LIVING WATER CAC DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
Friday, August 4, 2023.
DON'T BOAST OF TOMORROW (II)
Read: Luke 12:16-20
[16]Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.
[17]And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’
[18]So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.
[19]And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’
[20]But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
MEMORISE: There are many plans in a man's heart, nevertheless the LORD'S counsel that will stand (Proverbs 19:21).
EXPOSITION
Just a phone call about an accident, a text message about a cough turned high fever, a stomach-ache, an office apartment engulfed in flames of fire, or being caught in a sporadic gunfire at a recreation park, and etcetera, can alter a day's plan, if not a lifetime! Life is too complex than not bringing God into our plans as Christians.
Life is uncertain to us, but not to God. So, instead of boasting about the validity of your plans, commit them to the Lord. Lots of people love to celebrate their birthdays. Of course, God tells us to number our days, but this is aimed at helping us gain a heart of wisdom (Psa. 90:12). Life on earth is like a vapour when compared with eternity. Don't waste your life on what is ephemeral.
Before Thomas A' Kempis wrote, "Man proposes but God disposes", King Solomon had written it first: We toss the coin, but it is the Lord who controls its decision (Prov. 16:33 LB). And Psalm 146:4 (NLT) says, When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them. Know assuredly that man cannot control future events of his own, for man has neither the wisdom to see the future nor the power to control it! Make your boasts only in God (Jer. 9:23-24). James did not insert the word, If the Lord wills (Jas. 4:15) as some magical incantation we simply add to the end of a sentence, which will suddenly change our plans to God's. Rather, the Lord wills must be the core of whatever we plan as Christians (Jn. 4:34).
Do not be the rich fool who boasted about tomorrow he would never see.
SUGGESTED HYMN FOR TODAY: CAC GHB 173
1. My times are in Thy hand,
My God, I wish them there;
My life, my friends, my soul I leave
Entirely to Thy care.
2. My times are in Thy hand
Whatever they may be,
Pleasing or painful, dark or bright,
As best may seem to Thee.
3. My times are in Thy hand,
Why should I doubt or fear?
A Father's hand will never cause
His child a needless tear.
4. My times are in Thy hand,
Jesus the crucified;
The hand my cruel sins had pierced
Is now my guard and guide.
5. My times are in Thy hand;
I'll always trust in Thee,
And after death at Thy right hand
I shall for ever be.
Amen.
PRAYER POINTS:
1.My Father, my God, send me all the necessary helps to fulfil all You have for me, today and tomorrow, in Jesus' name.
2. Lord, help me never to be boastful of anything I think I can do.
3. Pray that God would deliver our children from the disaster of self-will characteristic of this end-time.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: Proverbs 31; Ecclesiastes 1:1-3:8
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