Numbering our days S30e189

Numbering our days will have benefits for you.

The AWARENESS of the days will increase the VALUE of those days.

So HOW CAN I get wiser as time goes on? By NUMBERING the days you have left. 

Wisdom is on offer as we look for 6.5 minutes at Psalm 90.

Watch and comment.

https://youtu.be/d1GjEjo9UhY

Transcript

Numbering our days S30e189

 Psalm 90 We are dust. We started as dust. We return to dust. 

It is OK to be dust. Ps 103 reminds us that HE KNOWS our frame, he remembers that we are dust. 

Our earthly life is temporary.

3  You return man to dust

and say, “Return, O children of man!” 

4    For a thousand years in your sight 

are but as yesterday when it is past, 

or as a watch in the night. 

5    You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, 

like grass that is renewed in the morning: 

6    in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; 

in the evening it fades and withers. N

8    You have set our iniquities before you, 

our secret sins in the light of your presence. N

Oh no. Our iniquities are before you. Our secret sins are not secret.

Here is why the “goodness of man” can never be good enough.  Here is why your own mother cannot make it to heaven based on her thoughts, her love , her deeds:

Because her sins are compared IN THE LIGHT OF YOUR PRESENCE.

So why is John 3:23: all have sinned and all fall short of your glory?  True? Because it is done in the LIGHT OF YOUR PRESENCE.

Everything is compared to you

This is why faith in you is the key that unlocks the heavenly gates.

Not faith in your goodness or actions or merit.

Sadly for all of us, though we may be pretty good, when compared in the light of your presence, only wrath awaits.

Here is the 2nd most famous line in this Psalm.

I think the most famous is v. 12 So teach us to number our days

That we may get a heart of wisdom.

But before we do: Our days are passing. They add up to wrath (In the light of your presence) In comparison to perfect pure, holiness

9    For all our days pass away under your wrath;

we bring our years to an end like a sigh. 

10    The years of our life are seventy, 

or even by reason of strength eighty;

Life is short, shorter all the time. Life is precious. Life is short.

The years of our life HERE are not infinite.  They are infinite somewhere, but not here.

What’s typical? What’s average. What’s a good long life? 70. Or by reason of strength, EIGHTY.

We weren’t created for death. Death is a horrible consequence of our sin. Now it is a reality, but it won’t always be.

God is going to fix our death problem. Permanently. 

The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 1 cor 15:26 5 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 2 cor 5:1

Do you have some groaning over the reality of death? Then Ps 90 is for you. Do you long to put on your heavenly dwelling? Then make God your dwelling place NOW. This is what it means to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

How can I get wiser as time goes on? s30e149 Psalm90b

Number your days. That is: Know the number of your remaining changes everything. What if God wants to help us increase the VALUE and IMPACT of those days.

Fun exercise: If you will live to 70, how many days left? 1600?

You’ll need a heart of Wisdom: Why?

          To handle the aging process; energy management, commitment, resources 

The AWARENESS of the days will increase the VALUE of those days

We all have a limited number of days—though we cannot be certain of their number, we can be assured of their limit

Wisdom does not necessarily come with the sheer number of days. Some people are foolish from the start and then make a concerted commitment to it down the road.

So HOW CAN I get wiser as time goes on?

How can I get a HEART OF WISDOM? Here’s how:

By numbering our days. 

There is hope for the aging: there is hope in the assessing  because:

Wisdom is on offer.Do you want it? Wisdom means having the skill, aptitudes and ability to apply knowledge.

Powerful: I know what I believe. I enjoy the strength of tested years under my belt. And the resolve that Nothing is going to remove me from the rock upon which I stand.

          Faithful: I am committed to finishing well; running this race until my last breath, and when it is my last day, to still be found in the faith.

          Generous: I know that I must give to the younger in the faith.  They are suffering difficult days, and someone who has more days under their belt is of particular value.

          Truthful: I know more than I ever have in my life about being a Christ follower. The wise applies the truth with love.

          Discerning: Knowing more, having experienced more, having a longer walk in the faith, leads to abilities to distinguish and determine with more clarity

          Prayerful: I know that the Lord is in charge of all realaccomplishments. Therefore, my petitions become more frequent and more desperate.

Wisdom is on offer here in Ps90. You get it by calendar math. What is the actual number of my days. It changes you.

If you knew exactly how many days you had left,  think about what would change? Who would you love? Who would you serve? What purposewould you insert into those days?