“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9
(This photo was taken in August of 2016 at Arches National Park in Utah)
Time
What Can I Give?
Often when we think of giving, because we live in a material world our thoughts lead us to the monetary value of things we can give. Or we believe the more costly the gift the more the person or people will know how important they are to me. We easily fall into this trap because we see it happening around us and we see it advertised on TV and in events everywhere.
My personal favorite line from a jewelry store commercial…”Let her know how much you care by buying this diamond crusted, gold covered….” Non-essential material things do not show a person how much you care for them. You want to know the best gift you can give to someone you truly care about? The one thing in every relationship that only you can give to any other person and typically it is worth way more than you give it credit for…what is that greatest gift?
Time.
God knows how special Time is…every day you get up is the gift of Time from him.
Your time is the one gift only you can give to others…stop and think for a moment who you have been giving your Time to in the last few days and weeks. Maybe it is exactly the people you should be spending Time with or maybe you are now thinking of somebody that you have been missing and know you need to spend some time with…no matter which it is, don’t forget that the One who provided you this ability to give time to others also would like some time with you. When I woke this morning I could hear the following hymn from my childhood playing in my mind as a message from me to God…
Here I Am Lord — Music & Lyrics by Dan Schutte
I, the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard My people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin,
My hand will save.
I who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear My light to them?
Whom shall I send?
Here I am Lord, Is it I Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go Lord, if You lead me.
I will hold Your people in my heart.
I, the Lord of snow and rain,
I have born my peoples pain.
I have wept for love of them, They turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone,
Give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak My word to them,
Whom shall I send?
Here I am Lord, Is it I Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go Lord, if You lead me.
I will hold Your people in my heart.
I, the Lord of wind and flame,
I will tend the poor and lame.
I will set a feast for them,
My hand will save
Finest bread I will provide,
Till their hearts be satisfied.
I will give My life to them,
Whom shall I send?
Here I am Lord, Is it I Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go Lord, if You lead me.
I will hold Your people in my heart.
With whom will you spend your greatest gift today?
Peace.
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What is it about Time?
What time does it start? What time does it end? Is it time to go? What time are we meeting them? How long will it last? Do you know what time it is? We are constantly focused on Time…In the beginning God only spoke of two times, day and night and it was good.
When we came into this world as infants we didn’t wait to be born until a certain time…we weren’t regulated by the numbers on a clock for anything in life, as a parent of two I believe I can say no infant cares about the time on the clock. During life the world begins to impose its will of Time on us. “We are trying to get him on a normal sleep schedule”…”He should be walking by now”… as we grow we start to have a ‘schedule’ or ‘routine’ to follow. The human race has been very specific about when everything should happen in your life. Then as we age into the late stages of life the details of Time and the pressure of the schedule begin to fade away slowly until we are on our last few breaths and once again we are not concerned about what Time it is…
So when we are physically closest to God at birth and death we seem to have very little need to be so stressed about Time, then why do we choose to let the world dictate what Time we should be there and when we need to be here? Don’t get me wrong I don’t expect the world to live in chaos, completely unstructured. Take a moment to think about our world though, every new thing created by humans is designed to save you time! Why? What are we saving it for…to fit more stuff into a schedule that is already overflowing with commitments and promises we can barely keep up with now?
When is it time to slow down? When will we choose to be present in life and not focused on what’s next? I always love a huge snowstorm…why? Because the world gets really quite…and several ‘activities’ on the schedule get cancelled. Then you get to sit and just spend time with whomever you are with at the time and the world finally seems peaceful if only for a moment.
The Bible has plenty to say about Time…you can find great information in the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. One of my favorite verses in this book is this…
“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, ‘I find no pleasure in them’…”
Ecclesiastes 12:1
This verse is one of the reasons I want to spend so much time working with the youth in our church…the earlier in life we have a firm foundation of faith the more “Time” we have to live out God’s plan for our life.
Peace.
Take Your Faith With You 