"Let me share with you a powerful quote from Fred Smith about committed vs. tentative living:
Commitment is essential for victory in an individual’s life. Committed lives have meaning, accomplishment, purpose, and excitement. On the other hand, tentative living is never satisfying. Tentative generally becomes negative, and negative becomes critical or even cynical. Tentative lives are never victorious. Have you ever read a biography or a history story related to someone who lived tentatively and became a hero?
Mr. Smith’s comments echo a greater truth from Scripture that the only satisfying life is one of total commitment- but specifically total commitment to Jesus Christ. Jesus taught that the man who looses his life in the cause of the Gospel is really the one who finds life.
As you consider the remaining hours of your day, how will you choose to spend them- in tentative living or in committed living. Only those who, without reservation, commit their time to God, will redeem the time.
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"In 1732 Alexander Pope wrote:
Sin is a monster of such frightful countenance;
That to be hated needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too often, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.
If that was true in 1732, how much more is it the case today when we have more graphic pictures of sin thrust in our face while driving down the highway than Mr. Pope could have found if he went out looking for it.
One example of that conditioning process toward the acceptance of sin is the entertainment media of our day. I’m constantly amazed at what many professing Christians allow Hollywood to bring right into their living room. We’ve become so desensitized to sin, that it no longer shocks us or even offends us.
Let’s ask God to restore in us a sensitivity to sin, because ungodly entertainment is also one of Satan’s favorite tactics to keep us from redeeming the time.
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"Remember when you were a child and your older sibling said, “If you don’t quit crossing your eyes they’re going to get stuck that way.” or, “If you don’t eat your vegetables you’ll never grow up.”
Sometimes well meaning people can give incorrect advice and along with it can waste a lot of our time. That’s why it pays to consider the credentials of those who offer us advice on time management or any other aspect of success. There are a lot of catchy titles, clever phrases, and articulately worded success resources on the airwaves and bookshelves today. Yet many of these “experts” have only experienced success in one dimension of their lives- namely financial success. As a parent, spouse, or spiritually they may be a total failure.
Successful time management is multidimensional with a primary focus on getting God’s best for your life. The Bible commands us to “Learn not the way of the heathen.” That’s sound wisdom for any Christian who wants to redeem the time.
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"If you need some encouragement to do something meaningful with your life read a biography of William Carey. One of his life’s mottos was, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.”
William Carey was a living example of that motto. In 1793 he left England for India where he worked without furlough as a pioneer missionary until his death 41 years later. Along with evangelism and church planting, Carey also established hospitals, schools, a savings bank, the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India, and a Bengali newspaper. He oversaw the start of India’s first printing press, paper mill and steam engine. He wrote a Bengali-English dictionary and founded the first Christian college in Asia. He translated the complete Bible into six languages and portions of Scripture into 29 others.
You and I may not have the same calling as William Carey, but remembering his example and his words, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.” may help us redeem the time.
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