"An old pirate was asked by his grandson, “Grandpa, how did you get that peg leg, that hook for a hand and a patch for an eye?” He replied, “A shark bit of my leg off, an enemy cut my hand off, and my eye had an itch.” “Why did you have to get a patch just for an itching eye?” the boy asked. The old pirate replied, “It happened the first day I had my hook.”
It sounds like the pirate needed to get used to having a hook around. And that could be true of us. Hooks can be very useful tools for organizing your workspace for maximum efficiency. When your kitchen drawer gets crowded, hang spatulas and dippers on little hooks. Putting coats on hooks by the door keeps them from getting lost and makes them accessible. Hanging tools on hooks helps you locate them quickly.
But the most important hook, is hooking up with God every day. That hook really redeems the time.
"
"It’s 100 degrees outside. Everyone comes in for a cold drink and someone says, “My it’s hot out there.” Inevitably someone else in the group will say, “Yes, but it’s not the heat it’s the humidity.” If its winter and 0 degrees someone will always say, “But it’s not the cold, it’s the wind chill.” Why do some people always feel compelled to say that? Can’t it ever just be the heat or cold?
Maybe it just makes them feel good and they don’t know what else to say. If so, they might try feeling better by asking this question:
""When I think of time well spent, what is it I have accomplished?” In other words, what would I have to do today, in order to reach the end of my day with a sense of satisfaction that I have spent time doing what I needed to do, or what God wanted me to do.
Until you’ve taken time to answer that question you not ready to redeem the time.
"
"In 1991, my family was asked to spend a year beginning a mission work in Czechoslovakia. It was an exciting time as we prepared to bring the Gospel to a nation newly liberated from communism.
One of the first jobs was to learn the Czech language. I was fairly good with Spanish, so I thought learning a third language would be no big deal. I was wrong. I soon discovered that Slavic languages have a completely different grammatical structure from English or Spanish. In Czech there may be 40 different ways to say the name of something, depending on who is speaking, is it the subject, object, indirect object, masculine, feminine, neuter, singular, two to five, or more than five of them, big or little.
I soon realized I was never going to learn Czech grammar in a year. So I just learned vocabulary and spoke as best I could without conjugating the words. I’m sure I sounded funny, but I communicated, which was the goal.
Sometimes just grasping the basics redeems the time.
"
"There are differing viewpoints of God’s exact relationship with time. But one thing is certain, God is the creator of everything, and that everything includes time.
That means that God exists in a realm outside of time. While it is difficult for our limited minds to comprehend, time did have a beginning. I believe God made time when He made space and everything contained in our universe. We’re told in the Bible that there will also come an end of time, when time shall be no more and eternity will take over. I don’t begin to completely understand what that means, but I really don’t have to. I just have to see how it applies to my life today and that application is clear.
I must spend my time today preparing myself and others for eternity. I need to be in close fellowship with God so I can hear His voice and know what He wants done.
Let the mystery of eternity become a powerful motivation for you to redeem the time.
"