The 166

The 166

"Look carefully how you walk! Live purposefully and
worthily and accurately....making the very most of
the time (buying up each opportunity).
Ephesians 5:15-16 (Amplified)

My favorite radio station, K-Love, is unfortunately in another state. Their signal comes in for the first forty-five minutes of the ride home, fading out halfway between Buffalo and Rochester. Coming home from New York this week was no different. But just before the signal was lost, the host commented "my pastor has been preaching on the 166". As his voice was being lost in the crackle of the radio, I caught just enough to be challenged by the thought.

Most Christians spend an average of two hours a week in church leaving 166 hours spent outside of the church. The two hours of church, while a very small amount of time, are important for equipping us to serve, for stirring up our faith, as a time to experience the manifest presence of the Lord and to fellowship with others of like faith. But the majority of our time, "the 166", is spent outside the church and it is how we spend those hours that will determine our success in life and the measure of fruitfulness we achieve.

When Paul wrote in Ephesians about "making the very most of the time" we have been given, he was no doubt referring to those hours lived outside the church. It was a given that the believers would be in the house of the Lord whenever possible-soaking in as much of God as they could, strengthening their relationship with the Lord and gleaning from God's Word and God's people direction and inspiration.

But our challenge today is to take control of "the 166", choosing to "live purposefully" as the Amplified Bible words it. We have to make sure we are alloting time for the things that are most important to us, whether that be time spent with family and friends, time set aside for devotions and Bible study, or hours spent in a special area of interest that we enjoy. The hours we have been blessed with are a gift from the Lord and an opportunity that we have to be careful how we live. Using our 166 in a way that is productive, purposeful, and fruitful will require planning, discipline, self-control and more. But the end result will be a life that we can look back on with satisfaction and thankfulness.

This week's 166 may be almost gone but next week's opportunity to use our time for the glory of the Lord will be upon us before we know it. Let's determine to live our lives "purposefully, worthily and accurately".

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church