"Several years a so-called “human fly” attempted to scale the side of a Los Angeles skyscraper. As onlookers gathered, he slowly made his way to the top, grabbing onto ledges and window sills. But when he was almost to the roof his path dead ended at a point where there was nothing else to grab onto. As he looked around, he spied something just out of he reach. If he was to grasp it he had to let go of his hold and lunge for it. But when he made the lunge, he fell to a tragic death in front of the horrified crowd.
Authorities later discovered the man’s hand was covered with spider webs. They theorized that he may have grabbed at the spider web thinking it was a solid object that could support him.
That’s a tragic illustration of many people’s approach life. They are lunging for things that offer no hope. Time is squandered reaching for spider webs instead of living for God and redeeming the time.
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"Like father like son. You’ve heard that phrase applied to earthly fathers and sons, but it has a spiritual application as well.
When Jesus was challenged over the issue of paying taxes He asked for a coin. He then asked whose image was on the coin. The word image means a likeness, similarity or resemblance to the real thing. It is the same word used several times in the New Testament to describe God’s purpose for our lives, when he says we are to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.
When we are faced with a decision over how to spend our time, we should remember the ultimate goal of this life is not our own personal comfort but developing the character of Christ. We want to become like our heavenly Father by showing love to others and serving them.
Is there some way you could do that right now, right where you are? Activities which conform us to the image of Christ are the ones that redeem the time.
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"In July, 1994, more than 20 fragments of a giant comet collided with the planet Jupiter. The fragment with the greatest impact, known as the ""G"" fragment, exploded with the energy of roughly 600 times the arsenal of the entire world, or six million megatons of TNT.
That comet is remembered today by astronomers for its great impact. The Bible says the heavens declare the glory of God. But God wants Christians, not just comets, to make an impact.
As you consider your plans for the day, is there someone you could impact for Christ? Where can you best invest your time today to have the greatest impact? At the end of the day will anyone be any different because of coming in contact with you?
Those are questions we need to seriously consider. Life is very short. Time is very limited. Taking time to identify your high impact activities will help you redeem the time.
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"An indecisive man was asked to choose his favorite color. After thinking about it for a long time he finally answered, “Plaid.”
That man probably had difficulty managing his time, because good time management is really all about making the right decisions. The way we spend our time each day is really just the result of a series of decisions we make on how we will use many smaller segments of time throughout the day. On a different scale, the way we spend our life is simply the cumulative result of how we choose to spend our days.
As one person put it, “First you make your decision, and then your decision makes you. Choice, not chance, determines your destiny.” That’s why we need to make sure we’re continually making choices consistent with God’s Word and with His calling for our individual lives. If we don’t, we’ll quickly drift into poor decision making and fail to redeem the time.
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