From the Pastor’s Desk (12/30/2015)

What a wonderful year the Lord has given us these past 12 months.  He has blessed us with his word, he has blessed us with his Spirit, he has blessed us with sweet times of fellowship together, he has blessed us with new families, he has blessed with a new meeting location, and much more.  Over the next few days, may we take some time to reflect on his goodness to us – we are undeserving – be he is faithful and gracious.  Also, may we eagerly and prayerfully look ahead to the great things our Lord will do in our midst in this upcoming year.  As William Carey, the great missionary to India put it, “Attempt great things for God and expect great things from God.”

• This Sunday we will gather for Sunday school at 9:45 and for worship at 11:00.

• Also this Sunday we will celebrate communion and collect the deacon’s offering.

• Please bring a dish to share for our Fellowship lunch following worship this week.

• Our next men’s breakfast will be Saturday, January 9th.

• Next Sunday, January 10th, we will have the privilege of having Rev. Danny Olinger with us.  Danny is the General Secretary (Director) of the denominational committee on Christian Education.  For more information on all that his cmte is involved with, see here: http://opc.org/committee_ce.html

• Finally, this week’s devotion is a reflection from Psalm 90.

God bless and I will see all of you this Lord’s Day!  Happy New Year!

From the Pastor’s Desk

Mid-week Devotional

“Teach Us to Number Our Days”

Psalm 90:12, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

Psalm 90 is a wonderful Psalm to mediate on and pray over as we enter another year.  It is a Psalm written by an aged and wise Moses – likely written just prior to Moses’ death and Israel’s entering into the Promised Land under Moses’ successor Joshua.  Israel was a pilgrim people who had known hardship and trial during their 40-year wandering (v. 15).  What was to be their perspective on life in a fallen world?  What is to be our perspective on life in a fallen world?  There are three things we can learn from Psalm 90.

First, Moses begins with God.  The eternal God is our dwelling place (vv. 1-2).  He is our rock and refuge (Ps 71:3; 46:1).  He is our only firm foundation.  And one reason He is so is because he is eternal – “from everlasting to everlasting” He is God.  And there is no other (Is 45:5-7).  Of course it should not surprise us Moses would begin with God if we remember his momentous encounter with the Lord God on Mt. Sinai (see Ex 34:5-7).  Like Moses, we too must begin with God as our refuge and resting place.  It is God who gives life and meaning, joy and purpose.

Second, Moses moves to reflect on the character of man.  Specifically, he mentions man as finite and sinful.  As we came from the dust, so will we return to dust (vv. 3-4, 10; cf James 4:14; Job 7:7).  Moreover, our sins are set before the Lord; indeed, our ‘secret sins’ are an offense to his holy presence (vv. 7-8).  And in light of both our finitude and our sinfulness, we are dependent.  We are needy.  We are not God.  We are not self-sufficient; but each and every moment of each and every day we are dependent on our God.

Thus the third thing we learn from this Psalm is the content of our need.  Moses closes Psalm 90 with prayer – with requests from the Lord.  He prays for wisdom (v. 12; cf. Eph 5:15; Prov 3:13-15).  We are to approach life with an eternal perspective (see Heb 11:13, 25, 39-40).  This world is not our home – we are citizens of heaven – we are to live wisely in this world.  Moses also prays for joy (v. 14).  He prays that he would be satisfied with the ‘steadfast (i.e. covenant) love’ of the Lord; and thus would rejoice and be glad all his days.  As the Psalmist says in another place, the love of the Lord is better than life (Ps 63:3).  Therefore, is to be our satisfaction each day.  There is nothing else that can satisfy and give us such true and heart-felt joy.  Finally, Moses prays for the Lord’s favor (v. 17).  He asks for the Lord’s favor to be upon them and for the Lord to bless them.  As Israel was preparing to enter the Promised Land to take possession of their ‘typical’ inheritance, it was imperative for the Lord to be with them and to bless them.

Brothers and sisters, as we enter another year together, may the worldview expressed by Moses in this Psalm be ours as well.  May we begin with God as our only and sure foundation and resting place; may we recognize our sin and finitude; and thus may we live each day in dependence upon the Lord whose love alone satisfies and whose favor alone blesses.  AMEN!