The Lord would say this morning that it is an hour when you need to pay close attention to the time. The Lord emphasizes that every time you look at a clock, check the time. Similarly, every time you look at a watch, let it be a reminder of the current hour.
For I would have you go shopping for me. I would have you purchase gifts for me in this hour—gifts that are very costly, gifts that require sacrifice, time, investments, and may even involve suffering on your part. I would have you go shopping for me, declares the Lord in this hour.
“What can I ask of you?” says the Lord. “Today, I ask you to bring me baby lambs, bring me lost sheep, bring me hard cases,” says God. “Bring me people who have never heard of my love and goodness.”
You are living in an hour, says God, where music is played by those who don’t know me every day, telling about my birth. You are living in a time where severe events are happening worldwide, wars and rumors of wars everywhere. The hour is ripe, the time is perfect for you to share my word in a way you’ve never shared it before. When you check the time, consider what time it is in eternity. It is time to bring me a gift, says God—the gift of baby lambs, the gift of lost sheep, the gift of sacrificing your time and money.
“The time of playing me is over; it’s time to seek me with your whole heart. It’s time to hear my voice, to receive my calling, to move ahead with the things I’ve spoken to you about in times past. Stop putting me off; it is time to bring me those costly gifts. And if you start to complain, be discouraged, murmur, whine, and dislike what I ask you to do, remember I hung on three nails for six hours. Remember I gave my life for you,” declares the Lord. “I gave the most precious thing I could ever give you, and now I am asking you to give me something precious—not to earn your salvation but in appreciation for your salvation.
“Bring me lambs,” says the Lord. “Bring me lost sheep,” says God. “Bring me costly gifts,” says God, “because that is what time it is,” declares the Lord!