Introduction:
“Be careful!” How many times have you said that as a parent, grandparent, friend…?
What are we saying?
- I love and care for you.
- I don’t want you to get hurt.
- I want you to remember this.
- Please, don’t do this.
- I love and care for you.
I cannot tell you the number of times I look back and wish I would have been more mindful of those two words. So much pain. So much heartbreak. Broken relationships. Trauma.
You might have those same memories and regrets.
That’s why I play this week’s verse theme on repeat.
First Study: Be Careful
READ:
Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. – Ephesians 5:15-16 (NRSV)
DECIDE:
Kids today don’t know the meaning of “repeats”…those tv show that are on a production break and show they play them over again…or those shows that are in syndication that are played over and over. I can remember watching the old TBS station. The majority of the programming was “repeats.” I loved them. My afternoon was spent with The Flintstones, The Jetsons, I Dream of Jeannie. Repeats can be really good.
Playing these verses should be a daily, maybe hourly habit in all of our lives. God, through Paul, is saying,
- I love and care for you.
- I don’t want you to get hurt.
- I want you to remember this.
- Please, don’t do this.
- I love and care for you.
Can you hear Him?
Decide, today, to devote yourselves to these verses in perpetuity…that means forever…to playing them on repeat. Memorize them, together. Post them in various places around the house. Keep them before you and hear the Lord declaring His love and care for you, even now.
DECLARE:
Jesus, I belong to you.
My life is yours. I want to model Your life. You did nothing without thought and purpose. You are the model of wisdom. You practiced good judgment. You live ON PURPOSE.
I watch a lack of wisdom and good judgment in my student mirror every day. Students of every age say and do things without any consideration of the consequences. I see and hear them say and do things without comprehension or understanding of the damage they are doing to themselves or others.
We often do the same, don’t we?
Jesus, I belong to you! My life is Yours. Give me the sense to walk in wisdom and practice good judgment, with an eye to the consequences of my words and actions.
DEVOTE:
What does it mean to be wise?
How can we be more CAREFUL in the way we speak?
PRAY:
Lord, God, you are the source of all wisdom and power. Empower us to speak and act with wisdom, like Jesus. Holy Spirit, guide us and direct us in the way of wisdom, so that we will be light and life to one another and those we meet each day. In these evil days, may our words and actions draw people to You, Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Amen
Study Two: Time Well Spent
READ:
Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. – Ephesians 5:15-16 (NRSV)
DECIDE:
The two biggest results of wasted time are increased anxiety and depression. All the time, when I am wasting time, I’m anxious about what I should be doing…then, looking back, I am filled with regret for what I didn’t accomplish.
Making the most of our time does not mean we live the life of a dutiful drone, ticking off the necessities. Making the most of our time is walking in freedom. It is living the life that God has empowered us to live by the Holy Spirit. It is walking in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, with purpose and power. It is deciding that there is absolutely nothing is going to hinder me from walking in holiness unto the Lord. It is an exciting adventure or daily discovery and satisfaction.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? So, why do we choose otherwise? That’s right, we make the choice. We decide whether we are going to walk in this or not. The recent song, Say I Won’t, says it well: While I’ve been waiting to live/My life’s been waiting on me. Then, a line of the chorus says: I’m gonna know what it means to live/and not just be alive.
So, what are we waiting for?
DECLARE:
Listen to Say I Won’t, together. Even better, sing along
Lyrics:
Today it all begins
I’m seeing my life for the very first time
Through a different lens
Yesterday I didn’t understand
Driving 35 with the rocket inside
Didn’t know what I had
While I’ve been waiting to live
My life’s been waiting on me
CHORUS:
I’m gonna run
No I’m gonna fly
I’m gonna know what it means to live
And not just be alive
The world’s gonna hear
Cause I’m gonna shout
And I will be dancing when circumstances
drown the music out
Say I won’t
Not enough
Is what I’ve been told
But it must be a lie
Cause the Spirit inside says I’m so much more
So let them say what they want
Oh I dare them to try
REPEAT CHORUS
I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength
So keep on saying I won’t
And I’ll keep proving you wrong
DEVOTE:
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” is one of the most memorized and quoted verses in the Bible. In context, Paul is thanking the Philippian church for a gift they sent in support of his ministry. Read these surrounding verses and talk about what Paul is confessing here.
“11 Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” -Philippians 4:11-13 NRSV
Paul understood what it meant to make the most of the time. Can you remember some of the circumstances that Paul endured in service to Jesus? (Shipwreck, imprisonment, beaten and left to die, hunger…)
What does making the most of the time look like in our life? Where do we need to make changes?
Pray:
Heavenly Father, Creator and Sustainer of all things, all knowledge and wisdom comes from You. When given the choice between wisdom and riches, Solomon chose wisdom. Help me to see the value of wisdom and good judgment in all circumstances. That will truly empower me to do all things through Christ. In these evil days, show me Your way, Lord. Show me the wise paths and help me to choose them. I know the enemy wants me to choose the foolish things of life and pursue them. I am Yours, Lord. Help me to pursue You with my whole heart. Amen.