{"id":38772,"date":"2026-01-01T15:29:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T22:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?post_type=portfolio&p=38772"},"modified":"2026-01-01T15:46:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T22:46:33","slug":"2026-wisdom","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/gospel-express\/2026-wisdom\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisdom for a New Year…"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is tragic that so many people go about their lives as if God doesn\u2019t exist (or worse, make “gods” to rationalize their own lusts). Instead of soberly acknowledging that their days are numbered in this world, that they are not God, they subconsciously assume they will live forever, and they steadfastly ignore any idea of judgment to come. Yeshua warned us, however, that \u201cnothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light\u201d (Mark 4:22). We should tremble before such words. Each of us will give account for what we have done with the time given us (Heb. 9:27; 2 Cor. 5:10; Matt. 12:36).<\/p>\n

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Moses therefore prayed to God: \u201cTeach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom<\/strong>\u201d (Psalm 90:12). Each soul is given a finite amount of time in this world, and therefore Moses asked God to teach us how to live in light of our ultimate destiny… For this we need wisdom, which primarily consists of knowledge of the holy (\u05d3\u05b7\u05e2\u05b7\u05ea \u05e7\u05b0\u05d3\u05e9\u05c1\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd) and the experience of the awe of the LORD (\u05d9\u05b4\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05b7\u05ea \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05d4, Prov. 9:10). Note then the connection between learning to \u201cnumber our days\u201d and apprehending the sacredness of life. As we learn to esteem our days, so we discover wisdom for our sojourn to eternity. Reflecting on the brevity of life awakens us to consciously reflect upon the course of our lives and to distill the ultimate concerns of our hearts.<\/p>\n

Consider, then, the \u201cmeasure of your days…\u201d Your life in this world will end far sooner than you expect, and then what will become of you? I am not here thinking of the end of “the” world, but rather the end of your world – when you will die and face the light of eternity. Today, this moment, you are on the way, going someplace; your \u201clatter days\u201d are already come upon you… If you are not prepared today, how will you be better prepared tomorrow? Today is the day of salvation, the hour that matters most. Learn to die to the world now, to let go of what presently holds you captive, so that you are free to meet that which forever shall come. Don’t put off genuine teshuvah: turn while there is still time. As Jim Elliot once said: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” And may God give us mercy to say from the heart: “For me to live is Messiah, and to die is gain<\/strong>” (Phil. 1:21).<\/p>\n

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Yet how many of us take all this to heart? How many of us \u201cnumber our days\u201d that we might attain wisdom? Do we appreciate the brief amount of time we are given in this life? When we were young we believed we will live forever. King David prayed, \u201cmake me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!\u201d (Psalm 39:4).<\/p>\n

The sages say on the day of death, one considers one\u2019s life as if it had been a single day… Life goes by so quickly, and we never know when our personal \u201cRosh Hashanah\u201d will come. \u201cNo one knows the day or hour…\u201d That\u2019s why it is so vital to be healed and to turn to God while there is still time. So let us turn to him today and bacharta ba\u2019chayim \u2013 \u201cchoose life<\/strong>!\u201d \u201cFor this commandment (of turning to God in faith) is not hidden from you, and it is not far away. It is not in heaven… nor across the sea…. Rather, the matter is very near you \u2013 in your mouth and your heart \u2013 to do it\u201d (Deut. 30:11-14; Rom. 10:8-13).<\/p>\n

\u00ad\"\"<\/p>\n

[ Hebrew for Christians ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is tragic that so many people go about their lives as if God doesn\u2019t exist (or worse, make “gods” to rationalize their own lusts). Instead of soberly acknowledging that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":38775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"portfolio_entries":[29],"class_list":["post-38772","portfolio","type-portfolio","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","portfolio_entries-29"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/38772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolio"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38772"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/38772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38776,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/38772\/revisions\/38776"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38772"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_entries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_entries?post=38772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}