15 Act like people with good sense and not like fools. 16 These are evil times, so make every minute count. 17 Don’t be stupid. Instead, find out what the Lord wants you to do. 18 Don’t destroy yourself by getting drunk, but let the Spirit fill your life. 19 When you meet together, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, as you praise the Lord with all your heart. 20 Always use the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to thank God the Father for everything.
By Steve Fair from UK (IMG_5001 Uploaded by Miaow Miaow) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
At the Olympics, we saw a whole succession of people who were making every second count. From athletes who had used their time of training effectively to arrive at peak fitness to people making the most of every moment of their being some part of the event – cheering, dressing up, making banners and generally entering fully into the spirit of the games.
Making every minute count – how do we do that in our lives day by day?
15 Act like people with good sense and not like fools. 16 These are evil times, so make every minute count. 17 Don’t be stupid. Instead, find out what the Lord wants you to do. 18 Don’t destroy yourself by getting drunk, but let the Spirit fill your life. 19 When you meet together, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, as you praise the Lord with all your heart. 20 Always use the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to thank God the Father for everything.
Oh how I long to act like a person of good sense, to not do the stupid, hurtful, unnecessary things it is so easy to get caught up in; to not waste time on the things that actually really don’t matter.
How to make every minute count? By finding out what God wants us to do, understanding what he is asking of us.
And how do we do that? Well, the suggestion is to meet together and to worship God. For in worshipping God we “touch base” with him, and allow him to touch us. As we focus on all he has done for us and give thanks, we become in tune with him, and then we will get closer to him and hear what he is saying to us.
How, today, where we are, can we make every minute count? Make every minute God’s?
Lord,
I so want to make my life count for you;
to not get caught up in things that don’t matter,
or are foolish.
I come
and spend time with you,
praising you,
thanking you,
and seeking to hear your voice.
May I quiet my heart,
and the loud voices within me,
and hear you…
– that my actions may be the ones you are looking for
