This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it (Psa 118:24).Give us this day our daily bread (Mat 6:11). Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth (Pro 27:1).
Does God really make each day?
My speech teacher had all the students in all her classes say Ps.118:24 every day for a whole semester. It would be hard not to know it by heart. The new thing for me was that God “makes” a day just like He “makes” the earth and stars. Some will say, “Oh no, God doesn’t make each day. The earth turns and the sun comes up and that’s a new day.” Question: does the same thing happen today that happened yesterday? No, each day witnesses the birth of thousands of babies that have never before been born and thousands of people die who have never before been dead. No two days are alike.
No tree is exactly the same two days in a row. Your telephone will carry entirely different words than it did yesterday. What will your phone say to you today? The words you speak on your phone today will not be the same words you said on the phone yesterday. Only God knows the people who are going to cross my path today and who I’m going to meet at the stop sign or the next red light. Do you think you know a lot about your life or about your day coming up? Think again.
Proverbs 27:1 tells us we do not know what a day may bring forth. Today has been made and held in store from the hand of God for thousands of years. It will be here for a few hours and then it will be gone forever. It will never be back again. In each day God makes, we do things or we neglect to do things that ought to be done.
Jesus told us to pray for daily bread. We are utterly dependent upon God for our daily bread and for everything good that we want in each day. The memory of a day is one of the most important artifacts remaining from a spent day. We should think about that when we have a choice of speaking in anger and rage or speaking with a civil tongue.
Many people who are in prison for life would like to go back and live one particular day over again. If they could relive that one day, they would not be in prison. Many people would like to go back and reshape a sentence spoken in haste that forever destroyed a relationship. The people who went to work in the twin towers in New York and Pentagon and boarded airplanes did not know it was going to be their last day. One of our days has to be the last one. Someone has said that our whole life will someday be represented as a single dash on a tombstone, inserted between the birth date and the death date. So, what are you doing with your dash today?
Evangelist Paul Ferguson loved to tell stories. One of his favorite stories was framed in the early days of our country. Farmer Brown was out working in his corn field beside the road. His neighbor came along the road leading a cow with a rope. Farmer Brown said, “Fred, where are you going with that cow?” Fred replied, “I’m going to town to sell the cow and buy some things we need at home.” Farmer Brown said, “Fred, you ought not say you are going to town to sell the cow. You should say ‘I’m going to town to sell the cow, God willing.” Fred was clearly irritated. He said, “Mr. Brown it’s clear that I’m going to town and I’m telling you I’m going to sell this cow and buy some things we need at home.” On he went down the road, leading the cow.
In about thirty minutes Farmer Brown looked up and there was Fred going back toward his home, dragging a rope. His nose was bleeding and his eyes were swollen; his shirt was nearly torn off of him and his hat was gone. “Fred, what in the world happened to you?” “Well, Farmer Brown, I left your place and went down the road around the first curve and three big guys jumped out of the bushes and began to beat me up. They took out a knife and cut the rope off the halter and took my cow. I don’t have any money now, so there was no need to go on to town.”
“Well, what are you going to do now, Fred?” “Uh,well, there’s nothing for me to do now but to go back home and tell my wife….uh, God willing.” “God willing, Farmer Brown! God willing!”
Let us sincerely thank God for each day. Let us not boast of our great plans we are going to carry out tomorrow. I’m convinced that the day is the best unit of time to think in. God recorded for us this: So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (Psa 90:12).
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR –
May 13, 2016 – A.M .2 Kings 6-8 P.M. John 4:31-54
(BIBLE GATEWAY will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
MEMORY VERSE FOR THIS MONTH:
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Pro 3:5-6)
PRAYER: “Heavenly Father…”
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEMORIZING
●Write the verse on a 3x5 card (or a half 3x5 card) to use several months.
●Say the verse
five times a day to yourself, reference before and after the verse.
●Write the verse
several times a day on a card or paper carried in your pocket for that purpose.
●Say the verse
to a friend or family member once a day
●Repeat the verse
daily for several weeks until it pours out without effort. It takes 60 days to really memorize a verse. It takes a lifetime to obey and practice it.