We’re recently started a new series called “reset”.  In the first week, we talked about how Jesus makes it possible to reset all of life, giving us a fresh start in life that impacts every key area.  We’re going to look at many of these in depth, and this week we see how Jesus resets our use of time.

There was a time in my life when I prided myself on never needing a day planner.  I remembered everything I signed up for, and never double booked.  That was high school.  Ever since, I’ve found my time needed to be managed.

Through university, I started to rely on a day planner, an old fashioned spiral bound book.  I got progressively busier, but could still say yes to pretty much anything I wanted.  I would stay up all night getting things done if I needed to.  I was young.

By the time I started working, I had to start making choices.  I can only be in one meeting, one event, or one place at a time.  When I first pastored a church, I was still working as a paramedic on the side, until I finally realized I simply didn’t have the time to do both things well.  And still today, I find myself constantly choosing between demands on my time.  It’s only escalated since having children.

I can go on.  You probably can, too.  Bottom line, unless we’re still kids, time is all about choices.  It’s a limited resource – we can’t create it, we can only choose how to use it.

The Future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.  ~C.S. Lewis

But what if you could reset your clock?

That used to be easy – whenever I’ve started a new job, I feel like it’s a chance to structure my time differently, within the constraints of set tasks, family and personal responsibilities.

But even then, it’s never clear what’s best.  Read one thing that says “say yes to every invitation, you never know who you’ll meet” but then I’ll read something else that says I should learn to say “no” to more invitations to protect my sanity and family.  Which is it?

With an extra hour, I don’t know whether I should work more, play with my kids, read the Bible, exercise, fix things around the house, or what.  Someone will advocate that each one is most important.  Time marches on.

Closely connected with goals, last week’s topic.

Question: What would you do with an extra hour in the day?  Why?  What would be your goal?

Reminder: The best way to grow spiritually this year is to join our Christianity 101 in the Cafe Course. Register for you and a friend today and come Wednesday night!

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - July 10, 2013

Wednesday - Change It - Foundations

Sermon on the Mount

Yesterday we saw one truth from Jesus' story about foundations in life: that we all build on one foundation or another. Truth 2: Difficult times will come to all. We are all subject to the same rains, winds. Both houses face the same problems, but their foundations are differently equipped to withstand such pressures. IF built on sand, then great was its fall. If my identity is based on a stock portfolio, then when the market drops, my life falls apart. If my identity is built on my physical health or beauty, the moment I get older, or get a bad diagnosis, I’m shaken. I can’t be who I thought I was forever. If my identity is on my kids becoming what I expect, I can ride high when things are good. I can be proud of their accomplishments, and so on. But that good life is easily shaken. If they make bad choices, don’t choose a prestigious career, I'm done and can do little to fix the situation. But if my identity is not on kids, but on God, following Jesus to him, then it’s built on rock. Then if my kids make bad choices, my identity is not shaken. I will be heartbroken, but by knowing who I am and that my foundation is on a solid rock, I will be able to reach out a hand to help them while they sink in sand. If my stock portfolio drops, I will be able to live on, knowing that I’ve invested in eternal treasure, and didn’t wrap myself up in that financial identity to the point of unnecessary risk. As my body begins to age or sustains injuries or illness, I can see it all in perspective. My life is built on my relationship with God, and my body is meant to serve that purpose. I’m not here to serve my body. We'll see tomorrow how that looks in practice. Question: How can foundations in life crumble? What kinds of winds or rains expose their sandiness? We meet for coffee every Wednesday night at Starbucks in the Chapters Store in Ajax, in Durham Region just East of Toronto. Maybe we'll see you there?

From Series: "Sermon on the Mount"

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