Making the Most of Today

Ps 90:9-12
For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;
We finish our years like a sigh.
10 The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11 Who knows the power of Your anger?
For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
12 So teach us to number our days ,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

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Days can go by so quickly. It seems as if 2006 came and went in a blur. Lately I’ve talked with Jenn and reflected on how my children have grown so quickly. It blew my mind to realize how old Cameron and Shane are!

Life goes by very quickly.

We need to make our lives count for the gospel while there is still time.

The Brevity of Life

James 4:14
For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

The bible tells us that man’s life is but a vapor. This speaks of the brevity of life.

Ps 39:11
…Surely every man is vapor.

We will someday pass from this life.

Ps 102:11
11 My days are like a shadow that lengthens,
And I wither away like grass.

Our text tells us the factor of life.

Vs.10
The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

This is wisdom to us.
Look at what he says in the prior verse

For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;
We finish our years like a sigh.

In other words, our days are not only short but miserable as our sins daily provoke God’s wrath.

The devil will lie to people and make them think that they have time to get right with God. But what they don’t realize is that life is miserable in sin.

Squandering the Time Away

As wickedness takes place, sin gets a hold and destroys life itself.

This is what sin does.

Rom 6:23
For the wages of sin is death…

The days are too short to not take each day and make them count.

We see this in the prodigal son. The bible says,

Luke 15:13-16
13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

This man took not only his possessions but the word ‘when he had spent all’, refers also to the precious time squandered.

This is much what we see in the world today.

Time wasted in entertainment.
Selfish gratification
The pleasures of life
In all kinds of circumstances with no reference to the brevity of life.

Life is too short to be wasted

So teach us to number our days ,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom

In others words, recognize the brevity of life, and make it count for what is most important.

Life is here today, and gone tomorrow. Every day is one day closer to eternity.

The story of the rich man going to build bigger barns

Luke 12:16-21
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' 18 So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul,"Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' 20 But God said to him, 'Fool ! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'
21 "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

When we look back at life what will life reflect to us.

I remember a pastor stating the horror of getting to heaven, and God not only showing us what we did, but what we could have been had we prioritized our time.

As we recognize the brevity of life, we must also prioritize our lives accordingly.

Jesus says, But seek Ye first, the kingdom of God…

This should come into our mind if we are to make our lives count with the full potential.

The Days are Short

Most of us might not see seventy. Should the Lord tarry perhaps, but we are living in the last generation.

Matt 24:32-35
"Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near — at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.

Time is winding up. Every second brings us closer to God’s kingdom drawing near.

And in this, we must find ourselves doing what God has called us to do.

It is a time that needs our preparation. That as we draw closer, we are ready to meet the King.

Matt 24:45-51
"Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. 47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

May we be found doing so when He comes. Not squandering our time, but making it count for what matters the most, and that is eternity.