⏳ Time (The value of)

♦️Time – the sequence and duration of events as a continuous unit. Time is more important than money. You can get more money, but not more time, and the time is always right to do what is right.

♦️ Time is measurable. The International System of Units measures time in seconds: 1 minute = 60 seconds, and a thousandth of a second – a millisecond. The first atomic clock was built in 1949 and measures the vibrations of an atom.

♦️ Time is writable. The international 24-hour system always writes time in sets of two digits separated by a colon, with midnight as the 00-hour start: 02:45:30 – 2 hours, 45 minutes, and 30 seconds. (Sometimes midnight is indicated as 24:00.)

HOUR

1 hour = 3 600 seconds.

The earth is divided into 24 time zones. The time zones follow the lines of longitude with 15 degrees of longitude separating one hour from another, measured from Greenwich time.

• ¹⁹Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard.
  - Judges 7:19 (NIV)
• ²He answered, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ ³and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” … ³About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁵So they went. He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. ⁶About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ … ⁶At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ … ⁴⁵From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
  - Matthew 16:2-3; 20:3, 5-6; 25:6; 27:45-46
• ³⁵Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. … ⁷²Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.” … ¹Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. ²⁵It was 9 in the morning when they crucified him. ³³At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ³⁴And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
  - Mark 13:35; 14:72; 15:1, 25, 33-34
• ⁶⁶At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. … ⁴⁴It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.
  - Luke 22:66; 23:44
• ³⁹“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about 4 in the afternoon. … ⁶It was about noon. … ⁵²“Yesterday at 1 in the afternoon the fever left him.” … ¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake … ³⁸“Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!” … ²⁷ Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow. Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning. … ¹⁴It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about 6 in the morning.
  - John 1:39; 4:6, 52; 6:16; 13:38; 18:27-28; 19:14
• ¹⁵These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only 9 in the morning! … ¹One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at 3 in the afternoon—the time for prayer. … ³One day at about 3 in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” … ⁹About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. … ²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. … ²³Then he called 2 of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of 200 soldiers, seventy horsemen and 200 spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight.”
  - Acts 2:15; 3:1; 10:3, 9; 16:25; 23:23

1 DAY – SUNSET TO SUNSET; DAYLIGHT – 12 HOURS

1 day = 86 400 seconds.

The international date line, which separates today and tomorrow, follows the 180° longitude line (through the sea between America and Australia). The solar cycle is the period of 28 years, after which the days of the week fall on the same date again.

• ⁵God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the 1st day. ⁸God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the 2nd day. ¹³And there was evening, and there was morning—the 3rd day. ¹⁴And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years.” ¹⁹ And there was evening, and there was morning—the 4th day. ²³And there was evening, and there was morning—the 5th day. ³¹God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the 6th day.
  - Genesis 1:5, 8, 13-14, 19, 23, 31
• ⁶ The one who touches any of these will be unclean till evening. He must not eat any of the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water. ⁷When the sun goes down, he will be clean, and after that he may eat the sacred offerings, for they are his food.
  - Leviticus 22:6-7
• ³⁴For 40 years—one year for each of the days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.
  - Numbers 14:34
• ⁶“I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the people of Israel.”
  - Ezekiel 4:6
• ³²That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed.
  - Mark 1:32
• ⁴⁰At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them.
  - Luke 4:40
• ⁹“Are there not 12 hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, because they see by this world’s light. ¹⁰It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
  - John 11:9-10
• ⁸But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a 1000 years, and a 1000 years are like a day.
  - 2 Peter 3:8
• ²He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a 1000 years. … ⁴They came to life and reigned with Christ a 1000 years. ⁵(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1000 years were ended.) This is the 1st resurrection. ⁶Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The 2nd death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a 1000 years.
  - Revelation 20:2, 4-6

NEW MOON – NEW MONTH

Month – the period in which the moon completes its orbit around the earth (30 days).

• ¹⁶God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. … ¹¹In the 600th year of Noah’s life, on the 17th day of the 2nd month, on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. … ²⁴The waters flooded the earth for a 150 days. … ³The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the 150 days the water had gone down, ⁴and on the 17th day of the 7th month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.
  - Genesis 1:16-18; 7:11, 24; 8:3-4

NOTE: 17/2 (2nd Month) to 17/7 (7th Month) = 5 months = 150 days; 150 days ÷ 5 months = 30 days/month.

• ²“This month is to be for you the 1st month, the 1st month of your year. … ⁴Today, in the month of Aviv, you are leaving.”
  - Exodus 12:2; 13:4
• ¹⁰Also at your times of rejoicing—your appointed festivals and New Moon feasts—you are to sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, and they will be a memorial for you before your God. I am the LORD your God. … ¹¹On the 1st of every month, present to the LORD a burnt offering …
  - Numbers 10:10; 28:11
• ¹⁹And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
  - Deuteronomy 4:19
• ¹In the f480th year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the 4th year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the 2nd month, he began to build the temple of the LORD. … ³⁷The foundation of the temple of the LORD was laid in the 4th year, in the month of Ziv. … ²All the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the 7th month.
  - 1 Kings 6:1, 37; 8:2
• ⁹On the 20th day of the 9th month, all the people were assembled in the square before the house of God. They were trembling because of the rain and because they were aware of the guilt they had incurred. … ¹³But there are many people here and it is the rainy season; so we cannot stand outside. Besides, this matter cannot be taken care of in a day or 2, because we have sinned greatly in this thing.
  - Ezra 10:9, 13
• ¹⁶She was taken to King Xerxes in his royal residence in the 10th month, the month of Tebeth. … ⁷In the 1st month, the month of Nisan … They cast the pur (that is, the lot) for the date and the month until the lot fell on the 12th month, the month of Adar. … ⁹ On the 23rd day of the 3rd month, the month of Sivan.
  - Esther 2:16; 3:7; 8:9
• ¹⁹He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. … ⁶The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
  - Psalms 104:19; 121:6
• ⁷On the 24th day of the 11th month, the month of Shebat. … ¹In the 4th year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the 4th day of the 9th month, the month of Kislev.
  - Zechariah 1:7; 7:1
• ⁶The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1260 days. … ⁵The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for 42 months.
  - Revelation 12:6; 13:5

NOTE: 1260 days ÷ 42 months = 30 days/month.

1 YEAR – 12 MONTHS

Year – the period in which the earth completes its orbit around the sun. In 238 BC the Egyptian king Ptolemy III Euergetes I ordered that every 4th year should receive an extra day. The leap year is valid only in the century and year that is divisible by 4.

The Bible’s New Year begins annually with the new moon whose date is closest to 21 March. (Exodus 12:2)

• ⁷Solomon had 12 district governors over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for 1 month in the year.
  - 1 Kings 4:7
• ²On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing 12 crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.
  - Revelation 22:2

SEASONS OF THE YEAR

The seasons of the Northern Hemisphere differ from the seasons of the Southern Hemisphere.

JESUS, NOT BORN IN DECEMBER

The Birth of Jesus

• ²But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.
  - Micah 5:1 [also 5:2 in some numbering]
• ⁹You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
  - Genesis 49:9
• ¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
  - Isaiah 7:14
• ⁶For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
  - Isaiah 9:6
• ¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem. … ⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. … ¹¹Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. … ¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
  - Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4-7, 11, 15
• ¹This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham.
  - Matthew 1:1
• ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
  - Matthew 1:25
• ¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. … ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
  - Luke 2:1-2
• ⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
  - Luke 2:8
• ¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God.
  - Luke 2:13
• ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” … ¹¹And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” … ²²and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” … ³³“I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
  - Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22; John 1:33-34

Kislev – December (Cold, Rainy, Winter)

• ¹In the 4th year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the 4th day of the 9th month, the month of Kislev.
  - Zechariah 7:1
• ⁹On the 20th day of the 9th month, all the people were assembled in the square before the house of God. They were trembling because of the rain. … ¹³But there are many people here and it is the rainy season. … ⁹In the 9th month of the 5th year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a fast was proclaimed before the LORD for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah.
  - Ezra 10:9, 13; Jeremiah 36:9
• ¹³ Pray that this will not take place in winter.
  - Matthew 24:20

Shepherds in the Northern Hemisphere never kept their sheep out in the open at night during winter.

• ²²Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter.
  - John 10:22

NOTE: Well-known history indicates that 25 December was first celebrated as a feast in memory of Jesus’ “birth” in 336 AD – after it was instituted by the Roman emperor Constantine – during the Council of Laodicea.

Jesus – the Beginning

• ²“This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.”
  - Exodus 12:2
• ⁶For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” ⁷Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. … ¹⁵The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. … ¹⁸And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. … ¹⁷When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. Then He placed His right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.” … ⁸“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” … ¹³I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
  - 1 Peter 2:6-7; Colossians 1:15, 18; Revelation 1:17; 2:8; 22:13; Hebrews 12:2; 1 John 2:14; Revelation 21:6; 22:13

 Jesus was not born in December (winter in the Northern Hemisphere).

NOTE: Birthday celebrations are a pagan custom:

• ²⁰Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials.
  - Genesis 40:20
• ²¹Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.
  - Mark 6:21
• ¹A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.
  - Ecclesiastes 7:1

THE VALUE OF TIME

• ♦️ 1 year – ask a student who has failed only one subject.
• ♦️ 1 month – ask a mother whose baby was born prematurely.
• ♦️ 1 week – ask the editor of a weekly magazine.
• ♦️ 1 hour – ask two lovers waiting to meet each other.
• ♦️ 1 minute – ask a person who has missed a train.
• ♦️ 1 second – ask a person who could have avoided an accident.
• ♦️ 1 millisecond – ask an athlete who has won a silver medal.

Each of us receives 86 400 seconds per day – of which you cannot even save a fraction of a second for the next day. Therefore use every second productively: Improve self-management so that you can add value at every passing moment. Each one will one day have to give account of how we have used God’s gift of time …

USE YOUR TIME SUCCESSFULLY

• ♦️ Financial: income, monthly budget, savings plan, unexpected expenses, retirement …
• ♦️ Physical: sleep/rest, care, nutrition, exercises, sport, bad weather, health …
• ♦️ Spiritual: prayer, memorise Scripture, deep reflection, music, conversations, religious activities, help others grow …
• ♦️ Community support: tend garden, improve and uplift poor conditions, promote quality of life, local service organisations, volunteer, welfare work …
• ♦️ Family: household meetings, activities together, quality rather than quantity of time together, family gatherings, write to or visit family …
• ♦️ Professional: enjoy work, want to do it, good at work, promotion, new development, seminars at own cost …
• ♦️ Social: friends, entertaining, group activities, group sport, meet new people …
• ♦️ Intellectual: one task at a time, well-considered decisions, non-fiction, self-development, memory development programme, educational performances and TV …

Leisure-time activities

• ♦️ Ballet performances.
• ♦️ Practising a hobby.
• ♦️ Indoor entertainment and games, such as chess, draughts, darts, scale-model racing, table tennis, snooker, and fencing.
• ♦️ Membership of educational, cultural, social and recreational clubs and societies.
• ♦️ Visiting theatres (documentary, educational and selected commercial films).
• ♦️ Discussion groups, public-speaking competitions, and debates.
• ♦️ Day and weekend hiking and mountaineering tours for nature lovers.
• ♦️ Day and weekend tours to cultural-historical and educational places of interest.
• ♦️ Day and weekend excursions to national parks, game reserves, holiday and beach resorts within reach, in consultation and cooperation with provincial and local authorities.
• ♦️ Drama, singing, and recitation – amateur as well as professional.
• ♦️ Choir performances, singing festivals, and joint singing.
• ♦️ Lecture series, demonstrations, handicraft and craft classes, and courses for ladies.
• ♦️ Lecture series, talks and courses for families on current matters concerning child-rearing, life skills, good manners, and family relaxation.
• ♦️ Music performances by professional and amateur light orchestras, symphony orchestras and soloists.
• ♦️ Operas and operettas – amateur as well as professional.
• ♦️ Social gatherings and events.
• ♦️ Variety concerts by local visiting artists – amateur as well as professional.
• ♦️ Folk festivals and commemorative programmes.
• ♦️ Folk games and folk dances.

A TIME FOR EVERYTHING

• ¹There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: ²a time to be born and a time to die …
  - Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
• ¹⁰Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures.
  - Psalms 90:10

TIME: A LIFE PLAN

Time is precious and should be used optimally in order to achieve life goals.

CONCLUSION

 Time is more important than money, and the time is always right to do what is right. Therefore use every second of your life in order to achieve your life goal, and thank the Giver of time for the many opportunities that have been given to you.