A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Friday,
May
7,
2021
"We
Are Just A Vapor"
Message
summary: This life is all
we now know and thus seems wholly significant unless we
develop and nurture an eternal perspective.
Listen to this message on your audio player.
"Yet you do not know what your
life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor
that appears for a little while and then vanishes
away" (James 4:14). "But the LORD is the true God;
He is the living God, the eternal King" (Jeremiah
10:10).
Yesterday
I spoke to a group of senior men at the Calvary Homes
Men's Fellowship. The oldest attendee just turned 100
last month and there was a variety of "younger men" also
in attendance. But it was nice to be in a setting where
I was the youngest, though that is often not the case
anymore!The one hundred year old class member was Eric
Crichton, a former pastor of the church we now attend.
He served the congregation from 1964-1987. He remains
vibrant and sharp. He told me after the message I shared
(essentially the same as today's encouragement) that we
may be a vapor but we can also be a fragrance for
Christ. (See 2 Corinthians 2:14-16) Can I get a
hearty "amen" from our readers today!
One hundred is a long time to live but
consider this: he has lived just 5% of the time since
Christ came to this earth 2000 years ago. In my case
I've been around just 3.3% of that time (if you need
help determining your percentage, and like me are not a
whiz in math, see this helpful percent calculator widget). If we
go back to creation our percentage of time is of course
far less!
But if we go ahead into the future we can
consider the line from "Amazing Grace" that most all of
us have sung hundreds of times (depending on age and
Christian background):
When we've
been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.
But for now this life is all we now know and
thus seems wholly significant unless we develop and
nurture an eternal perspective.
"Be Unto
Your Name" is a song that powerfully contrasts our
present moment of life in light of eternity:
Today, we ask you to consider the single line, "We are a vapor, You are eternal". Lynne DeShazzo and Gary Sadler, authors of this song, share their thoughts:
We are
a moment, You are forever.
Lord of the ages, God before time.
We are a vapor, You are eternal
Love everlasting, reigning on high.
Lord of the ages, God before time.
We are a vapor, You are eternal
Love everlasting, reigning on high.
Today, we ask you to consider the single line, "We are a vapor, You are eternal". Lynne DeShazzo and Gary Sadler, authors of this song, share their thoughts:
"We
started talking about how fragile and temporal life
is, that it's just a vapor or a moment and how our
lives pass so quickly and yet God's life goes on and
on forever. Juxtaposed against the vastness and
eternality of God, all that we could say in the
chorus of the song we wrote is what anyone would say
when faced with that reality – "Holy, Holy, Lord God
Almighty". It seemed to echo a heart expression of
every believer – awe, humility and reverence in the
light of One so great."
James
writes of this in the daily text, "You are just a
vapor that appears for a little while and then
vanishes away". When Brooksyne first introduced
this song to the church we were pastoring at the time
she illustrated the James passage as she sprayed a
fragrant mist in the congregation that disappeared
within seconds though the
fragrance lingered for a couple minutes,
a vivid reminder of how quickly we pass through life
on this side of eternity. It's also a reminder of the
2 Corinthians passage that we are to be a fragrance
for Christ. Long
after a faithful believer is gone his testimony and
devotion to God follow years later as though his
fragrance lingered for us to breathe in deeply the
works and example of one now residing in heaven. For
example last night Pastor Kevin Eshelman, speaker at
the National Day of Prayer gathering here in
Lancaster, cited godly individuals that were prominent
and used by God to spread a revival fire throughout
New York City in the late 1850's, so much so, that
revival gatherings took place in every community every
day of the week. These individual's names were not
familiar to us, but their works in Christ were
remembered 150 years later. Send revival, Lord, we
pray and start it in me!
A good way to seek another perspective of how quickly time flees is a walk through the cemetery. A slow, thoughtful walk while examining the markers reminds us that life is indeed just a vapor. We are so blessed when we see expressions of faith on some of the markers, a lasting reminder of the eternal dimension. A Scripture message we inscribed on my parent's marker sums up the entire reason for living as well as the reason for dying, "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain."
In light of our lives being like a vapor what great assurance the short statement that comprises our second daily verse must have given Jeremiah and also us today. "But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God, the eternal King" (Jeremiah 10:10). Three words in this text powerfully describe the immutable (unchangeable) God of the universe;
A good way to seek another perspective of how quickly time flees is a walk through the cemetery. A slow, thoughtful walk while examining the markers reminds us that life is indeed just a vapor. We are so blessed when we see expressions of faith on some of the markers, a lasting reminder of the eternal dimension. A Scripture message we inscribed on my parent's marker sums up the entire reason for living as well as the reason for dying, "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain."
In light of our lives being like a vapor what great assurance the short statement that comprises our second daily verse must have given Jeremiah and also us today. "But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God, the eternal King" (Jeremiah 10:10). Three words in this text powerfully describe the immutable (unchangeable) God of the universe;
true,
living
eternal.
Consider each of these bedrock adjectives in light of the shifting sands of the world's system. They are just as valid in describing God today as they were 2,600 years ago, for God does not change. They describe the One who said, "I am the God". The present tense is always necessary in describing the true, living and eternal God. He always "is".
The song we noted in the earlier part of the message goes on to proclaim in the chorus,
Holy,
Holy Lord God Almighty.
Worthy is
the Lamb who was slain.
Highest
praises, honor and glory.
Be unto Your name, be unto Your Name.
Be unto Your name, be unto Your Name.
Be
encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, the longer we live the
more we come to understand the brevity of life
on earth. Our time spent on this earth is just
a vapor in the eons of time, yet we are of
incomparable worth to You who gives us the
principles, teachings and tools to walk our
brief pilgrimage on this side of eternity. So
much is lacking in this life where sin
abounds, but we gladly hold onto Your hand for
the glorious victory that awaits the believer
where sin is no longer present. Our perishable
bodies will no longer be like a vapor but will
be imperishable, made to last for all of
eternity. It's only because of Calvary that we
are afforded this amazing privilege. Thank
You, Jesus! Amen.Matthew Henry writes: "The frailty, shortness, and uncertainty of life, ought to check the vanity and presumptuous confidence of all projects we have in mind for the future. We can fix the hour and minute of the sun's rising and setting to-morrow, but we cannot fix the certain time of a vapor being scattered. So short, unreal, and fading is human life, and all the prosperity or enjoyment that attends it; though bliss or woe forever must be according to our conduct during this fleeting moment. We are always to depend on the will of God. Our times are not in our own hands, but at the disposal of God. Our heads may be filled with cares and contrivances for ourselves, or our families, or our friends; but Providence often throws our plans into confusion. All we design, and all we do, should be with submissive dependence on God."
Throughout life I only recall
meeting two men who passed the century mark.
When we first moved to Lancaster County in
2001 we sat in front of a man in our church
who celebrated his 100th birthday a year or
so after we moved here and lived till he was
102. Menno Brubaker was born in the very
house that he lived out his entire life and
where he also died. He was a devout man and
influential in many lives. He, like David,
"served God's purpose in his own
generation". (Acts 13:36) It's
easier to recall women we have known who
have lived to be 100 or beyond, and I
believe statistically speaking women outlive
men as a general rule. (After considering
our personal experience I went online and
found a study from Boston University that
says 85% of those who live to be 100 or over
are women, so it is not surprising that
we've met far more women than men in the
centenarian age category.)
Today's
Suggested Music and
Supplemental Resources
Yesterday
following the men's meeting we spent some time
with our friends Jim and Dorothy Schmidt,
including lunch at the Agape' Cafe and Grill in
Strasburg, PA. Their website states, "It is our
goal to provide an atmosphere where the love of
Christ is felt by those who enter our doors." With
Scriptures posted on the walls and even on the
waitress's T-shirts or aprons, since a number of
them are Amish, you can't eat there without
getting a witness for the Lord.
While
we were with Jim and Dorothy Ester stayed on the
Old Windmill Farm to take some photos. Yesterday
they hosted a busload of Jewish girls from
Brooklyn.
The
children take turns feeding the calf.
The
lambs and their goat friend are growing. Do those
look like curious eyes needing some loving
attention?
Polka-dot pigs?
Ester
ran an errand with Jamie to the Tractor Supply and
had a view just a bit different than when riding
with us.
The
last week of school in the Amish schools so we see
even more than usual activity outside - relays,
picnics, special trips to the creamery farm for
some home-made ice cream, and other special
places.
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a message to Stephen
& Brooksyne
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