May the words out of my mouth and the meditations on all of our hearts be pleasing to you. AMEN
The theme of my message this morning is that we have limited time in our lives and we have to make choices about how to spend our time.
TICK TOCK
One thing for sure is that time is a great equalizer. It is the only thing we all share alike. We are all given the same amount of time in a day. Through the ages, time has been measured by the sun, moon, planets and seasons.
READ ACTS 6: 1-7
The early church was growing by leaps and bounds. This “perfect” church was adding members by the thousands, but there were some rumblings going on as they rapidly increased. As the early church increased in size, so did its needs. It seems that as they cared for one another by sharing their food, some lack of equality became apparent. A hint of racial discrimination was the charge: the Greeks were complaining that the Hebrews were getting more resources and that the Greek widows were not getting enough food.
So what did they do, just what all good churches do, they called a meeting. And as the apostles and church leaders wrestled back and forth about what was going on, they came to a place where they began to look at another issue - not the issue of distribution of resources, but the issue of how they (the apostles) were spending their time arguing about this issue. They began to ask the question of themselves, “Should we really be spending our time running a food program, or should we be preaching the Word?” So the apostles realized they were wasting time and chose other people to run the food program.
When I was younger, I would say to my mother, I be glad when I am a teenager or I be glad when I do this or that. I remember my mother saying to me, Vickie, you are just wishing your life away. She was so right. Today, I would love to stop the clock, but you know the clock never stops.
Since I have gotten older and understand life a little bit better, I realize how precious time is.
Back to the story, once the apostles started doing what they were called to do, you wouldn’t believe the lives that were changed. The entire city of Jerusalem and all levels of society would not be the same. Even some priests were converted and that was a violation of the wishes of the high council.
We are called to do the same thing. The word of God spreads like ripples on a pond where from a single center, each wave touches the next, spreading wider and farther. This day, Sunday, May 15, 2011, the Good News is still spread the same way. We don’t have to change the world by our self, it is enough just to be a part of the wave, touching those around us, who in turn will touch others until all have felt the movement. God doesn’t want us to do it by ourselves. Pass it on.
I can understand why people have bucket lists. I wonder what kind of effect the movie Bucket Lists had on people. You know the clock is still ticking. Life is short no matter how long we live. If there is something important we want to do, we must not put it off for a better day. As the saying goes, Don’t put off tomorrow what you could do today.
We should ask ourselves, if I had only six months to live, what would I do? Tell someone that you love him or her? Deal with an undisciplined area in our life? Tell someone about Jesus?
My challenge to all of you is to use your time wisely for the clock never stops. And because life is short, don’t neglect what is truly important.
Let us Pray.
THANK YOU GOD FOR THIS TIME. AS WE GO ABOUT OUR DAILY LIVES, MAY WE REMEMBER TO USE OUR TIME WISELY FOR THE CLOCK NEVER STOPS.
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