Redeeming the time

Eph 5:14-16
Eph. 5:14-16
 Amplified Bible (AMP)
14 For this reason He says,

“Awake, sleeper,
And arise from the dead,
And Christ will shine [as dawn] upon you and give you light.”
15 Therefore see that you walk carefully [living life with honor, purpose, and courage; shunning those who

tolerate and enable evil], not as the unwise, but as wise [sensible, intelligent, discerning people], 16 [a]making
the very most of your time [on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using
it with wisdom and diligence], because the days are [filled with] evil.
 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— 16 making the most of the

time,[b] because the days are evil.

With the recent events occurring these days, we see our world in chaos. The streets may be empty, but the
government, the people’s minds and hearts are in chaos. This year has started with many events. With these in mind, it is clear
that Jesus’ return is near. We may not know when, but the Bible tells us the signs of the times and the end of the age in Matt.
24:3-13 (NKJV) as shown below, and Mark 13:3-13.

The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things

be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name,

saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are
not troubled; for [a]all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, [b]pestilences, and earthquakes in various
places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows .
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s

sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false
prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will
grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

The signs are clear; Jesus is coming soon! Will you be ready?
Do not fear! This is a joyful event to look forward to. Our Messiah is coming again!

Time.
Our time is a gift from God. He entrusted this to us that we may use it wisely. As students we find ourselves saying
“we have no time”, “kulang sa oras”, etc. Yet with this COVID-19, we are given the opportunity of time. Let us not waste
this time we have on hand to “bawi” on sleep among other stuff, but let us use this time wisely. If we are not careful, many
seconds, minutes, and hours will slip by unproductively. We can lose our time in laziness, busyness, procrastinations,
temptations, ignorance, and the list goes on. Wasted time is irretrievable, we cannot take it back.
How we use our time reveals much about our character. It also shows where our heart is (Matt 6:21: For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also)
Let’s use this time to adjust our body clocks and our minds, to manage our time wisely: “online” classes, requirements,
family, friends, time with God. Let’s learn to prioritize. As we continue we will see that redeeming the time involves sacrifice.
What can we cut back to make more time available for God?

Time with God.

When we go back to our regular schedules, it will be hard to find adequate time for God, but we have to decide every
day to put Him first. Upon waking up, instead of opening our phones to check the time or our schedules, let’s learn to make it
a habit to talk to Him first.  In doing this, we can face each day with joy, peace, hope, and grace.

hannahelisep
 In cases when we miss our morning prayers, let’s put it in our mental note and make up for it. Do not forget Him! In
Him we live and move and breath.
Some may prefer spending quality time with God at night. The disadvantage is we tend to sleep in the midst of
reading or praying (been there, done that). And instead of thanking the Lord, we can become whiners and complainers of
whatever happened that day. Even so, ending the day with prayer, giving glory unto Him is still okay. We can also do both.
Praise Him in the morning, praise Him in the evening 
Ecc 12:1-2 (AMP, NKJV)
So remember your Creator in the days of your youth (for you are not your own, but His)
Before the difficult days come and the years approach when you will say “I have no delight in them”
While the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are not darkened, and the clouds do not return after the
rain..
Isaiah 55:6 (NKJV)
Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near
Redeeming the time
Redeem (buying back) + Time (opportunity)
This is making most of every opportunity to draw closer to Him and cause others to draw closer to Him. We are given a
chance to make up for lost opportunities. May we end up with new, fresh, and wonderful opportunities during these times.

How can we redeem our time? Here are a few examples you may add to:
1. Repent for our lost time
In Rev. 3:20, Jesus says “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I
will come to him and dine with him and he with Me”. Let us wake up from our sleep, our blindness, our laziness!
Realizing we have wasted our time, repenting, and not turning back. Let us not look back to Egypt but look
forward to our Promised Land. Praying for His grace and mercy to overcome. May we dine with Him in our
everyday walk 

2. Prioritizing God in everything we do

As said earlier, doing daily devotions, praying before meals, seeking His will for every situation. Make the glory of
God the goal of all our activities (1 Cor. 10:31). In times when we think “nothing is going on” or things are idle
and not chaotic or not stressful, let’s learn to still praise Him and thank Him.

3. Reduce or eliminate times that are not well spent ~ changing our habits
Individually, we know the things that rob our time with God: gadgets, requirements, “need” for social media,
gaming, friends, pets, etc. Let’s learn to sacrifice, that we may be able to set apart a longer time for Him. For a
day in His courts is better than a thousand elsewhere (Psalm 84:10)
Changing our habits is one of the hardest challenges, but if we do not change our habits, we will not be able to
redeem time. Let us not lose heart, even though our outward man is perishing, the inward man is being renewed
day by day (2 Cor 4:16). Surrendering our wants, and choosing to spend more time in His presence where we are
renewed day by day.

4. Educating ourselves with His word

This is to prepare us for opportunities of evangelism and encouragement. Let’s have His word written in our
hearts so that when we may lose these pleasures of having the Bible freely, we will still have His word in our
hearts and in our minds.

5. Fellowship and with others

Just as Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:52), may we also have
favor with God and man, that we may be able to accomplish His work for our lives. This entails us to fix any
broken relationships with others. We may have lost friends in the past. Let’s learn to apologize, forgive, reconcile
and restore these relationships. We are all from the family of God. Just as He has restored us back to Him, let us
restore our relationships that we may be able to work as one body in Him.
Gal 6:10 (NKJV)
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially those who are of the household of faith

hannahelisep
6. Learn to say “NO”
No to temptations. No to wrong influences. Sometimes we fear not being accepted in a group of friends. We fear
being judged for being “K.J.”. Or the pull of the world is just too much to handle. Learning to say no is not easy,
but is doable. Let’s seek for the fear of the Lord. Blessed in the man who fears the Lord (Psalm 112:1, Prov 22:4).
Fearing God saves us from caving into our own sinful nature (Prov 19:23, Ps. 25:12, Ps 34:9).
(Prov 28:14).

2 Cor 7:1 (NKJV)

beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Psalm 90: 10, 12 (NKJV)

The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away,
So teach us to number our days
That we may gain a heart of wisdom
John 9:4 (NKJV)
Jesus said:
“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day,
The night is coming when no one can work.”

There is 86,400
seconds in a day

What will you do with it ?

hannahelisep