Richard Baxter - Time-Wasting Thieves

Richard Baxter - Time-Wasting Thieves

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

Ephesians 5:16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Richard Baxter playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=353D9FC6791C59E2

Richard Baxter - English puritan divine (1615-1691) was a prominent English churchman of the 1600s. He was a peacemaker who sought unity among Protestants, and yet he was a highly independent thinker and at the center of every major controversy in England during his lifetime.

Born in Rowton to parents who undervalued education, Baxter was largely self-taught. He eventually studied at a free school, then at royal court, where he became disgusted at what he saw as frivolity. He left to study divinity, and at age 23, he was ordained into the Church of England. Within the Anglican church, Baxter found common ground with the Puritans, a growing faction who opposed the church's episcopacy and was itself breaking into factions. Baxter, for his part, did his best to avoid the disputes between Anglicans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and other denominations, even convincing local ministers to cooperate in some pastoral matters. "In necessary things, unity; in doubtful things, liberty; in all things, charity," he was fond of saying.

The interest in cooperation was not due to a lack of conviction. On the contrary, Baxter was opinionated in his theology, which was not quite Separatist and not quite Conformist. Among his more than 200 works are long, controversial discourses on doctrine. Still, he believed society was a large family under a loving father, and in his theology, he tried to cut between the extremes. He eventually registered himself as "a mere Nonconformist" ("Nonconformist" was a technical term meaning "not Anglican"), breaking with the Church of England mainly because of the lack of power it gave parish clergy.

Baxter also found himself as a peacemaker during the English Civil Wars. He believed in monarchy, but a limited one. He served as a chaplain for the parliamentary army, but then helped to bring about the restoration of the king. Yet as a moderate, Baxter found himself the target of both extremes. He was still irritated with the episcopacy in 1660, when he was offered the bishopric of Hereford, so he declined it. As a result, he was barred from ecclesiastical office and not permitted to return to Kidderminster, nor was he allowed to preach. Between 1662 and 1688 (when James II was overthrown), he was persecuted and was imprisoned for 18 months, and he was forced to sell two extensive libraries. Still, he continued to preach: "I preached as never sure to preach again," he wrote, "and as a dying man to dying men."

Baxter became even better known for his prolific writing. His devotional classic The Saints' Everlasting Rest was one of the most widely read books of the century. When asked what deviations should be permitted from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, he created an entirely new one, called Reformed Liturgy, in two weeks. His Christian Directory contains over one million words. His autobiography and his pastoral guide, The Reformed Pastor, are still widely read today.

A God-Centered View of Time Management by Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards wrote a short essay entitled The Preciousness of Time and the Importance of Redeeming It (December 1734).

Justin Taylor provided a helpful summary of Edwards's main points:

In the first section Edwards explains why time is precious, and he offers four reasons. Time is precious because (1) a happy or miserable eternity depends on the good or ill improvement of it; (2) time is very short; (3) we are uncertain of its continuance; (4) when it is past, it cannot be recovered.

In the second section Edwards offers some reflections—with a serious of rhetorical questions—regarding time past.

In the third section Edwards asks who chiefly deserves to be reproved on this subject of the preciousness of time, and in particular he identifies those who spend their time in (1) idleness; (2) wickedness; and (3) worldly pursuits while neglecting their soul.

In the fourth section Edwards exhorts us to improve time by considering the following four things: (1) that you are accountable to God for your time; (2) consider how much time you have lost already; (3) consider how time is sometimes valued by those who come near to the end of it; (4) consider what value is set upon time by those who are past the end of it.

In the fifth and final section Edwards gives three pieces of advice to those seeking to improve their use of time: (1) improve the present time without any delay; (2) be especially careful to improve those parts of time which are most precious; (3) improve well your time of leisure from worldly business.

Building off of this teaching as well as C.J. Mahaney's blog series on busyness and productivity, Stephen Witmer offers some fruitful reflections on the relationship between priorities and the investment of time:

I don’t think priority levels are a direct function of time spent, because, even though I count my wife as a higher priority than my job, I spend more hours a week working than I do with my wife. So, what does it actually mean to prioritize my role as husband over my role as a Christian minister?

A diagnostic question arose from our discussion that I think can be extremely helpful: ‘Is the investment I am currently making in this particular priority also honoring the priorities that are above it?’

For example, am I pursuing my job today in such a way that it is clear I value my wife above my job? Am I pursuing my marriage in such a way that it is clear I value God above my wife? This question is helpful because it doesn’t imply that the biblically faithful thing to do at any given moment is to leave the lesser priority and go work on the higher priority. It doesn’t, for instance, call for a 24-hour prayer vigil of endless personal devotions or a seven-night-a-week date night. But the diagnostic question does honor the urgent need for priorities. We work, we are parents, we are spouses, we are Christians. We must pursue the lower priorities in ways that honor the higher priorities.

You can read Edwards' whole essay here, C.J.'s series here, and Stephen's post here.

New Year's Time Killers Inventory

3 strategies help me stay focused and on task.

by Richard Doebler@http://www.christianitytoday.com

It was one of those defining moments—a moment of enlightenment. I was 18 and wanted to entertain my 5-year-old brother, so I offered to take him to the rides at the county fair. With twenty-one dollars in my pocket, I was the model big brother.

Through the gate into the fairgrounds we went, past the farm implements, livestock barns, hot dog and popcorn stands, craft buildings with jams and quilts. We had one thing on our minds: the rides. The towering Ferris wheel marked our destination.

Unfortunately, we didn't make it. A distraction diverted us.

Just past the gaming area I heard a hawker call my name. Or so I thought. I spun around to see who was calling, and a man in a booth beckoned me over.

Suffice it to say that within five minutes he had most of my money, and I was still five points away from winning the stuffed panda.

That's when I came to my senses. I was angry at the hawker, but mostly I was angry with myself. I'd lost 17 dollars and several rides for my brother. But I learned a lesson: Distractions can sidetrack you from your goal.

The Bible tells us to live wisely by making the most of our opportunities and by understanding God's will: "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is" (Eph. 5:15-17).

Three time-management principles emerge from these verses:

1. Know your destination.
Discover God's will and purpose, and you'll use your time more effectively. If God wants us in Dallas, we're wasting our time traveling to the Grand Canyon or the rocky faces of Mount Rushmore.

Too often we spend months or even years moving in one direction, when in retrospect it becomes clear that God was nudging us in another direction. Knowing the will of God is easier said than done. It requires discernment. It requires prayer. And it may require the insight of a spiritually astute friend who knows us well, and who recognizes the work of God.

Here at the beginning of a new year, mark out some time to consider your destination and the destination of your ministry. What do you know about the direction it appears God has your ministry headed? Is it the destination you are suited for? Are you excited about it? Or do you need clarification?

Now is a time to correct your path to reach your stated destination or change your destination entirely.

2. Make the most of every opportunity.
Bear Bryant, Alabama's famous football coach, told of his early days coaching at Kentucky. His team fumbled the ball in front of the bench, and in the resulting scramble someone kicked over a box containing eight more footballs. A free-for-all ensued, with Tennessee recovering five balls and Kentucky four. The officials gave possession to Tennessee. The moral: When the ball comes bouncing your way, grab it. Seize opportunity when it comes along.

We can create opportunities when we have to, but sometimes when we do, we find ourselves involved in work God did not plan for us. If, instead, we determine to be ready for opportunities whenever they come, we save time and we are more likely to act on God-given opportunities.

Are there opportunities that you or your ministry have failed to make the most of? What opportunity is before you now that you have not seen as a chance sent by God?

3. Be careful how you live.
Wiser now, I'm not distracted by hawkers at the fair. But urgent needs still try to distract me from my main purpose and vision. So many preachers complain that people and personality problems eat away at their sermon preparation time, and organizational issues distract from ministry.

When we manage our time effectively, we will work at not allowing the urgent to keep us from what is most important. This requires identifying our priorities and a willingness to say no to those interruptions that are obviously not divine appointments.

Take a few minutes to identify the tasks that are truly central to your ministry. What are you doing to guard them and to protect the time you need to focus on your calling? Who can you enlist to help you stay focused?

We have 527,040 minutes this year (it's a Leap Year). With prayerful planning now, we can begin to redeem the time, before we've wasted a single minute.

Richard Doebler is a pastor in Cloquet, Minnesota.