-January 2, 2024-
Good morning beloved brethren, happy Tuesday,
“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
(Psalm 90:12).
The best thing we can do is to live for the Lord and serve Him each day of our lives. None of us know how long we have to live in this life, so it is essential to seize every opportunity to share the way of salvation with those around us.
The phrase, “teach us to number our days” is not about focusing on the physical but on the spiritual aspects of our lives. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Jesus is our Lord and King, our Savior and our God. His cause is our cause; His will is our will; and His people are our people.
When King Hezekiah became I’ll with a boil and was about to die, he cried out to the Lord. He was still young at 54 and the Lord took note of his tears and his prayers and gave him longer to live. Isaiah 38:5-6, says, “Go and tell Hezekiah, thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: ‘I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.’” Sadly, Hezekiah did not use those years as he should have. We do not read of any great accomplishments for the Lord during those years. They became lost years.
For us living today, let us live every day for the glory of God, spending and being spent, faithful to the end. Every year on the first Sunday of January, I always choose to lead the congregational hymn, “Another Year is Dawning.” It was written by the prolific hymn writer Frances Ridley Havergal. Originally it was a poem sent to her family and friends and the music was by Samuel S. Wesley to the tune Aurelia which is the same as “The Church’s One Foundation.”
Sister Havergal wrote, “Another year of service, of witness of Thy love; another year of training for holier work above. Another year is dawning: Dear Father, let it be, on earth or else in heaven, another year for Thee.” Let this be our prayer today and throughout this year, that we will use our time, our talents, and our treasures in His service until He takes us home to heaven.
Have a blessed day for the Lord. Stay safe and healthy.
Living for the Lord one day at a time, trusting our Father is wonderfully sublime,
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 