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Colossians 4:5 - Make Your Time Count.

Colossians 4:5 (NIV) Be wise in the way you 
act toward outsiders; make the most of every 
opportunity. 

Colossians 4:5 (ICB) Be wise in the way you 
act with people who are not believers. Use your 
time in the best way you can. 

COMMENTARY PEARL

   If you want to get ready to be used by 
God, first you need to get to know Jesus Christ. 
Then you need to use your time in view of 
eternity. 
   Colossians 4:5 says, Use your time in 
the best way you can (ICB). Time is your most 
precious resource. Its far more important than 
money. You can get more money, but you cant get 
more time. You only have a certain amount 
allotted to you in this life. 
   You cant make time. You cant borrow 
time. You cant save time. You cant extend 
time. You can only use it. We all have the same 
amount of time every week: 168 hours. You wont 
be able to manage anything else in your life if 
you dont learn how to manage your time well. 
Your time is your life. 
   God is watching how you manage your time 
on earth to determine what hes going to have 
you do in eternity. 
   One of Satans strategies is to get you 
so busy doing unimportant things that you 
dont have time for the important things in life - 
preparing for eternity. If Satan cant get you to be 
bad, hell just get you to be busy. 
   The Bible tells you exactly what you 
should be doing with your time: My life is worth 
nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work 
assigned me by the Lord Jesus (Acts 20:24 NLT). 
   God wants to use you, but he wants to 
make sure youre investing your time in the 
most important things. That means using your time 
in view of eternity. Ask yourself, How much 
of what Im spending my time on is going to 
count five years from now? How much is going to 
count in eternity? Then use your answers to 
refocus your time. 
   You have 365 days in front of you during 
2021. How can you use your time in view of 
eternity? [Daily Devotional by Rick Warren: 
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/] 

COMMENTARY

   Today's Scripture counsels us to be 
wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make 
the most of every opportunity. It takes 
courage to reach out to others. It's always a risk, 
isn't it? What if that person rejects me - or 
misinterprets my motives? It helps to recognize that every 
acquaintance we make is a divine encounter. There's 
really nothing random about the people who cross 
our paths. 
   You can count on the fact that God has 
been at work in the one you meet, just as He is 
at work in you. When you approach new people 
with this outlook, you take a bold step beyond 
your feelings of insecurity. If the person you 
meet is an unbeliever, show an interest in their 
life, always looking for an opportunity to speak a 
word about your relationship with Jesus or show 
His love. If the person is a believer, find out 
what God has been doing in their life. And all 
the while, silently ask the Holy Spirit to show 
you how to open doors as it pleases Him. 
   Lord Jesus, I know You seek a 
relationship with every man, woman, and child on the 
planet. Help me to be wise in the way I treat people 
and speak to them. Help me to see people through 
Your eyes - and make the most of every 
opportunity. [A Spectacle of Glory by Joni Eareckson Tada 
and Larry Libby] 

God Impressions
   Have you ever played with Silly Putty - 
that pink, squeezable, rubbery clay that comes in 
a plastic egg? One of the most fun aspects of 
the putty is the way it will copy color pictures 
out of a magazine or comic book. 
   I often think of that property of Silly 
Putty when I want to leave what I call "God 
impressions" on people. You squeeze in a moment, or 
stretch out the time to press your love of Christ up 
against someone. Maybe it's just a smile and a "God 
bless your day." Or returning a kindness with, 
"Thanks for helping me, and the next time you're 
near a Bible, look up Hebrews 6:10... it's 
definitely you!" Often, I'm able to leave a God 
impression on someone by singing a hymn. People see me 
in this wheelchair, hear me singing praises to 
God, and wonder, Where in the world does her joy 
come from? It has to be God. 
   It's a way of pressing my life up against 
theirs for a brief moment so that when I peel 
away... I've left a God impression on that person - 
however brief or fleeting it might have been. And 
once you encounter the Lord, you find yourself 
thirsty for something this world can't offer, hungry 
for something this world can't satisfy. 
   Busy as you may be, you still encounter 
many people during the course of your day. Press 
your love for Christ up against that friend down 
the Street or that co-worker or that woman you 
regularly greet at the cash register. When you do, 
you'll leave them with a God impression... and make 
them thirsty for more. 
   Father, may the fragrance of your Son be 
upon my life, so that even entering or leaving a 
room, some lingering sense of his presence will 
draw hearts to seek you. [Joni Eareckson Tada 
Daily Devotional: 
http://www.joniandfriends.org/daily-devotional re vss. 5, 6] 

Seasoned Conversation
   "Do you have a driver's license for that 
thing? Ha! Ha!" My wheelchair elicits lots of 
comments. I'm surprised how many people initiate 
communication with me. I really don't mind. In fact, I 
love it. Usually the ambassador of Christ is the 
one who must jumpstart conversations, hoping to 
engage the interest of the other. That's hardly the 
case with me. The wheelchair does the 
"initiating." I merely sit back and respond. 
   People don't expect me to look happy 
sitting in a wheelchair. Saying "I have a reason for 
living" in response to their remarks about my 
singing or my smile always evokes a curious look. 
That's when I add, "Jesus has blessed me! By the 
way, what's your reason for living?" Sure it 
catches people off guard, sometimes delighting them, 
sometimes making them curious, and sometimes sending 
them running for the nearest exit. But one 
thing's for certain..., it's got them thinking! 
   The truth is I've never heard of one 
certain style of giving the Gospel that was a 
sure-fire success. I've learned that it has a lot more 
to do with the Holy Spirit's work in a person's 
heart than it does with a certain tool or 
technique. And so we do the best we can, grabbing a bit 
of opportunity here, nurturing a conversation 
there, sprinkling it with prayer, seasoning it with 
our testimony... and leaving the results to 
God. 
   My friend, quit looking for a 
"guaranteed" method of sharing the Gospel. Just ask the 
Holy Spirit to fill you, and tell him you're 
ready and available to touch the life of another. 
Then start sprinkling the conversational salt! 
Believe me, thirsty souls will be drawn to the 
Living Water. 
   Father, please bring a prepared, hungry 
heart across my path today. Put a smile on my 
face, a song in my heart, and fill my mouth with 
words that will open a padlocked heart. [Joni 
Eareckson Tada Daily Devotional: 
http://www.joniandfriends.org/daily-devotional] 

ONE LINERS

Talk happiness. The world is sad enough 
without your woe.  No path is wholly rough.  Louisa 
May Alcott 

If you keep saying things are going to be 
bad, you have a chance to be a prophet.  Isaac 
Bashevis Singer 

LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE

Colossians 4:6 - Speaking with Grace 
Seasoned with Salt. (updated) 

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2011/20111019-1159.html 

YOUR COMMENTS

If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or 
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either 
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in 
hearing from you.  Thanks in advance and let's keep 
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred 
Gibbs  

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

Most Important Decision in Life: 
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0 

A Man without Equal by Bill Bright: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo 

Seeking God Made Real: 
http://vimeo.com/31489782 

Prayer Made Real: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE 

Importance of Choice: 
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]  

Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David 
DeRose, MD, MPH: 
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart 

LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES 

Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: 
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/ 

Amazing Facts Bible Studies: 
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx  

Hope Awakens Bible Study Guides: 
https://www.hopeawakens.study/lesson-header;id=2 

Glow Tract Video Bible Studies: 
http://www.bibleresearch.info/ 

LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS

Revelation Now by Pastor Doug Batchelor 
(recent): https://www.revelationnow.com/ 

Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of 
Adventist World Radio (recent): 
https://bible.awr.org/en/the-signs/ 

Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW: 
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens 

Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet: 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657