Happy New...What?

It’s that time of year again.  We say goodbye to one calendar year and welcome a new one.  It’s been 360ish days since we did this last.  Went fast, didn’t it?  Once again we find ourselves in that small window of time giving a nod to the wisdom of Socrates:  “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Do you remember the movie The Bucket List?  It came out a couple of years ago (I think).  As movies go, it is loaded with life themes.  You could spend a year at Starbucks talking with your coffee buddies about the one-liners, conversations and experiences that happen in this movie.  Simply put, it’s one of those movies that makes you think about your life.  Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, both terminal with cancer, come up with the “bucket list” – a list of things they want to do before they die.  And, what a list they come up with.  It’s the kind of stuff you do if one of you is a gazzillionaire!  But, off they go into the wild blue yonder of adventure.  They take their spectacular list and check"em off one at a time.  Along the way they share perspectives of life, hopes, dreams, and regrets, and they do it acutely aware that time is in short order.  The movie is loaded with laughs.  But I think it is one Socrates would have watched and enjoyed talking about.    

We don’t like to think about our mortality.  It’s…well…morbid.  We prefer the “now."  So…for the time being, let’s give the inevitability of our own mortality a rest.  In fact let’s not presume 2012 will happen in its entirety.  Sound a little weird?  Perhaps unsettling?  Behind all the parties, Times Square celebrations, and cute conversations about what we plan to do differently in 2012 is the defining reality of the biblical view of time.  Scripture says “time” is in the Father’s hands.  It was Jesus who said, “Be on the alert.  Watch!”  The apostle Paul talks about fighting off sleep and staying awake “in the Spirit."  We often talk about making a difference with our lives or mapping out all the things we want to accomplish in our “lifetime,” all the while assuming that we will have the presumed 70-80 years (and then some) to get it all done.  But, that is not the consciousness that should frame our perspective of life…of bucket lists.  We have the “now."  The window of December 31 – January 1 isn’t big enough to contain it.  Why?  Simply because the now affects every day we are given to live on the planet.  And, that takes Socrates’ familiar adage off the list marked “pithy things to think about on New’s Years Day” and puts it on the “everyday” list.

What does 2012 hold?  God knows.  And, He is the only One who knows.  More importantly, how do we need to surrender ourselves to His calling and purposes for the days that are ahead…however many they may be?  If we think about our lives from a truly Christian perspective a good time to start “the examined life is worth living” would be….well…when?   So what’s on our list “today?"

Father, bless us with an acute awareness of your calling of us today.  May we live “in the moment” every day as your servants.  Bless us with everything we need to be instruments in your hands every day that you give us in 2012.  Through Him who is the same yesterday, today and forever….amen.  

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas

My "Extra" Time

But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.”  My times are in your hands…

                                                                      Psalm 31:14a

Finding extra hours in a day is like finding lost treasure.  I tried unsuccessfully to be a good steward of my allotted 24 hours a day, and eventually settled into survival mode.  Figured I’d eventually have time to spare in the nursing home.

Then, with encouragement from a friend, I made a bold lifestyle change and discovered many extra hours in my day!  Can’t wait to tell you where I found them.  You won’t like it, you won’t believe it, or you won’t waste another second before trying it yourself.   

I stopped watching TV.  Can you imagine life without the noise and violence and vicarious murder and mayhem?  No cursing of God’s name or, what a coworker calls “gratuitous soft porn.”  This is where most folks say righteously, “I don’t watch much TV.”

Do you twitter, chat, and scribble on Facebook walls?  Answer emails, browse the internet, and text message?  Scrapbook, wood-work…  You get the picture.  My personal weaknesses are playing Words With Friends on my iPad, and escaping inside the pages of a good mystery novel.  

These activities aren’t bad in themselves, my friend, but left untamed they are bad for us.  The constant stimulation affects our emotions, clutters our brains, wastes our time and steals our focus.  In a word, they are distractions.

I love Webster’s definition of distraction:   “Something that distracts, especially an amusement; a diversion. Mental or emotional confusion or disturbance.”    

We don’t need more time, we have plenty.  When we spend it on important matters first – family relationships, workaday responsibilities, spiritual, mental and physical growth – we have time left over for the fun activities I mentioned above!  

But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you!  He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short” (Revelation 12:12).

The fight is over, the devil lost, and he’s hopping mad about it.  He wants to take down as many of God’s people as he can.  He prefers we lose ourselves in worldly distractions so we won’t have time for heavenly ones.

Father in Heaven, the devil doesn’t like it when we use wisely the time you’ve given us. Protect us from the idolatry of worldly distractions.  Through Christ our Savior, Amen

Sandra Milholland

Abilene, Texas

What Time Is It?

Time is a popular word. We use it everyday. “What time is it? It’s time to begin. What time are we supposed to be there? Will they be on time?” On and on it goes.

You probably remember these familiar snippets from scripture:

“Today is the day of salvation. There is a time for everything. Today, if you will hear his voice. Choose you this day whom you will serve. This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it. And do this understanding the present time.”

Of all people on earth, Christians should live with a responsible sense of time and what to do with it. A familiar pop song says “Time keeps on slipp’n, slipp’n, slipp’n into the future.” We can say it a thousand different ways. As the old hymn reminds, “Time is filled with swift transition.” Our world rushes on. We live by moments. We have experiences. We live from event to event. Week follows week.

Psalm 90 is a poignant reminder of man’s mortality and God’s eternality.

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

As the psalmist underscores the truth about our mortality and the sober reflection about life that such invites he concludes with this plea:

“So teach us to number our days that we may present them to you in wisdom. And do confirm the work of our hands.”

What a powerful reminder! We are called to do something for God with our “moments”.

Life is a stewardship. As such time becomes more than something that is simply used. Reframing it as a stewardship ushers in a new perspective. It compels us to think about what we do with our moments. We ask helpful questions. Listen a little longer. Deliver an unexpected act of kindness. Look past faddish ideas, news saturation and insignificant trivia and fix our attention on ways to be helpful, productive, encouraging and hopeful. We see ourselves as seed planters and bridge-builders. We are ambassadors and priests.

We are salt and light. Paul reminds us:

“Therefore be very careful how you live – not as unwise but as wise, taking

advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil. For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise by understanding what the Lord’s will is. (Eph. 5:15-17)

Lots of people spend time talking about “when” Christ will return. Jesus was more interested in what we do with our moments of time. We seize moments in anticipation of the time when all things will be made new. We see people as spiritual beings. We dismiss grudges with greater speed. We expose ourselves to the Word so that we can sharpen our minds and equip our hearts with a “word of knowledge and wisdom. And, everyday, by the grace of God, we rise and look forward to living our moments in worship to the One who gives us those same moments for His honor and the blessing of others.

Gracious Father, we thank you for giving us life. We openly confess that is in You that we live, move and exist. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of what You do each day in the lives of people all over the world. Thank you for putting us in moments of all kinds to be your hands, feet, mouth and ears. Bless us with the wisdom and understanding to discern your calling each day. We want to be instruments in your hands so that others may know the blessing of your mercy, grace and calling. Thank you for Jesus who broke into human experience in the fullness of time that we might know what time is all about. Through Him who is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and End, we thank you and offer this prayer. Amen.

Randy Daugherty
Stephenville, Texas