How often do we think that we are being caught in the hassle of everyday life that we feel that we want a break, we want a personal retreat?But how often do we find ourselves simply cannot afford to do so because we are just being bound by our commitments in various activities, be it work, or other family commitments?
Having decided to work, study part time and so on inevitably have packed myself with endless activities daily. And this desire to have personal retreat/just some holidays to catch up with work and so on is immense. I have heard a lot of friends commenting on how I could possibly do this. Some say that in order to keep up with work, studies and so on, something must be sacrificed. This is true, everyone has only 24 hours, and I have to pack more activities than others, I would have to sacrifice: so my sleep (rest time), my family time (sometimes I think the fact that my family is not around in Singapore sometimes just make it easy for me to entirely to relax on this aspect), my time with friends are all kept to the minimum.
But come to think of it, even those without any part time degree, without any time and effort demanding job, they would still be dissatisfied with the amount of time they have. People always long to have extra time.
This year, our church's theme is going deeper and wider in our encounter with God and so far for the past few weeks, the theme of the sermons have been finding Christ in work, in studies...and basically in everything we do. On the surface, these seem to be very common topics. Maybe to some, these are just reminders. But somehow, feel that there is a deeper message behind it that God wants to convey to me. Wwhen I dwell on what have been preached over the week and follow what have been advised and spoken to me during the sermons, a very strong message sipped through these reflections: Christ serves as the ultimate reset button in my life.
When I load my days with activities, it's like opening a lot of programs in the computers and there would be a point when we are overloaded and the machine just hangs. At this point of time, there is nothing that you can do except to press the reset button. To some, this reset button is going for a cup of coffee; to some, it maybe going for exercise; to some, it maybe playing mahjong; to some, going on a short trip. And if you get advise from some Christians friends advising to Christians, it maybe spending time with God.
But as we all know, we need to do quiet time, we need to spend at least some few minutes reading His Word everyday. This has also become programmed as one of the many programmes in our daily routine that opening this program, sometimes would just add to the load of the already loaded computer. So it offers no help to the situation. Honestly speaking, I am sure some of us do find it that way....
As believer, we have no doubt that our God is the ultimate place that we should seek help from. But sometimes, through our daily commitment, we have forgotten that He is the ultimate reset button and not a program inside the computer. And doing our quiet time and spending time with Him is not the extra program that we need to slot in our schedule everyday. It's actually invoking the reset button that everything in the life is once again back to a no load condition.
This is a perception problem, I suppose. And perhaps this is the essence of the example that a woman spend 10 minutes every morning reading the Bible but she could not hear from Him. And yet, when she spend the same amount of time doing her hobby attending to the plants, she proclaimed that she has encountered God.
Anna
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Time
Excerpt from Mark Conner's blog (http://markconner.typepad.com/). A reminder to use our precious time wisely. I like the analogy of the bank account. May 2011 be a fruitful year for all of us drawing closer and deeper with God! -Diana
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Progress is step by step. One grade at a time. One town at a time. You never just arrive - you must take the journey. It's part of the process and just as important as the destination. Go for consistency - doing well for the long haul. Not just quick bursts of enthusiasm. Growth takes time and continued effort.
If we are faithful with what we have (looking after it well), God will give us more. Are you ruling well over the little you have? Are you faithful with what you've got? Looking for more without dealing well with what you've got is immaturity. God looks at how well we handle what we have to determine what we can receive (read Luke 12:48). God rewards faithfulness. Note Jesus' parables - "Well done, good and faithful servant.”
To the unsuccessful person, time doesn’t matter. Life moves according to chance. What comes, comes. What doesn’t, doesn’t. To the successful person, time is not to be wasted. Time gives motivation for setting goals, planning carefully and setting priorities.
Moses saw the need for using time wisely.
Ps 90:12. So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. NKJV
How many days do you have left? Take some time to ponder this …
Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening it deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day.
What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course!!!
Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME.
Every morning, it credits us with 86,400 seconds.
Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose.
It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft.
Each day it opens a new account for you.
Each night it burns the remains of the day.
If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours.
There is no going back.
There is no drawing against “tomorrow.”
You must live in the present on today’s deposits.
Invest it so as to get from it the utmost.
The clock is running.
Make the most of today.
Conclusion
God’s gift to you is your potential. Your gift back to Him is what you do with it (see Matt.25:14-30). Get ready for another cycle of the seasons. Start thinking about your next harvest. When you see the returns of your labour, you want to start dreaming again and the cycle of the seasons commences once again. Move to an even greater harvest and more diverse crops. Become a better farmer. May you live a fruitful life that brings honour and glory to God!
________________________________________________________________
Progress is step by step. One grade at a time. One town at a time. You never just arrive - you must take the journey. It's part of the process and just as important as the destination. Go for consistency - doing well for the long haul. Not just quick bursts of enthusiasm. Growth takes time and continued effort.
If we are faithful with what we have (looking after it well), God will give us more. Are you ruling well over the little you have? Are you faithful with what you've got? Looking for more without dealing well with what you've got is immaturity. God looks at how well we handle what we have to determine what we can receive (read Luke 12:48). God rewards faithfulness. Note Jesus' parables - "Well done, good and faithful servant.”
To the unsuccessful person, time doesn’t matter. Life moves according to chance. What comes, comes. What doesn’t, doesn’t. To the successful person, time is not to be wasted. Time gives motivation for setting goals, planning carefully and setting priorities.
Moses saw the need for using time wisely.
Ps 90:12. So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. NKJV
How many days do you have left? Take some time to ponder this …
Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening it deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day.
What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course!!!
Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME.
Every morning, it credits us with 86,400 seconds.
Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose.
It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft.
Each day it opens a new account for you.
Each night it burns the remains of the day.
If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours.
There is no going back.
There is no drawing against “tomorrow.”
You must live in the present on today’s deposits.
Invest it so as to get from it the utmost.
The clock is running.
Make the most of today.
Conclusion
God’s gift to you is your potential. Your gift back to Him is what you do with it (see Matt.25:14-30). Get ready for another cycle of the seasons. Start thinking about your next harvest. When you see the returns of your labour, you want to start dreaming again and the cycle of the seasons commences once again. Move to an even greater harvest and more diverse crops. Become a better farmer. May you live a fruitful life that brings honour and glory to God!
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