From: "Phil Rembleski" <PHIl@rescuechurchofchrist.org>
To: "1111RESCUEMEMBERS"
Sent: Wed, Oct 26, 2022 at 6:04 AM
Subject: 10-26-22 THOUGHTS
10-26-22 THOUGHTS
In Eccl 12:5, Solomon speaks of man “going to his LONG HOME”. The passages below put brush strokes into that picture. In a moment of distress (David had many of them), he thinks of how short life is. The words used in verse 4 from various translations are... transient, frail, and fleeting, then, “Surely every man at his best is a mere breath.” The middle of verse 6 tells our story... “Surely they make an uproar for nothing;”. The NT often tells us to “BE SOBER”! The idea is captured in 1Thes 5:6 “so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.” Verse 9 below is conclusive as it declares “ Because it is You who have done it.”
Ps 40 “He set my feet upon a rock” ... “He put a new song in my mouth”. Our lives are truly a “VAPOR”, but God gives them eternal meaning in Christ Jesus! Praise God!
Ps 39:1-13 I said, "I will guard my ways That I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle While the wicked are in my presence." 2 I was mute and silent, I refrained even from good, And my sorrow grew worse. 3 My heart was hot within me, While I was musing the fire burned; Then I spoke with my tongue: 4 "LORD, make me to know my end And what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am. 5 "Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah. 6 "Surely every man walks about as a phantom [ESV has shadow]; Surely they make an uproar for nothing; He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them. 7 "And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You. 8 "Deliver me from all my transgressions; Make me not the reproach of the foolish. 9 "I have become mute, I do not open my mouth, Because it is You who have done it. 10 "Remove Your plague from me; Because of the opposition of Your hand I am perishing. 11 "With reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity; You consume as a moth what is precious to him; Surely every man is a mere breath. Selah. 12 "Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a stranger with You, A sojourner like all my fathers. 13 "Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may smile again Before I depart and am no more."
We need to keep reading...
Ps 40:1-3 I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD.
My Prayer:
Lord, keep us mindful of the short and the long. May we always rejoice in You, but keep us serious in our view of our purpose on earth. Help us to never substitute the urgent for the important. Keep us from worldly lusts and desires. Drive selfishness far from us. Teach us to love and to give. May we see the precious value of every human soul. In the name of Jesus the Christ, Amen.
Pray for Heather