"The son of a wealthy business tycoon turned 18 and asked his father for a job. “OK” replied the father, “I need a plant manager for our new factory.” The next day the proud young man strutted into the factory eager to begin giving orders when his father appeared with a water pail and told him to go take care of all the plants.
At least the father understood the value of giving titles. Everyone does a better job if they have the sense of importance that comes with a proper title. In the home, for example, we can encourage our children by giving them jobs titles like Sanitation Engineer, Kitchen Clean-up Supervisor, Laundry Coordinator or Special Assistant for Maternal Affairs (for the younger ones, that’s mommy’s special helper).
God gives titles for different offices in the church because titles give a sense of responsibility. And assuming responsibility is a big part of redeeming the time.
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"You know you’re getting old if you can remember when phones had wires on them and TV’s had antennas.
Cordless is an increasingly popular way to operate. While most of us have had cordless phones in our home for years, many workplace phones still keep us tied to our desks. If that’s true for you, consider investing in a cordless phone for work. Even if you have a multi-line system, cordless phones are available and can give you the freedom to move about while doing your business.
Another telephone consideration is to place call forwarding on your home phone so that when your number is busy or you’re not at home calls will forward to your cell phone. Never missing a call might allow God to use you in a way he would not use a less accessible person.
Finally, consider making your cell phone your home phone. Depending on signal strength and available plans in your area, it might help you redeem the time.
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"One of the best time saving devices of recent years is the handheld computer or PDA. They’re the little electronic organizers you see in the shirt pockets of productive people.
Handheld have come a long way from the little address books a few years ago that lost all your data when the battery went dead. Handhelds today can be loaded with programs to do just about anything you do on your main computer, including word processing, financial software, and email. They can double as digital cameras and navigation devices.
But one of their best uses is as a pocket Bible. Most handhelds can easily hold the entire Bible which is searchable and can be read in a dark room with the backlight. Best of all you can download free handheld Bible software from the link on our website resource page. With Bible software on your handheld you can read Scripture in bed while you fall asleep. And meditating on Scripture is the best way to redeem the time.
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"A Sunday school teacher asked her children, ""And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?"" a little girl replied, ""Because people are sleeping.""
I’ve had the privilege to speaking in many churches over the years and in a few of them I couldn’t tell if my audience was real people or just an oil painting propped up in front of me.
What do you look like when you go to church? You know, it doesn’t take any more time to participate in the singing, smile, and make eye contact with the speaker, than it does to just sit there? Yet many people waste time in a worship service by refusing to worship or participate in any way.
Next time you go to church ask God how you can make the most of your time there. Your active participation in the service will be pleasing to your pastor and to God and it will help you redeem the time.
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