Time: April 6, 2010

April 6. TODAYS WORD FOR TUESDAY APRIL 6, 2010.

TIME

DEFINITION:

A system of measuring; a limited period or interval of time; a particular period.

SCRIPTURE:

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastics 3: 1.

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. Revelation 1:3.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Ninety –nine years ago today my father (Ken) was born. I mention this because he taught us both a lot about how to spend our time. I (Ken) can remember hearing many times my father telling me that since I came to find Jesus as my Savior, time was my most valuable asset. He constantly reminded me that God had put us here on this earth for a purpose and when we made our commitment to God, we were to spend every moment of our time working for our Lord. Our words, our actions and all we did needed to be done in honor of Him.

Ken’s father led us by example. He was always involved in multiple projects and was always willing to talk to someone who needed help, especially help in communicating the good news of the Gospel to the masses.

God has given us time to first come to know Him and then time to be a witness for Him in the world we live in. In the verse above from Ecclesiastics we are reminded that there is a time for every purpose under heaven. When Jesus was looking for His disciples He was looking for men that would give their time to Him. He was asking for a life-long commitment that began by believing in Him, then learning from Him and finally speaking for Him. This is what God expects from us today.

One of the biggest concerns we have today is the concern as to how people spend their time. People always find time to do the things they really want to do, but spending time with the Lord is not usually one of them. These people seem to be lazy and say that they just do not have time to give to the Lord. We hear so many excuses about why one cannot go to church, teach Sunday school, be involved in a home Bible study group, go on a short term mission trip or just about anything that involves God.

A recent study reported that the average person in America will spend in a lifetime 20 years working, 10 years watching television and movies in their home, 6 years eating, 7 years watching entertainment things outside of their home, 5 years dressing, 1 year on the telephone or their cell phone, 1 year working or attending a church or involved in a charitable project and finally 3 years doing nothing or just waiting.

These numbers are staggering and make us even more concerned that many people seem to be too busy to take the time daily to read the Bible and to pray. If one is a true believer in Jesus the reading of God’s Word and praying daily must be a daily priority and TIME must be taken to do this daily. How can you expect God to protect you, bless you and guide you if you do not communicate with Him? We can be thankful that God is never too busy for us. He always has time to listen to our prayers and to provide for all of our needs.

People allow themselves to get too busy with their job, playtimes, television and parties at the expense of their relationship with God. We have communicated in prior devotionals what we did as we raised our family concerning time designated to read the Bible and to pray. We made dinner every night a priority for every one of us to be together. We ate together, we prayed together, we read the Bible together, we memorized a Bible verse together and we talked together. Every night, seven days a week, this was a meaningful time in our daily schedule and we were committed to keeping it. Without this commitment it would have been easy to let other things interfere. We all knew that God deserved this priority time in our lives. And we believe God blessed us as a family because we honored Him in this way.

The way we spend our time is based on the priorities we set in our own lives. A person has the capability to manage his or her time based on their desire and will find the time they need to do what they want to do. So if God is left out of one’s schedule it is by their choice.

We urge you every night to write yourself a note and plan your next day. Put in the time you will pray and read the Bible. Put in the time you will do other things to serve the Lord. The next day you need to check them off as you do them and then see how God will bless you --- only if you include Him in the schedule. Plan your time wisely and include God and your family first.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse this week is found in Luke 2:52.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and men.

PRAYER:

Help me to make the time I have each day to be productive in serving You. Give me the discipline and flexibility to plan my day with time to spend with You. And I pray that You would help me to lead my spouse, children, family and friends so that they will have the same desire that I have to spend time with You.