Then God Will Make It Grow

Last week I was making a list of all the things that I need to get done by the end of the year and came to the conclusion, I’m about two weeks behind in my office work, of where I normally am this time of year. In retrospect, the past two months I can see I have not been redeeming my time as well as I normally do. It probably has something to do with all my unexpected doctor visits and surgery, which came at just the wrong time of the year. My mental focus has been skewed a bit, but I think I’ve got it back on track for a big 2015 finish. I’ll have to hustle though with the holidays falling on Friday’s, normally my busiest day of the week. I even get to start the week with a four hour deficit due to my surgical follow-up appointment clean on the other side of the big city first thing Monday morning. I know the Lord will work it all out for the good.
Imagine there is a bank which will credit your account each morning with $86,400, carries over no balance from day to day, that allows you to keep no cash balance, and every evening cancels whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course! Well, everyone has such a bank. Its name is time. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the records of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the tomorrow. You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success! The clock is running. Make the most of today.

To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade. To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby. To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper. To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet. To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train. To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident. To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics. Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time. And remember, time waits for no one. Yesterday is history; Tomorrow is a mystery; Today is a gift - It's called the present.

[1 Peter 4; Hebrews 5:1-6:12] Today my bride and I have been together thirty years. For any marriage to last there has to be the growth of understanding and strict adhesion to the rules of engagement. “…Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and produces a good crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned…” Marriage is not a 50/50 compromise, but a 100% commitment. It takes some of us guys a lifetime to learn and understand that, but most of us try real hard. Marriage is service to one another and the family. To survive as a Christian, one must be committed to the Lord more than anything else (Luke 14:25-33). Both marriages must be watered with the practicing of God’s truth and love, learning all we can about one another and God will make it grow (1 Corinthians 3;1-9).