The apostle Paul wrote here that God’s people are to know the time. We have many different options for knowing the time on the clock. We have many types of battery operated clocks and watches. Those with cell phones have the time on them. Computers also have the time on them. There is really no reason to be late for an appointment in our current era.
Spiritually speaking, only those who are saved can know the time. Many saved people are quite ignorant of the time as well. They are careless and need to wake up. That is what Paul was told to write about here. It is now high time to awake out of sleep. That was written in the apostle Paul’s day. We are close to 2,000 years past that time. It certainly is time to awake out of sleep today.
Every day that goes by puts our salvation a little closer. The salvation spoken of here is not talking about the need to wait to be forgiven and saved. It is talking of the return of the Lord. Soon the Lord will come in the clouds and the trump of God will sound and the saved of the New Testament era will be removed from this earth.
We wrote about the importance of this in our devotional yesterday, and have written about it other times as well. We have been lured into believing that we just need to take things in stride. I just received an email alerting me to the immorality being promoted by the public school system in Manitoba. This wicked material is being given out to grade 9 & 10 male students. It is explicit and one boy showed it to his mother. It still amazes me that any parent would send their child to any public school. It is even more amazing that professing Christian parents would send their child to any public school. I wonder if those people will ever wake up.
I was saved at the age of 20. I am now 72. I do not have many more years left on this earth. I may not die of old age. The Lord could come back before this day is done. Every born again Christian needs to live in anticipation of this glorious day. That day will not be a good day for the lost. They will be left behind and they will believe the lies of the antichrist. They will assume that he will bring in the utopia that politicians have been talking about for years. That will begin the 7 most dreadful years in world history.
In verse 12 we are reminded that the night is far spent. I remember back to when I was a younger person. There were people that I knew that could stay in bed until noon. I am not talking about people who worked the night shift and needed to sleep in the day time. I am talking of people who went to bed in the night and could stay in bed till mid day. I could never understand how anyone could do that. I cannot even do that now as an older man. In the morning it is time to get up and get going.
God is not talking of those who are lazy and like to sleep their time away. He is talking of those who claim to be saved but are not living for the Lord. The day is at hand. It is time to cast off the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light.
We see again that God is not content with saved people being carnal. He will not leave them in that state. Notice as well that light is armour. When we walk in the light of God’s Word we will not stumble and fall. God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. We can go in the right way when we are saved and obedient to God’s truth.
As we noted in yesterday’s devotional, there has been a lot of sleep walking going on. In the previous verses of this chapter we are given some examples of things that cannot persist in the true Christian’s life. God did not make some suggestions there. He made some clear declarations.
In verse 13 we are challenged to walk honestly, as in the day. We need to be reminded that God sees all that we do. Jesus Christ is the Light of the world, and He gives light to His sheep. It is necessary for His sheep to walk in it. The opposite is rioting and drunkenness. Those two go hand in hand. We have talked about this before. Drunkenness cannot be a part of the Christian life. God has a much different standard of soberness than the world does. The world says you can have .08% alcohol in your system and still drive. The Bible says:

Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

Proverbs 23:31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.

God does not say you can taste a little wine and it is okay. He says not to look upon it when it moves itself aright. The world has been very subtle and there are non-alcoholic drinks you can purchase that also move like liquor does. The world has a purpose in what it is doing. The devil is very crafty. God tells us to not even look at the wine that is fermented. We do not need to test it. We can tell just by looking at it.
In Ephesians 5:18 the apostle Paul was directed by God to write:

Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;