"Radio minister Dr. Michael Guido composed the following four steps for success:
1. Plan Passionately
2. Prepare Prayerfully
3. Proceed Productively
4. Pursue Patiently
These four steps give a good summary of how God wants us to approach any major project.
Plan Passionately. Ask God for a vision of what He wants you to accomplish.
Prepare Prayerfully. Go forward on your knees. Invest time seeking God for each new phase of the project.
Proceed Productively. A big part of redeeming the time is simply being productive with each moment God gives you. Make sure you are doing the right thing and make sure you are doing it the right way.
Pursue Patiently. If you know you’re doing what God wants you to do, wait on Him for the results in His timing.
That four good steps for redeeming the time.
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"I suppose every family develops their own buzz words that might not be understood by outsiders. For example, in our home, we’ll talk about eating a “boxed nasty.” That’s our word for those cheapest of the cheap little frozen pizzas.
One thing you’ll notice about boxed nasties is the stark contrast between the delicious looking picture on the box and the reality of what comes out of the box when you open it. In some ways that’s how it is with the way we use our time.
Most of us think we don’t have enough time to do things we’d like to do for God, our family or our church. But if we really stop and take a picture of what we do in a day, by journaling our use of time in 15 minute segments we might find that our mental picture of how we spend our time doesn’t match reality any better than the picture on a boxed nasty package.
That’s why journaling time can redeem the time.
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"Business consultant Brian Tracy says, ""The ability to discipline yourself to delay gratification in the short term in order to enjoy greater rewards in the long term is the indispensable prerequisite for success."" That’s good advice for the businessman and the Christian.
The desire for immediate gratification is at the heart of why many of us misuse our time each day. We trade what we really want for what we want right now. We’d like to raise children that love and serve God. But right now I’d rather rest than take them to Sunday school. We’d like to lose weight, be healthy and live longer lives. But right now I want that greasy fast food meal because it tastes good. Some day I want to live sacrificially and give to missions. But right now there’s a new gadget I really need.
Remember, no one ever achieved greatness for God or any other cause by choosing the path of immediate gratification. The delayed reward is God’s way to redeem the time.
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"A recent USA Today article told about a trend among successful CEO’s who push themselves way beyond their comfort zone to what they termed their “freakout point.” These thrill-seeking CEO’s realize the value of taking risks outside of their work environment by doing such activities as skydiving, bungee jumping or climbing Mt. Everest.
The idea behind such activity is that it builds confidence, creates adrenalin flow, greatly increases their ability to stay focused, and teaches them not to panic in a crisis. Learning to keep your cool and think rationally in any situation is a vital skill for anyone who is serious about being a leader.
God is probably not going to call most of us to jump out of an airplane. But I do believe He calls us to redeem the time in ways we sometimes resist because of fear. Maybe your freakout point might be taking time to boldly share the Gospel with a friend or neighbor. Whatever it is, make yourself do it today, so you’ll redeem the time.
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