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“Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.  Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober”
 (I Thessalonians 5: 5-6)

Thank God for the beginning of another year.  We have, ahead of us, 361 days (if the Lord wills).  One day works out to 1,440 minutes (86,400 seconds).  How much will we give for our work, studies, families, recreation, sleep?  How much will we give to our Master?   How much will we give to serve others? 

“I just don’t have time!” 

How often have you heard this excuse?  Or worse still, how many times have we uttered it ourselves?  ‘No time’ is a favourite excuse; it is the first excuse that comes to our minds when we are called upon to justify our absence or failure to do something.  No time to read the Bible.  No time to commune with the Lord.  No time to attend the Prayer Meeting.   No time for fellowship with God’s people.  No time to serve God.  In short, we do not have time for the things of God.  ‘No time.”  But we have plenty of time for sleep, television, friends, sports and recreation, novels, magazines and all kinds of worldly things that interest us.

“No-excuse Sunday”

One church bulletin has this interesting note: “To make it possible for everyone to attend church next Sunday we are going to have a special “No Excuse Sunday.”  Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say “Sunday is my only day to sleep in.”  We will have steel helmets for those who think the church is too cold, and fans for those who say it is too hot.  We will have hearing aids for those who say “The pastor talks too softly,” and cotton for those who say he preaches too loudly.  Score cards for those who wish to list hypocrites present.  Some relatives will be in attendance for those who like to go visiting on Sundays.    There will be TV dinners for those who can’t go to Church and cook dinner also.  One section will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to see God in Nature.  Finally, the sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and lilies for those who have never seen the church without them”

Live circumspectly

We have no other time in which to live.  The past is gone; the future has not arrived; we never shall have any time but time present.   Live circumspectly: “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5: 15-16).  Determine to spend time with the Lord.  Put away slothfulness and all sinful habits and tendencies.  Set aside time for the meetings of the church and for the fellowship with the saints.  Use these opportunities to strengthen our faith and relationship with our brethren.   Resolve to bring forth fruit (Jn. 15: 1-8). 

Serve God

Heed Solomon’s wise counsel: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest” (Eccl. 9: 10).

Let us not wait for big opportunities to come by, or for a different kind of work, but do the things we ‘findeth to do’ day by day.   How can I be useful for Christ?  Is there someone in need of help, guidance or comfort?  Is there someone we can show love and kindness to?  Can the Lord use me to minister to some soul?  Let us avail ourselves to be used by Him for His glory.

What we are required to do in God’s will, do it promptly.   Do not wait until our experience has ripened into maturity before we attempt to serve God.  Do not form schemes in our heart and merely talk of them.  Carry out “whatsoever thy hand findeth to do.”  One good deed is worth more than a thousand words.  Whatever we do for Christ, put our heart into it; serve Him with heart, soul, mind and strength.
 
Conclusion
In this age of fast food and “instant-everything,” time is a very scarce commodity indeed.  But there is an appointed time to do God’s will.  Jesus asks in John 11: 9: “Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.”  Beloved, let us “work the works of Him … while it is day; the night cometh when no man can work” (Jn. 9: 4).  Remember, God will certainly call us to account for every second of our time. 

Puritan minister Thomas Manton gave this wise counsel : “Pass a reckoning upon your time for the present and if you cannot answer conscience, you cannot answer God.  So much in meals and banquets, so much in sleep, so much in sports and recreation, so much in worldly business; and then think how little a remainder is there for God.”  Let us use our time wisely and do God’s will while it is yet day.  Wishing all a blessed New Year!