Walk as children of light 9(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord… Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Ephesians 5:9-10, 14-21

“Its just Lucky!”

In University I spent lots of free time at our local BSM building at the University of Georgia. The ping pong and pool tables were privy to scenes that could be used to chart the rise and fall of empires! My friend Lucky would meet me at least once a week. And with each aggressive slap of that ping pong ball he would cry out, “Its just Lucky!”

When we were done, or rather when he was done with me, he would announce, “I’m off to redeem the time.” And away he went.

Lucky sought to live full of the Spirit of God. He was saved by Jesus and experienced healing in a baptist hospital in Nigeria. Afterwards he began to preach the Gospel. By his account he preached by the Spirit of God what he didn’t even “know yet,” as he was just reading the Bible. He loved Jesus and he was conscious of time as a gift from God. Redeeming the time for him, meant to be a part of the Kingdom life and to use his time wisely.

 Redeeming the Time

The Apostle Paul writes that we are to pay attention to our lifestyle, to live wisely “making the best use of time. “

7 Best Use of Time Suggestions:

1. Create habits that save you time and energy.

2. Avoid the tyranny of the urgent by identifying what’s important but not yet urgent. Block out the time to attend to these daily.

3. Divide a page into the key demands or your areas of responsibility and make lists at the beginning of each week; check regularly throughout the day.

4. Attend to the habitual actions that squander your time. As you identify these time wasters eliminate or manage them with different “rules.” For example you could say, “I won’t surf Facebook, Pinterest, etc. until after 9 PM.”

5. Create little “finish lines.” You could divide your day into 90 minute chunks and then take a “recovery break” in order to refuel, recharge, and create the energy for focusing again.

6. Identify “when” (what part of the day) you are best able to focus and put your most demanding work into that time slot.

7. Watch for the “interruptions” in your plan & agenda that actually may be God’s opportunity for you to join Him in the work of His Kingdom.

Redeem the time!