#1530. Redeem the time (3/6/26)

Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional (currently posted on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) as we continue our Stewardship series.

Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional (currently posted on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) as we continue our Stewardship series.

I love the film Dead Poets Society. It begins with the new English teacher, John Keating, taking the pupils of the very prestigious school into a hallway filled with memorabilia and photographs of former students. The boys, surprised and uncomfortable with their teacher’s unconventional behaviour, are urged to “listen” — to listen to the voices of those past, now dead,  students. Then he quietly says the famous words: “Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.”

It sounds wonderful to ’seize the day’, but what does it mean? What are we to ’seize’ today? 

To steward our time, it’s important that we clarify what’s important, and use methods and habits that help us to steward our time usefully. 

To watch this devotional, please select the link below:

We all have 168 hours in a week, 8,760 hours in a year, and, if we live to 80 years, we will have 700,800 hours, that’s 29,200 days. If, during that 80 years, you sleep for 8 hours each night, that’s 233,760 hours or 23.3 years!

And many of us spend huge amounts of our waking hours on screens. As The Guardian reported:

1. Redeem your time

This term ‘making the most’ - exagorázō - Has been translated as ‘redeeming the time’ - a very nice way of putting it I think!

Exagorázō is a business term meaning to buy up opportunities. Will we invest our time or waste it?

Firstly, if we are to redeem our time, we must recognise that it can be wasted. Time is like the water we swim in. I’m told that fish do not notice the water because it surrounds them constantly. Likewise, time is the environment in which we live — but we must learn to notice it: that it is passing, that it is precious, and that it can be used well or poorly.

Tim Keller, in an article, Wisdom and Sabbath Rest (Here’s the link: https://redeemercitytocity.com/articles-stories/wisdom-and-sabbath-rest) , wrote:

‘Christians are solemnly obliged not to waste time. Time-stewardship is a command!’

2. To redeem the time, understand God’s calling

To redeem our time, to ‘Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,  making the most of every opportunity…’ we must ‘understand what the Lord’s will is.’ 

We can get busy doing the wrong things. Digging holes in your garden will give you something to do, but it’s a waste of time! Much of what we fill our lives with can be activity without purpose.

We are to seek God’s wisdom and apply it so that we truly “make the most of every opportunity.”

Response

How will you and I redeem our time?

We need to become practical and intentional, finding habits and systems that help us make the best use of the precious time God has entrusted to us.

I am far from being the most organised or productive person, and there are countless excellent books on time management, but let me offer a few simple suggestions.

i. Seek to know God’s will

We must fill our hearts and minds with God’s wisdom through His Word. This requires a daily habit — ideally at the beginning of the day — of reading Scripture and communing with God.

We can only do God’s will with our time if we know His will and allow the Holy Spirit to renew our hearts and minds.

ii. Pray for the day

As we begin each day, it is surely vital that we pray for the day ahead. Pray along the lines of the Lord’s Prayer, aligning your heart with God’s purposes and seeking His leading and protection.

James writes to correct those who plan their lives without proper regard for God:

So let us pray for the day and pray over our plans.

iii. Have a ‘to do’s’ collection method - a task bucket

It is helpful to have one place where you collect the various things you need or want to do, along with requests made of you. This list then needs to be reviewed regularly and worked into your daily planning.

David Allen, in his book Getting Things Done, suggests that each task requires one of four responses:

• Do it — If it will take less than two minutes, do it immediately.

• Delegate it — If someone else should do it, pass it on.

• Defer it — If it needs to be done later, organise it into a trusted system.

• Delete it — If it is unnecessary or unhelpful, remove it.

iv. Make a plan 

Each day, we should seek to have some sort of map to follow — a to-do list, a calendar, or another planning method that works for us.

Without intentionality, time slips through our fingers like sand.

There is much more that could be said, but these simple practices can help any of us redeem our time more effectively.

v. Leave regret behind

Finally, I want to speak to those of us who feel we have already wasted too much of God’s precious gift of time.

In the book of Book of Joel, God promises:

For those who repent and seek God, there is restoration, renewed fruitfulness, and fresh purpose. God is a God of restoration. We finish with these inspiring words:

This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of CCP; to watch our anniversary video, please select the link below:

Community Group Study

(This week is ‘SIV’ (Serve, Invest and inVite) Week, so we’ll be focussing on this during our time together. 

1. Notices

It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News. 

2. Worship together

Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.

3. Study and pray together

(This week is ‘SIV’ (Serve, Invest and inVite) Week)

On Sunday, we continued our stewardship series by looking at how we manage our time—a critical factor in how effectively we live out our mission. If we aren't intentional with our time, the urgent, day-to-day pressures will quickly crowd out our ability to make deliberate investments in our community.

What is SIV? 

SIV stands for Serve, Invest and inVite. This is our very simple strategy to help bring our community to Jesus. We believe that God has placed us in relationships and in specific locations to be 'salt and light.' and to ‘fish for people’.  We can effectively bring people to Jesus by: 

• 'Serving' them - Demonstrating the love of Christ in practical ways; 

• 'Investing' - Investing in the ‘people of peace’ those whom we feel the Spirit is leading us. 

• 'Inviting' - Inviting them into our homes by showing hospitality and inviting them to church events, to Alpha, and ultimately, inviting them to come to Jesus through the gospel. 

In your groups: 

• Share stories – Have you had any recent opportunities to Serve, Invest in, or Invite someone toward Jesus? Let’s encourage one another by sharing stories of how we’ve seen God at work through simple faithfulness.

• Think about practical next steps – Who might God be placing on your heart at this time? Are there any “people of peace” (see note) in your life—those who seem open, welcoming, or receptive to spiritual conversation?

Pray together:

• Pray for courage, wisdom, and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit in our Serve, Invest, and Invite opportunities.

• Pray specifically for the ‘people of peace’ in our lives - that God would open hearts and deepen relationships.

• Pray for our Alpha ministry and Phil Mash who heads up this team 

• Pray for our mission in Roehampton - that He would lead us in reaching that community with the gospel. 

• General prayer: how do people want prayer at this time?