–Louis L’Amour (Showdown at Yellow Butte)
“How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble!”
–Job 14:1 (NLT)
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Good Monday morning to you. I am reminded of Joseph Alleine’s words as we start this week. “Let us live this one day well.” That should be the maxim for all of us, for every day. I was reading this past weekend and saw this from Steven Lawson. He mentioned a cathedral in Europe that is known for its three arched doorways that lead into the sanctuary. Over the right entrance: “All that pleases is but for a moment.” Over the left entrance: “All that troubles is but for a moment.” Etched over the central arch: “All that is important is eternal.”
This is so true of life. We get involved with things that are or have passed away. Technology changes things so fast, yet we get so involved with it. Then there is the other spectrum, we get so concerned over the troubles of life, many of which don’t mean anything, but they create fear. We lose sight of the eternal, yet what we should be doing is living in light of the eternal. “All that truly matters is eternal.” (Lawson)
Psalm 90 was written by Moses. As we read it, contemplate on the life of Moses. He is telling the people to number their days “in light of God’s eternality, sovereignty, and mercy.” (Lawson)
1 — LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
2 — Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
3 — You turn man to destruction, and say, “Return, O children of men.”
4 — For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night.
5 — You carry them away like a flood; they are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up:
6 — In the morning it flourishes and grows up; in the evening it is cut down and withers.
7 — For we have been consumed by Your anger, and by Your wrath we are terrified.
8 — You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
9 — For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; we finish our years like a sigh. (NKJV)
God is the one constant. We turn our gaze upon Him and we see the Rock, standing tall and firm. He is the One who brought forth the mountains; who are we to think highly of ourselves? Verse 3, in the NIV and NLT, states, “You turn men back to dust.” That is a sobering thought. We have grand plans, great aspirations, and grandiose dreams, but in the end we are back to dust. Our days are numbered; “they are preordained and divinely determined.” (Lawson) George O. Wood gives a good illustration of how long we live according to God’s clock. “The Psalmist says your life is so short that a thousand of your years are but a day with God. That means that seventy years of your time totals 9 1/2 seconds on His clock. It gets worse. On further reflection, you are less than a day–only a ‘watch,’ that is, a four-hour span in the evening, or 1 1//2 seconds in God’s eternal day.”
Man, you and I, are here but for a moment. James tells us, “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14, NKJV) Man lives under the constant sentence of death. It will come. That is one thing that we all have in common, the believer and the unbeliever. Unless we are raptured away we will see death. God alone knows the minute that will happen; He sees all our thoughts, our sins, and the secrets of our heart. Our life is fleeting, but the question is, under which arch do you find yourself as your time passes? If the Lord is not our home, our resting place, then what kind of security do we have? Look at verse 9 from the NLT, “We live our lives beneath your wrath. We end our lives with a groan.” It seems there is no hope. It is therefore imperative that we live our short lives in the light of eternity, serving Him and giving our lives over to Him, for He is in control anyway.
“Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting thou art God,
To endless years the same.”
–Isaac Watts
Good Monday morning to you. I am reminded of Joseph Alleine’s words as we start this week. “Let us live this one day well.” That should be the maxim for all of us, for every day. I was reading this past weekend and saw this from Steven Lawson. He mentioned a cathedral in Europe that is known for its three arched doorways that lead into the sanctuary. Over the right entrance: “All that pleases is but for a moment.” Over the left entrance: “All that troubles is but for a moment.” Etched over the central arch: “All that is important is eternal.”
This is so true of life. We get involved with things that are or have passed away. Technology changes things so fast, yet we get so involved with it. Then there is the other spectrum, we get so concerned over the troubles of life, many of which don’t mean anything, but they create fear. We lose sight of the eternal, yet what we should be doing is living in light of the eternal. “All that truly matters is eternal.” (Lawson)
Psalm 90 was written by Moses. As we read it, contemplate on the life of Moses. He is telling the people to number their days “in light of God’s eternality, sovereignty, and mercy.” (Lawson)
1 — LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
2 — Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
3 — You turn man to destruction, and say, “Return, O children of men.”
4 — For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night.
5 — You carry them away like a flood; they are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up:
6 — In the morning it flourishes and grows up; in the evening it is cut down and withers.
7 — For we have been consumed by Your anger, and by Your wrath we are terrified.
8 — You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
9 — For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; we finish our years like a sigh. (NKJV)
God is the one constant. We turn our gaze upon Him and we see the Rock, standing tall and firm. He is the One who brought forth the mountains; who are we to think highly of ourselves? Verse 3, in the NIV and NLT, states, “You turn men back to dust.” That is a sobering thought. We have grand plans, great aspirations, and grandiose dreams, but in the end we are back to dust. Our days are numbered; “they are preordained and divinely determined.” (Lawson) George O. Wood gives a good illustration of how long we live according to God’s clock. “The Psalmist says your life is so short that a thousand of your years are but a day with God. That means that seventy years of your time totals 9 1/2 seconds on His clock. It gets worse. On further reflection, you are less than a day–only a ‘watch,’ that is, a four-hour span in the evening, or 1 1//2 seconds in God’s eternal day.”
Man, you and I, are here but for a moment. James tells us, “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14, NKJV) Man lives under the constant sentence of death. It will come. That is one thing that we all have in common, the believer and the unbeliever. Unless we are raptured away we will see death. God alone knows the minute that will happen; He sees all our thoughts, our sins, and the secrets of our heart. Our life is fleeting, but the question is, under which arch do you find yourself as your time passes? If the Lord is not our home, our resting place, then what kind of security do we have? Look at verse 9 from the NLT, “We live our lives beneath your wrath. We end our lives with a groan.” It seems there is no hope. It is therefore imperative that we live our short lives in the light of eternity, serving Him and giving our lives over to Him, for He is in control anyway.
“Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting thou art God,
To endless years the same.”
–Isaac Watts