Saturday, August 9, 2008
(Proper
13)
AM Psalm 87, 90; PM Psalm 136
Judges 9:22-25,50-57; Acts 4:32-5:11; John 2:13-25
Key Verse: "So teach us to number our days that we may gain a wise heart." -- Psalm 90:12
"ARE WE THERE YET?"
By Dorothy A. DeBisschop
"Are we there yet?" That's the question parents get when they take their children on long trips. It may be a 3-day drive, but half hour after leaving home, the little one calls out "Are we there yet?" And some of my kids would ask that question every 15 minutes throughout the ride!
But those same kids, when being taken to the dentist or to the doctors' for their immunization shots, never seemed in a hurry to get there. I could have spent three hours that would normally take me 15 minutes, and they would not have complained.
Our concern about time is related to whether we anticipate the upcoming
event with joy or dread. And so it is with our eventual, inevitable
death. The psalmist compares man's stay on earth with the timelessness
of God -- the 70 or 80 years of our lives to the eternal presence. People
seldom know exactly when they will die, but they can be sure it will happen.
Our death which places a limit on our time here. To recognize our mortality
is
to learn to value life.
Do you value life in general? Do you value your life in particular? If so, let me give you some advice -- don't waste time. For that is what life is made of. Since we know that there is only limited time, then we must use it wisely -- not in an effort to hoard it, but to use it as God would have us use it.
ACTIVITY FOR THE DAY: Take a look at your calendar for the coming week. Consider the amount of time you spend on various activities -- earning a living, caring for family, helping others, worshipping God, Bible study, etc. Ask yourself if your choices for the coming week are in line with how you want to be spending this limited resource.
PRAYER: Heavenly father, we thank you for our time here -- we thank you even more for the time we will have with you in eternity. Teach us to manage our time -- teach us to devote our energies to the things which really matter. Amen.
JOURNALING NOTES:
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