Good morning everybody . This is Danny Mac . Today's episode was originally broadcast on January , the 4th of 2023 . I believe this message is just as important today as it was back in 2023 , and I hope you enjoy it . Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mac .
I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day , so grab your cup of coffee , sit back , relax and let me help you start your day right . I believe that we have a very interesting year ahead of us , but I also believe that it's going to be a very good year .
I believe that we're going to see God do some wonderful things , that he's going to break through into some areas that it looks like he's been shut out of for the last while , and I believe that we're going to see some tremendous victories for the kingdom of God in the midst of some very harsh attacks at the same time .
But , like you , I've read the end of the book and I know that we win Over . The last few days , I have had the opportunity to talk to several people about what they're expecting and what they're looking forward to .
One of the things that I heard several times was that they are hoping that God will be able to somehow give them more time or at least the ability to get more done in the time that they've got it got me thinking a little bit . There are people in this world who appear to get amazing things done every day .
They accomplish so very much , and sometimes I sit back and go , wow , how did they do that ? I just don't catch it . I just don't get it . Maybe they have some secret to be able to extend their day . Well , you and I both know that that's not true . Our days don't get any longer . In fact . Let me give you these facts about a year ahead of us .
This applies to everybody on the entire planet Earth , and for not one person does this change in the very least . 2023 will have 12 months . That's 52 weeks . It's 365 days . It's 8,760 hours . It's 8,760 hours . It's 525,600 minutes . It's 31,536,000 seconds . That's how long the year will be for absolutely everybody . And all of that is a gift from God .
We've done nothing to deserve it and therefore we deserve nothing more . We didn't earn it . You can't buy it . It's like the air that we breathe . It sort of comes along with life , and each person gets the same thing . It doesn't matter your race , your color , your creed , it doesn't matter how poor or rich , or educated or strong , or weak or healthy you are .
Every person on the face of this earth has exactly the same 24 hours a day , and there's just a couple of other things about time that I recognize . You can't stop it . It keeps on going . You can't stop it . You can't slow it down , you can't turn it off and you can't adjust it .
Once it's gone , yesterday becomes sealed in history , tomorrow is filled with uncertainty , and the very harsh truth is that we don't even have the guarantee we will experience all of the time this year . So right now I know that I can stop asking God for more time in my day , because it's just not going to happen .
I remember what Paul said when he wrote to the church in Ephesus . In Ephesians 5 , in verse 15 , he said Be careful how you live . Don't live like fools , but like those who are wise and make the most of every opportunity . In these evil days , Don't act thoughtlessly , but understand what the Lord wants you to do .
Those are very powerful words for us as we begin this year . There's three parts of that verse that are really important to us . The first one says be careful how you live . That means that we need to be mindful of all the things that are involved in our lives . Be careful what you allow in .
Be careful what you accept so that it doesn't cause you to act , as the scripture says , like fools . And then that next part of the verse is really kind of interesting , because it acknowledges that the times we live in are evil .
And sometimes the response of Christians is to pull back in evil times and try to cover ourselves up and hold tight to what we have without getting hurt . But this scripture tells us to make the most of every opportunity in evil times . That means that there will be opportunities .
There will be opportunities for us to declare the Word of God , for us to grow , for us to be strong and successful . There will be opportunities for us in even the evil times .
And then , lastly , it says make sure you understand what the Lord wants you to do , not our own desires , not the desires of the people around us , but what is God calling us to do ? Everybody who lives through the year has exactly the same amount of time . Nobody gets blessed with any more , nobody gets punished with any less .
So what is important is that we understand and remember that we're careful in how we live , that we make the most of the opportunities that are in front of us and that we honor God with our lives and treat people in a way that is pleasing to Him .
So I encourage in front of us and that we honor God with our lives and treat people in a way that is pleasing to Him . So I encourage every one of us let's make the very best of our time this year Time with our family , time with our friends , time with God and let Him speak into us .
Let us always be ready to speak His Word and to do what he has for us in every situation . God will bless you and cause you to grow , even in what may seem like very difficult times . Have a wonderful day , my friends , and we will talk again tomorrow .
Thank you for joining us today and I invite you to join us every Monday to Friday , right here at Starting Right with Danny Mac .