DECEMBER 2021
WEDNESDAY DAY 15
BEING RESOLUTE (2)
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 5:15-16
There is need to be a healthy sense of urgency in our lives. With regard to that which the Lord wants us to do in His work individually, there is not an unlimited amount of time in which to do that work. Each of us has a window of opportunity, and after that is gone, we will give account for our stewardship of the time given us. We urgently need to “redeem the time,” as Paul put it.
Granted, there is such a thing as an unhealthy urgency. Most of us are familiar with what that’s like. It’s the driven, compulsive, frantic mentality of competitors in the “rat race.” But that is not the way to redeem the time. In fact, nothing is more unproductive.
Jesus showed that it is possible to be very busy and not fall into the “driven” way of thinking. At our busiest, few of us will match the Lord’s activity, yet in the act of being busy, Jesus always had a calm, deliberate way about Him. He knew how to “hasten leisurely,” to work steadily, and even urgently, without losing the peace that was at the centre of His being. Jesus knew that He had a “schedule” to meet, and He met it. At the end, He could say, “It is finished” (John 19:30). As His disciples, we need to redeem the time and be able, one day, to say that we have finished our work.
As Gerry Sandusky wrote, “Heaven is pictured as a place of rest, and I intend to be tired when I get there.” Like Ken, Gerry understands that now is the time for work, a time to spend and be spent. There’ll be time enough for rest later. “We have all eternity to celebrate our victories, but only one short hour before sunset in which to win them” (Robert Moffat).
MASS: VIOLET: ST. MARIA CROCIFISSA DI ROSA Is 45:6b-8, 18, 21b-25; Ps 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14(R. Isaiah 45:8) Accl: Lift up your voice with strength, O herald of good tidings; behold the Lord God comes with might Gospel Lk 7:19-23
Prayer Point:
1. Take this prayer by Knowing Jesus: “Heavenly Father, forgive me I pray, for the selfish and rebellious way I realize I have been living, and I pray that in Your grace and mercy, You would allow me to redeem the time that I have wasted. Lord, I know that I can never relive the time that has gone, but I pray that You would give me the opportunity to live my life as I should have lived, to live the rest of my life as Your bond-servant, to submit to Your leading and guiding, to focus the eyes of my heart on the Lord Jesus, and to be led by Your Spirit to do only those things that are pleasing in Your sight.”
Exercise: Reflect on Ephesians 5:15
Meditation: Colossians 4:5