Podcast #3 is up and ready! See notes and links below.
Everyday Jesus
A podcast for everyday Christians trying to follow Jesus every day.
Opening Monologue –
So last week we started a series on how to live for Jesus while you are living your everyday life. What does that look like? What are some good ways to get started.
This week we plan on continuing to look at ways we can serve him while working a regular job. As a reminder, this isn’t for preachers or monks. This is for Plumber Joe and Doctor Sally.
So one of the things I wanted to discuss today was managing time. The Bible describes our lives as a vapor or the wind. It’s here today and gone tomorrow. And the point of that is to make us realize how precious our time really is – God expects for us to use our time wisely.
Psalm 90:12 says “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Here God is commanding us to count our days. Number them. For what? So we may get a heart of wisdom. When we number our days, we are gaining wisdom. God wants us to realize how important our time on earth really is and when we take Him seriously in this, we will see improvements in our lives, because we are gaining wisdom.
Billy Graham wrote four different ways for us to use our time wisely in his book The Journey.
- Billy Graham said the first step was to see each day as a gift from God. I look at this as beginning your day with thankfulness. Thankful that God has graced you with another day to live for him. Be thankful for the little things in life. Thankful for your food, your sleep, your house, your family. We shouldn’t gloss over this point. Every day we get, is a gift from God. Period. He has given us a gift. What should we do with it?
- Commit your time to God. Billy says that God gave you this time for a reason: not to be wasted or mishandled. I say that we need to ask him two questions, first – what would you have me do today Lord? And secondly, what would you not have me do? If you are anything like me, you can fill your day with things that aren’t helpful to God and his plans on the earth, but are instead things that bring you fleeting pleasure. God wants you to commit your time to him.
- The third thing Billy says is that you need to set aside time for God and others. We touched on this last week when I suggested that you start your day with reading Scripture and prayer. I think that is one thing you can do, but I think Billy’s point is on the intentionality of it. You need to intentionally set aside time for God. Schedule it. Don’t let the day slip by without spending time with Him. It’s easy to let the day slip away from you. So, the best practice is to actually schedule time with the Lord. The second part of this is something I think is close to God’s heart. We serve a triune God and community is important to him. You and I need to actively seek out Godly relationships. We need to actively pursue spending time with other Christians and I’m not talking about the one hour on Sunday mornings. Many churches miss this point entirely. They completely ignore the importance of fellowship. Church becomes nothing more than a social club that everyone attends on Sunday morning, but the rest of the week, no one dares to spend time with one another. Don’t you think its odd that Jesus spent so much time with the multitude and the disciples and so very little time by himself once he started his ministry? Why do you think that is? Because He knew the importance of fellowship and he lived that by example.
- Finally, Billy says that we need to take time for our own needs. We need rest and recreation. Some people, when given the opportunity will overwork themselves. The common statistic around the church is that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. It’s very common for people to burn out quickly when they do not take time for themselves or when they don’t make time for rest.
That’s something for you to chew on this week. I know I have greatly benefited over the years when I’ve managed my time properly. I find that when I don’t manage my time well, my relationship with the Lord is the main thing that suffers. And part of this goes down to priorities. Make God the top priority in your life. And I don’t mean by just giving him that lip service – actually make him the top priority. It will change your world.
The Good News Segment –
Paul Woods Healed of Brain Tumor
Unreached People Group –
Today’s Word – John 1:35-51
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”
39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.[j] 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus[k] was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter[l]).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you,[m] you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
In case you missed our previous podcasts:
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