Take Time to be Holy

A Bible Study for Women using the authorized King James Bible, the only inerrant Word of God

By Patricia Dowers

Introduction

“Time is precious.” This is just one of numerous sayings about a dimension in our lives that we cannot control. Another is, “time waits for no man”. We all know that it certainly does not wait for women! There is never enough of it for our purposes. God is the author and finisher of time. He created time when He created our world. Unlike the world, however, He has never allowed time to be tampered with. Time belongs to God, alone. This is because God has a plan for time. He has a schedule that He will accomplish and when His plan is complete, He will no longer have a use for it and time will flow back into eternity from whence it came.

A subtitle for this Bible study could be “Redeeming the Time”. I come to write these sessions with much humility as this is something in which I constantly struggle. We are each allotted a certain amount of time on this earth and there is always something or someone trying to steal it. Beside this, I am sorry to say, I am prone to squander much of it all by myself. If this is familiar to you please join me in discovering what God’s Word has to say about victory in this area.

Please note: In this study, as in all others, it is important to read all Scripture references for yourself that you may know what God has to say.

Session 1

There is a Scripture passage in Eccl 3:1-8 that many believers and nonbelievers, alike are familiar. Please read this aloud with your group. Here, King Solomon is describing the vanity of life relating to the passing of time. In other words, what does it all amount to unless we acknowledge that our time belongs to God and His plan? Such a critical facet of our lives deserves our utmost attention.

I am sure you would join me in saying I can be very frustrated by poor use of my time. I am impatient when I use my own time poorly and, even more so, when someone else wastes my time. It is natural to want to have control of our time. We want to assign certain values and percentages to how our time is spent. Part of this mindset is cultural. In this somewhat free country, we have more control of our time than in other countries where governments or economics have more control. We may strive for more education so we can have better paying jobs that allow for more leisure or time with our families. We may choose to sacrifice personal time in the present to provide more options in the future. We think by controlling our time we control our life. In fact, we are taught this from an early age. As a result, there are many clocks in my house. There is a calendar on the wall, one in my purse, a clock in my car, a clock and calendar on my cell phone, and a watch on my wrist, which at this moment, is actually in the shop for repairs so I just keep looking at my bare wrist. One might almost say we are slaves to time. How overwhelming!

Solomon spent much time pondering his life spent pursuing his own will and pleasures and he recorded his conclusions in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Please read Eccl. 8:5-8.

In v. 5 what does a wiseman’s heart discern? ______________ and ______________

In v. 6 what causes misery to man? _____________ and ______________

In v.7what does man not know? _______ _______ ___

In v. 8 neither hath he power in the day of ___________

Now please read Eccl. 9:12.

For man also knoweth not _______ __________

Solomon discovered we are not the masters of our time. Yet, we try to control it by planning, managing and setting priorities. Discuss with your group some of your strategies and how well they work for you.

I do not know about you, but it seems I am not very far into my day before I am adjusting or abandoning Plan A for Plan B. Sometimes my plans go deep into the alphabet before I finally give up. Even though I am retired (that is the word they use when you work just as hard but do not get paid for it), I still use a daily calendar/planner to keep my appointments straight and to be sure I am in the right place at the right time. I am very thankful for white-out. I go through lots of it.

Let us think for a moment about what sabotages our time. If we have a family, it is probably a high priority. The larger the family, the more time adjustments may be required. If we are caregivers, it can be very difficult to stick to the plan because usually, no two days are alike. Sometimes our time is yoked together with someone else. We all know how that can go. Please read Luke 10: 38-42 aloud with your group. Here we have Martha, a woman very accustomed to serving large groups of people. Her success, however depended on the assistance of her sister, Mary. This day there was a special Guest. Who had come to dinner and what was Mary doing?

How did Martha voice her frustration to the Lord?

Do you think she expected the Lord’s reply?

What did He say?

Which of the sisters had set the better priority?

This shows me the Lord should always be first on my list of priorities. I cannot trust myself to make the right choices without Him. After all, as believing women, shouldn’t we be getting our marching orders from the Lord? It is His plan so how can we be successful without Him?

Just a word of warning, it is Satan’s priority to thwart the Lord’s plan. Therefore, he will do anything he can to interfere with our time with the Lord in prayer and Bible study in order to keep us from knowing God’s plan for our days. Stay alert for interference from phone calls, things or people wanting attention, or even our own poor time management. Please copy I Pet. 5:8 in the space below.

Please join me in the next session to discover how to prioritize our time for the Lord.

Session 2

We have discovered in our study so far, that managing our time and setting priorities are essential in an effective walk with the Lord. In the broader sense it is essential to a successful life for anyone. For instance, I think we can all agree that we must budget our time if we are employed. Perhaps, even more so if we are self-employed. Some of us our employed as managers where we are responsible for the time management of others. Have you ever been employed in a work place where there is a time clock? That is your employer helping you to manage your time (usually with consequences). Have you heard this expression, “Time is money”? If the world equates time with money then we know they are rated equally important.

As believers however, we know time and money are not equal. Time is a constant. Money is not. Time marches on whether we waste it or use it well. Not everyone has money but everyone has a place in time. We can go forward but we can never go back. That is why it is so important that we use it well in the first place.

The Book of Proverbs has much to say about wasting time. Please read Prov. 24:30-34 together with your group. Slothful means idleness, laziness or wasting time.

What was the visible sign that the slothful man was wasting his time?

People do not usually intend to be slothful. How does v. 33 describe how slothfulness can creep up on us?

How does it happen? Perhaps a natural tendency or, as we recall in Session 1, Satan is more than interested in derailing our work.

Prov. 6:6-11 gives us a treasure of wisdom from the life of the little ant. The Lord created her to perfectly manage her time. Sometimes I wish this skill was programmed into my brain. Please read this passage aloud with your group and answer the questions below.

In v. 7 who oversees the work of the ant?

In v. 8 how does the ant divide her time and activities?

Discuss with your group from your own experience the difference between people who need to be told what to do and when to do it as opposed to people who take responsibility for themselves and work independently.

There is one last example in the final chapter of Proverbs of a woman who manages her time and activities perfectly. Verse 27 sums up her many virtues. Please copy it in the space below.

How important is redeeming the time today? Perhaps more important than ever. Bible prophecy reveals our time on this earth before the Lord’s return is getting short. There is virtually nothing left preventing Him from returning from Heaven to gather up His Bride, the Church, and ushering in the great Tribulation. Will we be ready? The Bible tells us we can only be part of this marvelous event if we have first been washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb. That is to say we have come to Jesus, by faith, believing He paid the full penalty for our personal and imputed sin on the cross. This will seal us to Him forever, but will He find us, as children of God, diligently working to accomplish His will on earth?

We are currently living through a health crisis that has global effects. Many have lost their lives. Our world is also threatened by war in multiple locations. Weather patterns are more destructive than ever. Thank the Lord, He is in control and we can trust Him; but as long as He allows us to remain, we have a responsibility to redeem the time. Peoples’ lives are being snuffed out in vast numbers on a daily basis. We are constantly reminded of this in public media. We must not allow these events to distract us in the mission the Lord has given to all who follow Him. Many of God’s people are on the front lines in hospitals and on battlefields, as well as mission fields. If we are not in one of these situations we should be praying and supporting those who are.

God’s timing is perfect. The Lord’s return may or may not be imminent. He has given us many signs but has chosen not to give us the exact moment. Instead, we are to be ever watchful and always ready. He must find us working to redeem the time. Please read Luke 12: 35-40 aloud with your group and answer the questions below.

In v. 35, how must we be prepared for the Lord’s return?

In V.36, how quickly must we respond to His knock?

In v. 37, how should the Lord find us?

In v.39, what would the good man of the house have avoided if he had been watching?

In I Thes.1:3, the Apostle, Paul gives us three objectives for using our time. Please name them below.

Please join me in our next session to discover some self-applications.

Session 3

Redeeming the time effectively for the Lord must always include and accomplish His priorities. God’s Word teaches us His priorities on every page. When we follow His direction, we please Him and we are rewarded. When we set and follow our own, He must stop us in our tracks, correct us, or use someone else. This is not only disobedience, but could even be harmful to ourselves or others. One of the best examples in the Old Testament is found in the book of Jonah.

As we remember, Jonah was given a directive from God to go to the people of the city of Ninevah to warn them to repent. This was critical. God was going to destroy Ninevah for its wickedness. Jonah had other priorities. He thought his own priorities were righteous enough to interfere with God’s plan. Even after strong chastisement, Jonah obeyed, but reluctantly. We may think of him as incredibly stubborn in resisting God but he was no match for God’s perfect plan. How much better to be a useful vessel for the Lord and be a partaker of the final reward?

Jonah’s final obedience caused the city to repent and God saved them from destruction. Please read Jonah 3:10 aloud with your group. Please include the book of Jonah in your personal Bible Study. It contains a wealth of wisdom and personal application.

We have another example in Saul, first king of Israel. The Israelites desired an earthly king to reign over them as other nations. God instructed His priest, Samuel to anoint Saul but with a warning to all that God was still in charge and must be obeyed. Saul was only into the second year of his reign when he attacked the Philistines, took personal credit for a false victory, and was quickly surrounded and in dire straits. I see nothing in this account that God had even sanctioned this attack. Please read this account in I Sam. 12:19 through13:14 aloud with your group and answer the questions below.

In 12:19 what did the Israelites desire?

In 12:22 why did the Lord not forsake them?

In 12:24 what were the two instructions for Saul and his people?

In v. 25 what was the warning?

In chapter 13:6 what were Saul’s people doing when they realized they were surrounded?

King Saul needed help from the Lord but Samuel, the priest must first offer a sacrifice on the altar. That was God’s law.

In v. 8 how long did Saul wait for Samuel?

In v. 9 Saul felt he waited long enough. What did he do?

When Samuel arrived what was Saul’s excuse in verses 11 and 12?

In v. 14 what was Saul’s punishment for disobedience?

The lesson for us is that impatience or even panic are no excuse for making our own way. God is never panicked or pressed for time. His plan for us is always obedience. What is a better way to redeem the time while waiting on the Lord’s direction? King David, God’s anointed after Saul, had a better way. He records it in Psalm 37:1-7. Please read these verses aloud with your group. I count five instructions for redeeming the time. You can find them in the beginning phrases of the following verses:

Verse 1

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 7

How does redeeming the time affect our witness for the Lord? In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul was writing to the Church of the Philippians, giving them practical direction on redeeming the time before the world. Please read Phil. 2:12-15 aloud with your group. Please copy verse 15 in the space below.

Please join me in the next session to learn how redeeming the time for the Lord is its own reward as well as honoring to God.

Session 4

Have you ever worked hard at a task for a long time only to have it amount to nothing? Perhaps you misunderstood the instructions or it may have been beyond your scope of understanding. How did that make you feel? You may have felt like a personal failure or, even worse, you may have failed someone else. Maybe you failed to meet a deadline or it may have cost you money. At the very least, you wasted your time. Wasting valuable time is never a good thing. Please share your own experiences with your group.

The Lord wants us to be successful in this area. He has a perfect timeline and He desires us to be part of it in a way that is honoring and glorifying to Him and fulfilling for us. When we redeem our time for the Lord we shine as lights in the world. This is the reflected light of God and it lights the way to Him. Eph. 5:14-17 is a perfect guide for reflecting His light. Please read these verses aloud with your group.

In v. 14, what will Christ give us? ________________

In v. 15, how should we use this gift? _____________________________________________

In v. 16, Why should we redeem the time? _________________________________________

In v. 17, what do we need to understand?____________________________________

The Bible has much to say on evaluating what we do for the Lord. I am sure you would join me in saying that I want what I do for Him to last and not be lost (I Cor. 3:13-15). Let us look to the Word for guidance.

Please read the following verses aloud with your group and identify whether these works will last or be lost.

Eccl. 2:11

Eccl.12:13

II Cor. 12:20

Gal. 6:9,10

Phil. 3:18,19

Col.1:10,11

Psa. 90:12 tells us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Later, in verse 17 we are told we can pray to the Lord to establish the work of our hands upon us. God wants us to be successful in our work for Him and gives us every resource needed from His Holy Word and His own Holy Spirit. On the other hand, Satan will use his own vast arsenal to distract. Thankfully, he can only do that if we allow it or let down our defenses. A central theme in II Peter can be found in chapter 3, verse 17. This is a warning for diligence. Please copy it in the space below.

Our Lord has been so generous in Scripture revealing the rewards of time well spent for Him. There are rewards waiting for us in this life and in the life to come. Let us look at some of these for encouragement. Please read the Scripture below and identify the reward for redeeming the time for God in this life.

Psa. 37:23,24

Prov. 28:20

II Cor 1:4

II Cor. 4:6

Phil. 1:6

1 John 5:14

These are just a few of the rewards we receive for obedience as a child of God in this life. Scripture also tells of rewards we can expect in the next life but these are just a glimpse of all the Lord has in store for us. Of course, our greatest reward will be to finally see Jesus face to face. How exciting and beyond what our earthly minds can fathom! Please read the Scripture below and identify some of our heavenly rewards.

Dan. 12:3

Col.3:24

II Tim. 4:8

Jam. 1:12

I Pet. 5:4

Rev. 1:6

Below are the words to a memorable hymn written in 1882. It was good advice then and just as good today. Please ask someone in your group to read the words aloud.

Take Time to Be Holy

William D. Longstaff, ca.1882

1. Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

2. Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

3. Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

4. Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

Until text time, I pray you will join with me in being mindful to…

take time to be holy.