HEART THOUGHTS ... from Helen

“Redeem the time…"
Colossians 4:5b (NIV)

The MESSAGE paraphrase of the Bible states “make the most of every opportunity”.

“Make the best possible use of your time.” (JB Phillips)

“The NEW ENGLISH BIBLE instructs: “making the very most of the time and seizing (buying up) the opportunity.”

The AMPLIFIED: “We have this moment.”

How can I make the most of every day’s opportunity?

Who will dictate the best possible use of my time?

What are my present opportunities and what time can be fully dedicated to seizing them?

Usually my best work is done before noon. Afternoons and evenings are up for grabs. Knowing my most productive hours helps me to redeem my time. Giving God the first and best part of my day amazingly carries me through the remainder of the many opportunities afforded me. You may have heard the axiom, ‘why tune the instrument when the concert is over’. This instrument is out of tune until I’ve practiced His Presence first thing in the morning. Timing is everything and mine is His.

My timer and my ‘to do’ list go hand in hand. Each item has a time limit. Setting the timer reminds me to move on to other things. Perhaps you don’t need that prompt, but to stay on task, I do.

One of the wedding gifts we gave our oldest son, David and his bride Lisa was a clock that chimes on the hour. It is to remind them that one of the most important things they will give each other is their time. If “LOVE is spelled TIME”, redeeming that time takes love, and vice versa. That was fourteen years ago.

How are you redeeming the time? God gives each of us the same twenty-four hours every day.

“…We have this moment to hold in our hands.

And to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand;

Yesterday’s gone, and tomorrow may never come.

But we have this moment—today!” (Gloria Gaither)