See Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 98.

“Our time belongs to God. Every moment is His, and we are under the most solemn obligation to improve it to His glory. Of no talent He has given will He require a more strict account than of our time. . .

“The human family have scarcely begun to live when they begin to die. . . . The man who appreciates time as his working day will fit himself for a mansion and for a life that is immortal. It is well that he was born. We are admonished to redeem the time. But time squandered can never be recovered. We cannot call back even one moment. The only way in which we can redeem our time is by making the most of that which remains, by being co-workers with God in His great plan of redemption” (The Faithful Live By, p. 158).

Time Flies

“The first mechanical clocks were invented around the fourteenth century by monks looking for a way to regulate the day for prayer and spiritual duties. Local businesses asked the monks if they would be willing to let the community surrounding their monasteries make use of their ingenious clocks. They agreed. Now it is about 700 years later, and the clock rules the world.

“We live by the clock, sleep by it, eat, drink, work, and die by it. It is everywhere. We wear them on our wrists, we wake up to them next to our beds, and we watch them slowly tick away in our work places. They drive our days, and our devotion to them accelerates the pace of modern living.

“More than ever we need to break away from the clock’s hold on our lives and waste a few hours every week. As one poet put it . .

.‘I wasted an hour one   morning beside a mountain stream.
I seized a cloud from the sky above and fashioned myself a dream.
In the hush of early twilight, far from the haunts of men,
I wasted a summer evening and fashioned my dream again,

Wasted? Perhaps.

People say who have never walked with God. . .

When lanes are purple with lilacs or yellow with goldenrod.

But I have found strength for my labors in the one short evening hour.

I have found joy and contentment,

I have found peace and power.

My dreaming has left me a treasure,

A hope that is strong and true.

From wasted hours I have built my life and found my faith anew.”

“Why am I here? What is the purpose of life? Why do I act in the way I do? How can I learn from my mistakes? Questions like these can only be answered as we break away from the rule of thinking about God, surrounded by the world He created for us to enjoy.

“Life ruled by the clock pushes God out. Before we can understand Him and His Son, Jesus Christ, We must stop long enough to consider these all-important questions. As Socrates proclaimed centuries ago, ‘the unexamined life is not worth living.’ ” –by Christopher Nelson, New South Wales, Australia.

See Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing p. 99

Highlight the paragraph that starts, “Jesus does not release us . . .”

Here Is What I Think

What takes up the most time in your day (besides going to school—that is a given!)? What do you do when you find yourself really bored? Is it easy for you to find something to do? Where do you enjoy spending your time the most? Do you enjoy the time spent with your friends? Does the phone take up a great deal of your time? How much time is too much time to spend on something? (Just give your opinion, and say how you decide for yourself.) How much is too much time to spend with God?

Log on www.guidemagazine.org/rtf to post your responses. Be up-front and honest. Say what you think. The lines below are provided as an alternative to posting. You may also wish to record your thoughts to share with your class later.

---

---

---

---

---

---

 

Time

Decode the message by finding each substitute letter or symbol.

See Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p.100.

Highlight the paragraph that starts, “If you have given yourself to God . . .”

So What?

What does it matter what I do with my time? Well, there is only so much time in this life to do all those things we want to do, and all those things that God wants us to do. When we find ourselves wasting too much time, we are also wasting God’s time.

 

We can all be powerful instruments for God’s kingdom, but we have to make sure we schedule it in. These lives we lead are crazy-busy, so we need to get to our calendars before the other kingdom fill our lives with stuff that really is a waste of time.

At the end of the lesson is a graph on which you can write down how you spend your time this week. Take three days and try to be as accurate as possible. This exercise can really be eye-opening if you are honest.

Please fill in the blanks. Then pick one text that you like, and memorize it.

1. “I consider that our present _________ are not worth _________with the glory that will be _______in us.” Romans 8:18 (NIV)
2. “Why you do not even know what will ________ tomorrow. What is your _____? You are a mist that _______ for a little while and then _________. Instead, you _______ to say, ‘If it is the ________ _______, we will live and do this or that.’ ” James 4:14, 15 (NIV)
3. “But I ______ in you, O Lord; I say, ‘________ are my _______.’ My  _______ are in your _________.” Psalm 31:14,15 (NIV)
4. “Remember how __________ is my life. For what _________ you have _________ all men!” Psalm 89:47 (NIV)
5. “There is a time for __________, and a season for every activity under heaven a time to be ____ and a time to ____, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them a time, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to ______ ____, a time to keep and a time to ______ away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for _______.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV)

See Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing,  p. 101.

Highlight the paragraph that begins, “One day alone is ours . . .”

“However small your talent, God has a place for it. That one talent, wisely used, will accomplish its appointed work. By faithfulness in little duties, we are to work on the plan of addition, and God will work for us on the plan of multiplication. These littles will become the most precious influence in His work. (The Faithful Live By, p, 163).

“God has a great work to be done in a short time. He has committed to the youth talents of intellect, time, and means, and He holds them responsible for the use they make of these good gifts. He calls upon them to come to the front, to resist the corrupting, bewitching influences of this fast age, and to become qualified to labor in His cause. They cannot become fitted for usefulness without putting heart and energy into the work of preparation“(Lift Him Up, p. 127).

What Does This Have to Do With Me?

At this point you should have at least one day finished on your schedule tracker. What are you learning? Are there places in your day that you could fill with more productive activities? What about your tithe in time? Have you found a place where you can give back to God 24 minutes as a type of tithe of the 24 hours He gives you?

“Teach us to use wisely all the time we have.” Psalm 90:12 (CEV)

How Does It Work?

Try keeping track of your time for three days this week. Write down what you  are doing each hour of the day that you are awake (such as: homework, television, eating, video games, talking with family, talking on the phone or Instant Messaging on the computer, getting ready, sleeping, hanging out with friends, devotional life and prayer, helping others).

Time	Day One	Day Two	Day Three
7-8 a.m.
8-9 a.m.
10-11 a.m.
11-12 p.m.
12-1 p.m.
1-2 p.m.
2-3 p.m.
3-4 p.m.
4-5 p.m.
5-6 p.m.
6-7 p.m.
7-8 p.m.
8-9 p.m.
9-10 p.m.