A Challenge

A day is made up of 24 hours. If you tithe your time as well as your money, that means you owe God 2.4 hours a day of your time, (if you tithe off the top like I do that is). What do you do with the time you actually dedicate to God. How much of that time is spent doing something that will actually further your relationship with Him, something that will seriously impact your spiritual & personal lives, how much of that time is spent in entertaining yourself? What if today you made up your mind to dedicate 3 hours a day to actively seeking God's will in life, & doing it? What if for 3 hours a day you actually sought God & did only what he Himself wants you to do? Would it make a difference? You bet! The Quakers went to a meeting house & sat silent in the presence of God until God gave someone something to share with the others. They actively strived to be led by the Spirit of God in all ministry there. In their personal lives, when one of their meeting members had to make an important decision, they met as a meeting & quietly sought God's guidance in that situation. In the end, they could write what God revealed to them on a piece of paper & put it in a hat, & when read, all of their messages would be in total aggreement. If not, they sought God until they were in total agreement. While I have problems with some of their beliefs, I have no problem with their faith that God would actually lead them in every decision they made. I challenge you to get serious about your spiritual lives & seek God's light before making any major decision & acting on it. I challenge you to seek God's light in everything you do for God online.

Hello Wayne,Welcome, you will find that many members at SI are taking part in a 4 month Bible reading plan than began on January 1, and runs through the end of April. I know it has been a challenge for many but nonetheless extremely beneficial for our personal life. My hope is it will establish some order to lives, and help eliminate the "hit & miss" style of getting into God's word, which we know is His will for our life.Your question "what do we do with the time we dedicate to God."For (busy) families, just determining to set aside time for Spiritual growth is near impossible. In order to free up some time, maybe these thoughts will help: One author stated it something like this "Is there anything that I am doing today that, knowing what I now know, I wouldn't get into again if I had to do it over?"If the answer to this question, is "yes", then our next question should be, "how do I get out of this situation and how fast?"It is estimated the average person spends 500 to 1,000 hours each year in his car, the equivalent of one or two university semesters. What if this time was spent with Scriptures on CD or tape? What if this time was spent listening to sermons? To be sure, it will be time wisely spent.Again welcome, and look forward to your posts on SI.In Christ,tony

I agree wholeheartedly Lahry. When I first entered the ministry 25 years ago, it was prophesied that I would have the same ministry as John the Baptist. I began to act like a prophet. I began to chew people up scripturally & spit them out. I justified my natural aggression as a prophetic temperament. It wasn't until many years later that I fully understood that calling. John the baptist didn't even come on the scene until 6 months before he baptized Jesus in the Jordan river. I've been preparing, right slowly I might add, for a ministry that won't begin until shortly before Jesus' arrival. Now I quietly pray, share my experience online, & wait for God to call me out into His harvest field. I have no doubt that work will soon begin. I see things coming to the United States that good time believers won't be able to handle. Many will turn their backs on God & fall by the wayside during these times because God is no longer blessing them hand over fist (I have my own doubts as to the source of those blessings to begin with).

God showed me years ago that many of us old timers would be busy in the last days training ministers for the harvest time. I still believe I'll be very much involved in that end time harvest here in the USA; but I haven't forgotten the calling to prepare people for that last great harvest either. Do you remember the 3rd part who went through the fire? The fire came to purge them & make them vessels fit for the master's use. There are a lot of us old timers who have waded through hell backwards in our lives as a believer, & I believe God has allowed that so we can comfort those who will come out of the devastation that lies ahead. God will use us in widerness refuges around the nation to prepare a place for these survivors, & minister to them when they flock into those sanctuaries. I see some huge financial miracles for some of us to prepare for those trying times; not for pur personal comfort. @ any rate, it's no time for us old timers to feel sorry for ourselves, but instead to be encouraged as we see what God will one day soon do in our lives Bro.

Yes, it's all Gods, regardless of which area of life we're talking about.So the time that He has given me is His time, as well as everything else. If I've given everything to Jesus, it's not my will but His.I gave up TV a couple of years ago (for the most part). I've watched less than a couple of hours of TV over the last year but I wouldn't tell someone to give that up, unless the Holy Spirit told them to do so. The Lord has shown me that it took my time and all it gave me was a calloused heart.With this calloused heart, it hurt my prayer time and impacted the Spirit's ability to speak to my heart.In the old covenant, 10% of the first fruits belonged to God and now ALL of it belongs to God. That's what I see as the difference between the old and new covenant.

I don't know if it's just me, but after starting maybe 40 or 50 message boards myself over the years I've been ministering online, I've really been heartbroken over how shallow most christian message boards are. They'll flock in to talk about everything but christian living; but if a message board is focussed on christian living & being all we can be for God's kingdom, there will be virtually no interaction there @ all. A lot of people read many of my teachings over the years; but there was almost no positive response to anything I wrote. I think that's a sad commentary on the times we're livng in. If I would compromise my principles, & setup a forum or message board that entertained people, I'd have 500 members in no time. Most of my boards over the years were lucky to have 30 members @ best.

You are dead right look at the stats on post to views. Your current one has 7 replies to 134 views. All the lifestyles ones are the same headcovering is in the lead with 75 replies to 1613 views. Also if you look it is a very small group who express themselves. One hope that the rest are challenged to reflect and take stock.Just an observation. By the way I was challenged about my use of time and liked especially the use of tiem in the car. I listen to two downloaded sermons almost every day while driving and to "ten shekels" at least twice a month. So there is time if we look. My current affairs is a bit shot as I dont get to listen to the news but its all bad anyway.Paul

One hope that the rest are challenged to reflect and take stock.It's my daily prayer that God will help me to get serious in my own studies, & that my influence will rub off on others. In the end all true ministry is a byproduct of relationship. How many of us fell in love with someone, & had friends get tired of us because all we talked about was the man or woman we were in love with? It should be the same if our relationship with God is where it should be. It should be easy to talk about that relationship. If it isn't, where does the problem lie?

I wholeheartedly agree; but @ the same time we can't neglect our personal relationship with God to pursue the other. I firmly believe all true ministry is the natural byproduct of a very real, very vital, personal relationship with God. I believe christianity is simply allowing God to influence my own heart & life to the point where that influence overflows into the hearts & lives of everyone I come in contact with. When that happens, your whole life begins to be a ministry to those around you. Christian growth is a life long process, not an instantaneous event. If you gave your newborn infant one bottle a week, how long would that child last? If you yourself ate one meal a week, how long would you last. We need to feed our spirit man the same way we feed our natural man. I know for a fact that when I constantly feed my natural man without daily feeding my spirit man my natural man always gets the upper hand & i begin to allow a lot of things to get into my life that I otherwise wouldn't.

My whole point in this is our tendency as christians, even when involved in something like this message board, to focus our energies on superficial things, & not on things that help us to grow spiritually & become better people. Jesus once accused the Pharisees of straining a gnat & swallowing a camel. How many times do we focus on one pet peeve & totally ignore the whole message? When I first started in the ministry 25 years ago. I stayed angry about certain things. I found myself getting angry over the same things all the time. I found out, when I was getting angry, it was because people were pointing out things I just didn't want to deal with. Even today, I find myself getting angry & frustrated over the same things over & over again. It's a growth process that will last a lifetime; but I won't get anywhere until I allow God to reveal the truth to me.

Br. Krispy wrote:He chastised me for spending 8 hours a week at practices, and usually 8 hours on Saturdays at the football stadium. To him... it was a waste of time. I invited him to come hang with me sometime at practice or on game day... and he did. What he saw was me having a positive influence on nearly 40 kids. Kids who have learned respect, hard work, dedication and sportsmanship. He saw that I was very open about my faith with kids, and many of them are Christians.Last year I began coaching youth tackle football in a "Christian league." I had the opportunity to reach families and kids in the same way. Two or three times a week I would lead devotionals with the team. I enjoyed the season and the people, yet I must confess that I struggled with the whole notion of Football. I saw the hypocrisy of professing Christ in one moment then because of competition, the kids learned from the adults about cutting corners. The kids learn by what they see as the desires most important to the adults in their lives. We can preach all we want. Yet how do we maintain what we preach. How do we share the love of Christ in an activity which promotes the opposite?In ChristJeff

In all things pertaining to christianity, we lead by example. We need to show them something different in our own lives first & foremost. Paul admonishes us to speak the truth in love; but speak the truth we must. It's like raising children however, you never dwell on the wrong they do. You deal with it, & that's that. We need to focus on the right things men do, & not the wrong. In doing so we encourage that kind of behavior. When we constantly focus on the wrong things men do we reinforce that behavior, simply because that's what gets them recognition, & recognition is the one thing men & women crave most.

Thankyou Br. Wayne.In ChristJeff

Br Krispy wrote:I'm not sure what you mean by "cutting corners"... if you mean cheating, in effect, and it was coming from the parents... there really isnt anything you can do about that except lead by example. Just like Wayne said.One corner cut was that if a kid did not maintain grades, he could not play. Well some of the star players were not held to this rule. I accidentally found out about one of these players. When I asked the head coach he said he was not aware of this situation. I failed to press the issue. I was the defensive coordinator, so I did not allow the boy to play on defense.Another corner cut was telling the defensive players to line up in the gaps. The league rules were known by the players that they had to line up head to head. Yet the head coach for a time instructed them to line up in the gaps until the other team complained. When I became defensive cooridinator of the team part way into the season I instructed my boys to obey the rules. There are many other small issues that occurred daily, each one showed the boys that men do not see things as black and white. The boys are taught to understand that there are "gray areas." King Saul wanted to live his life in the gray areas. I attended the NFF-NFL Youth Football Coaches Clinic this past year. This organization taught the offensive lineman to hit the breatplate of the shoulder pads as the proper method for beginning the blocking sequence.In ChristJeff

Well Krispy,I think that sports are a great way to reach people! I have been running a Football team( That is Soccer to all you who are from another country) I have a friend from work who now attends regularly! From this he then started hanging out at my house.From there he came and played pool at the church building. From there him and his other half now come and spend time with us usually twice or three times a week. They are going to come to church soon and also his other half's little sister now comes to youth club at our church (we went to it was great fun rolling back the years).To quote him he says that he has become more interested in the whole Christian thing. Im praying for them. My point is: If i had not spent time playing football with him we would not be in the position we are today as close friends!!!!! SPEND AND BE SPENT

I have read some of the most recent posts in this thread, and what comes to mind is what some would term as life-style evangelism, or simply living what we say we believe. Much if not most “ministry” is not with pulpit and microphone, but is in developing the growth of others, such as children on the sports field. I am in no wise athletic and in fact throughout school was always one of those last kids chosen when dividing up into teams, and so I have a special respect for those who would spend their time and talent being salt and light to kids in this manner.I have watched Christians in my own family take the time to become coaches in little league teams both Christian and non-Christian. I have watched children from extremely volatile homes come to know Christ from being involved in these sports teams. I have seen the parents of these children become friends with these Christian coaches and then be led to Christ. Parents who would have never darkened the door of a Church for various reasons. And so, God bless all those who are being used of Christ on the field what a great use of time and talent!!God Bless,tony

Great encouragement "getrealwithg"! Yes, there are quite a few men and women of God that are very inspirational! We can be that inspiration, that spurring on to good works in the body of Christ as well, if we only give God our whole selves!We do mismanage a lot of things as Christians. We don't give God the time He deserves. We don't give Him the whole complete life He deserves. As soon as there's something we don't like, we take back a part of our life from God, even maybe bits of our heart back to our own possession. We need to fully, completely trust Him! He needs to be our reason, our purpose, our joy! He needs to be the One we live for and the One we die to meet!It starts in the heart. There is where God starts the work so we will to cast aside every weight and sin that so easily hinders and distracts us. I know what hinders me; distrust, fear, doubts, failure... the list goes on. But God is willing to heal, restore and rebuild. There's not a life God can't use when placed in His hands to be molded into a vessel of honor!

Okay... I just read the very first topic when I made my first reply. Taking the time to read through everything... I have more of an idea what's going on in this topic.You know, I'm a young, single person who has the luxury of spending hours in the Word, books, listening to sermons, etc. if I wanted to. But you know, it really opened up my eyes a few weeks ago when I spent a week with a family in Tennesee. Since it was my vacation, I could sleep in and spend all day catching up on my 4 Month Bible Reading Plan if I wanted. I had no responsibilities. My young friend, Meagan, 14-years-old, wanted to do the same thing. But her mom kindly reminded her of her responsibilities around the house. There were chores to do and school to finish. If she wanted to spend time in devotions, she needed to get up early, but not lounge around all day reading, while neglecting her responsibilities. That really spoke to me. There is that sitting at the Lord's feet, being in His presence, but there's very much the practical aspect of our relationship with God as well. I really rethink the time I just sit around and read now around my house. What message would I send to my parents if I sat around reading instead of doing the dishes or throwing out the trash? So that really spoke to me that I need to find a balance. And then spending a week with 3 rowdy kids running around all day made me a bit understanding to Christian parents who really would have to work hard at making a time for devotions. As soon as your kids wake up, there is no way you're going to have some nice undistracted time with the Lord. Your ministry to them has just begun.So... I think we really do need to be understanding to everyone's situation. Where I was coming from in my first post was more for Christians who do have all this free time to... really build themselves up in the Lord through the Word, Chrisitan books, sermons, ministry, etc., but they'd rather... just waste their time on other things. The only thing that's a waste of time is that which is spent on something other than what God has called you to use your time on. It's really that simple.

My difficulty is that i'm doing some pastoring and training to enter full time pastoral work and i have to decide what i will say from the pulpit...often i have challenged the congregation to examine their use of time (and i've used TV as an example) but i have to be careful not to preach legalism...i think that's a challenge.I've spent most of the last 25 years in a pulpit somewhere; & I make it my practice to have no preconceived ideas about what I'm going to say when I get in that pulpit. Why? Because the needs of that congregation are constantly changing, & if I hope to meet their most pressing needs @ the time, I need to hear from God then. I carry no sermon notes. I simply go to the church & spend about 2 hours alone with God there before I preach, getting in touch with God & finding out what He's have me to say.

a lot of times I have to stay up an extra half hour to have devotions with my wife, & a lot of times I have to get up early to have the time I want online, or I have to take time to talk to someone about the LORD during lunch. I'm not advocating a religious practice. I'm advocating a wholehearted relationship. If you love your wife, you'll find time to spend with her.

The average mans work day is 8 hrs- times 5 days which equals 40 hrs, if he gives 10% of his earnings he has in effect given some of his time already---it took time to earn the money.The whole issue with devotion to the Lord was one of uninterrupted fellowship---pray without ceasing?lo I am with you always? It is no longer I but Christ that lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh.....?ect... and much more--- I very much enjoyed the Book By Brother Lawerance title "Practicing the Presence of God" , very good and very practical.I understand what your saying and I understand what the quakers practice but basically thier both flawed. At least according to scripture.We are to live in the very presence of Christ and be devoted to the attendance of His word as a mater of normal daily discipline.

I'd pick you to be on my team anyday.Thanks Krispy! What a rag-tag team it would be with me included.Years ago I remember reading, maybe it was a psychologist who wrote it: “The story of the human race is the story of men and women selling themselves short. The average person tends to settle for far less than he’s capable of and then wonders why he’s so dissatisfied and frustrated with his life.”As believers we might modify this statement some, but the essence is sadly true.Learning to walk in humility is certainly a process. Understanding that I do not have it all figured out and never will as long as God keeps telling me His ways are above and beyond my ways. I know people grow weary of me using the word balance, but after having driven on four unbalanced tires as it were, for so long, surely the ride is more pleasant when they are balanced. As it was for Elisha and the Shunamite woman, there was a time and season for prayer, and then there was a time and season for Ministry when the Prophet had to get up from praying and do what God said to do. Whatever that time and season we now find ourselves, if we faint not, we shall reap!!God Bless,tony

Brs. Tony and KrispyThankyou for your thoughts, I am looking forward to this upcoming season. In ChristJeff

Br. WayneThankyou for your ministry here.In ChristJeff