The Times They Are a-Changin'

The line it is drawn the curse it is cast

The slow one now will later be fast

As the present now will later be past

The order is rapidly fadin'

And the first one now will later be last

For the times they are a-changin'

The above is an old folk song called the "The Times They Are a-Changin'." It was written by Bob Dylan in 1964.

Old Bob, he understood the times he was livin' in. That song is one of Dylan's most famous. Many felt it captured the spirit of social and political upheaval that characterized the 1960s. It also made Dylan famous.

The point I'm making is this singer and songwriter saw what was happening in our country and made a living writing about it. He understood the times he was living in.

1 Chronicles 12 lists the tribes that were committed to following David. 1 Chronicles 12:32 lists the “men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do...”

These men saw the changes happening around them and realized the call to respond! God thinks it important enough to comment on a people who understood the times and knew what to do about it.

A very famous opening line in The Tale of Two Cities begins "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." You could certainly say that of today. So many advances in so many areas, but so many declines in other areas of our materialistic culture, especially morals and Godliness. And yet, this is an absolutely wonderful time to share the Gospel, precisely because of the emptiness of materialism.

People are hungry for meaning - for something of real value - and nothing is more meaningful or more valuable than a relationship with Christ. If we understand the times we are going through and if we make the most of these things, God will work them out to our good.

Our world is filled with people who don’t have a clue what life is all about. They can’t see what’s going on around them. They can’t see the battle that is raging between good and evil. They don’t know that their eternal lives hang in the balance. They certainly don’t understand there is spiritual warfare being waged.

It seems like our whole world is in an uproar right now and this gives us a tremendous opportunity to talk to people about hope, peace, the future, certainty, any number of topics that can end up leading to talking about the Lord. We need to understand the times that those close to us are going through and look for the right moment to be that light for Christ - to be lighthouses shining bright and leading people home.

The times certainly are a-changin', and it can be scary if you don't have something solid to hang on to. There isn't anything more solid than the Rock of Ages we know as Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Pastor John