Using Time Wisely

Those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer are upon us.  I trust that you have had a great time enjoying the warm weather and the beautiful colors that abound in the summertime.  But summer is almost over.  Well, at least it is already 2/3 over with just the month of August to go. Fall is right around the corner and soon children will head back to school.  I am sure you have heard comments such as: “Time sure flies” and “Where has the time gone?”  Yes, these comments seem to be true.  Maybe that is why the Apostle Paul decided to share important insights about time with the people to whom he was writing.  He said, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16). In these verses Paul suggests several things:

1)      Pay attention to how you live.  The challenge to “Be very careful” suggests the importance of being alert and cautious about how we act and live.  Wise thought needs to be given to the way we live because time does pass quickly and if we are not sensbile we can live in ways that do not please God.

2)      Be wise in the use of time.  The comparison of “Not as unwise but as wise” becomes a word to the careful person since we can so easily waste our time by letting it escape without accomplishing anything worthwhile or godly.

3)      Make sure to do what is important. The idea of “Making the most of every opportunity” suggests that we ought to seriously consider using our time to focus on things that are positive, purposeful, and productive.  Our activities should benefit God’s kingdom and help people bring glory to God.

4)      Recognize that foolish endeavors can easily emerge. The phrase “Because the days are evil” helps us realize that there is wickedness all around us which can so easily draw us and others into involvement in things which do not please God.

People want, desire, collect, and yes, even demand “things.”  However, once things are accumulated it usually does not take long to discover that those things do not provide satisfaction.  What people need is a right relationship with God.  When people become rightly related to God through personal faith and trust in His Son Jesus Christ, they discover real purpose in living.  With a right relationship with God people will delight in doing things right as well as in doing the right things. When we do things that are right, our actions and attitudes please God.  God is delighted and glorified when we pay attention to the time that He has graciously given to us.  Ask yourself: Am I spending time in God’s Word?  Am I investing my life in people?  Am I allowing God’s Spirit to direct me in living my life for God?  Time does pass quickly.  Let’s use our time wisely.

Great Delight

What is it that brings great delight to you?  As I began to reflect on things that bring me pleasure, enjoyment, a sense of satisfaction, and delight summertime came to my mind.  In the summer I enjoy being out-of-doors – walking by a lake or a brook, feeling the cool breeze blowing across my brow, observing ducks and geese swimming in the water, admiring beautiful flowers, and enjoying the warmth of the sun.  My electronic New International Version of the Bible tells me that the word “delight” is used 69 times in Scripture.  Looking through those verses I discovered some interesting things about delight.

 1)      We should take delight in God Himself.  The Scripture says, (a) “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).  (b) “Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God” (Job 22:26).

 2)      We should delight in God’s Word.  The Bible tells us to take delight in a number of things.  (a) Decrees – “I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word” (Psalm 119:16).  (b) Statutes – “Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors” (Psalm 119:24).  (c) Laws – “Blessed is the one … whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2). (d) God’s Words – “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty” (Jeremiah 15:16).  Whatever Scripture is named it brings delight to those who are thirsty for God or in need of His comfort and care. 

3)      We should delight in what God does for us.  Usually the things that God does for us are called blessings.  This kind of delight may be the result of:  (a) God’s Deliverance – “Then Hannah prayed and said: ‘My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high.  My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance” (I Samuel 2:1).  (b) The Salvation He offers – “Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and delight in his salvation” (Psalm 35:9).  (c) His Wonderful Works – “Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them” (Psalm 111:2).  (d) The righteousness that He offers – “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God.  For he has clothed me with garments of salvation    and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10).  Indeed, we are recipients of God’s manifold blessings.

 4)      We should rejoice because God delights in us. 

“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).  This verse tells us several things about God and His relationship with us.  (a) His Presence – He is “with you.”  What a great comfort this is any time, but particularly in our time of great need.  (b) His Provision – He is “mighty to save.”  God has fantastic power to take care of us in every way, even spiritually.  (c) His Pleasure – “He will take great delight in you.”  Note that not only can we be delighted in God, but God takes “great delight” – in us as well.  (d) His Peace – “He will quiet you with his love.” God’s peace speaks of the great calmness that He gives us even when we are stressed out.  (e) His Party (celebration) – “He will rejoice over you with singing.”  When it comes to you and me, God is in the business of rejoicing.  Just think.  God delights in you.  Isn’t that amazing!  Take time right now to think about the wonderful things God has done for you.  Make a note of at least three of those things and take time today to thank God for them.

Confidence Amid Change

Change is something that affects all of us and we often resist it.  In spite of resisting some change there is other change that we personally accept – like purchasing a different home, accepting a new job, moving to another city or state, or getting married.  We readily accept these changes because we have control over them.  Other changes are those that we gradually slide into.  For example, instead of phone calls from friends and family we receive a text which initiates a texting conversation.  Very seldom do we pick up a dictionary or encyclopedia for an answer to a question.  Instead, we pick up our phones and ask “Google.”

There is another kind of change that most people do not like – and that is change that makes things worse for them.  People resist this kind of change because they personally lose control or they face an unknown situation. Peter Senge has wisely said, “People don’t resist change. They resist being changed.”  Most change brings instability.  That is why many people like to know what the boundaries are and be reasonably sure of what will happen.  They want the kind of change on which they can rely and that which gives them confidence during a time of need.

There are two things that I know in which we can be completely confident, and which will never change.  These are – God and God’s Word.  Regarding God, the Bible tells us, “I the Lord do not change” (Malachi 3:6); and, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). These statements give us confidence because we discover that we can always count on God.  He is always there for us.  He will always act in the same way.  And He is the same now as He was years ago and how He will be in the future.  Regarding the Word of God Isaiah 40:8 says, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” I Peter 1:25 continues by saying, “The word of the Lord endures forever”. These verses give us the confidence that we can completely rely on God’s Word because it will last when other things change and fade away.  As a result we can be assured of and can fully count on what God’s Word says.

Are you anxious about something that is happening to you or in your world today?  Do you desire stability that gives you confidence, assurance and hope during troubling times? Why not put your trust in that which will never change?  Why not turn to God in simple faith and rest in His promises?  Why not open the Bible and discover what God wants to tell you?  In both God and His Word, you will find strength and steadiness to help you during times of turbulence, uncertainty and doubt.

Fundamentals 101

When school begins in the fall, boys and girls are faced with the challenge of going back to the basics.  In the classroom, on the sports field, or in the music room, teachers and coaches emphasize the importance of fundamentals and they repeat those basics over and over again.  Fundamentals are also important in the Christian life.  The Apostle Peter says,“And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.  Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation.  For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (II Peter 1:19-21).

These verses tell us that God’s Word is basic for Christians.  We need the fundamentals of Scripture for Christian faith and for daily living.  Notice some specifics from these verses:

1)      We can have confidence in God’s Word.  It can be counted on in all kinds of

situations because it is “more certain.”

2)      We need to listen carefully to God’s Word.  In fact, Scripture is so important that we would “do well to pay attention to it.”

3)      God’s Word is a light for guiding us when things seem unclear.  It provides direction like “a light shinning in a dark place.”

4)      God’s Word originates with and has its source in God, Himself.  What is written in the Bible is not just “the prophet’s own interpretation” but it is “from God.”

Therefore, God Word is completely dependable.  This fall is a great time for all of us to open our Bibles and get “back to the basics.”