Article 17
By Steven J. Hogan
All of us need to learn the lesson of stewardship, of being good managers of the things God has given us, whether that is abilities, gifts, talents, time, money and our body. As we become good stewards, then we are more useful to God, and are able to serve Him in a way that pleases Him, and gives Him great glory. Might we all look forward to that day when Jesus will say, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things – I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your Master.” Matthew 25:21. Listed below are a number of principles and truths about time, this wonderful and most important gift that God has given to each one of us. Might we be good and faithful slaves. To God be the glory!
* “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:2
* “This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24
* “Make the most of your time because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:17
* “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34
* Live life today. Don’t live in the past or in the future. Live one day at a time. Matthew 6:34
* You can’t speed up time and you can’t slow it down. You can’t make your life go faster or slower – it always moves at a constant rate. One hour is always one hour, and one day is always one day.
* The time you have is what God Himself gives you. Time is a very precious gift from God.
* You can never gain or get more time. (Exception – Joshua 10:12-13)
* You can’t buy time, earn time or trade for more time. You can’t get time from anyone else.
* You can’t get a day back, and therefore you can’t get time back – once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.
* Time is very valuable because it is a decreasing commodity. Your life gets shorter every day.
* Time is more valuable than money for you can make more money but you can’t make more time.
* The time that God gives you relates to the things He wants you to do. Purpose ~ Time
* If you are alive today, then you know you have a reason, a purpose for living this day.
* You won’t die, you won’t finish your days on earth until you finish your work on earth. Acts 13:36
* The value of your time relates directly to using the abilities and talents that God has given you. Maximize your time by focusing on the things that God has gifted and enabled you to do.
* Use your time to be godly. Use your time to trust God. Use your time to obey God. Use your time to be fruitful. Use your time to live for God. Use your time to walk with God. Hebrews 11
* Your time is a personal thing – it’s your time, and no one else’s time. It is the time God personally gives you so you can do the things He wants you to do, and that no one else is to do.
* You are to be a good steward and manager of the time God gives you – use it wisely. Luke 16:1-9
* It is wise to think and plan ahead as to how you are going to use your (God’s) time. Proverbs 21:5
* Your life is eternal, is infinite – it goes on forever, but the days of your life on this earth are finite.
* The days of your life on earth are next to nothing compared to all of eternity. Your life on earth is very short. “You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” James 4:14
* Your finite time on earth has eternal value if you use it for God’s purposes. Luke 16:9
* Yesterday is over, but if you used it for God, then yesterday has eternal value. The time is gone, but the results of how you used your time are not gone, but last forever. Hebrews 11:4
* Your time is for others. Don’t be selfish, but use your time to serve others. 2 Corinthians 12:15
* You have a set time to live, a specific time that’s already been determined by God. Psalm 139:16
* Be aware of how much time you have. For example, I am 66, and on a 80 year life span, that means 83% of my life is over. This is sobering, but it encourages me to serve the Lord all the more.
* God instructs you to count your life in days, months and years. Count your days, see them as precious, and consider them as having been given to you by God. Psalm 90:12, Job 14:5
* The time you have to live is uncertain, for you do not know how long you will live. James 4:14
* This day could be the last day of your life. Only God knows. “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” James 4:14
* If you are physically older, then you don’t have much time left on earth compared to others who are younger than you; and so use your time very wisely.
* Do not waste your time doing things that are sinful, and that have no real and spiritual value.
* If you waste your time then you are wasting the time God gave you, and you are wasting your life.
* Learn to forget the past. Don’t live in the past or try to relive the past. The past is gone, but press on to what lies ahead, for God has new things, special things for you today. Philippians 3:13
* God gives you strength today for today’s work. He does not give you strength today for tomorrow’s work.
* Live for the Lord by making the most of each day. Capitalize on opportunities that come up, on ones you may never have again. Each day is valuable, and you need to take advantage of each day. Ephesians 5:17
* Every person has the exact same amount of time in a day, 24 hours. It’s how you use your time that really counts, that really makes a difference.
* God designed your body to operate in a 24 hour day, not in a 10 hour day or a 40 hour day. You need to see the 24 hour day as the daily time frame God has given you, and so work within it, with the proper amount of work, fellowship and rest.
* God gives you 24 hours / day, and this is all the time you need to do all He wants you to do on any given day. Don’t go too fast, and don’t go too slow. Don’t be too busy, and don’t be lazy. Do all that God leads you to do on a particular day.
* Make the most of a day by learning to make the most of your minutes and hours. Set little goals.
* God wants to give you His joy each day. He doesn’t want your days to be drudgery. Psalm 90:14
* No day is exactly like another day. Each day is unique because God has designed each day just for you – He has unique and special plans for you on each day.
* Each day brings you one day closer to leaving this earth, and being in either heaven or hell.
* The days of your life are not increasing, and are not staying the same. They are decreasing. Be sober and wise.
* The days of your life may be shorter than average because of Christ’s return. The coming of Christ will suddenly and divinely shorten the life of every person who is living on earth at that time.
* God may shorten a person’s life because of their sin. Acts 5:1-11, Acts 12:20-23
* God may shorten a believer’s life because He wants them to come home early. Genesis 5:24
* The day of one’s death (if he’s a believer) is better than the day of one’s birth. Ecclesiastes 7:1
* Pray and ask God to help you live the days of your life in the way that He wants you to live them.
* Ask God to bless your time, to protect your time, to help you maximize your time. Yes, we are to be faithfully using our time but we need to trust God to supernaturally bless each minute, each hour, and each day.
* It is good to pray for each day and plan out each day, but always remember that God is sovereign, supernaturally overseeing your life and intervening in your life in a way that you can’t always see. This is for your good, and is for God’s purposes and glory. Romans 8:28, Proverbs 20:24
* Be flexible with your time, being sensitive to the Spirit as to how He wants you to use your time. “Man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
* Give thanks to God for all the days, months and years He has already given you. Psalm 136
* Faith, hope and love are some of the key ingredients for each day of your life. 1 Corinthians 13:13
* Remember that every day is to be a holy day, a day set apart for God. 1 Peter 1:14-16
* Loving God is the single most important thing that you are to do each day. Mark 12:30
* Loving one another is the second most important thing that you are to do each day. Mark 12:31
* Remember that God is with you all day long, all night long, all the time. He never leaves you.
* “By day the Lord directs His love, and His song will be with me in the night.” Psalm 42:8
* “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6