January 9, 2018
Ezekiel 1:1
In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
CONSIDER THIS
There are three dimensions of time: the realm of eternity, which is outside of time; chronos time, which is sequential time on the clock and calendar; and kairos time, which is a moment, period, or extended season of significance. Whereas chronos time is quantitative, kairos time is qualitative.
Kairos time happens when the realm of the eternal, which is outside of time, breaks in on chronological time. Jesus came declaring a new age of awakening when he said, “The time has come, . . . The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). The Greek word for time there is kairos. The eternal realm, “the kingdom of God,” broke in on the every day, as God revealed himself in a most extraordinary fashion.
In today’s text, the prophet Ezekiel speaks of a kairos season. He gives us a date on the calendar. It was the fifth day of the fourth month of his thirtieth year. What happened to turn this ordinary day into a kairos moment?: “the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.” The eternal realm broke in on the every day life of exiled Ezekiel as God revealed himself in an extraordinary way.
Kairos times and seasons are priceless eras when God opens a new door into a new day where he purposes to do new things. That’s probably a pretty good working definition of an awakening. Awakening can happen in a relatively obscure and isolated way in an individual’s life or in the life of a particular community. Awakening can also happen in a very public way on a large scale across entire nations. History calls those great awakenings.
PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER
Come Holy Spirit and prepare the way for awakening. Open up the heavens in our time. Let your kingdom break in on our every day slumbering reality in a way that leaves us forever changed. I know I must play a part, but only you can do it. In Jesus’ name, amen.
CONFERENCE TOGETHER
- Can you identify a kairos moment or season in your life when God first became real to you? Remember what that was like and consider sharing some of it with your Band today.
- Imagine what a great awakening might look like if it happened in this country. What do you see? Compare notes with your Band.
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J.D. Walt, is a Bond Slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. jd.walt@seedbed.com.