Colossians 4:5 - Make Your Time Count.
Colossians 4:5 (NIV) Be wise in the way you
act toward outsiders; make the most of every
opportunity.
Colossians 4:5 (ICB) Be wise in the way you
act with people who are not believers. Use your
time in the best way you can.
COMMENTARY PEARL
If you want to get ready to be used by
God, first you need to get to know Jesus Christ.
Then you need to use your time in view of
eternity.
Colossians 4:5 says, Use your time in
the best way you can (ICB). Time is your most
precious resource. Its far more important than
money. You can get more money, but you cant get
more time. You only have a certain amount
allotted to you in this life.
You cant make time. You cant borrow
time. You cant save time. You cant extend
time. You can only use it. We all have the same
amount of time every week: 168 hours. You wont
be able to manage anything else in your life if
you dont learn how to manage your time well.
Your time is your life.
God is watching how you manage your time
on earth to determine what hes going to have
you do in eternity.
One of Satans strategies is to get you
so busy doing unimportant things that you
dont have time for the important things in life -
preparing for eternity. If Satan cant get you to be
bad, hell just get you to be busy.
The Bible tells you exactly what you
should be doing with your time: My life is worth
nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work
assigned me by the Lord Jesus (Acts 20:24 NLT).
God wants to use you, but he wants to
make sure youre investing your time in the
most important things. That means using your time
in view of eternity. Ask yourself, How much
of what Im spending my time on is going to
count five years from now? How much is going to
count in eternity? Then use your answers to
refocus your time.
You have 365 days in front of you during
2021. How can you use your time in view of
eternity? [Daily Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
COMMENTARY
Today's Scripture counsels us to be
wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make
the most of every opportunity. It takes
courage to reach out to others. It's always a risk,
isn't it? What if that person rejects me - or
misinterprets my motives? It helps to recognize that every
acquaintance we make is a divine encounter. There's
really nothing random about the people who cross
our paths.
You can count on the fact that God has
been at work in the one you meet, just as He is
at work in you. When you approach new people
with this outlook, you take a bold step beyond
your feelings of insecurity. If the person you
meet is an unbeliever, show an interest in their
life, always looking for an opportunity to speak a
word about your relationship with Jesus or show
His love. If the person is a believer, find out
what God has been doing in their life. And all
the while, silently ask the Holy Spirit to show
you how to open doors as it pleases Him.
Lord Jesus, I know You seek a
relationship with every man, woman, and child on the
planet. Help me to be wise in the way I treat people
and speak to them. Help me to see people through
Your eyes - and make the most of every
opportunity. [A Spectacle of Glory by Joni Eareckson Tada
and Larry Libby]
God Impressions
Have you ever played with Silly Putty -
that pink, squeezable, rubbery clay that comes in
a plastic egg? One of the most fun aspects of
the putty is the way it will copy color pictures
out of a magazine or comic book.
I often think of that property of Silly
Putty when I want to leave what I call "God
impressions" on people. You squeeze in a moment, or
stretch out the time to press your love of Christ up
against someone. Maybe it's just a smile and a "God
bless your day." Or returning a kindness with,
"Thanks for helping me, and the next time you're
near a Bible, look up Hebrews 6:10... it's
definitely you!" Often, I'm able to leave a God
impression on someone by singing a hymn. People see me
in this wheelchair, hear me singing praises to
God, and wonder, Where in the world does her joy
come from? It has to be God.
It's a way of pressing my life up against
theirs for a brief moment so that when I peel
away... I've left a God impression on that person -
however brief or fleeting it might have been. And
once you encounter the Lord, you find yourself
thirsty for something this world can't offer, hungry
for something this world can't satisfy.
Busy as you may be, you still encounter
many people during the course of your day. Press
your love for Christ up against that friend down
the Street or that co-worker or that woman you
regularly greet at the cash register. When you do,
you'll leave them with a God impression... and make
them thirsty for more.
Father, may the fragrance of your Son be
upon my life, so that even entering or leaving a
room, some lingering sense of his presence will
draw hearts to seek you. [Joni Eareckson Tada
Daily Devotional:
http://www.joniandfriends.org/daily-devotional re vss. 5, 6]
Seasoned Conversation
"Do you have a driver's license for that
thing? Ha! Ha!" My wheelchair elicits lots of
comments. I'm surprised how many people initiate
communication with me. I really don't mind. In fact, I
love it. Usually the ambassador of Christ is the
one who must jumpstart conversations, hoping to
engage the interest of the other. That's hardly the
case with me. The wheelchair does the
"initiating." I merely sit back and respond.
People don't expect me to look happy
sitting in a wheelchair. Saying "I have a reason for
living" in response to their remarks about my
singing or my smile always evokes a curious look.
That's when I add, "Jesus has blessed me! By the
way, what's your reason for living?" Sure it
catches people off guard, sometimes delighting them,
sometimes making them curious, and sometimes sending
them running for the nearest exit. But one
thing's for certain..., it's got them thinking!
The truth is I've never heard of one
certain style of giving the Gospel that was a
sure-fire success. I've learned that it has a lot more
to do with the Holy Spirit's work in a person's
heart than it does with a certain tool or
technique. And so we do the best we can, grabbing a bit
of opportunity here, nurturing a conversation
there, sprinkling it with prayer, seasoning it with
our testimony... and leaving the results to
God.
My friend, quit looking for a
"guaranteed" method of sharing the Gospel. Just ask the
Holy Spirit to fill you, and tell him you're
ready and available to touch the life of another.
Then start sprinkling the conversational salt!
Believe me, thirsty souls will be drawn to the
Living Water.
Father, please bring a prepared, hungry
heart across my path today. Put a smile on my
face, a song in my heart, and fill my mouth with
words that will open a padlocked heart. [Joni
Eareckson Tada Daily Devotional:
http://www.joniandfriends.org/daily-devotional]
ONE LINERS
Talk happiness. The world is sad enough
without your woe. No path is wholly rough. Louisa
May Alcott
If you keep saying things are going to be
bad, you have a chance to be a prophet. Isaac
Bashevis Singer
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE
Colossians 4:6 - Speaking with Grace
Seasoned with Salt. (updated)
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2011/20111019-1159.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David
DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Hope Awakens Bible Study Guides:
https://www.hopeawakens.study/lesson-header;id=2
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Revelation Now by Pastor Doug Batchelor
(recent): https://www.revelationnow.com/
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio (recent):
https://bible.awr.org/en/the-signs/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
