Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[Transcript of a midweek message published by Horley Baptist Church on YouTube^[1], January 2021]

There are lots of things that we would love to do if we only had the time. But is time really the issue?

I don’t know what your new year resolutions are. Maybe you don’t make them but I think probably all of us feel there’s some way in which we can improve our lives, ways in which we could make our lives better. Perhaps it’s doing something new, perhaps it’s giving something up. Maybe you look at other people’s lives and think “if I had their time then I’ll be able to do the things they do, all the things I want to do, my life would be so much better”.

^[00:46] Time’s a really big thing for us, isn’t it? If we had more time we’d be able to do those things that we find more important, wouldn’t we? You know, spend more time with a family, maybe learn that skill or that language – you know – go to the gym, take up painting. There’s so many things we would do if we had more time, wouldn’t we?

^[01:10] I remember when I was in my 20s a good friend of mine who was a keen bodybuilder was trying to persuade me to go to the gym more, to exercise, you know it’s good for you and I said to him “Yeah, I’ve tried it before, I tried loads of times but I just had to give up in the end because I just haven’t got the time” and what he said to me was “There’s always time, it’s just a matter of priorities” and that’s so true isn’t it? If going to the gym was really, really important to me I would find the time to go and it’s the same with following Jesus.

^[01:55] If you’re a Christian, if you’re a follower of Jesus, you know how important it is to pray more, to read your Bible more, and there’s loads of things that will help you to do that. There’s an app for that, there’s books, there’s podcasts, there’s all sorts of things you can use to deepen your relationship with God, to deepen your relationship with Jesus. But I’m just too busy, I haven’t got the time

^[02:25] Well actually, is that really true? because if I made my relationship with Jesus a priority then it’s guaranteed that I would find the time. I would make time, in fact I would prioritize Jesus and God and my relationship to such an extent that I would build my whole life around that relationship. I would put Jesus first and put everything else afterwards. See, whether or not we’ve got enough time isn’t really relevant in this conversation. “Ah, but no. Time is important; you don’t know what I have to do in my life, you don’t know the things I have to do, the responsibilities. I’m just too busy!”
Perhaps I’m just too busy to follow Jesus

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^[03:32] Well, welcome to 2021! Just to let you know, our midweek messages will be continuing and they will be linked to our sermon series so whatever you hear on Thursday, or whenever you listen to it, will be a link in some way to what will be preached upon on Sunday morning. So if you want to explore this topic a little bit further then do tune in on a Sunday morning, do go to our Youtube channel and find out what we have to say.
bye

[1] YouTube link: Am I Too Busy To Follow Jesus?
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