TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY

TIME: LETS TAKE TIME SERIOUSLY

The Word of God in the Bible has a lot to say about time. The most important thing it says is something we know already—that our time is limited. We are given an appointed time to live. Time can be used or wasted, it can be invested or squandered, but either way, once used, it can never be regained.

Time is the substance of life, because we have such a limited supply. The most famous passage in the Bible about time reminds us that there is a time for everything in life. Here are the first four verses from Ecclesiastes 3:

• There is a time for everything,

• And a season for every activity under heaven:

• A time to be born and a time to die,

• A time to plant and a time to uproot,

• A time to kill and a time to heal,

• A time to tear down and a time to build,

• A time to weep and a time to laugh,

• A time to mourn and a time to dance. (footnote: I have not had the time to dance yet.)

God has given us enough time to do every thing that is needed to do. Each person has been given twenty four hours a day; every person in the whole world has the same time. You cannot say, “I don’t have enough time in the day to do what I need to do.” You need a ‘to do list’ for what you need to be doing, rather than simply doing those things that are not necessary.

We always have plenty of time to do everything we need to do. My time belongs to the Lord, and thus, it’s important that I spend my days as unto the Lord.

Time really is important because time makes up the things of life, and when time is gone so is life. Therefore, what I do with the moments of my life, the opportunities I take, the people I talk to, the path I follow, all of it is important because sooner or later, for me and for you, time will be no more.

Each day it seems we hear about a friend, a loved one, someone we know well, has passed away.

All of us are slaves to time more than we like to admit. Have you noticed as you eat at Mex-Itali or Bob Evans, a person at the table next to you pulls out a cell phone and puts it on the table so he wouldn't miss a call. He has a pager and a beeper on his belt just in case he was busy on the cell phone. We seem to be glued to our cell phones. I can’t keep up with all the phones, so much so that we talk more on the phone than we do in person.

And to save time we have changed the way we communicate:

• If you are over 60, you remember handwritten letters.
• If you are between 40 and 60, you rely on e-mail.
• If you are under 40, you prefer instant messaging,
• If you are under 30, you communicate via Facebook or MySpace.
• And if you are really on the cutting edge, you Twitter. (If you don't know what that is, ask someone in their 20s.)

Time has become the new currency of life. For most of us, time is more important than money. We will spend money to save time; whereas, our parents would spend time to save money. In a world where most of us feel stressed out, we value our free time more than a few extra dollars in our pocket.

How Much Time Do You Have Left?

How much time do you have left? No one knows for sure. We see someone today we know, and they have passed away the next day.

Psalm 90: 12 says, “Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Have you ever numbered your days literally? That’s hard to do because no one knows how many days they have left. But that’s precisely the point. Numbering our days keeps us from the ultimate folly--thinking we will live forever and therefore giving us excuses to put off doing what we know we ought to do. A stanza of a famous hymn puts the matter squarely before our eyes:

Words: Isaac Watts, The Psalms of Da­vid, 1719.
Music: St. Anne, Will­iam Croft, 1708 (MI­DI, score).
This hymn was sung at the fun­er­al of for­mer British prime minister Winston Church­ill in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, 1965.­

• Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
• Bears all its sons away;
• They fly, forgotten, as a dream
• Dies at the opening day.

The Bible reminds us to redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16 KJV). One translation says “make every minute count.” When a man knows he is going to die in the morning, it has a wonderful way of concentrating his mind. Most of us don’t think we are going to die tomorrow and that’s why we let time slide by thoughtlessly. \

What would be your final thoughts. Sometimes we don’t have the time for a final thought.

Life changes so quickly. You can be a United States Senator, one of the most powerful men in the world, and one morning you have a seizure and then another one. When the doctors investigate, they discover an inoperable brain tumor. Suddenly your life is measured in terms of how many months you have left. That’s what happened to Ted Kennedy last week.

• Or you might be a greatly beloved Christian singer whose songs have touched millions around the world. Suddenly tragedy strikes and a child dies in a heartrending accident. In what was the saddest story of the week for most of us, that happened to Steven Curtis Chapman and his family. Life is so short, so fragile, so uncertain for all of us. No one knows what the future holds.

Life is so short, so fragile, so uncertain for all of us. No one knows what the future holds.

• On December 22, 2005, Tony Dungy, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, got the phone call every parent dreads most. His son James, 18, had committed suicide. No matter who you are, you are never ready for something like that. Suicide leaves an indelible mark on those who are left behind—a deep pain that never goes away. What do you say in that instance? Because he is a Christian with a strong faith in God, Tony Dungy spoke at his son’s funeral service. This was his advice to other parents:

Hug your kids every chance you get. Tell them you love them every chance you get. You don’t know when it’s going to be the last time.

Every time we go to Lexington, KY, the boys will give Charity and me hugs. I now know how important that is. We had a fun lunch with Kyle and his girlfriend Sunday; Sunday we had a great time with Eric and Leslie; then on Monday, Chad and Heather and Kyle and Brittney came over for a cookout.
What a great weekend -- spending time with our kids.

Charity and I have some time left, we don’t know how long; but it’s time we need to use wisely.


WHAT IF YOU KNEW YOU HAD ONE MONTH TO LIVE?

If you had ten years left? What would you do, who would you call, who would you e-mail, who would you go see? Where would you go, what would you do that you had planned to do for years? What business would you take care of?

SOME OF US NEED TO DO SOME THINGS TODAY:

• Some of you need to view life as if it matters.
• Some of you need to look at life in a different manner.
• Some of you need to hug your wife, your children.
• Some of you need to get a job.
• Some of you need to spend more time with your family.

Others of us need to get serious about our relationship with Jesus Christ. “I’m going to serve the Lord some day,” we say. If you are going to serve him someday, why not today? What do you gain by putting him off? How can you be certain that when tomorrow comes, you will still want to serve the Lord?

Check out this article about how can you know you are going to Heaven?


Take time today to check out how you are DOING WITH YOUR TIME.