Manage your time to Maximize God in your life

"In the Beginning..."

And with those three words, Time was created because without time there is no such thing as a beginning. Time tells us when things have started and when things end. It is the first rule that we are held accountable to. In our everyday phrases like "Not yet" or "Now" or "Just a sec" we find ourselves in constant negotiation with the ticking ruler. We find ourselves in constant competition with time too, running late to work, running out of time to take the test, finishing our project just in time and so on. If time is that important to us, why is so hard for us to keep it?

We have watches, mobile phones, cars, buildings, and satellites and even heavenly bodies that keep track of time. Yet we seem to be losing it constantly. We loose track of time in our daily lives and sometimes in our lifetimes themselves. Why is it so hard to keep a mark on something that everyone has but no one seems to have enough of it?

It is in our doing that we find the value of time because it whatever we do, the currency that we must spend is time. It takes time to run, walk, swim, fly. It takes time to breathe, eat, sleep. In any thing that we do it takes time to do it. And because on this current plane of existence our time is limited, what we do and how much we can get done is directly proportional the time we have to do it in. 

How does God handle time? Honestly, I dont think he does. God is immortal which makes him larger than time. Does that mean that he has no concept of time, not true. The creation of all things happened in a fixed amount of time (six days) and he created the method of time keeping that we hold on to today. Genesis 1:3 states that the day and night were the end of one day. And so it is even today that we use the length of day to measure time, but the Sun is one star in the universe that was created by God. He doesnt need our time, but he did show us has to use it effectively. 

1. Plan

2. Focus

3. Deadline

4. Rest

God had a plan for the day, He stays on focus throughout the whole day of creation. He is done with the work by the end of the day and He is done, we see Him enjoy his work. 

Not a bad process to follow. 

Your name came up.

That was the title of the message given by Elder Spence in my church on Sunday. He was speaking from the book of Job where satan and God were conversing and Job's name just happen to come up. From that point, Job was to be forever enshrined in the hearts and minds of God's people as representing endurance in the time of trouble.

There is a powerful message being presented here; the notion that one that was doing so good, could still have bad things happen to them. Another view however, is to see how envious the adversary was over the protection that God had over Job. His words to God seemed to indicate that he had already tried to come at Job but because of the protection of God his attempts to disrupt Job's life were unsuccessful.

We are "troubled on every side" but protected from destruction by the hand of God. Our good works attract more that just the approval of our Heavenly Father, as they also bring us to the attention of those that seek to do us harm. Like an insect that is called to the light in the middle of the darkness so to are the enemies of God's people attracted by the successes of them that worship God in spirit and in truth. It is because of that worship that the Lord watches over us and keeps the enemy at bay.

Great is they faithfulness, oh Lord!

So I have a question...Was Job's faith the source of the story, or was it God's love? To clarify, i want to know which one came first. Was God's Love the reason for the faith and worship that he gave to the Lord, or was it the other way around? Let me know what you think.

3 Steps of Highly Blessed People - Intro part 2

If we define blessed as

• divinely or supremely favored; fortunate

 then we can easily begin to identify people to which this applies. The young King David, Daniel, Paul, the apostles, and many others. Perhaps there are people in your life that you could identify as being blessed because they fit this definition. They seem to fall into blessings that it takes you time and effort to attain. They don't have to look for God to do in their life, He just does. Many times we ask ourselves, "Lord, why not me? How can I get into that kind of favor with you?" Its a fair question, and one that you can ask without violating the commandment of coveting. The secret to their blessed life, is the part of their life that you may not see as much of, but it is certainly there. And you must understand that the favor they receive now, did not come without proving that God is in control of their lives.

Before we get into what it takes to be a highly blessed individual, lets do something else with that definition that I gave you earlier. If we can use it to define blessed people, guess what else we can do with it? That's right, use it to determine who is NOT so blessed. Why is this important? You are trying to provide direction about becoming something that you may not be right now and although you may know what it is you are aiming for, you may not be clear on the path. If you can identify that you are headed in the wrong direction, it will make it easier for you to right yourself and your situation. And becoming a highly blessed person doesn't mean that you can not loose your way at some point and time. Take King David for example, a man after God's own heart and a warrior for God all his life. Overcome with infatuation and lust, he begins a deathly decent into the abyss of selfishness that causes him to become out of step with God and consequently out of the favor of God. This series of events shows us that even at the height of our existence with God, we must still dedicate ourselves to the relationship of God that has brought us to this point.

So knowing that you are headed in the right direction sometimes is knowing that you are not going in the wrong direction. Finding yourself out of favor with God will cause you to stop, take inventory of where you are, and make the needed corrections to what and why you are doing. It is here that we earn and use the greatest favor that God can provide. Favor can present itself in many forms, but one of it most common forms is forgiveness. He has forgiven you, so you have a chance to improve, a chance to change, a chance to do better.

So whats next? Step 1, prayer.

3 Steps of Highly Blessed People - Intro

Pray, Read your Bible, Go to church

This is a blog, that I hope to make into a book because the world is never tired of simple steps to improvement. But because it is a blog I won't be able to go into as much depth as I would like. I would like to know what you think the potential success of such a book might be. If I would be writing something that you would find useful, or if it would just be a part of my one personal library. I have been teaching these three things to my church for over 10 years and what I can tell you is that blessed people have at least these three things going for them, and those that are not so blessed are missing at least one.

Let's just see how far we can go...

Looking over the lives and lifestyles of Highly Blessed people it is not hard to see some similarities in the actions and choices of people that could be universally called blessed.

First, define blessed.

1. consecrated; sacred; holy;sanctified
2. worthy of adoration, reverence, or worship
3. divinely or supremely favored; fortunate
4. blissfully happy or contented

 The first two we will leave for God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, since we don't want to go into the worshiping of man or defining anyone as sacred. But the second two should suffice for our purposes just fine. Over the next couple posts, we will work through these definitions and how they support the principles I wish to build upon.

Why do we do what we do?

Before you eat dinner, do you pray?
Do your children say there prayers before going to bed?
What time is church service on Sunday? How long is too long for a sermon?

In this teaching, Jesus is being questioned about the behavior of his disciples in areas where there have been clear rules of conduct. But Jesus turns the table on them asking them rather about the things that they, the accusers, were not doing.

Showing His greatest power, knowing the heart of man, Jesus goes to the heart of the matter by first dismissing the complaint that dirty hands some how made the spirit unclean. He then points out that there are plenty of things that these accusers have elected NOT to do even while knowing they are commandments from God.

Mark 7:9 - "All too well you reject the command of God, that you may keep your traditions"

So, why do you do the things you do? Are your reasons founded in tradition or upon the place they have in God's plan? Don't misunderstand my intentions here; I have traditions of my own that I keep, but because of the Life and Ministry and Work of Jesus, I am continuously looking for those things that will bring me closer God while seeking to remove those things from me that impede that same relationship.

Choice of the challenge

In the ever changing lives that we lead, one could think that we are as accustomed to change as we are with rising of the sun. Everyday new challenges present themselves and we find ways to deal with them all and make it safely back home.... right?

In reality, making it home maybe the only thing we were able to handle with any confidence and having to face the various challenges of life does not automatically mean that we do that with lots of success. Family, work, church, school, and so on can all present in themselves unique circumstances that require social, political, and mental moves akin to a gymnast. Any one of these areas could require all of our attention, but of course we would not be who we are if we didn't try to overload our plate at the buffet table of life. So the challenges are multiplied and the situations and circumstances of one part of life become blended with the next. This hodgepodge of "stuff" soon becomes "to big to fail" as we become saddled with our own version of King Sysaphis' rock.


Our special word for this problem is, inevitable.

If you are a part of this society long enough, you will eventually fall into line with the expectations and the requirements form the yoke of this world. And if you are unaware of its weight, you could be crushed by a burden that is, fall all purposes, self-made.

An understanding that I would like for you to take from this blog... BE READY. Change comes comes to us all, but it is the few that can navigate the changes that are able to use the challenges as propellent to fuel their ambitions and provide the opportunities sought for growth to occur.

An example I like to keep in mind is about the Hebrew people wandering in the desert. Early on in the journey, they came to the edge of the promise land and sent out spies so that they could see what they were up against. The spies came back and they all said the same thing, except for two, that the land was two dangerous and they were not going to be able to take the enemies. These spies can represent for us the doubters in our lives. Those that doubt that you will be able to accomplish the goals you have. Sometimes the doubter is us, but you have to be willing to accept the truth about the work that needs to be done and what you are going to need to do to get there.

The Hebrew people choose to not go because of the challenges (giants and false gods); that fateful choice, they spent an entire generation preparing only to come back and be asked the same question. How many times have you dealt with a particular issue, got it wrong, and had to deal with that same issue all over again?

Fasting & Praying

Here we are again, blessed to be in another new year and for me that means a new fast to get the year started right. As with years past, my church and I are doing the Daniel's Fast which is a restraint from meats and animal products along with any "processed" foods, like white rice, sugar, soda, etc.
This has been our fast for the last five years but we have normally only gone out 21 days. This year we are are going 40 days of fasting and prayer. I can tell you that many of the people doing this with me were a little skeptical but the level of participation has never been higher. There are those that have committed the beginning of the year fasting and prayer since the founding of the church and then there are those that are fasting for the first time in a long time. There are even some young people, who by there own admission want to "get a closer relationship with God!" by fasting and prayer. How amazing is that!

Now I know there are many that would be concerned. "Is this healthy?" "Is it safe for the young people?" "What about those that have medical conditions?" Well, I assure you that all of that has been taken into consideration and as a matter of fact this fast, just from a dietary perspective, is extremely healthy and has many, many benefits. But you don't have to take my word for it; there is a plethora of information available that talks about the benefits of eating healthy and of removing the processed foods from your diet. For many of those that are doing this fast with me, we are merely encouraging them to do what their doctors and health professionals have been asking them to do for a while....eat healthy.

But there is more going on here than just eating veggies or leaving the ham-hocks out of the black eyed peas; we are pressing in to create a greater relationship with God. Whats the relationship with food and our God? Well it is not food itself as much as it is excess. I will tell you about that in a later post....