 A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home · About Us ·  · Podcast · Free emailSee here for more info. Tuesday, October 14, 2008  Fall foliage in upsate New York Photo by Doris High click on photo to enlarge  Listen to us share this message on your audio player."Numbering Our Days" "So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). "Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days" (Psalm 90:14). Today is a significant day for me. This is the 19,725th day since my birth. However, of course, we don't normally think of events like these in terms of days, but rather years. The Psalms are normally associated with David, but David did not write Psalm 90. It was written by Moses who lived about 400 years before David. Yet some inspired compiler placed his writing in the midst of the Psalm collection in the Holy Scriptures. I find the heading of this Psalm in the NASV so interesting; "God's Eternity and Man's Transitoriness." Transitoriness is not even in my online spellchecker but means "of brief duration." James 4:14 describes this transitoriness, "You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." I don't know how many more days I have on this earth or what my future holds. But I have learned that in the course of my life I can't choose or schedule my trials. As a line in an old hymn states, "Every joy or trial falleth from above, traced upon our dial by the sun of love; We may trust Him fully, all for us to do – They who trust Him wholly, find Him wholly true." * Our daily verse is in the form of a petition. Moses writes, "Teach us to number our days." The plural is interesting and I include myself with Moses and others in making this petition. Moses lived some 43,800 days, but it seems to me that he wasn't likely referring to keeping an up to date count of the days since our birth (although some do this.) Rather I believe he is calling us to recognize and give attention to the blessings and responsibilities of each day. The purpose of numbering our days is "that we may present to You (God) a heart of wisdom." This should be a foundational goal in life and a lifelong pursuit. Again James reminds us that "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him" (1:5). In light of the times we are facing we should be seeking God's wisdom through earnest study of His holy Word. Then we are able to exercise spiritual discernment as we listen to or read the news. Moses goes on to say a couple of verses later, "Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days" (Psalm 90:14). The deepest source of satisfaction for the believer is God's unfailing love. It is unwavering and inexhaustible; "Though the mountain be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken" (Isaiah 54:10). As an old song says, "the world didn't give it to me and the world can't take it away!" Today in numbering our days let us recognize that, "This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." There are no leap days on God's calendar. Every single day we awaken is a gift from Him and we must choose day by day to glorify God and serve Him with all our hearts. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, often the days converge into another and before we know it a year has passed. Help us to be keenly aware of each new day and the opportunity it holds for us to be engaged in our Father's business. We want to daily turn to Your holy Word for wisdom so that we will present to You a heart full of godly wisdom and a life fully surrendered to You. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen. * Like A River Glorious The fall colors have arrived!  Kraybill Church Road This is an early morning view looking north from our driveway. The trees are rapidly changing but are not nearly at peak.   A few of our flowers are still blooming and this beautiful Dahlia is right outside our home office window. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources (Click on the link to play) "You Give" Audio "You Never Let Go" Audio "Amazing Grace" Audio Instrumental from here. "What A Friend We Have In Jesus" Audio Instrumental Psalm 90 text audio Today's photo at the top was taken by our friend Doris High. Here's her photo blog. This scene sure makes me want to take a walk along the lake! Periodically I express my age in days in this series. Here's a quick online tool to find out how many days old you are! Info about multi-media files used on daily encouragement. Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne. |
 Stephen and Brooksyne Weber "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update Revised 04/15/08 Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. Would you please consider a financial offering to support us in this daily encouragement ministry? Donations are tax deductible and will be receipted directly by my chaplaincy endorsing ministry. Thanks! See here for details. (2008 YTD financial offerings to Daily Encouragement Net through 10/13/2008: $15,606.00)SUBSCRIPTION INFO  Were you forwarded this edition of Daily Encouragement Net? To receive these free "Daily Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe. This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. It was sent to you because you signed up to receive it OR a friend forwarded it to you. You can also subscribe to the rss feed. Cancel: We respect and value your time and privacy. If this newsletter no longer meets your needs we will be happy to remove your address from the list immediately. To remove your address merely use the link automatically inserted by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each message. Weekly Version: The weekly version is designed for those who do not check their email regularly. It is merely the Friday message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Please feel free to pass these messages on! "A Daily Prayer" - The daily prayer from each daily encouragement message. "A Little Foolishness" - A collection of humorous and satirical stories drawn mostly from our years of ministry, as well as my sometimes fertile imagination. "Clear Minded" - Longer, periodic articles on specific issues impacting the church.  Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com. Any orders placed to Christian Book Distributers using this link or any specific product link to a recommended resource in a daily encouragement message will help our Daily Encouragement ministry through a small commission on the sale. Thank you for using these links when purchasing online through CBD!Personal Mission Statement "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."  How to become a child of God Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission; and the King James Version. © Copyright 2008 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net Stephen & Brooksyne Weber 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 Contact us  "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net |
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Daily Encouragement (10/14/08) "Numbering Our Days"
