Be Thankful - God’s Grace is Long
Wednesday’s Verse:
From Psalm 90:12 NIV
“Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Life can change in a heartbeat. Reading a news story from the New York Post yesterday afternoon about a horrific car chase in California, I could only think about what people think of when they are involved in those chases.
The man in the news story was trying to outsmart the police, and to be pastoral, I suppose trying to outrun the consequences of his sins. But one quick moment of time and life was over for him. Strangely enough, people were able to see it live on their screens. It was a brief and chilling reminder of how precious and how short life is.
The psalmist prays for help in this very thing: “Teach us to number our days.” We’re prone to act like we’ll live forever or at least until tomorrow. But the Bible tells us that our lives are a vapor, a mist that “appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). It’s not that we should be scared to death of tomorrow. Walking in faith that each new day is a new opportunity from God to love Him and others and live our lives before Him in humble obedience.
Martin Luther put it this way: “A Christian lives his life as if Christ died yesterday, rose this morning, and is coming again tomorrow.” Living with that kind of perspective leads to hearts filled with urgency but also hope. Every hour is an opportunity to repent and forgive, to trust in Christ’s mercy, to do good to others.
Let yesterday car chase news remind us all that life is short but God’s grace is long. Because of Jesus, even death itself, as final as it seems, will be swallowed up by the new heavens and new earth. The last day of our lives will be the first day of eternity with our Savior.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Lord, teach me to number my days rightly. May I live not in fear of tomorrow but in faith that you hold my life in your hands. May I be wise and use each moment for your glory and the good of others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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