Apicontent

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” (Proverbs 16:3, NIV)

There is a difference between using time for refreshment and renewal, which all of us need from time to time, and wasting time on pleasure. There are many ways to relax and enjoy life, however there needs to be balance in this area. We need refreshment; however, we need to carefully exercise discernment in order to make sure we are not just being a consumerlator instead of a Converterlator.

I say this because when I was younger, for me the epitome of “living” was to be on the golf course. I would grab every moment I could to be there. I loved everything about that lifestyle. However, my desire for that way of life from a time standpoint began to fade as I exposed myself more and more to the truth of God’s Word. As my desire to spend more time in the Word grew, I began to see my excessive time on the golf course as purely selfish. As I spent more time studying the Bible and learning how to soak, sow, and flow with the Spirit, I was impressed with the need to converterlate my time for the achievement of eternal purposes. This included preparation time for teaching Sunday school classes, which actually also benefitted me so much personally. I began to think about how I could use the secular talents that God has given to me for eternal purposes.

When we start thinking this way, our goals and motivations begin to change as God calls us to move in different directions in our new life with him. I began to aspire to be on the King’s team, and to really be an impact player for helping to fulfill the Great Commission. My time on the golf course began to have less allure. Our world has a lot of perishable distractions to offer us! Sometimes those perishable distractions are actually “good” things: sports, work, relationships, hobbies. We need these things, but we also need to be careful in how we use our time. The question always remains: Where is your focus?

The world says “indulge”; God says “do my will.” We must set our sights beyond the deceptions of our culture. We need to experience relaxation and pleasure in the way God intends. In the book of Ecclesiastes, we discover that King Solomon used his time to pursue many good things, but because his focus was outside of God’s purpose, all of those pursuits became meaningless to him. We must always keep in mind that we will only find joy and purpose in our relationships and accomplishments within the context of God’s purpose for our lives. And it is only within the context of a future eternity that all of these things make sense.

We find true fulfillment when we discover what we have been designed for and then use our time in conformance to that design. This does not mean that we need to be busier. It means that we need to carefully and intentionally use the specific time that God has given us. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s direction in this area of your life, and then act on what he shows you!

What opportunities has God recently given you to use your time for him?

Converterlators find joy and purpose in their relationships and accomplishments within the context of God’s purpose for their lives.

“If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” (Isaiah 58:10–11, NIV).

At the very most, Satan wants to use our time for his benefit, and at the very least, he wants to keep us from using our time in the way in which God wants us to. The Chief Consumerlator will use whatever means he has available to keep us from doing God’s will. We must remember that time is a currency that needs to be invested in the right things.

I have found that many people attempt to find fulfillment in life in the wrong ways and in the wrong places as they follow wrong pursuits. They think that the pleasure of this world, whether it is found in relationships, work, recreation, or pastimes, will provide the meaning in life that they so desperately wish to experience. Often, time used in this way simply results in disappointment, disillusionment, regret, depression, or even despair.

One of the priorities we often fail to make time for is our relationships. Time invested in people will always reap dividends. However, many people make the mistake of investing their time in things that offer an immediate sense of satisfaction, but that in the long-term damage their relationships with those who should be the closest to them. We need God’s wisdom to avoid falling prey to Satan’s subtle deceit.

When I think of a “well-watered garden” or a “spring whose waters never fail,” (two phrases found in the verses at the beginning of this devotional), I think of something with vitality and creativity and beauty. If I apply this metaphor to a person, I think of someone who is energetic, and focused, and alive. Are you that person? Or are you a sun-scorched garden or a spring that has gone dry. I encounter a lot of people who are tired. They are busy. They are weary. And they are frustrated that their lives are not producing anything of substance, let alone something that will last for all eternity. Satan has confused their priorities. The Chief Consumerlator will make you too busy and will find a way to rob you of your joy and life if you are not careful.

The important thing to remember here is that there is not a formula for using our time. It is critical that we evaluate on a regular basis how we are using our time, but we also must know that God leads each one of us differently in each chapter (or season) of our lives according to how he designed us individually. How do we balance our time between our various responsibilities? We seek God’s wisdom and guidance and rely on our relationship with him!

In what ways are you conscientiously using your time for God’s purposes?

Converterlators rely on their relationship with God to help them determine their time commitments.

 “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12, ESV).

We know that time in this world is a perishable commodity. It is going to run out for each one of us at some point. Our time will have no real meaning in the eternal world, but what we do with it now does have an impact on eternity. In the 1960s, Charles Hummel wrote a book entitled, Tyranny of the Urgent. The basic premise of this book is that the most urgent task is not always the most important. The tyranny of the urgent lies in its distortion of priorities. We must evaluate the use of our time not by what is most urgent, but by what is most important. We need discernment to converterlate our perishable time into something imperishable. And we will only have the wisdom that we need for that evaluation if we depend on God and his Word to guide us.

It has become increasingly clear to me that the only two things that will survive the perishable world are the Word of God, which endures forever, and the souls of people, who will live in one of two places for all of eternity. Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. When he left this world physically, he left us, his followers, to reach our respective generations with the good news of salvation. One of our responsibilities as believers is to be ambassadors for Christ. The apostle Paul made it clear when he said, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20, NIV). Each one of us is an ambassador for Christ in one way or another. Our mission is to introduce people to the person of Jesus Christ! How are you using your time to make this happen?

We all know, at least on an intellectual level, that this present world is passing away with all of its attractions. However, why is it that we often don’t embrace this reality until we experience a personal crisis? For me, I came face to face with the shortness of my days when I was diagnosed with cancer. It forced me to evaluate the priorities in my life regarding the use of my time. I needed to reconsider my commitments in light of the perishable and imperishable, the temporary and eternal.

In many ways I was using my time to pursue my own kingdom. But as I studied God’s Word, I began to see the opportunities before me to make a difference in God’s kingdom. I discovered that I needed to use my time to invest in the things God desires.

As our relationship with God develops and we soak in his Word, he reveals more of himself and his plans for us. As we flow with the Holy Spirit, he empowers us to accomplish his purposes. God is the one who knows how we should use our time and what will bring us joy.

How much of your time are you investing in perishable pursuits? How much of your time are you investing in God’s kingdom?

Converterlators embrace the fact that they have a limited amount of time to make an impact on this world and the world to come.

“Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:10, NLT)

While we are living in this world, each one of us has twenty-four hours each day. That doesn’t seem like so much until you break it down and discover it represents 1,440 minutes! That’s a lot of minutes … and we all have the same amount to use. We may have different talents, and the amount of treasure varies from person to person, but we all have the same amount of time. And the basic question I have for you here is: In what ways are you using the time God has given to you in this world? Think about that for a few of your valuable minutes. Really! What are you presently using your time for? Are you frantically trying to cram in all of your commitments? Are you spending too much time on frivolous things? Are the things you are pursuing bringing you joy—or exhaustion? And if you are honest, how much of your time are you using up on perishable pursuits, and how much are you investing in God’s kingdom for eternal purposes?

Longevity of life is not really the issue here. Some people live very long lives and never accomplish anything of significance, while others accomplish a great deal in a very short amount of time. What is important is that we accomplish what we are supposed to in the amount of time we are given.

In many ways, time is like money. I didn’t say time is money, I said time is like money. It is a resource, a valuable one at that, and it is available to us to use in whatever way we choose.

With money, we all have fixed expenditures: housing, utilities, food, clothing, transportation. Many of us choose a standard of living that uses our money. We don’t often think about it in this way, but it’s true. After we pay for our fixed expenditures, whatever is left, what I call “discretionary,” we use on entertainment, eating out, vacations, and hopefully, ministry. All of this requires decisions.

The same is true of our time. We all have fixed “expenditures” with our time: a certain amount of sleep, regular work, eating, including whatever preparation is needed, and obligations to our families. The time we have left we see as discretionary, we can “spend” it on whatever we choose. However, one important factor to consider is that the lifestyle standard that we currently have for our “fixed” expenditures, whether that expenditure is money or time, directly affects what we have “left over.”

If I have a lifestyle that requires a lot of money, there isn’t much left over for anything else. If I have a lifestyle that requires a lot of my time, either for work or even a lot of “stuff” to maintain, I won’t have a lot of time for other important things. So we see that our discretionary time is also directly affected by the choices we make regarding our fixed commitments. We often feel like we don’t have any choices, but we always do.

What possibilities has God put in front of you to use your time for him??

Converterlators are thoughtful, disciplined, and intentional with the use of their time.

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20–21, ESV).

Each one of us needs to answer the question: What is God’s purpose for me? Once we have the answer to that question, we need to figure out how we can successfully fulfill that purpose. After all, each one of us will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ someday to render an accounting. There is no way to avoid that appointment. That is a sobering thought to me; what I do matters, and it actually matters to others as well. We want to be about our Father’s business

With the passing of time, the significance of what we have done will be revealed. Will we have used our resources for the perishable or imperishable? We can do things that others value. We can have an impact on their lives by meeting urgent needs. We can affect people’s lives for a long time. We can even receive praise and applause for what we do. Ultimately, however, the impact of what we have done will be revealed in eternity: “Everyone’s work will be put through the fire so that all can see whether or not it keeps its value, and what was really accomplished. Then every workman who has built on the foundation with the right materials, and whose work still stands, will get his pay. But if the house he has built burns up, he will have a great loss”
(1 Corinthians 3:13–15, TLB).

Only God can give us true significance. We have individual significance because we belong to him and he has created us to do a special work for him. Are you embracing the specific responsibilities that he has given you? There are things we will not know or even understand until eternity, but we do know this: “I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit–fruit that will last” (John 15:16, NIV). Don’t settle for an illusion of significance. Stake your self-worth on the promises of God’s Word.

In what ways would your converterlating become more effective if I were to make the study of God’s Word more important in your life?

Converterlators focus on participating in the advancement of God’s kingdom.

“We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” (2 Corinthians 4:7, NLT)

It is critical to understand that what we are talking about here is a work that is being done by God, and not by us. The Bible tells us: “God is always on the move in the ever changing circumstances of this world. He is also at work in each one of us” (NIV).

The apostle Paul wrote, “He [Jesus] gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds” (Titus 2:14, NLT). God has created us, designed us, and given us various capacities for doing the good works that he has prepared for us to do. It is a contradiction in terms to be a Converterlator and not being out there as an agent of change.

For me personally, when I think of what salvation has accomplished, I am compelled to be a Converterlator, actively doing whatever I can do to help advance the kingdom of God. Think about these two passages of Scripture:

Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:12–14, ESV)

Wow! God has qualified us to share in all of the benefits of having a relationship with him both now and forever. As I understand what all of that means, I really get excited about what God has done, and what he is doing. God has also delivered us from the domain of darkness, the hopeless state or condition of our sin that held us captive under the dominion of the Chief Consumerlator. God has freed us from that awful state, and transferred us to the kingdom of his Son, granting us access to the transforming promises of God. We are freed now so that we can be Converterlators, changing the eternal destinies of people, building treasure in heaven, and leveraging time, talent, and treasure for the imperishable values of heaven.

As we seek to accomplish God’s purposes, it is important to stay focused on God’s plans. As we converterlate our resources we need to be careful not to play to the applause of the world. It is easy to be swayed by the praise of those around us, even as we seek to do God’s will. The temptation is always out there to be involved in the more visible types of spiritual endeavors, such as making an effort to be in more prominent positions of leadership, or giving our money in places where our donations will be publicly recognized. However, we must stay focused on God’s ultimate plans and desires.

One of my goals as a practitioner of KingdomNomics is to be a low-profile, high-impact Converterlator for helping to fulfill the Great Commission. I want to have a low profile so as to not draw unnecessary attention, but I want to be making a big impact! Think about a soccer team or a football team. Each player is most significant when they are fulfilling the role they were designed for. In order to win, each player must play in the position he has been assigned. You are the most significant and have the most impact when you are faithfully filling the position on the team where the coach has placed you.

In what way are you engaged in God’s plans and purposes?

Converterlators remain focused on God’s plans and purposes.

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12: 4–7, NIV)

When you look in a regular toolbox, you find many different kinds of tools, each one designed for a specific purpose. Inside a typical toolbox you may find a hammer, screwdriver, small saw, tape measure, or even a level of some kind. Each tool has a specific purpose. Using them for something other than the purpose they have been designed for usually results in failure. The same is true for us as Christians. Each one of us is a tool in God’s toolbox. We have been designed in a specific way for a specific purpose and we need to figure out what that purpose is. The Converterlator says, “I want Christ to live and work through me. Here I am, a special person, uniquely gifted by God, designed for a special purpose, and more specifically to do good works that God has created for me to do.”

It’s important that we understand what each tool is designed to do and then use it in the way it is designed. You can’t really evaluate the effectiveness of a tool if you don’t know what it is supposed to accomplish. It may look pretty. It may be intriguing. It may look like it has great strength. But you can’t judge the excellence of its design until you actually use it.

We experience God’s best for us and have the most significance when we move in faith to find God’s purposes for using the talents (tools) he has given us.

Even though we may think our time, talent, and/or treasure is small or insignificant, God can take them and exponentially multiply them for the advancement of his kingdom. We learn a tremendous KingdomNomics principle from the small boy in the New Testament who gave his two small fish and five barley loaves of bread to Jesus. “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:9). The disciple Andrew questions how so little can be relevant when they were trying to figure out how to feed a multitude of people. But Jesus took that little boy’s offering, which was insignificant in the eyes of the world, and miraculously used it to feed 5,000 people!

Each one of us needs to be a “five loaves and two fish” person, willing to share so Jesus can do great things through us when we make ourselves available to him. This little boy’s life echoes through eternity because he was willing to share what he had and yield himself to the purposes of God. No matter what kind of tool we are, we need to be available to God! God created us and has given us life. He orchestrates all that we do and we need to cooperate with him in every way.

What specific talents or abilities do you have? How are you using those abilities to converterlate your resources?

Converterlators understand that they are uniquely gifted by God to do the good works that he has created for them to do.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV)

We all want to make a difference. I have found that most people really want to do something of lasting value and impact. We want to be involved in doing something that will make our lives count. And yes, we often want some kind of recognition and other people’s praise for what we do. But it’s important to remember that our eternal significance is not found in doing things that others see as important. God wants us to experience real significance, and that significance only comes through his unconditional love and total acceptance, and our fulfilling his plan for our lives. Psalm 139:13–16 tells us:

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book
   before one of them came to be. (NIV)

Each one of us has been designed by God for a special purpose! God has fashioned each one of us individually; he created us, formed us, and knows us by name. And he made us be in a relationship with him. You may be thinking, “Really, has God designed little old me for something special in this world?” There are numerous places in the Bible that confirm that the answer to that question is a definite “Yes!” In the Old Testament, we read, “From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works” (Psalm 33:14–15, NKJV).

God is working in you to fulfill his purposes, “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13, NIV). The Word of God is working in us, “Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29, ESV). God’s Word is like a fire that begins to consume us, burning away the dross of the temporary, refining us, and transforming us into the Converterlators God wants us to be. The Word of God is truly like a hammer, breaking the “rock of self” into pieces, so Christ can shine his life through us to continue his ministry in this world.

At this point in your life, what is your God-designed purpose?

Converterlators focus on God’s purpose for their lives.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” (Acts 1:8, NIV).

When we flow with the Spirit, we experience his power as we navigate our way through everyday decisions and experiences: It is the Holy Spirit that guides our lives daily: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25, ESV). The person who practices soak, sow, and flow is an empowered Converterlator, ready to perform their assigned tasks!

When we fail to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading, we need to confess our sin and ask the Holy Spirit to again assume control. The Bible tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, NIV). Our old selves will constantly seek to reassert themselves, and when they do, we need to run back to God!

As we grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit will reveal more and more to us as we mature and do the things he discloses to us. As the Spirit empowers us, we will find ourselves more responsive to God, presenting ourselves to him for his service. Our relationship with God is all about these truths being worked out in our lives through the various circumstances we encounter.

We learn to depend on the Holy Spirit’s power. And it is at this particular juncture that we experience God’s direction in ways we never anticipated! This is what the Bible means when it says, “‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’ But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets” (1 Corinthians 2:9–10, NLT).

We choose to be controlled by the Spirit. We ask the Spirit to control our mind. We choose to set our mind on things above. By the power of the Spirit we bring our thoughts into captive obedience to Jesus Christ: “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves” (Galatians 5:16, NLT). This requires active participation on our part by the act of our will choosing moment by moment to be controlled by the Spirit.

When we invite the Holy Spirit to guide and direct and lead us, he shows up in a big way! He transforms us and everything that we do … including our converterlating! He fills us daily and equips us for service. He gives us joy and excitement and fulfillment. He draws us into a deeper relationship with God. He gives us insight into God’s Word. He leads us to victorious living.

It is the Holy Spirit who reveals the things of God to us. Our relationship with God is one of God continually revealing himself to us as we practice the concepts of soak, sow, and flow. The Spirit searches all things, including the deep things of God. Therefore, unless the Holy Spirit reveals these things to us, we will never find out about them. Without revelation from the Holy Spirit, we cannot bring our lives into proper conformance to the will of God, and we cannot be effective Converterlators. The effective Converterlator is filled with the Holy Spirit and depends on his power and wisdom to accomplish all that God desires!

In what ways are you currently experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit in your life? What steps do you need to take to grow in this area of your life?

Converterlators are filled with the Holy Spirit and depend on his power and wisdom to accomplish all that God desires.

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13, NIV)

It is the Holy Spirit who seals, reveals, and deals with us in order that we may become more like Jesus. The Holy Spirit first seals us at the point of our spiritual birth, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13, ESV, emphasis added). In Bible times, a seal was a type of security. It was typically used to guarantee a document or letter, indicate ownership, or protect against tampering. The Holy Spirit is our seal in every sense of this word; we are guaranteed, owned, and protected!

The assurance that we experience because of the Holy Spirit’s seal sets us free to be Converterlators in the time we have remaining in this temporary world. After the Holy Spirit seals us, he begins to reveal the things of God to us. In 1 Corinthians 2:10–16 we read:

These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.  For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ. (NIV)

The Holy Spirit opens our hearts to spiritual truth. This gives us the ability to both understand and respond to God’s calling as we converterlate our time, talent, and treasure. Without the Holy Spirit in our lives we will not have the things of God revealed to us.

As the Holy Spirit reveals the things of God to us, he also deals with us. Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life” (John 6:63, ESV). It is the Holy Spirit’s power that allows us to serve God’s purposes in God’s way. In the Old Testament the prophet Ezekiel recorded God’s promise to us, “And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:27, NIV).

Have you been sealed with the Holy Spirit? What has he revealed to you? In what ways has the Holy Spirit been dealing with you?

Converterlators submit to the Holy Spirit in order to serve God’s purposes in God’s way.

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