Why Are You So Strange? Time

 They can't see you.

Do you know Sally? Why is she so strange? She actually goes to church every time the door is open. She is standing outside Planned Parenthood. Do you know what she does on Friday nights? She goes down to the inner city, yeah, you know, "downtown" and hands out sandwiches to the homeless. I even heard that she has been talking to young girls in the neighborhood trying to teach them how to be ladies or something. Why is she so strange?

Why are you not? I know, I know. You do not feel you have enough time to Pray, read the Bible even, let alone go to church more than the Sunday morning check box. Friday night? That is when you relax and party with some good friends after a long week of work. Right? You just do not have the time Sally does.

There are 24 hours in the day. Most people work somewhere between 8 to 10 hours a day. Most work 5 days a week. What about the rest of the time? What you do not know about Sally is that Sally has decided to tithe her time, as well as her finances. What does that mean? She decided that if God requires only ten percent of her money, and He does, then why is it not that we should devote ten percent of our time? So since there are 24 hours in a day, she has decided to tithe 2 hours and 40 minutes to God. I know that seems like a lot. But is it? 

She prays for part of that time. She reads the Word for part of that time. She goes out and does her Father's work part of that time. I know, it seems like a lot. But how long is that show on the TV? How long is your lunch hour at work? What time do you wake up in the morning? Hobbies? Gym? Where do you invest your time?

"The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." Isaiah 40:7-8

What are you working for? What are you spending your precious time doing? Look at this story that Jesus shared with us about the man working hard for material gains.

“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:16-21

Jesus teaches us this lesson as well. He said this.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21

Our life is so very short here on earth. The Word declares it is but a vapor. A mist. Something that is here one second, and gone the next.

"Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." James 4:13-17

Think about this. Think about your friend or neighbor that has just passed on. How old were they? What were they doing? What were their hopes and dreams? Barring sickness and disease, and old age, for the most part, we never know when our time will come up. Jesus called the Rich man a fool and told him that he was going to die that very night. He teaches us that instead of laying up treasures for ourselves here on earth, we should be storing up treasures in heaven, so we have them later when we arrive. Jesus also teaches us that we need not fear tomorrow.

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:34

I want you to think about this. Seriously think about this. What would you do today, if you KNEW it was your last day on earth? Would you really be concerned with who gets voted off your show? Would it really be worth it to spend your last day on earth making another dollar? Seriously. How would you change what you do and how you are living? Would you?

I'm not trying to give you a hard time. I'm really not. If you add up the hours for a week you get 168 Which is roughly 16 hours being ten percent of that time. 16 hours out of the entire 7 day week. Is that too much for God to expect from us? Do you nearly break your knee by the speed you kneel, pray, and get up? Do you spend a minute in prayer and an hour surfing your phone? As a matter of fact, there is an app that will tell you how much time you spend on the screens. Do you even read the Bible?

I'm not telling you that you have to give God ten percent of your time every day. I'm asking you why not? I'm suggesting that maybe that is a good goal to shoot for, but let's try to spend say a minimum of 15 minutes in prayer a day. Maybe another 15 to 30 minutes in the Word. Maybe 15 more minutes doing something to be a blessing to another. Let's try to start out with 1 hour. Let's build up from there.

An hour is not that long of a time. Read more than one chapter in the Bible and you got some if not all, your reading time in for the day. Talk to God about life itself. thank Him for your life. From birth to life everlasting and all stops in between. Talk to Him about your hopes and dreams. Ask Him what He wants you to do about this or that. If you run out of things to say, try this. Remain quiet. Listen. Seriously. Listen. God may be trying to tell you something.

Why does Sally look so strange? Why will you start looking strange to others? You little weirdo. It is simple. It is because they can't see you. They can't see a child of God, serving God, and storing up treasures in heaven. It doesn't make any sense to them. More on finances next time. But it makes no sense to those who are not of God, or to those who are looking at you in a worldly sense.

"For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God." Romans 8:7-8

Be strange. Reduce your time in the world, and increase your time with God. Today may not be your last day on this earth, but then again? You never know. Jesus tells us to occupy until He returns. But He stresses the importance to do so while watching for Him.

"Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants but know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Luke 12:35-40

Invest your time wisely. Spend time with God. If this is an area you need to work on, then work on it. Get up a little earlier. Stay up a little later. set aside at least one hour a day to start to train yourself to invest your time more wisely. More time in prayer, reading the Word and doing your Father's business.

If you have not done it yet, start with this. Say this Prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be. Say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us Pray.

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus's sacrifice for me. I believed He rose from the dead. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"

That's it. It really is that simple. Now go tell someone what you have just done. "That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, you shall be saved." Romans 10:9. You need to find a Church that God leads you to and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A New Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."Colossians 3:10

If you want to tell me, or comment, question, give testimonials, or just say "Hi," the Email is opntalk@gmail.com

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Jesus is Lord!