God is the master organizer! Have you ever really thought about it? From the galaxies and planets, the stars in their place, the earth with the water, sea, and sky, all the peoples and nations, down to the microscopic array of the composition of atoms, God had it all organized and planned beforehand. Even the changing of the seasons is organization for the cycle of nature. The human life spans many seasons and many overlap. A woman goes through a cycle each month. All of this has a purpose.

In Ecclesiastes 3 we read:

1 To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven:
2 A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted,
3 A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build up,
4 A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to
refrain from embracing,
6 A time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away,
7 A time to rend and a time to sew, a time to keep silence and a time to speak,
8 A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace
…
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and
minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the
sun but God alone can satisfy], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the
beginning to the end.

Additionally, in Psalm 31:15, King David writes that, “My times are in Your hands…”

I feel like my current way of going about daily life is being totally shaken up. Some moments it is hard to tell which way is up and which way is down. I mean this mostly in regards to my thought life. God takes us all through seasons of change, which is definitely a good thing. All we need to do is cooperate and trust that God is right there with us (see Heb. 13:5), thus allowing Him to work His awesomeness.

I admit to being a person who doesn’t particularly care for change (in some regards). After coming to know some people who enjoy changing various things frequently, I’ve come to appreciate their adaptability and ability to improve for the better by trying something new. It is such an admirable quality and keeps things new, fresh, and alive. There is much to be said on both ends of the spectrum. We were made in God’s image and likeness, right? So on one hand we have our unchangeable, fixed Rock in heaven, Who is always the same. But this very great I AM is also always doing a NEW work in us—His people. We all have the hope of being with the Lord, of really knowing Him! In the Bible it says that, “What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him—and in seeing him, become like him. All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own.” (1 John 3:2, The Message) So if in actually seeing Christ at His return we become like Him and resemble Him, then in the meantime we are continually in the process of being prepared and refined; we are ever in the process of renewal, and it is at Christ’s coming that we will fully become like Him, for we shall see Him exactly as He really is! All of us, in order to prepare us for Christ’s coming and to fully meet Him, are taken along many and unique paths to get us to our final destination—an eternity with the Lord!

Sometimes change occurs subtly and without our knowing; other times it is stunningly shattering. Being aware of such shaking up is hard to grasp onto, but with knowing that the Lord is the only firmly fixed One we have gives great hope and strength to endure until the very end.

No matter what you’re going through, please continue hanging on. The Lord has every moment, every breath of your life, in His precious timing. Our times are in Your hands…

Dear Heavenly Father,

We thank You for the grand elegance of Your creation! Every facet of it was thought of and planned beforehand. What an amazing thing to think about! Thank You for the times and seasons You have made. Give us Your grace and Spirit to trust every moment of our lives into Your timing. Please help us to rest easy, knowing that YOU very well know what is going on every moment of our lives, that nothing at all escapes Your notice. So much praise goes to You alone, God!!! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Artist: Third from First
CD Title: Time
Style: Indie Alt Rock
Website: http://www.thirdfromfirst.com
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thirdfromfirst
Store: http://www.thirdfromfirst.com/store/
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Playlist
1. Live the Change – 5:11
2. Time – 5:50
3. Contagious – 4:42
4. Belong to You – 7:48
5. Break Away – 5:10

first off let me just say that I am no stranger to the guys of Third from First. I believe they were one of the first local bands I saw when I started to going to the shows at the NET outreach in butler. At the lat show I went to, which was a CD release Party for Third from First and About a Mile marked my fourth time seeing them perform live. Back in May I reviewed their previous Cd “The Beginning” and you can read that review here, but you’re not hear to read and old review, you are here to read a new review.

At first looks the CD was not what I expected. At 5 songs the CD sounded more like an EP Demo disc than a Full fledged album. This thought was was quickly set aside when I got to actually listen to the CD. With the shortest song coming it at almost 5 minutes and the longest one pushing 8 minutes, the CD is longer than you expect and filled with good music. I want to take a little time here to explain the name of the band since I believe that it will help you to understand the CD better. Steve Lowry, Lead Vocal explained to me that as Christians we need to put God first, others second and ourselves Third, so that makes us all Third from First. A sentiment I completely agree with. Here is Third from first playing their song Time live at the CD release Party.

The CD sounds professionally recorded and mixed, I mention this because with Indie Bands this is not usually the case. Having seen the band perform so many times I was aware of just how talented they all are as musicians and it is good to hear that reflected in the CD, Each of the songs on the Cd also stand on their own as individual songs. while the CD as a whole is without a doubt a Alt Rock Album the songs do not blend into each other. Likewise the CD still has the sound of the previous CD without sounding like just more of the same. I am pleased to end to find that this CD has neither of these weaknesses

I find myself comparing the CD to the many times I have seen the band play live and I am reminded about the one thing I found most striking during their live performance was that during the middle of the set, when the crowd was at its most lively and interactive the band just broke out into worship. They took all the energy in the room that was focused at them and directed it towards God. They do the same thing on the Album with “Belong to you”. The words of the song speak for themselves.

Take my heart
Take my mind
Take my will
Take my life
Take it all
Make me new
By your grace
I belong to you
River of life
pour down on me
I once was blind
But now I see
You took my hand
You called my name
In your flow
You drowned my shame

Overall “Time” is a rock solid album that if a bit longer I would have no problem putting it up against any of the popular big named bands. Third from first is clearly a band that should be playing on a much larger stage to much larger crowds. This is something I for one, expect to happen in the future. Until then however I am going to enjoy the concerts where I actually get to hang with the band and don’t have to watch from the cheap seats.

I’m giving “Time” 4 stars out of 5 with the only real minus being the length of the CD. Even with the longer songs, when the CD was over I found myself wanting a couple of more songs. As the second CD from “Third from First” I do find that it is a clear step up from their freshman CD and the songs show a good bit of maturity. You will be hearing more from the band on the podcast in the future and with the CD running at only 7$ on the bands store it is a no-brainer on picking up some good music.