Time

Our Approach

Our Story

Within This Woman’s House

Time is so precious to us. We can make ourselves miserable trying to

accomplish more tasks in a shorter amount of time. Sound familiar?

What do you think God thinks about this topic of time?

List three things that are time snatchers in your day

_____________________ _ _____________

Name some excuses for little time to study the word of God

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What did Jesus do that teaches us about the topic of prayer?

Let’s read about what he did.

Mark 1:35

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place.

Luke 5:16

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

In other words, Jesus found it important to get away and find alone time to think and pray. For him, it was early in the morning.

It doesn’t matter to God what time of day you spend quality time with him and in his word. Make the time and he will guide your way. Have you wondered why Jesus went to lonely places and prayed? I know I have. Sometimes we like to go to lonely places don’t we? There are times to be alone with our thoughts…to think through and process life’s challenges. Do you have a place to retreat? If you don’t where would it be?

Then there are distractions that keep us from spending time with God…

Here are some examples:

Luke 10:38-42

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Which one of these women do you relate to most…Mary or Martha?

Here’s another example of distraction:

Matthew 14:29-30 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Peter was afraid and lost focus. When we keep our eyes on the Lord and his teachings we stand firm. He stands with us and gives us strength. But we must take time to understand this gift he offers. Open up the word of God…the answers are already there for God to show you.

What about this distraction? Are you a people pleaser? How can we be in the world but not live according to worldly standards? Most of us want to fit in with others and be liked. However, here’s what the bible says:

Galatians 1:10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Therefore the question becomes: What is it that God wants us to do?

And here’s a good answer!

Proverbs 4:25-27

Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.

Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

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Through the scriptures we can see that God wants us to stay focused on him. He recognized the value in Mary’s choice to sit at his feet to listen and to learn. Mary wasn’t anxious to leave or preoccupied with anything else. She was absorbing all she could as Jesus spoke. Would you do the same if given the chance?

It would seem that Martha could have been disappointed in herself. If you are a Martha type, you can relate to this…Mary had given herself the freedom to sit and learn at the feet of the master. Deep in her heart Martha may have wanted to do it herself, but she was the type of person that took care of business first.

We must set daily priorities as if they are from God’s perspective. How does he want us to plan our day? Organize our time? We have lists upon lists, children to tend to, jobs to complete, volunteer work, calls to be made. There are 24 hours in a day…we need 28. Honestly if we needed 28, God would have designed the day with 28 hours in it. Don’t you think??

When we reset our days with God-time first, the peace that follows is life changing! We need that time for God to reshape our heart daily. It will affect everything in every way. My sister tells me that at one time I was a Martha. The last few years, my sister, a Mary at heart, says I have been evolving into a Mary. Time seemed to multiply when God calmed me within. My busyness went away. That doesn’t mean I am not busy…it meant I let God take the reins.

We are not weak followers of Jesus because we operate more like Martha or because we lose focus and sink like Peter. God wants to help guide us in setting our priorities on what is important to him. Growing our relationship with God takes a time commitment. We choose to do what is important to us…therefore, there are no excuses not to spend time with God. It is a choice. God will settle our lives from the inside out when he is the foundation. Time is a gift. Spend it wisely.

Questions about Time

1) The 2 or 3 excuses that stop me from studying the word of God:

___________________ _ _________________

2) Am I willing to devote 10 minutes every day to opening my bible without distractions? Like Jesus retreated to be with the Father can I name a solitary place where I can be alone with God?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

3) What do I think Mary was experiencing while at the feet of Jesus? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

4) Am I afraid of what others will think if I pursued a real relationship with Jesus? Would I stop fitting in and be ridiculed for listening to God? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

5) List a few support people who have the same desire to know God’s word

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Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version^®, NIV^®

Scriptures taken from the Santa Biblia, Nueva Versión Internacional® NVI®

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