THE GIFT THAT IS SQUANDERED
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
BE HONEST DO WE REALLY APPRECIATE TODAY? TODAY IS A GIFT FORM GOD…
Psalm 118:24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Would you buy a 300 year old rare antique piece of furniture and burn it in a camp fire?
Would you pay $200,000 for a Corvette and drive through mud bogs?
Would you pay 240 million dollars for a jet to drive across town to go to work each day?
WHY ON EARTH OR HEAVEN WOULD WE HAVE TODAY AND WASTE IT ---
TREASURES FOR TRINKETS?
THIS MINUTE CAN NEVER BE RECALLED? THIS DAY IS A PRECIOUS GIFT…
ONE DAY WILL BE YOUR LAST DAY? One breath will be your last?
ONE DAY YOU WILL GIVE YOUR LAST GIFT?
Mark 8:18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?
Do you remember the 5 loaves and 5,000 hungry people?
Do you remember the 7 loaves and 4,000 people?
DO WE HONESTLY REMEMBER THE GOODNESS OF GOD?
DO WE REMEMBER GOD IN OUR TIME? DO WE REMEMBER WHY GOD GAVE US TODAY?
Zechariah 7:11 But refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
TODAY GOD GAVE YOU 1440 MINUTES? WHAT DID YOU DO WITH YOUR MINUTES?
Last week I was at my Dad’s house. I saw an old hand made plague given to my dad.
Written on the back were the words: TO A VERY GOOD FRIEND AND PASTOR, WADE M. HUGHES. TO EXPRESS MY GRADIITUDE FOR HELPING ME IN MANY CRITICAL TIMES, I HOPE YOU WILL ACCEPT THIS AS A TOKEN OF LOVE AND APPRECIATION. FRIEND AND NEIGHBOR ALWAYS. LLOYD ARNOLD, FEB. 7, 1985.
Feb. 7 is my Dad’s birthday.
BURNED IN THE OTHER SIDE:
***AS WE STAND IN THE PRESENT. WE BUILD OUR OWN PAST FOR THE FUTURE.
Someone had placed this 33 year old plaque in a storage building.
THIS PLAGUE SPEEKS TO ME TODAY. My Dad and Lloyd are stills friends and co-workers together in the church.
FEW IN LIFE EVER LEARN HOW TO TELL TIME?
Remember before digital watches. If the little hand is on the two? The big hand to the right of six you add onto two: 2:30? If the big hand is to the left of six you take away from the next number… 15 minutes until three? Wow, that is hard for a little kid to keep straight in their mind?
WE KNOW ETERNITY HAS NO TIME…
BUT FEW LEARN HOW TO TELL SPIRITUAL TIME… BIG HAND? LITTLE HAND?
Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
COMMON SENSE IS NOT ALWAYS REAL COMMON? HOW SMART CAN WE GET?
WE KNOW MORE AND MORE ABOUT LESS AND LESS UNTIL FINALLY WE KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT NOTHING?
WE NEED SOMEONE THAT UNDERSTANDS TIME, PEOPLE AND HAS PATIENCE.
Jude 1:22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
There was a girl in New York that had a tender heart. She grew up and became a smart student in college. She was a straight A student. She decided to become a social worker. Her senior year she decided she would go to the “POOR IGNORANT MOUNTAIN PEOPLE OF EASTERN KENTUCKY.”
The new social worker from the big city of New York was so smart she was going to those under privileged, un-educated Kentuckians. So when she graduated with her degree in social work she accepted a job and moved to the mountain area of east Kentucky. She knew all the text book answers and she was going to teach those dirty people how to clean up and do better.
So the young educated lady moved to Kentucky, her plans were to change everyone’s life style to the standard of New York. On her first home visit, she parked her new shiny car at the head of the holler and walked up the hill side. She had studied how poor and ignorant Kentucky mountain people are, she had all the answers.
Up the holler the New Yorker walked and came upon the smallest house she had ever seen in her life. She thought some New York apartments were small? But this beat anything she had ever seen. So the social worker boldly walked up and knocked on the door.
"Anybody home?" The social worker was almost in tears. No schooling had ever prepared her for this shock.
A girl’s voice answered through the door of the small house. YES, I AM IN HERE!
"Is your father in there?" asked the social worker.
"Pa? NO! Pa left just afore Ma came in," said the girl.
"Well, is your mother in there?" asked the social worker.
"Ma? Nope, she left just afore I got here," said the kid.
The social worker was greatly alarmed. She knew she could step in and help this poor mountain family, they need government authority to step in and rescue this family.
The social worker kept talking through the shabby door. IS YOUR FAMILY EVER TOGETHER at the same time?
The young girl answered the smart government lady:
"Sure, we are together all the time, but not in here," said the little girl as she opened the door.
"This is our outhouse! We come in here one at a time."
Do I ever evaluate my motives? Words? Deeds?
AREN’T WE SO THANKFUL FOR SMART PEOPLE THAT CAN COME AND TELL US WHAT TO DO?
Seems our government officials are so very book smart. We are so thankful that they handle all the rules and committees of our leadership in financial situations, education of our children and medical fields?
WHAT AM I BUILDING WITH THIS DAY?
I once read this interesting story. Seems there was a very wise old man and he was trying to mentor and teach this strong young man with great potential some lessons. One lesson involved a sleepless night. The wise old man was giving instructions to the young man. The young man had other “more fun things” to do than to listen to some old man going on and on.
I old man was sitting on the porch of a rundown cabin. There was a beautiful and fast horse tied to the rail of the front porch. The sun was setting in the west and the old man GAVE CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS what the young man was to do. “NOW, YOUNG MAN, I WANT YOU TO RIDE THIS HORSE DUE EAST. YOU WILL HAVE TO RIDE THE HORSE HARD TO FINISH THIS TASK. AFTER OURS OF RIDING YOU WILL COME TO A VERY LARGE RIVER. IT WILL BE VERY DARK, BUT I WANT YOU TO DISMOUNT AND FILL THE SADDLE BAGS AND IF YOU HAVE TIME, IF YOU SO DESIRE FILL THE OTHER BAGS I HAVE GIVEN YOU WITH ROCKS FROM THE RIVER. Remember you have to be back here my sunrise. If you are not back by sunrise you have failed and face the consequences.
So the young man thought this old man is absolutely crazy. BUT I HAVE TO DO WHAT HE SAYS. So the young fellow got on the horse and started riding eastward. It was soon very dark. The young man knew there were dangers along the trail. There were some cliffs, some very rough spots and some wild animals on this journey. The night was so dark.
Finally after getting sore from the long hours of riding the man heard the rushing waters of the river. The horse was drinking from the water and the youth remember the command of the old man. Pick up rocks and put them in the saddle bags. So in the darkness the young man climbed off the horse and bent down and picked up two hands full of rocks and placed the one hand full of rocks in one saddle bag, and one hand full in the other bag. He remembered how tired he was, and how STUPID ALL THIS WAS. He also recalled, I will be punished if I am not back by sunrise.
So the young man jumped on the horse and in the darkness in safely plotted his way back to the old man’s porch. There in the rocking chair sat the old man eagerly awaiting this young man. The young man complained how tired he was and how stupid this trip was. The old teacher said: “DID YOU DO AS I COMMANDED YOU?”
“YES, I DID! As the lad untied the two saddle bags and gave the bag of rocks to his teacher. His teacher emptied the rocks on the porch. There were TWO HAND FULLS OF JEWELS, RARE JEWELS. There were diamonds, pearls, gold nuggets,
Rubies, sapphires… two hand fulls? The old wise man said, YOU NEVER FILLED YOUR SADDLE BAGS? YOU HAD SEVERAL EXTRA BAGS TO FILL … WHY? WHY DID YOU ONLY GET TWO HAND FULLS? YOU COULD HAVE HAD SO MUCH MORE?
The foolish young man said: I JUST THOUGHT I WAS PICKING UP ROCKS, I COULD NOT SEE IN THE DARKNESS OF THE NIGHT THE ROCKS WERE RARE JEWELS? IT IS NOT MY FAULT? I WAS TIRED, I RODE ALL NIGHT? I HAD TO BE BACK BY DAY LIGHT?
The old wise teacher had many tears running down his cheeks. HE UNDERSTOOD WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN. THE OLD MAN SAW THE WASTED OPPORTUNITIES AND THE LAZINESS AND LACK OF ZEAL AND ENTHUSIAM IN THE YOUTH… THE WISE TEACHER SAID: NO SADDER WORDS OF PEN OR TONGUE THAN THE WORDS: WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN.
YOU HAVE A PERSONAL VALUE SYSTEM…
WHAT YOU LOVE --- YOU WILL FIND TIME TO DO…
Matthew 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Matthew 12:34 (MSG) "You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It's your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words.
TODAY WAS YESTERDAY’S TOMORROW.
TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE…
TODAY WILL BE TOMORROW …
YOU WILL MAKE CHOICES AND DECISIONS TOODAY THAT WILL AFFECT/EFFECT YOUR TOMORROW.
We will accept the consequences of our choices.
Let us watch the second hand? Do we squander time?
Is there time for Jesus? Church? Family?
What is my value system? TV, Computer, Facebook? Movies? Reading? Bible? Prayer?
What will I do? What will I not do?
BE HONEST, WHAT DOES TIME MEAN TO YOU?
TIME AND EDUCATION IS WASTED?
DO WE ROB GOD AND OUR FAMILIES?
CONCLUSION: Colossians 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
Do we really appreciate the GIFT OF TIME? Be honest?
COULD TIME BE THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE? Is time precious to you? We tend to spend our money more wisely than our time? WHY BURY A WATCH WITH A PERSON, TIME IS MEANINGLESS IN ETERNITY? Someday TIME WILL BE NO MORE… INVEST WISELY --- SPEND IT WISELY!
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
1 Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
