"Have you ever known someone who was totally indispensable in the workplace- or at least that’s what they thought. They felt the whole enterprise would come to a crashing halt if they were out for three days.
Eventually in these situations, “Mr. Indispensable” will have a medical emergency or some other circumstance beyond his control that will take him out for a week. Usually when he returns he discovers the world didn’t disintegrate without him. And, in fact, his subordinates exercised some leadership skills they should have used long ago.
Remember, graveyards are filled with indispensable people. God gives us only one opportunity to go through this life. We have a short window of time to point our children to Christ, encourage our friends in the things of God, and take walks in the park.
Don’t wait until God allows a crisis to prove to you that you aren’t indispensable. Take time today for what really matters. It’s the best way to redeem the time.
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"Someone has asked the profound question, ""If the professor on Gilligan's Island could make a radio out of coconut, why couldn't he fix a hole in a boat?""
That's a good question. But truthfully many of us don't use our imaginations very productively. Someone said the mightiest nation in the world is not the American nation or the Russian nation or the Chinese nation but the imagination.
How about you? How well do you use your imagination? When you are taking a walk or driving a car, is it your habit to engage your mind in some productive activity? Do you talk to God and imagine things you can do for Him? Or do you simply let time pass without improving it.
Using your imagination for creative purposes doesn't consume any more time than just sitting idle. But developing the habit of creative thinking as you go through your daily routine could be a valuable way to redeem the time.
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"Where do you go when you need to make an important decision? We all have our favorite places to go for reflective thought and prayer when we need to make decisions with major consequences. If you live near the mountains or the ocean, you might have a quite spot there where you get alone and reflect.
I recently spoke with one pastor who advised his church members to go to a graveyard to make those decisions. While at first this idea might seem morbid to some of us, I really believe his idea was a good one. The reason being, we will all eventually wind up in a graveyard. At that point, when your soul is in eternity, how will the different options you are considering appear?
That exercise could give us a valuable perspective that will bring us a great sense of peace both short term and in the long run.
Remember, making “graveyard decisions” could give you the perspective you need to best redeem the time.
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"In a day of information overload, how do we discern what things God wants us to learn?
We’re often told that to completely understand a subject we have to study both sides. For example, before we can witness to those of other faiths we have to study their scriptures and learn all we can about the details of their religion. God however, never told us to fill our minds with the details of false ideology. Paul told the Romans “I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.”
God places limits on knowledge. He doesn’t want us spending time learning evil. The name of the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Instead, we should follow the example of Paul with idol worshippers at Mars Hill. He exposed the essence of their mistake in two sentences, then spent time explaining the Gospel to them.
Learning good, not evil redeems the time.
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