THE FOUR GREATEST TESTS: Part three of four
Test of Time
Peter F. Drucker wrote “Until we can manage time, we can manage noth
ing else।” The first test was the test of self and the second test was priorities. This week we examine the test of time. Time is a great analysis for the value of your efforts. Everyone would like to believe that he or she will leave a legacy. But the truth is that few really achieve the greatness that people remember for generations. So how can we be sure that we make a difference that stands the test of time
Test of Time
Peter F. Drucker wrote “Until we can manage time, we can manage noth
ing else।” The first test was the test of self and the second test was priorities. This week we examine the test of time. Time is a great analysis for the value of your efforts. Everyone would like to believe that he or she will leave a legacy. But the truth is that few really achieve the greatness that people remember for generations. So how can we be sure that we make a difference that stands the test of time Remember that time is the one commodity that cannot be replaced। Money can be replaced। Fortune magazine noted that a retirement account invested in the top 500 companies' shares 
would have dropped 37 percent during the last 12 months। However, many people are already beginning to slowly recover those losses। Your days, on the other hand, were numbered from the moment the Lord decided to create you. Psalm 139:16 says “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” So you were time-date stamped from the first day you took a breath.
would have dropped 37 percent during the last 12 months। However, many people are already beginning to slowly recover those losses। Your days, on the other hand, were numbered from the moment the Lord decided to create you. Psalm 139:16 says “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” So you were time-date stamped from the first day you took a breath. 
Avoid the mistake of thinking that you have plenty of time. Remember the slogan, “I don’t want to grow up; I’m a Toys-R-Us kid?” There is the fallacy of wasting time on selfish-oriented goals as if that will bring a satisfying return. As we mature, those goals are often replaced with the drive to succeed. Some think the one who dies with the most toys wins. The truth is the one who dies with the most toys simply dies.
Jesus warned about leading a greed-driven life with a parable in Luke 12:16-23. A rich man was having such a good year that he decided to launch in an enormous warehousing project. His project was interrupted by an announcement that his earthly life was about to abruptly end. Then Jesus posed a question, “. . . and now who will own what you have prepared?’ “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Stephen R. Covey said “The key is in not spending time, but in investing it.” Ordinary people think merely of spending time. Great people think of using it.
Ephesians 5:15-17 commands us to “Be very careful, then, how you live—, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Redeeming the time implies that you will be giving away your time in a nonrefundable fashion. So make it a wise investment by “understand(ing) what the will of the Lord is.”
Ralph
Waldo Emerson wrote “This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.” To give you a good perspective on this subject I can tell you some things that I have never heard anyone who is on their deathbed or confined to a nursing home ever say, “I wish I had spent more time at work.” I have often heard them say, “I wish I had spent more time with my family.” Way too many times I hear them say, “I wish I’d prepared my children to live for the Lord.” The advice they would universally give you is: 1) Get to know God well enough that you really understand “His will” for your life and begin to live it; 2) invest in the spiritual lives of y
our spouse and children; 3) Make your local church a priority. An investment in God’s Kingdom is an investment with eternal rewards. Lee Iacocca said “If you want to make good use of your time, you’ve got to know what’s most important and then give it all you’ve got.”
Next week: You thought we were commanded to NOT put the Lord to a test? Here is the one test that you are allowed to administer to the Lord.
Jesus warned about leading a greed-driven life with a parable in Luke 12:16-23. A rich man was having such a good year that he decided to launch in an enormous warehousing project. His project was interrupted by an announcement that his earthly life was about to abruptly end. Then Jesus posed a question, “. . . and now who will own what you have prepared?’ “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Stephen R. Covey said “The key is in not spending time, but in investing it.” Ordinary people think merely of spending time. Great people think of using it.
Ephesians 5:15-17 commands us to “Be very careful, then, how you live—, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Redeeming the time implies that you will be giving away your time in a nonrefundable fashion. So make it a wise investment by “understand(ing) what the will of the Lord is.”
Ralph
Waldo Emerson wrote “This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.” To give you a good perspective on this subject I can tell you some things that I have never heard anyone who is on their deathbed or confined to a nursing home ever say, “I wish I had spent more time at work.” I have often heard them say, “I wish I had spent more time with my family.” Way too many times I hear them say, “I wish I’d prepared my children to live for the Lord.” The advice they would universally give you is: 1) Get to know God well enough that you really understand “His will” for your life and begin to live it; 2) invest in the spiritual lives of y
our spouse and children; 3) Make your local church a priority. An investment in God’s Kingdom is an investment with eternal rewards. Lee Iacocca said “If you want to make good use of your time, you’ve got to know what’s most important and then give it all you’ve got.”Next week: You thought we were commanded to NOT put the Lord to a test? Here is the one test that you are allowed to administer to the Lord.
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