February’s Snow Moon
Taken by Ester 2/10/17
“Generations”
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“Generations come and generations go” (Ecclesiastes 1:4). “One generation will commend Your works to another; they will tell of Your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and I will meditate on Your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of Your awesome works, and I will proclaim Your great deeds” (Psalm 145:4-6).
Yesterday we attended a funeral service for a 95 year old sister in our church. Helen had been the oldest member but now that distinction belongs to a man also in his nineties. He just happened to be among the groomsmen in Helen and her late husband, Earl’s, wedding photo! Since black and white 8X10 photos were displayed among Helen’s memorabilia it was fun to see these folks now in their 90’s when they were young and just starting out.
We warmly remember Helen’s welcoming gift when we moved into their neighborhood 16 years ago. Earl brought her homemade shoofly pie* while we were still unpacking our U-Haul.
Earl also shared with us his hand written note of Scripture verses especially selected to bless our ministry. Before our move, our landlord had told him a preacher was moving down from Massachusetts and would be renting his farmhouse. Earl invited us to the neighborhood country church which has been our base for the last sixteen years.
Earl and Helen’s son Galen and his wife Nancy remain close friends and Galen had a very touching tribute he shared yesterday. Helen passed away on Tuesday last week just 12 hours after Galen and Nancy’s daughter gave birth to the youngest great grand-daughter! Now that’s a very current example of our first daily text, an easily observable point made by Solomon, “Generations come and generations go” (Ecclesiastes 1:4).
Based upon the forty-year generation cycle some 75 generations have come and gone since King Solomon wrote the words of our daily text. Indeed generations come and go. People who are young think they’ll never get old; but there comes a time in each of our lives when we know better. We soon realize how temporary life really is, how fast it passes, and the supreme need to place a focus on what really matters, that which endures for all time.
Today we encourage you to examine your roots and your destination. Generations come and generations go. You have come and you are most certainly going. We are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (see James 4:14).
In Max Lucado’s book, “When Christ Comes”, he describes a perspective of what happens when the Lord returns. It ends with a grand vision of the Lord’s second coming and an emphasis that, in light of that glorious coming event, everything else pales in comparison. We must resolve daily to remain committed to that which really does matter!
Today let us who seek to faithfully serve God in our generation make this declaration based on the second daily text, “My generation will commend Your works to another; I will tell of Your mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and I will meditate on Your wonderful works. I will tell of the power of Your awesome works, and I will proclaim Your great deeds.”
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Your mercy endures to all generations since You created human life. Your truths are timeless and Your provisions are abundant to those who call upon your name. Help us to declare Your faithfulness to our own generation and to the generations that follow. Thank you for our ancestors who proclaimed Your faithfulness to their children who in turn passed on spiritual truths to us. And we now have the blessing and responsibility of proclaiming Your faithfulness to our children. Generation by generation we proclaim the salvation that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.”
Additional study note: Today’s second verse from the Psalms presents a foundational principle: “One generation will commend Your works to another.” We may read this verse and see it primarily as the older generation commending God’s works to the younger and throughout Scripture this is presented as a vital way of transmitting truth. But the text itself does not specify this. We might also see it as a two way exchange; we benefit by being on both the telling and the receiving end.
It is so uplifting to see a respectful youth listening intently to the instruction of an elder or an elder listening with genuine interest as a young person shares how the Lord is working through his or her life. This is an illustration of the wonderful God-ordained pattern for the transmission of truth.
This is such a contrast to the ongoing breakdown of the divinely ordained order in the home and local church. It counteracts the philosophy of “It takes a village” that proposes big and intrusive government as essential for the betterment of society.
This I believe greatly erodes God’s original design. You see, the “village” does a very poor job (essentially nonexistent) in transmitting godly values from one generation to the next. This is a role ordained of God for the family and church. For the last fifty years our country has reaped the spiritual and practical fall-out the village model has inflicted upon our culture and we surely have much more reaping to come.
Consider an outline of our text:
* One generation will commend Your works to another
* They will tell of Your mighty acts.
* They will speak of the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
* and I will meditate on Your wonderful works.
* They will tell of the power of Your awesome works,
* I will proclaim Your great deeds.
As I study and ponder the text I notice this absolute focus is on God absolutely: “Your works, Your mighty acts, Your majesty, Your wonderful works, Your awesome works, Your great deeds.”
“Tell It To Your Children” Video Bill Gaither Trio
*Shoofly pie is a molasses pie traditional among the Pennsylvania Dutch and is called Melassichriwwelkuche in Pennsylvania Dutch. If you’d like to read about how the pie got its name and see a recipe for Shoofly pie click here.
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