Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12
The people of this country have an average life span of 74.4 years. They spend 24 years in sleep and 13 years watching television.
Time is a precious gift of God. It is not given to us in the same measure or amount. Moses states, "The length of our days is seventy years--or eighty, if we have the strength" (Psalm 90:10). In His wisdom and love God determines a person's length of life. He graciously extended the life span of Moses to 120 years; he was needed during the critical times through which God's people passed. God, if He so desires, can extend a person's life even more. The risen Lord said to Peter concerning John: "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?" (John 21:23).
Whether a person's life is long or short, the important thing is to use the time purposefully, that is, to the glory of God and to other people's good. The apostle Paul refers to this phase of Christian stewardship as "making the most of every opportunity" (Ephesians 5:16). He writes this because "the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16). Evil days offer so many opportunities to waste time in sinful, sex-saturated movies and those that feature slaughterhouse-type violence.
It is good for Christians to say with the psalmist, "My times are in Your hands" (Psalm 31:15) and to join in singing: "Take my moments and my days, Let them flow in ceaseless praise." When we use our time for honest work, we are praising God with our deeds. Why serve God with our time? The eternal Son of God entered our time and world to redeem us, so that "we might receive the full rights" (Galatians 4:5) as God's sons and daughters who joyfully serve Him. These rights include the inheritance of eternal life.
PRAYER: Thank You, Lord God, for your many blessings to me in my lifetime. Continue to guide me as I serve Jesus with my time. Amen.
(Devotions from "With Jesus Every Day" copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-25-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: Hosea 12-14 Romans 16
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