Making the Most of Our Moments

This post reflects on how quickly time passes and how our dreams can feel increasingly out of reach. It challenges readers to examine how they use their time and encourages them to make intentional, wise choices in everyday moments. Drawing on insights from Erwin McManus and Scripture (Ephesians 5:15–17), it emphasizes that the abundant life Jesus promises is found in how we steward the time we’re given. The message is clear: don’t wait—seize your divine moment and make each day count.

Read Making the Most of Our Moments.

You Can’t Hurry Love

Americans tend to fill every waking moment with activity. With our full schedules it is difficult to find time to squeeze one more thing into our days. 

When the opportunity comes our way to help and server some one, it often comes at us as an inconvenience. It is interrupting our schedule. So we try to hurry through it so we can do a good deed and still check off everything on our to do lists.

Sadly, this leads people feeling more like an inconvenience or an afterthought rather than feeling truly loved. 

To be different, Christians need to slow down and understand that one of the sacrifices that we make on behalf of God is the interruption of our schedules. By letting God disrupt our lives we are saying that His will is more important than our will. We are also saying that people matter more than our personal agendas.

Loving our neighbor can’t simply be blocked off on our schedules. These opportunities to love people will  appear in our lives during inconvenient times, forcing us to choose between our agendas and God’s command. 

For us to truly love people we need to sacrifice our time, our agendas, and our money to be present in the lives of other people.

This is how we can love our neighbors well.

Don't Let Time Slip Away

As I grow older the more aware I am of the passing moments of life. The younger you are the easier it is to put things off by saying, “I will do it tomorrow”.

With each passing day time slips through our fingers. We have to remember that we only have a limited supply of tomorrows, and we don't know when they will run out.

The good intentions that we have will remain undone if we don't begin to make an effort to accomplish them today. Intentions only become accomplishments through action.

We all have dreams, goals, and passions that we would like to accomplish. Maybe you want to improve the relationship you have with a distant brother/sister or maybe you want to start a romantic relationship with a long time crush. Perhaps you want to write a book or go back to college. Maybe you want to change careers or start your own business. Perhaps you want to serve God in a new capacity or go on some type of missions trip. We will not accomplish any of it unless we put forth the effort to accomplish them.

Tomorrow will not be any less busy than today is. We can be certain that tomorrow will bring with it a new set of troubles and expectations.

See more at Paul's Ponderings: Don't Let Time Slip Away

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Live Wisely and Redeem the Time

You and I have been given a great gift. The gift of life is the most precious thing that we have, and therefore it is imperative that we don't waste it.

Yet it is very easy to waste our lives. We can let the moments of our lives slip through our fingers as we sit in front of a TV or computer screen. It is possible to waste our lives as we discover one more excuse to work later rather than going home to our family or to give into the voice for some "me time" rather obeying God's call.

Vacation, Sabbath, and alone time are important because we need opportunities to recharge our batteries and anchor our lives to Christ Jesus. We should never feel guilty for getting the rest that we need, just as we should never feel guilty about fulfilling our obligations.

What we need to be conscious about is how we are using the time God has given us. How we use our time determines how well we are living.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians:

So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do (Ephesians 5:15-17, NLT).

To make the most of every opportunity means that we buy up the time we have been given. We redeem the time from this evil age and bring it into God's glorious Kingdom. This requires prayer on our part so we can know God's will. We can't be in obedience to God's will if we are ignorant of what His will is. Redeeming the time also requires an intentionality on our part. It is choosing to seem God's will, committing to do His will, and making the effort to do it. We get to decide whether or not we are going to redeem the time for God's glory and honor.

To make the most of our lives and to live wisely means that we redeem the time given to use. By dedicating it to God's Kingdom. That is the best way to use the gift of life God has given to use.

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Daily Thought: Present at the Creation of the World

"Most of our prayers if fully analysed, ask either for a miracle or fore events whose foundation will have to have been laid when the universe began.  But then to God (though not to me) I and the prayer I make in 1945 were just as much present at the creation of the world as they are now and will be a million years hence.  God's creative act is timeless and timelessly adapted to the 'free' elements within it: but this timeless adaptation meets our consciousness as a sequence and prayer and answer." ~ C. S. Lewis, Miracles

Me Time or God Time?

Have you ever needed “me time”? The day has been long and hard, and now you want to take some time to relax and not think about things. You grab a beer, a bowl of ice cream, or cookies and milk and then sit down in front of the television. All you want is to unwind and to let go of the tension of the day.

John Eldredge talks about (in his book Walking with God and his audio teaching The Utter Relief of Holiness) how he developed a habit of coming home after a hard day and grabbing a beer, “just to take the edge off.” He goes on to talk about how he realized that is where he was turning to for comfort. “Never once,” he said, “did I think about turning to God for comfort.”

Last night I was feeling out of sorts, and so I walked into my study to grab book. The book I settled on was The World’s Last Night and Other Essays by C. S. Lewis. I was about half way through the second page when I had this thought, “Why not the Bible?” That is a good question. Why is my first instinct when I experience these times in my life is to grab a book about God rather than God’s Word? Why am I content to learn more about God rather than spending time with God?

Pardon me if I am speaking out of turn, but I think this is one of the reasons so many of us feel disconnected from God. It is no secret that life is busy, hectic, and filled with problem people and at the end of the day we are exhausted both emotionally and physically. All we want is a little me time. So we turn on the TV, we log on to Facebook, we grab a beer, we lose ourselves on the golf course, we open up the sports page, or read a good book (ladies what do you do?). Instead of turning to God we turn to ourselves for comfort.

The example of Jesus is so different. I know that comes as a shock to us, but nevertheless I think it needs to be pointed out. Matthew 14 and Mark 6 records one of the most difficult days of Jesus’ life. The day starts with the news of John the Baptizer’s death. Mark tells us that Jesus wanted to get away from the crowds and find a quiet place to rest, but the crowds wouldn’t let them. When He saw the crowds Jesus had compassion on them and He taught and healed. At the end of the day He miraculously provided food for the huge crowd with five loaves of bread and two fish.

I think we find a very important here a very important point: when we are moved by compassion we need to help, regardless of how tired we may be. There are times when we need to push on because people are depending on us. Parents, you know exactly what I am talking about. Your opportunities for rest are few and far between, but because raising your children is so important you do what needs to be done even when you are tired.

Returning to the story of Jesus, once everyone had left, Jesus sent his disciples away by boat, while he went way to pray. This is what Matthew tells us: Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone…(Matthew 14:22, 23; ESV).

When given the opportunity Jesus arranges for time alone. This tells us that we need to be intentional in taking time off, we can’t expect it just to happen. Jesus sent His disciples away so He can be alone, but He doesn’t use this time as “me time”. Instead we are told He went to pray. Jesus went to connect with His Heavenly Father. He didn’t waste these few precious moments, instead He used them to get what He will needed: God. The reason Jesus could show compassion to the crowds was because He had a strong connection with God. The reason Jesus had a strong connection with God was because He used what little time He had to be alone to worship God.

When we are feeling out of sorts, when we are need of some comfort, or when we need to be re-energized I hope that we will turn to God instead of trying to carve out “me time”. Sure “me time” will give us momentary relief, but only time spent with God will give us the strength we need to accomplish His purpose for our lives. Jesus showed us the importance of having “God time” and if we are going to be like Jesus we need to follow that example.

Learning to Say No to Good Things

Randy Alcorn on his blog Eternal Perspectives wrote a wonderful post about using our time wisely. In the post, Planned Neglect, Randy wrote; We shouldn’t say yes to something just because it’s a good thing or even a great thing. One of the things I have thought about recently is how easy it is to start feeling like a horrible person because you can't support all the good causes there are to support.

We only have a limited amount of time, money, and influence. When we allow these things to be spread to thin over a great number of causes then we diminish the good that we can do. It would be better for us to pick a few causes that we can support whole heartedly and give ourselves to them. I encourage you to read Randy's thoughts because I think this is something all of us need to ponder.