"A man went to a fast food restaurant for lunch and ordered some french fries. The robotic cashier then asked, “Would you like some fries with that?”
There are several reasons why you might want to consider alternatives to the standard fast food lunch. One reason is that going out for lunch might not always be the best use of time in the middle of your work day. Quite often the high achievers in a work setting are those who do something productive while others do lunch.
If you are a salesman, making those extra calls over the lunch hour could make the difference between winning and losing an account. If you’re a pastor, feeding your flock instead of feeding your face might be more profitable to the Kingdom of God.
Depending on your work situation, putting in an extra hour at lunch might mean going home an hour earlier. And spending an extra hour with your family or with the Lord could be a great way to redeem the time.
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"A famous anthropologist said, “What people say, what people do, and what people say they do are entirely different things.”
That’s a good observation for us as Christians to consider. We talk a lot about the need of prayer. We may even read books and attend seminars about prayer. But how many of the 1,440 minutes God gives you each day do you actually spend in prayer?
We hear messages regularly about the need to share our faith in Christ. We enjoy missionary stories about what God is doing in a foreign country. But when did you last take time to actually talk to an unsaved person about their spiritual condition? How long has it been since you handed out a Gospel tract?
Consider again the quote, “What people say, what people do, and what people say they do are entirely different things.”
If that’s true for you, you might need to work on redeeming the time.
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"You know you've been spending too much time at the office when the only way you recognize your kids is from their pictures on your desk at work.
If that has become the case with you, you might want to consider taking a sabbatical. The word “Sabbatical” comes from the same root word as the Biblical word ""Sabbath."" It means taking time off regular work for an extended time to refocus renew and refresh. In the Old Testament, every seventh year was a designated year of rest for those who farmed the land.
A sabbatical in mid-career might be the thing to do to build relationships with straying teens or to revive a shaky marriage. Maybe God would even call you to spend some extended time alone with Him.
Obviously not every employer will go along with this idea and you might not be able to afford too long of a sabbatical. But for those who are able, taking a sabbatical could be a really smart way to redeem the time.
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"Would you like to get more done in less time? Of course you would. If you’re like me you’re always looking for ways to get greater results from the work you do each day.
But there is one often overlooked method which God offers the Christian that guarantees you will get more done in less time. This secret weapon is prayer.
We sometimes forget there is spiritual warfare going on around us every moment of the day. The Bible says Satan has come to steal, kill and destroy. One thing he constantly tries to steal is our time. Those attempts may come through equipment failures, bureaucratic officials, unnecessary interruptions, or tempting little distractions.
The Bible tells us the weapons of our warfare are spiritual weapons. That means they are accessed through prayer. Taking time to pray right now for the defeat Satan’s plans will help speed your God-directed plan to completion and help you redeem the time.
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