8th January 2012

I saw God do so many good things in so many of your lives through 2012 – I know I really grew in His grace and love myself last year.

“So much of what we saw last year was just the beginning of what will grow – a seedbed of great things that will spring forth in 2012”

I’m conscious of many beautiful, valuable and transforming things God wants to do in our lives this year – I can’t wait! All works of His love and grace: which usually means the maximum “doing” for us is to dwell in those place where His Spirit, His presence, His Word, His love can flow over us and into us.

For me, this means being a successful steward of my time, because that “God places” are more about time than location.

I’m talking about not abdicating my freedom to choose the most valuable things, to demands that want to push me this way and that, and fill my life with activity that, in the end, fulfils none of my dreams.

A Time For Every Purpose

This is our first Sunday together at the beginning of a new year. You have 366 days this year (it’s a leap year) – eight down and 358 to go. So I thought I’d share a little practical wisdom to help you feel satisfied with every day.

•Psalm 90:12 Teach me Lord to number my days that I may gain a heart of wisdom.
•Life expectancy in New Zealand is 80 years – that is 29,200 days.
•How often do you hear yourself say, “I just don’t have enough time”?
•Well, I want to put to you, this morning, that in fact no one has a “time”
problem – we have an abundance of days.
•However, what we may have is a “purpose” problem!
Listen to Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.

Two verses later (v11) He has made everything beautiful in its time

And verse 13 Every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labour – it is the gift of God.

No one has a “time” problem – we have an abundance of days.

What people do have, though, is a “purpose” problem, AND a “time stewardship”

problem.

1 Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful - We are called to be faithful stewards (managers) over what God gives us. Our time is a gift from God.

That is, we have to learn to balance the mix of life.

And God is not a component – He is with us to fill everything we do with the

pleasure of His presence – and so the Father will help us with our time and the

satisfying stewardship of it.

I’ve got three books arriving any day now from Amazon. One of them is called “The Great Dance” by Baxter Kruger. I read this brief introduction … The Great Dance is astonishing vision of human life and the mystery of its intersection with the life of the Triune God. Dr. Kruger charts a course from the Trinity to the incarnation to the union of humanity with God in Jesus Christ. In that light he offers a breathtaking interpretation of our human existence as participation in the life of the Father, Son and Spirit. He uncovers the untold dignity of our ordinary humanity--from motherhood to baseball, from relationships and music to golf, gardening and designing lakes. This is a book about who we are and why we are here and what is really happening in our lives.

Everything we have to do is beautiful … purposeful … enjoyable … a gift from

God. Daily determine to use your time to bring maximum beauty, purpose,

enjoyment from what God has given you.

What if someone came to you and offered to deposit $86,400 into your bank account every morning? There’s only one catch: you must wisely spend or invest the entire amount every day. Nothing can be carried over and anything left in the account will be lost to you at midnight

•Well ... we are given 86,4500 seconds every day. Great satisfaction in investing it purposefully.
•Ephesians 5:15 Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible intelligent people).
•There’s no satisfaction in living vague lives – going from day-to-day just waiting to see what happens
•Savour the flavour of your life – God wants us to truly enjoy our lives, and be satisfied with them. John 10:10 He came that (we) may have and enjoy life and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).

Question One

What one thing could you do (that you are not doing now) that if you did on a regular basis, would make a tremendous positive difference in your personal life?

Question Two

What one thing could you do (that you are not doing now) that if you did on a regular basis, would make a tremendous positive difference in your role as a _______ ? (mother/father/grand-parent/student/employee/business owner/ministry leader etc)

The 2 factors that define an activity are urgent and important.

Urgent means it requires immediate attention, its ‘now!’. Urgent things act on us.

Urgent matters are usually visible. They press on us; they insist on action.

They’re often popular with others.

Importance has to do with results – if something is important, it contributes to

you mission, your values, your highest purposes and dreams.

Important activities are often not urgent at all – they don’t come knocking and

demanding action. Rather, they require initiative, that we act on them to make

them happen.

If we don’t have a clear idea of what is important to us, of the true purposes

and dreams we desire in our lives, we are easily diverted into a life that is

continually responding to the urgent, and we never dwell in the land of our

highest desires.

Here’s a way that I’ve found helpful in considering these two factors: the urgent and the important.

1 (Urgent and Important) Meet a dead-line, help a crying child who has been hurt, handle an irate client, undergo heart surgery, fix a broken machine, clinching a deal. Normal expectations of your primary occupation. However, there are things that move into this quadrant through procrastination or lack of prevention, e.g. health issues or regular maintenance of your car.

2 (Important but not Urgent) call this the Quadrant of Quality. Here we stop to listen, we deepen, we learn a new skill, we make careful plans. Dreamtime, contemplation, worship belong here. Attention to our physical wellbeing – mental agility – emotional and spiritual health. Many of us would read a book of our choice in this quadrant. The less time spent here increases the time spent in Q1. (An exceptional boss would see the value of Q2 time for his or her employees).

3 (Urgent but not Important) Here the noise of urgency creates the illusion of importance. But the actual activities, if they are important at all, are only important to someone else. If not careful, we can spend a lot of time here meeting other people’s priorities and expectations (and the deception can be in thinking we’re in Q1). Three issues here are the ability to say “no”, stay in control of your own schedule, and not link your worth to pleasing others.

4 (Not Urgent and not Important) we could call this the Quadrant of waste – we often escape here when were get kicked around in Q1 and Q2 (Urgent!) Gossip (including gossip magazines), addictive light novels, recreational activity that doesn’t re-create at all (a valuable Q2 activity) e.g. digital games, solitaire. Addictive social networking (Facebook). Busy work = at lot of activity (often repetitious) that looks productive but is unnecessary (e.g. forever adjusting the look of a website). The deception of Q4 is in thinking we’re in Q2.

Consider how you answered the first 2 questions – my guess is they
probably fit in important/not-urgent area.

Remember Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven. Put a big circle around Quadrant 1 and 2 – this is where you’ll find your true purposes in life – and be fully satisfied in enjoying them and growing through them.

Practical Wisdom

•Get yourself a planner, it could be a diary, exercise book, a spreadsheet on the computer. Use it!
•I find the best way to organise is on a weekly basis. I still adapt and prioritise on a daily basis, but weekly planning is the main thrust.
•Commit to a regular time to write into your next week’s diary spread – e.g. Saturday morning.
•Identify a Quadrant 2 activity you know has been neglected in your life – one that if done well would have a significant impact in your life. Make it the first thing you write into your next week.
•Organise the rest of your next week. Evaluate at the end of the week how you went.

A Parable

One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high powered overachievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz."

Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.

When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"

Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"

By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel.

Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?" "No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good." Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar

was filled to the brim.

Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?" One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"

"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this

illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first,

you'll never get them in at all."

What are the 'big rocks' in your life?

The kind of things we talked about in Quadrant 2. Things that are important but not urgent. Things that leave you truly satisfied, and leave a worthy legacy for others.

Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all. If you sweat the little stuff (the gravel, the sand) then you'll fill your life with little things you worry about that don't really matter, and you'll never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff (the big rocks).

So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my life? Then, put those in your jar first.

This is first things first.