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“Sow for yourselves righteousness,

Reap the fruit of unfailing love,

and break up your unplowed ground,

for it is time to seek the LORD,

until he comes and,

showers righteousness on you.

Hosea 10:12 (NIV)

I felt the need to learn to better manage my time. I could waste a day just by sitting and ‘wool gathering’-just daydreaming about different things.

One of the blogs I follow pointed out that people need to start the day with the LORD. I had tried to do that. I chose to be more consistent with it.

I received an e-mail giving some scripture helps, most of them dealing with time. Then our pastor finished the year 2014 with a sermon entitled, Take the Time. Along with the points of the sermon, he had listed several more scriptures regarding time.

I had a new journal to begin the year with. I had even named it. I call it Biblical Insights. The first area I chose to explore was Time Management. I found my focus scripture on the list from pastor’s sermon. As I wrote it in my journal each line spoke to me.

God told the Israelites, through Hosea, to live right lives and to receive the blessings of unfailing love. He further told them to prepare their hearts—their hard hearts. The people were to soften their hearts or be open for God to do it. The Israelites then hear the time is right—right then—to seek to seek the Lord and to keep doing it until He comes again and bathes them in holiness.

I find in this passage a message to our 21Century church and believers. Each of us who sit in a church pew has to know that we are right with the Lord. When we know we are where we should be with Him, we will then receive the blessings of His undying love. If we have any area of our heart that is closed off from Him, we need to open it and confess our need for the Lord to soften it. We are told this is the time to seek Him and to keep doing it until the LORD comes and lavishes His holiness on us.

At our church, those in attendance at our Wednesday night Bible Study read some very convicting scriptures on prayer. A dear friend was caught by 1 Samuel 12:23. In this passage Samuel equates ceasing to pray for someone with sin. No Christian believer wants to be guilty of a sin of omission; let alone one as serious as this one.

Dear Lord God:

Forgive us for not living up to what You expect from us, Your children. Help us as we learn more of You. Guide us in our daily lives to live for You. Polish our rough spots as we walk with You. Allow us to display Your love to all those we meet each day, in every way possible. I ask these things out of Your grace for us, your children. I will be sure to give you the praise, In the Name of Jesus, I pray. AMEN

"The Way" from Kevin Pauley

The Second Sin