Monday, August 29, 2011
Just Thinking
The sun hasn't started coming up yet but the darkness has broken and you can see the outline of the NC mountains and the "smoke" that makes them the Smokeys. It's quiet and peaceful. Won't stay this way long. Within a few hours the kids will wake up and the activity will begin. Another vacation day with family. This is day 4. Yesterday was fun. We went to church as a family. I think each of us experienced something different during that hour. We went out for lunch...ate too much. Came back to the vacation house and had a lazy afternoon. We had an impromptu family worship time. Each of the kids shared something musical. It was truly great that they would share their talents with us. Each of them volunteering, no one was forced. Dad shared devotionally on how we are here to connect with each other. To help each other with the ultimate goal of helping them secure a place in heaven. We sang In Christ Alone and Dad ended by reading Phil. 4:8, Kayla's favorite verse. It was tearful but good. Then we played a musical game together and laughed and had a great time. After the game we had supper - a buffet of leftovers or whatever you could find. We had conversations about life and death and grief and life. We watched Toy Story 3 and laughed and cried during the ending, least I did. Silly Pixar sentementalism. This is all part of the eternal life that we experience together. It's not just about the hereafter...it's what we do with what we have here too.
Monday, August 22, 2011
My Days Are Numbered
Mark 16,891 (so far)
Kayla 6,751 Alicia 6,337
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:16)
How many days do I have left? I don’t know. No one does, except God. He knows the exact number of years, days, hours and seconds that I will occupy my address on Planet Earth; the exact moment that my death will occur.
Now that may not seem like a cheery thought to you, and in fact, most people would find that sobering, at best, and frightening, at worst. I find comfort and security in knowing that God has my life so ordered that I will neither die a day sooner nor live a day longer than what has already been recorded in his book. You see, life and death are far above my understanding, so I will happily let Father God take care of that department, thank you very much.
So if I truly and correctly understand this profound truth, then I am freed from the fear of death to fully live the life that God has planned for me. I can enjoy an intimate walk with the One who is intimately involved in each minor detail of my day (Psalm 139:1-4), who never lets me out of his sight (Psalm 139:5-8), whose fatherly hand guides my every move (Psalm 139:9-10), and who is never limited or intimidated by my circumstances (Psalm 139:11-12). In fact, God is so involved in my life that he was even there at the moment my mother and father conceived me in love, and while I was in the womb, he masterminded even the most smallest details of my formation.
God knows me! He knows everything about me. He planned me, built me, watches over me, can steer me back on track when I wander from his purpose (Psalm 139:23-24), can be completely trusted to keep me safe until the Divinely allotted numbers of days ordained have expired and then take me to the next life that he has prepared for me. And he has done such an amazingly great job with this life I can’t even begin to imagine what’s on tap for the next!
“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand” (Psalm 13:6), but it won’t keep me from enjoying this day and praising the One who is in charge of it!
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:16)
How many days do I have left? I don’t know. No one does, except God. He knows the exact number of years, days, hours and seconds that I will occupy my address on Planet Earth; the exact moment that my death will occur.
Now that may not seem like a cheery thought to you, and in fact, most people would find that sobering, at best, and frightening, at worst. I find comfort and security in knowing that God has my life so ordered that I will neither die a day sooner nor live a day longer than what has already been recorded in his book. You see, life and death are far above my understanding, so I will happily let Father God take care of that department, thank you very much.
So if I truly and correctly understand this profound truth, then I am freed from the fear of death to fully live the life that God has planned for me. I can enjoy an intimate walk with the One who is intimately involved in each minor detail of my day (Psalm 139:1-4), who never lets me out of his sight (Psalm 139:5-8), whose fatherly hand guides my every move (Psalm 139:9-10), and who is never limited or intimidated by my circumstances (Psalm 139:11-12). In fact, God is so involved in my life that he was even there at the moment my mother and father conceived me in love, and while I was in the womb, he masterminded even the most smallest details of my formation.
God knows me! He knows everything about me. He planned me, built me, watches over me, can steer me back on track when I wander from his purpose (Psalm 139:23-24), can be completely trusted to keep me safe until the Divinely allotted numbers of days ordained have expired and then take me to the next life that he has prepared for me. And he has done such an amazingly great job with this life I can’t even begin to imagine what’s on tap for the next!
“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand” (Psalm 13:6), but it won’t keep me from enjoying this day and praising the One who is in charge of it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)