{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Reflections","title":"Wednesday of the Twentieth Week After Trinity","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":384,"description":"October 21, 2026\n\nToday's Reading: Ephesians 5:15-21\nDaily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 20:1-20; Matthew 15:21-39\n\n“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16)\n\nIn the Name + of Jesus. Amen.\n\nThere are so many things that compete for our time—there’s family and friends, schoolwork and sports, and that’s hardly scratching the surface. If you have a job, there’s another demand on your time. Do you participate in any extracurriculars? It’s already overwhelming, all the stuff we fill our schedules with—and now we’re supposed to make room for God, too? What is the best use of our time? Should we have fewer friends, do less homework, maybe quit a job so we can spend more time in the Scriptures?\n\nThe answer is… probably not, but… maybe. I’d imagine you can probably find a few minutes in your day to read the Scriptures and pray, but if not, it might be time to have that conversation with your parents, your pastor, or perhaps some trusted Christian friends. If the demands on your time begin to demand you spend less time on the one thing needful, it might be time to look carefully.\n\nWe can have these hard conversations and ask these hard questions because of who we are in Christ Jesus. Our God is even the God of time, who created time itself, who orders our days, and who in the fullness of time entered into our time that He might redeem us in body and soul for all time—even eternity! And this changes how we view time. Instead of “living each day like it’s our last,” we can live each day like it’s the first one of an eternity with Jesus and with all the faithful. Dear Christians, in Christ, you don’t have a last day!\n\nLook carefully then how you walk—be wise in how you spend your time on this side of glory. The Scriptures you hear and read, the prayers you pray, the relationships you cultivate, the people you spend time with, the words of peace and joy and thanksgiving you express...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/P3eUvssXYVZBQK4BZg1UEKstUh8zuVz_CoZCK6YjRSs/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzI1MTcyLzE3MDI0/Mjg1MzAtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}