Daily Encouragement Net
The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
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Thursday, July 30, 2020

Butterfly on Swatara Rail trail 7/28/20
Brooksyne snapped this butterfly photo on a tiger lily on the Swatara Rail Trail
Click on photo to enlarge

"Teach Us To Number Our Days"

Message summary: According to the daily Scripture we are to number our days that we may present to God a heart of wisdom.

ListenListen to this message on your audio player.

"I once was young and now I am old" (Psalm 37:25). “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

We often speak or write about the outstanding sunset view we enjoy right from our front porch. A real country blessing is sitting out on our rocking chairs and witnessing the "sun, moon and stars in their courses above". We have photos of this scene from various seasons.


Sunset 7/29/20
Sunset from Weber's porch

Our present view at sunset is a dense field of 10' tall rows of field corn with a couple of barns and tall silos in the distant background. The huge ball of orange fire glows above the corn field (though getting a good photo of this description is a challenge). The sun’s rays light the tassels that top the corn stalks making them look like glistening icicles in the distance.

Each sunset is a reminder that God is drawing yet another day to a close. We often get up in the morning just as the sun is rising behind our house although we don't have as dramatic a view as our sunset. Sunrise and Sunset are like a pair of daily "bookends", reminding us that the passing of our lives happens one day at a time.

We associate most of the Psalms with David but Moses wrote Psalm 90 and makes the petition found in our second daily text; "So teach us to number our days". Indeed our days are numbered. Today (July 30, 2020) marks 24,030 days since my birth. I used an online widget to determine this which also informed me that I am 576,743 hours old and 34,604,580 minutes old. If I wanted an even larger number I could report my age in seconds on this earth as 2,076,274,800. This really makes time fly! Note to fact checkers: This was actually only true for one second at 12AM 7/30/20. By the time you read this I will be a lot older!

All of us have an allotted number of days. These days are in God’s hands. Certainly we have a responsibility in practicing safety and maintaining our health and can be very thankful for the role of modern medicine in prolonging life. But one day these allotted days will end for all of us. The Bible says there's a time to be born and a time to die.

A visiting preacher solemnly told the congregation in a country church, "Everyone of you in this church is going to die". While many looked a bit uncomfortable and shifted in their seats, the preacher noticed a man on the front row smugly smiling and asked him why. The man responded, "I don't go to this church, I'm from out of town just visiting my sister."

Paul in his message to the Athenians stated,  "And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods (time) and the boundaries of their dwelling place (space), that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet He is actually not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:26,27).

According to the daily Scripture we are to number our days that we may present to God a heart of wisdom. We usually consider wisdom a faculty of the mind but today’s text uses the term "heart of wisdom". This wisdom is not the same as one’s innate intellect or degree of education; the "heart of wisdom" is an altogether different thing. 

A dictionary definition of wisdom is "the knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action".  I personally describe wisdom as the ability to see the sequential consequences of actions and this is largely a benefit of the life experience that comes as we age. Another helpful understanding of the word is "seeing and responding to life’s situations from God’s frame of reference".  That’s why we should seek the counsel of those who are older or more spiritually mature than ourselves in areas where we might need wisdom and guidance.

Having a “heart of wisdom” is living each day with the implementation of God’s eternal principles as we accumulate and process information. Let us also incline our prayerful heart toward God and the Holy Scriptures so that He will guide us in the experiences of life with needed understanding that only He can provide. Let us do this today and every day, so that we can present to God a heart of wisdom!


Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber


Praying manDaily prayer: Father, we earnestly seek You for wisdom regarding the daily circumstances of our lives in the years we are allotted here on earth. Help us to incline our hearts toward You for understanding all that You have to teach us. During the quiet sessions when Your voice seems silent help us to trust You knowing that You work all things out for our good and for Your glory. Amen.



Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources

"To Honor You"  Video  Bob Fitts

We appreciate a daily message from Richard Dresselhaus, a retired pastor in California. Yesterday's message was titled "Time To Say Goodby" and frankly my heart initially sank as I wondered if he was announcing that he was no longer going to blog. However thankfully that was not the case but rather a good perspective on today's message.

Time to say goodbye. And…it can provide an opportunity to bless others.

So it was with Joshua. “I am old...” And he proceeded to speak powerful words of encouragement and challenge.

“Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses…”

This moment comes for everyone – when it’s time to conclude the earthly journey.

Like Joshua…look forward to that moment and see it as an opportunity to bless and challenge others.

But…how can you prepare for that inevitability? The answer is simple. Live like you want to die. That is…follow the Lord with all your heart. Let obedience lay out the blueprint for each day.

Then…when it’s time to say goodbye…you will have words to speak which will inspire…instruct…and encourage others.

The message is here


A few more photos from our rail trail ride on Tuesday

Tiger lily flower on Swatara Rail trail 7/28/20
Tiger lilies on Swatara Rail Trail
Click on photo to enlarge

Swatara Creek on Swatara Rail trail 7/28/20
Swatara Creek is a beautiful mountain stream that eventually drains into the Susquehanna River south of Harrisburg.
Click on photo to enlarge

Greenpoint fire truck on Swatara Rail trail 7/28/20
This Greenpoint Fire Company truck sits long retired in a campground at the start of the Swatara Rail Trail. Due to mergers this northern Lebanon County Fire Company is now known as the Perseverance Company which we think is a good name!

Finally today:

Mollie and kitten in tree
Peek-a-boo, I see you!

Kittens in tree
Oh, and I see you two!

(Across the street from our house, what a fun surprise our dogs had as we were concluding our evening walk.)



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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.



Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."



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