A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Tuesday,
April 27,
2021
Last night just before sunset the farmer raked the rye into windrows in the field across the road from us.
"Remember Your
Creator In The Days Of Your Youth"
Message
summary: Whenever
you may be reading this; whether you are
young, middle-aged or old, we encourage you
to “Remember your Creator".
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
“Remember
your Creator in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come and the
years approach when you will say, ‘I find
no pleasure in them’” (Ecclesiastes 12:1).
We
have some friends on our hearts that are
both enduring the accumulative impact of
aging. Actually we know many going through
this aging process in various phases. Either
you are at this stage or you surely know
many who are. What a blessing to hear
testimony of the strength they receive from
the Lord and in many cases from their
long-term relationship with Him.
When
we began our ministry, while I was still a
student at Central Bible College, I pastored
a small church in the Ozarks about 20 miles
from Springfield. An elderly couple attended
our church, Tracy and Beulah Sutherland, who
were in their late eighties which seemed
utterly ancient at that time (it doesn't
seem nearly as ancient now)! Brooksyne was
only twenty and I was twenty one at the time
of our marriage. We were only married for a
week before we began our pastorate in Fair
Grove where we became very dear friends with
this precious couple.
Tracy and Beulah Sutherland with
a very young
Brooksyne
(during the "big hair" days.)
(during the "big hair" days.)
They
lived
their entire lives in rural southwest
Missouri and had been sustenance farmers
(that is essentially living off what they
grew on their small farm). They were devout
followers of Christ and had some dress
standards even more conservative than ours
though by most people's standards we were
quite conservative in our attire as Bible
School students. But they loved and accepted
us and to this day we treasure our memories
of visiting in their home, dining with them
at their table. Tracy went on to be with the
Lord shortly after we left that area but
Beulah lived to be over 100. We expect a
glorious reunion with them one day!
Tracy
had begun following Christ as a teenager and
I recall how this was so amazing to a fellow
student from Chicago who also attended our
church. He had come to faith only a few
years earlier after living in the ways of
the world. He said, "Man, can you imagine
knowing Jesus for 70 years!"
But
it grieves our heart as we consider those
who enter their senior years who don’t know
Jesus personally; who’ve never communed with
God or perhaps has possibly forsaken a prior
relationship with Him. Their hearts are not
warmed by hymn tunes like “Tis so Sweet to
Trust in Jesus” or “In the Garden” where the
hymn writer described communion with God as,
“He
walks with me and He talks with me,
and
He tells me I am His own.
And
the joy we share as we tarry there
none other has ever known.”
Solomon writes about the changes that come to those enduring old age with the colorful description when "the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, ‘I find no pleasure in them’”.
Essentially Ecclesiastes 12 speaks of a life with and without God. CS Lewis wrote: "There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done’." *
The Life Application Bible study notes make this interesting observation concerning this passage:
“A
life without God can produce a bitter,
lonely, and hopeless old age. A life
centered around God is fulfilling; it will
make the "days of trouble" – when
disabilities, sickness, and handicaps
cause barriers to enjoying life –
satisfying because of the hope of eternal
life. Being young is exciting, but the
excitement of youth can become a barrier
to closeness with God if it makes young
people focus on passing pleasures instead
of eternal values. Make your strength
available to God when it is still yours –
during your youthful years. Don’t waste it
on evil or meaningless activities that
become bad habits and make you callous.
Seek God now.”
Indeed let us, “Remember our Creator in the days of our youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when we will say, “I find no pleasure in them” (Ecclesiastes 12:1 slightly modified the verse by using the first person pronoun). Whenever you read this; whether you are young, middle-aged or old, we encourage you to “Remember your Creator".
“Ten
Thousand Reasons" (Bless the Lord) was
written by Matt Redman and Jonas Myrin based
upon Psalms 103:1-5. It explores how we can
never run out of reasons to worship and
praise God. The third stanza looks
realistically at the end of one's physical
life and the effects of aging and then
concludes with the spiritual resolve to sing
God's praises unending - forevermore!
And
on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still, my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore
The end draws near and my time has come
Still, my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, we who have received
Christ early in our young years are grateful
for the solid and lasting foundation we’re
building that will provide comfort, solidity,
and needed perspective when we approach the
golden years of our life here on earth. The
older we get the more this earth and all that
it has to offer grows dimmer while the lights
of glory grow ever brighter. It happens
because our eyes are fixed on the eternal city
not built with human hands but fashioned and
designed by the Builder of the Ages. Keep us
true, Lord Jesus, for there’s a race to be run
and there are still victories to be won on
this side of heaven. We pray this in the name
of Jesus. Amen.* This quote is in “The Great Divorce” which is complementary to Lewis’ earlier book “The Screwtape Letters”. The working title was “Who Goes Home?” but the final name was changed at the publisher’s insistence. The title refers to William Blake’s “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.” The Great Divorce was first printed as a serial in an Anglican newspaper called The Guardian in 1944 and 1945, and soon thereafter in book form.
Today's
Suggested Music and
Supplemental Resources
"Ten
Thousand Reasons" Video
Matt Redman This is an
outstanding version and Matt
Redman includes this quote from
Charles Wesley from his last hymn,
In age and feebleness
extreme,
Who shall a helpless worm redeem?
Jesus, my only hope Thou art,
Strength of my failing flesh and heart:
O could I catch one smile from Thee,
And drop into eternity!
Who shall a helpless worm redeem?
Jesus, my only hope Thou art,
Strength of my failing flesh and heart:
O could I catch one smile from Thee,
And drop into eternity!
Speaking of the
Wesleys: Consider this
prophetic quote from John Wesley
who died in 1791: "What one
generation tolerates, the next
generation will embrace."
Note: Yesterday I
called the couple mentioned in the
first paragraph and am again
reminded of the power of
encouragement and also the truth
of the proverb, "He who
refreshes others, is himself
refreshed" (Proverbs 11:25).
Who can you reach out to who may
need a word of encouragement?
Ester took this photo
of the field work just before
sunset last night.
The windrows at sunset
last night as with a large
machine he moves along pretty
fast.
The sun comes up
It's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass
And whatever lies before me
Let me be singing
When the evening comes
It's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass
And whatever lies before me
Let me be singing
When the evening comes
Send a
message to Stephen &
Brooksyne
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Weber".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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