A Heart of Wisdom

Saturday March 31, 2007

My dear sister Alice has just successfully undergone a procedure to improve the circulation of blood throughout her body and to reduce her blood pressure and of course reduce the risk of a stroke or heart attack. At almost the same time the step-daughter of my brother ( Sheila) suffered a critical stroke. Sheila is considerably younger than my sister, brother or myself. I could but scarcely avoid considering the brevity of man's life and purpose when praying for them. The time comes when we all must consider the reality that we do not live forever.

If in the course of our life we do not come to fear God we certainly become aware that we do not have the ability to determine whether or not we have another day. At that thought we each have some discomfort when the doctor asks us to sign the waiver of liability before he performs a procedure. The level of concern begins to rise.

Psalms 90:11-17

11 Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
12 So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O LORD! How long? And have compassion on Your servants.
14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, the years in which we have seen evil.
16 Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children.
17 And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands. (NKJ)

This Psalm is attributed to Moses as the writer. Moses well knew that mankind had moved from the days of life being more than a hundred plus years to a span far less. As we study the complete Psalm we are reminded that we seek knowledge in literacy and math and form statistics to estimate time, space and matter as it applies to the world as we perceive it. We seldom consider the shortness of our lives until we look into the grave where we will lay. It is too often only then that we consider our days. It is too often only then that we begin to look in fear to the one who we know was, is and will be.

How ironic we spend most of our time seeking to learn the skills necessary to measure the size of our house, the cost of our cars, the value of our wealth but fail to learn to know the one who controls the number of our days. Someone has said we fail to learn to pray until there is a tragedy approaching us which makes us pray. We rush through life searching for the things we mistakenly believe will bring us that glorious pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

One of our great concerns these days is the rising cost of education. We spend vast amounts of money to bring our children to an established level of literacy but all without motivating the child to gain knowledge, understanding or wisdom.

Teach us to know who you are, teach us to know what you will do, teach us to know who we are and why we are here. Teach early in our days so we might know your purpose for our life and find the joy of serving you. Teach us that our children might see your glory through us. Teach us early in our days that our children might learn of your glory through our deeds and actions. Teach us our days that we might live in you and you in us.

Ps 90:1-10
1 LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
3 You turn man to destruction, and say, "Return, O children of men."
4 For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night.
5 You carry them away like a flood; they are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up:
6 In the morning it flourishes and grows up; in the evening it is cut down and withers.
7 For we have been consumed by Your anger, and by Your wrath we are terrified.
8 You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; we finish our years like a sigh.
10 The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
(NKJ)

This world was here when we came and it will be here when we go to the grave. We didn't make this earth and we will not break it. The extreme heat some feel might well be from a source, the reality, they deny. The reality of God is not determined by political correctness. God formed the earth from everlasting to everlasting. God is God!

Moses knew the secret to life as evidenced when he said "LORD, You have been our dwelling place." Only those who have stood in the presence of the Lord can make that claim. Moses knew God was indeed God. "You are God!" Just because some do not believe it, does not change the fact. Man did not invent arithmetic he only discovered it's principles. Deep in the heart of every man is the knowledge that he does not control the world or its substance. Man does not hold the breath of life nor does he control it.

We see life in danger of leaving us and we suddenly fear the God we do not acknowledge. We have been consumed by your anger, by your wrath we are terrified. When we hurt we ask why you show us your anger. Yet in our heart of hearts we know it is our failure to acknowledge you as the God we know you are. Teach us oh God to number our days!! Let us learn from you what is important for the short time we have on this earth. "So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom".

Prov 3:13-23
13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding;
14 For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.
16 Length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand riches and honor.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her.
19 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens;
20 By His knowledge the depths were broken up, and clouds drop down the dew.
21 My son, let them not depart from your eyes-- keep sound wisdom and discretion;
22 So they will be life to your soul and grace to your neck.
23 Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble.
(NKJ)

We spend our life chasing after wrong things. It is time to discover as Job did: "Job 28:28
And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding." (NKJ) That we might gain a heart for wisdom while we are young. Let us not wait and waste away our days and regret that we wasted them all. Oh that we would choose Him early in our years and say with Moses, "LORD, You have been our dwelling place."

See all that He has promised. Unlike man God is always there waiting to welcome the wandering home. He is always knocking at the door of our hearts waiting for us open the door and ask to spend eternity with him. If you have never invited God into you life, now is a good time. Simply tell Him you want Him in your life for all eternity and it will be done. Then I suggest you begin to know Him. The Bible is the living word of God. He is there in those words and will come alive to you on each and every page when you ask Him to speak to you there.

Love Ya

Dad, Dad2 and Chuck

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