LIVING IN LIGHT OF ETERNITY
“So Teach Us To Number Our Days That We May Gain A Heart Of Wisdom.”
—Psalm 90:12
THE WORD OF GOD teaches us that our life upon this earth is a very short duration. Our text tells us that our days on earth are all numbered. We read in Job 14:1, “Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble.” James says that our life is like a vapor that is here today and gone tomorrow (James 4:14). We read in 1 Peter 1:24-25, “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the LORD endures forever.” And Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 9:5, “For the living know that they will die.”
CONSIDERING THESE TEXTS, is it any wonder that the psalmist asks the Lord to teach him to number his days? In other words, the psalmist wants the Lord to teach him how brief his life is upon this earth in order that he might walk in wisdom. When a believer realizes the brevity of life he then begins to live wisely because he understands the Lord has given him only so much time to live and labor for God’s glory. Do you really understand the brevity of your life? Does your life reveal a heart of wisdom in living for God’s glory and Christ’s Kingdom, or do you run after the vain things of this earth to establish your earthly kingdom and make a name for yourself? Scripture tells us that we are fragile people who live moment by moment by the grace and power of God. “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Daniel declared to the prideful and arrogant Belshazzar, son of Nebuchadnezzar, who was aware of all that had happened to his father, the following words, “And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified” (Daniel 5:23). Nothing else keeps our heart pumping and our lungs breathing but the Lord, “who upholds all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3).
KNOWING THAT OUR lives are compared to a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow, ought to teach us who we are before the true and living God, “who owns all our ways and in whose hand is our breath.” Knowing that the living must die ought to teach us to humble ourselves before God and walk by faith in Jesus Christ knowing that we must all give an account of our lives to Him. “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). Hear the word of the Lord, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).
Friday Devotional: November 22, 2024
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
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LIVING THANKFUL
“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
—1 Thessalonians 5:18
The Bible gives us a multitude of reasons to be thankful to God. In the Psalms, we learn that we give thanks to the Lord for He is good. The psalmist also declares that we ought to give thanks to God because His mercy endures forever. Moses wrote in Exodus 20:6 that God shows “mercy to thousands of generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.” Another reason we give thanks to God is because He is the sovereign Ruler of heaven and earth who provides for His people. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:17 that God “gives us richly all things to enjoy.” Once again, David writes in Psalm 37:23-26: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. He is ever merciful and lends; and his descendants are blessed.” The psalmist gives thanks to the Lord because He redeemed his life from the pit, and because every good and perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights (James 1:17), who establishes justice and shows mercy to His people forever. The Bible has a whole host of things for which we ought to give thanks to the Lord and so the Apostle Paul simply says: “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Did you notice the all-inclusive words in our text? “In everything give thanks!” There are many favorable circumstances that happen in each of our lives, which giving thanks to God is altogether appropriate, and rather easy to do. But what about the times when things are not so pleasant? Are you willing to give God thanks when in His good providence pain, suffering, hurt, turmoil or death touches your life? How then do you respond to God? Are you one who seeks the blessings or the Giver of all blessings? Paul says in our text that we are to give thanks to Almighty God in everything.
We may not be able to understand every little detail God is doing in our lives, or why He has done certain things the way He has, but we do know He has promised to work all things together for our eternal good. This should make us thankful to God in all things, even the evil that He sends upon us in this troubled life! If we really believe God causes all things to work together for His glory and our eternal good, then we can be thankful no matter what situation we may find ourselves. We must look to the end of what God is doing, and the word of Scripture to us is simply that we must trust our heavenly Father even though we may not understand what He’s doing. As we read in Hebrews 11:8: “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” Walking by faith in the promises of God enables the child of God to give Him thanks in every circumstance. Take time today to praise His holy name!
Tuesday Encouragement: November 19, 2024
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
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"Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles."
~Proverbs 21:23
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WE FAITHFULLY ATTEND CORPORATE WORSHIP
"Hunger for the Word in church is expressed publicly by faithful attendance at church worship services. Hebrews 10:25 says we must not forsake assembling ourselves in corporate worship. Christian worship fills us with the Word. Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Charles H. Spurgeon (1834–1892) writes, “There is no worship of God that is better than hearing of a sermon. It stirs all the coals of fire in your spirit, and makes them burn with a brighter flame.”
—Dr. Joel R. Beeke
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