Bible Thoughts

September 3, 2000

Time is a precious gift. It needs to be cherished each day and used to the greatest advantage. The gift of time lasts only a moment in relation to eternity. During the short span upon this earth, each individual must learn to make the most of the time God has granted. When it was observed, "Once I was young, now am old," there is an inference of the brief time we spend upon the earth.

Learning to make the most of one's time is not an easy task. Yet, each moment should be seen as an opportunity to love, to grow, to help, to encourage, to serve, and be the most productive disciple possible.

Men tend to squander time on the things that have to do with this life. They fail to realize the vastness of eternity and dedicate their time to getting the most out of this life. It is evident that little satisfaction can be drawn from what is offered to the host of mankind in the daily activities sponsored by the world. While they may convince themselves that they are having a "good" time and enjoying every minute, most find it necessary to seek more and more activities to satisfy the fleshly desires within them. Such time spent on the flesh cannot(and will not) prepare one for the next life.

Is it wrong to spend time in recreation and entertainment? Certainly not. Jesus enjoyed the fellowship of those in his day. He went to a wedding, to feasts, and, yes, was on a boat with his disciples. Never, however, spend so much time with the affairs of this life that we neglect to prepare for the next life.

How much time do we devote to the Lord? For the Christian, in a sense, every moment belongs to God. Does this mean that we do not have other obligations that require our time? We do need to spend time with our families, our friends, and other associates. Time should be spent in making a living, growing intellectually, and, yes, in relaxation. In all of this, remember, as the Psalmist said, how short is my time. Before we realize such, the years have passed and my time is gone. Will we be able to look back over time and be satisfied with what we see?

The psalmist used the word "vanity" to describe how he felt and, in the next verse, pointed out that all men would experience death. Is this all there is to life? An emptiness? Or, is there something better and more satisfying? The righteous person can respond that there are many good things in this life. Time can hold joy to the one who loves the Lord and His way; cares for the brethren; provides for one's family; treats all men with proper respect; appreciates the creation of God; and a host of other blessings that man can, and does, appreciate. How we use our time determines whether or not our lives are filled with joy or filled with emptiness.

To think is something that everyone does. Even God thinks as we can read in Psalm 40:17. Since the beginning man has been thinking. It starts from an early age right up til the time we die; no man can stop thinking even if he wanted to.

To think can be both beneficial and harmful to our spiritual lives, and the word of God gives us examples of both ways. If we take the story of Goliath, his problem was that he thought that he was something when he was nothing and he suffered because of it.

1 Corinthians 8:2 teaches that if you think you know everything, you really know nothing and in 1 Corinthians 10:12 it warns us that just because you think you are standing does not mean that you can’t fall. Thinking can place us in hell, but it can also guide us to heaven.

We can look at Jesus as our example or Paul. They both thought about Godly things and they were rewarded for it. An old saying states that a person can’t think of two things at the same time, and no one has proved otherwise. Our thoughts guide us in our decision making, if we think before we take action and we think only on things that are from God; there is no room left for evil thoughts.

We also need to remember that thinking won't get us to heaven. Thinking about Godly things can only assist us on our journey. We still need to work for it, following the examples that have been left for us.-Vaughn Botha

Each Christian should be mindful of this verse. It is right and proper for each disciple to contribute upon the first day of the week as the Lord has prospered him. It should be done freely and willingly because it is returning to the Lord what the Lord has given to each of us originally.

We do not give "to the church"; we give to the Lord. The elders, by forethought and wisdom, decide the proper use of the treasury. They understand that it is to be used in evangelism, edification and benevolence. When each gives as prospered the work of the Lord's church is able to be carried out in all scriptural ways.

It is right and proper for disciples of Christ to appraise their giving and determine if one's giving is meeting the expectations that God has for each. While the New Testament does not specify an amount, liberality is part of the Christian's thinking. The proper attitude will take care of the proper amount. Think about it.