. Because it was set to spin while tilted at the angle of 22.5 degrees, we receive the benefit of weather variation throughout the year. Is the weather too hot where you live? Just wait a few days or weeks and it will cool down. Are you tired of shoveling snow? You can trust in the fact that Spring is on its way, replacing your ice and snow with a variety of flowers and comfortable temperatures.

In addition to seasonal weather changes, experience in life teaches us all about the surety of going through various seasons in our lives as we walk through our individual paths on this beautiful, life-sustaining planet as it orbits around the sun at 67,000 mph. In one year, our earth travels 584 million miles around the sun! I mention these mind-boggling stats to remind us of the precision  of our divinely-guided location in the universe. 

We should be encouraged as we experience a period of time when the dark shadows of our heart seem to be lingering longer than we can endure our lack of warmth and vision. By being reminded of our planets’ changing seasons, we find encouragement to stay strong in the knowledge that ‘this too shall pass’. 

As we enter into November, we come upon a season within a season. We have set aside some time for celebration during the darkest days of winter to recognize the bounty of our year and the birth of a redeeming Ambassador from another realm. Lights are lit and songs are sung during our seasonal darkness. We plan times with our families and friends to be reminded of that which is most important to our hearts. The holiday season is an oasis, a break from the normal dealings of everyday life during the reduced warmth of the sun. 

As we all take time during this season to offer up our collective giving of thanks for the gift of life and the bounty provided to sustain our lives, may we commit to a daily effort to offer thanks for His goodness and His precision in ordering our seasons…

September 27, 2020 / 0 Comments

Beyond The Realm Of Time

Time…an amazing and mysterious instrument that forms the parameters of our walk on earth. We measure it, even down to the smallest portion of a second with an atomic clock. I can purchase an ocean tides book and look up when it will be a low tide in my area for the purpose of going clamming in a few months. If I care to, I can even look up the time of low tide years in advance.

Recently, we were alerted to the event of a meteor shower in the Northwest. Meteorologists knew it was coming years in advance. Yes, they were able to calculate the date because of the accuracy of our solar system which runs even better than a Swiss watch which, by the way, relies on the accuracy of our solar system to set the watch in the first place!

Our lives are governed by time. You have heard the expression, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” Do you know when it doesn’t fly? When you have a severe tooth ache and you are waiting for the dentist to see you. Right? Or if you have insomnia the night before a big meeting, time seems to move like a sloth just waking up; So…very…slow…It all has to do with our awareness of time during those moments. It seems the older you get, the more you think about time and the knowledge that you are daily moving forward toward the sunset of your time on this wondrous planet, the only home you have ever known. Most folks try to avoid thinking about their end of time. They stay busy and find distractions before fear can grip their heart. 

I read the one-page letter that Steve Jobs left behind when he knew he was close to the end of his life. It was his effort to encourage his family, friends and company employees to make the most of every day. He said he would exchange all of his money for just a little bit more time. No one knows when our life clock will chime, but we know that it will. 

Now we come to the most important discussion of time…it will one day end as far as the life we know and enjoy on this planet. No more clocks, no more schedules to keep, no more wondering what day of the week it is. Beyond this realm of time is the realm of forever. You say you don’t believe that? Then why do you sometimes use the term, forever, in certain situations? Would you like a few examples? How about, “Oh, we have known each other, like forever.” “How long has this been hurting you? Well, it seems like forever.” “Sweet lady, I am going to love you forever.” “We have been sitting here waiting for you forever!”

In the book of Ecclesiastes, 3:11, it reads, “He has planted eternity into man’s heart and mind…” We were originally designed and built to live forever in fellowship with God. But then, the seed of sin entered and has infected every single one of us. Just as human traits are passed on to our children, even so, the traits of sinful behavior are also handed down with the consistent result being death to our bodies. And yet, our minds and hearts still ponder and crave eternity. “Who now will release and deliver me from the shackles of this body of death?” Romans 7: 24. I thank God that through Jesus Christ, my heart and soul can now live forever! We can rejoice and give thanks that time is not the end of our lives. We can now look forward to life beyond the realm of time.