Budgeting Our Time
To experience God's reality in our lives, we must prioritize time with Jesus and give Him our time, allowing us to abide in Him and bring forth much fruit.
In this sermon, Basilia Schlink emphasizes the importance of giving Jesus our time in order to experience His reality in our lives. She shares a letter from a friend who was deeply impacted by the message to give Jesus much of our time. Schlink highlights how easily we can get caught up in our daily activities and conversations, neglecting to spend quality time with Jesus. She encourages listeners to prioritize prayer and conversation with Jesus, as this will enable us to abide in Him and bear much fruit. The sermon concludes with an invitation to learn more about how God lives and works today through the website or by contacting the organization.
Full Transcript
God lives and works today, but we will only experience His reality in our lives inasmuch as we give Him our time. Today's meditation by Basilia Schlink shares some helpful hints about this. How much time do we give Jesus during the day, in love that hurries to Him, that wants to talk about everything with Him? A while ago, I got a letter from a friend.
Here are a few lines from it. During the last retreat, the message, Jesus says to you, give me much of your time, meant so much to me. That thought has not left my mind.
It is frightening when I think how our days pass so quickly. Don't we often lose ourselves in our work, our business, our worries and conversations? Perhaps in the morning we have a few minutes for Jesus, but He never gets any more than that. The time in between is spent with idle talk.
It is not a problem of time. If we were to enter the stillness of prayer instead of having long talks with people, how many things would be accomplished? My friend continued. My husband and I have decided to give up the branch offices of our business.
We don't yet know what will happen to our finances, but we both know that the Lord will take care of us, and that is so wonderful. The two of us are so at peace and very happy. Now I can come to a retreat next year, which would have been impossible before.
We want so much to begin to set apart certain times for prayer. Shouldn't we all seek more of this conversation of love with Jesus? Then, when unforeseen difficulties come up during the day, when many things are pressing upon us, then we will be more able to abide in Jesus. And Jesus says, if anyone abides in me, he will bring forth much fruit.
As is love everlasting, he came to us below, that God to all his children a selfless love might show. Jesus then showed love so boundless that many were inspired to give themselves to love him, their hearts with love he fired. Eternal love is still waiting and pleads with every heart.
Oh, won't you hear and answer? I cannot bear to part. To learn more about how God Lives and Works Today, visit us at our website www.canaan.org. If you contact us, we would be happy to send you a free inspirational booklet. If you do not have access to the web, please write to God Lives and Works Today, 9849 North 40th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85028-4099.
God Bless You!
Sermon Outline
- I. Importance of Giving Time to Jesus
- A. We experience God's reality in our lives through giving Him our time
- B. We must prioritize time with Jesus over other activities
- II. The Problem of Wasting Time
- A. We often lose ourselves in work, business, and conversations
- B. We can accomplish more by entering the stillness of prayer
- III. Setting Apart Time for Prayer
- A. We should seek more conversation with Jesus through prayer
- B. This will help us abide in Jesus and face difficulties with peace
- IV. The Fruit of Abiding in Jesus
- A. We will bring forth much fruit if we abide in Jesus
- B. This is a result of experiencing God's selfless love
Key Quotes
“God lives and works today, but we will only experience His reality in our lives inasmuch as we give Him our time.” — Basilea Schlink
“If we were to enter the stillness of prayer instead of having long talks with people, how many things would be accomplished?” — Basilea Schlink
“As is love everlasting, he came to us below, that God to all his children a selfless love might show.” — Basilea Schlink
Application Points
- Make time for prayer and conversation with Jesus a regular part of your daily routine.
- Prioritize your time with Jesus over other activities, such as work or conversations.
- Seek to abide in Jesus and experience His selfless love in your life.