Time: Use It or Lose It!

John 9:4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.

Our time here on earth is so precious; every single minute we have is a gift.

Before Jesus left this earth He said, "I have finished the work which You have given Me to do." (John 17:4) He got his job done. He did his work while it was still day.

"Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!" (John 4:35)

We have work to do! As Christians we have been given a commission, we have a race to run, a task to carry out, and goal to accomplish.

So, let me ask you: How are you using your time?

Maybe you want to spend the next couple days and chart down what you really spend your time on. But I don't think it will be that hard for you to figure out what you're spending the biggest percent of you time on.

How often I waste precious moments I could spend with my Saviour!

"Is not the commission of our Lord still binding upon us? Can we not do more than now we are doing?" -William Carry

Psalm 63:1,3-4 says, "O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live;"

So here is my challenge:

I challenge you to dramatically change your lifestyle for one week; drawing nearer to God, by applying these verse to your life for one week.

1: "O GOD, You are my God; early will I seek You!" For one week I challenge you to start rising earlier than normal to pray, seek, read His Word, and praise Him. I'm not going to give you a set time to wake-up at. I chose to minus 15 minutes each day for the first few days, and then minus 10 minutes for another couple days, and now I take away 5 minutes each day.

For example: If I normally woke up at 7:00,
Day 1's wake up time would be: 6:45,
Day 2: 6:30,
Day 3: 6:15,
Day 4: 5:05, and so on.

2: "My soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. Because Your loving kindness is better than life" Here is where I challenge you to do something many Christians would call "too extreme" or say that I'm "just being legalistic". Fasting. Again, I'm not going to give you any specific requirements for fasting, I just want to challenge you to do it this week. Life is more than food, and His loving kindness more than life.

"So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger... that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD." (Deuteronomy 8:3)

I have to admit, many times in the past I would back down, not wanting to fast from such delicious and satisfying food. But I can truly say that there have been times when I was so satisfied with the Bread of Life that I never felt the pangs of hunger. Of course, much of the time I would see some of my favorite foods and my empty stomach would have to ignore the longing, and my heart would have to fill with His words. Words much sweeter than honey.

I chose to hear from my stomach not "Feed me! Feed me!" but rather, "Pray! Pray! Draw near to God and He will draw near to you! Set your mind on things above not on things on the earth!"

I know I will never find water that quenches all thirst unless I come near unto my Lord, and drink from the Living Water!

One more thing I would like to say about fasting: you can add to you list of things to fast from! (No I'm not trying to be cruel, I promise.) For the next week try going with out T.V., Internet, or anything that will take away from time that could be spent with Him.

3: "My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live." Recite scripture. Dive deep into God's Word, the Bible. Psalms 119:9, "How can a young man cleanse his ways? By taking heed according to Your word." For the next week memorize passages from the Bible, and continually meditate on His Word. (Memorizing Psalm 63:1-4 might help to keep you on track...)

Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
(Psalm 73:25,26)

Is God your one and only desire? Let the Lord be the strength of your heart and your portion forever!

So who is with me? Who will take the challenge?

"It is time to seek the Lord." (Hosea 10:12)

~Ashlin

P.S. Starting Monday I will post encouragement and tips for the week.