YEAR 2, WEEK 38, Day 7, Sunday, 21 September 2025

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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Sunday, 21 September 2025:

Psalm 90:1-2 — Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

This psalm, attributed to Moses, sets our perspective straight: God is eternal, we are not. Generations come and go, but God remains the same. He is our true home, our refuge, and stability. Before creation itself, God existed, unchanging, sovereign, and eternal. This truth grounds us in times of instability — no matter how fragile life feels, we are held by the One who is everlasting.

Psalm 90:3-6 — You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” … You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream… In the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.

Moses highlights human frailty: life is short, fragile, and fleeting. Like grass, we rise briefly and quickly fade. God’s command, “Return to dust,” reminds us of Genesis 3:19 – “…for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.” The brevity of life should humble us and drive us to live wisely, not wasting time on trivial pursuits but numbering our days in light of eternity.

Psalm 90:7-11 — For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you… Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?

Sin brings judgment. Israel knew this firsthand through the wilderness wanderings. God’s holiness exposes our iniquities, even “secret sins” hidden from others. The lesson here: don’t take sin lightly. Few people truly reckon with the seriousness of God’s wrath. Right fear of the Lord leads to wisdom and repentance.

Psalm 90:12-17 — So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Moses’ prayer shifts toward wisdom and God’s favor. To “number our days” is not morbid reflection but holy perspective. Life is short and fragile, yet profoundly significant when lived for God’s glory. Numbering our days means remembering that every moment is a gift, entrusted by God for eternal purposes. It means living wisely and intentionally — seeking God’s best in every opportunity, every situation, every relationship, and every encounter, while allowing Him to conform us to His character through it all.

But here’s the key: you will never make the most of every opportunity until you begin to see every situation as God’s gift, even the trial you are facing. Wisdom begins with what you believe about God. If you doubt His love or His sovereignty, you will misinterpret your circumstances, and your response will be shaped by fear, anxiety, or control. But when you know that “the Father himself loves you” (John 16:27; 17:22), and when you trust that in His perfect love and sovereign power He only allows what is ultimately best for you (Romans 8:28-29, 32, 37; 11:36), then you can lean into every moment with bold faith.

Such perspective transforms everything: instead of being guarded, defensive, or paralyzed by fear, you become open, grateful, and courageous. You see opportunities others miss. You move forward with joy, peace, anticipation, and hope. You walk in freedom, leveraging the very situation the enemy meant for harm as a platform to display God’s glory.

By contrast, the one who does not really trust God responds by seizing control, trying to manage outcomes while deep down knowing they control nothing. Anxiety grows, contentment fades, opportunities are wasted, and the fruit of the Spirit is absent.

Moses ends by praying that God’s favor would rest upon His people, that His work would be revealed, and that He would “establish the work of our hands.” This prayer acknowledges that our lives are short, but when our days are lived in Him, they bear eternal fruit. As Paul reminds us, “your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). God Himself makes our work lasting, multiplying what would otherwise fade.

So, Psalm 90 leaves us with this prayer: that our brief lives would be lived wisely, joyfully, and fruitfully, grounded in God’s steadfast love, and established by His eternal favor.

Psalm 90:14-17 — “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!”

Moses closes the psalm not with despair over life’s brevity, but with prayerful hope. He pleads for God’s steadfast love (ḥesed) to satisfy His people. The “morning” signifies a new beginning, the dawn of mercy (Lamentations 3:22-23). Moses is asking that, no matter how dark life feels, God’s love would be our first awareness and our deepest joy each day.

Even in a broken world filled with affliction, loss, and the effects of sin, both around us and within us, this prayer assures us that joy is possible now. Not a circumstantial joy that fades, but a joy rooted in abiding in Christ. Jesus Himself prayed for us, saying: “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). He offers His peace that surpasses understanding (John 14:27; Philippians 4:7), and His love that heals and restores. These are not abstract ideas, but real gifts experienced through communion with Him.

Notice: the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23), flows from within, not from without. It is the result of knowing Christ, abiding in Him (John 15:4-5), and walking in His Spirit, not the product of favorable circumstances.

Jesus embodied this reality perfectly. With peace, He calmed storms while His disciples panicked (Mark 4:39-40). With love, He washed the feet of His betrayer (John 13:1-15). With joy and mercy, He forgave those crucifying Him and saved the thief beside Him (Luke 23:34, 43). John 13:3 tells us why: “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God…” — He rested in His Father’s perfect, eternal, sovereign love. Because He lived in that assurance, He was utterly free to respond to life with love (all-giving), joy (all-hope), and peace (all-assurance).

Paul learned this same secret of abiding. Whether chained in prison or preaching in freedom, he could say, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Philippians 4:11). His eternal perspective gave him strength to endure with joy, knowing, “For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:28–29).

Contrast that with Solomon’s perspective in Ecclesiastes: without eternity in view, he declared all things “meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). The difference is perspective. With eternity in view, every hardship becomes a tool God uses to form Christlike character in us.

Moses’ prayer for God to “establish the work of our hands” reminds us that our brief lives are not wasted when surrendered to Him. Though we are dust, what is done in Christ carries eternal weight (1 Corinthians 15:58). His favor makes our fleeting days fruitful in ways that ripple beyond our lifetime, even into the lives of our children and the generations to come.

So today, even while we await Christ’s triumphant return when He will once for all eliminate sin and restore all things (Revelation 21:3-5), we can live with complete joy, perfect peace, and abiding love. This is the kingdom-life breaking in now, eternity already touching today.

1 Kings 14:1-5 — At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh, to Ahijah the prophet….” But the LORD said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you… Thus and thus shall you say to her.”

Jeroboam, who had led Israel into idolatry, now faces crisis when his son falls ill. Instead of repenting, he resorts to deception, sending his wife in disguise to inquire of the prophet. But disguises don’t fool God. He sees through every mask, every pretense, every attempt to hide our sin. God’s word will always expose the truth.

God revealed to Ahijah Jeroboam’s deception, which is another reminder that, though we cannot know the heart and intentions of others, God does, and we remain under His perfect providence all the time. An important part of wisdom is understanding we can never know enough to make a good decision apart from the guidance, often unperceivable, of the Holy Spirit. The branch must remain connected to the Vine to bear any real fruit in life (see John 15).

1 Kings 14:6-11 — But when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet… he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? … I exalted you from among the people… yet you have not been like my servant David… but you have done evil above all who were before you…. Therefore I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam.”

God delivers judgment through the blind prophet Ahijah, who cannot see physically but sees clearly by God’s word. Jeroboam squandered God’s mercy, choosing sin over faithfulness. His dynasty will be cut off. This sobering warning reminds us that leadership carries great accountability, and rebellion against God never ends well.

1 Kings 14:6 — I am charged with unbearable news for you.

We are called to tell the truth, not what people want to hear.

1 Kings 14:12-16 — “Arise therefore, go to your house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die…. Moreover, the LORD will raise up a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam…. And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.”

Tragically, Jeroboam’s son dies as soon as his mother returns home. God spares the boy further suffering by bringing him into peace, but judgment falls on Jeroboam’s household. Sin always ripples outward, harming not just the sinner but also others, in this case, an entire nation led astray.

1 Kings 14:17-20 — Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah. And as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. And all Israel buried him and mourned for him…. The time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years, and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place.

Jeroboam’s reign ends in tragedy, a wasted opportunity. God had offered him blessing if he would walk in His ways (1 Kings 11:38), but Jeroboam chose idolatry. His legacy becomes one of rebellion and ruin.

1 Kings 14:21-24 — Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah…. And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins…. For they also built for themselves high places and pillars and Asherim….

Meanwhile, Rehoboam in Judah follows the same pattern of compromise and idolatry. The result: Judah provokes God with their unfaithfulness. The divided kingdom shows that sin spreads like a disease when leaders and people forsake God’s word.

1 Kings 14:22 — Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done.

Rehoboam the son of Solomon was given by God a tremendous responsibility — to be king of Judah, “the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there.” Rehoboam was a terrible king who defiled the land and led the people into the same sort of idolatry and sexual sin practiced by the pagans around them — “They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.”

Under Rehoboam’s leadership, the people had lost their light and were now pure darkness. How could the son of Solomon allow this to happen on his watch? The Bible, in 2 Chronicles tells us: “And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.” (2 Chronicles 12:14) This simple statement is worth repeating — Rehoboam did not “set his heart to seek the Lord.” This is a critical life decision no one can make for someone else – Solomon couldn’t set his son’s heart, Rehoboam had to make his own commitment. Setting your heart is both a life pledge and also a continuous decision process of daily obedience – a life orientation, one step at a time over time.

You too have been given a tremendous calling that comes with salvation. You are called to love, serve, and glorify God; to be “salt and light,” an Ambassador for Christ, a priest within a priestly kingdom, a witness. You have been called to go into to the world and make disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded, under the authority of Jesus Christ. With such and awesome calling and responsibility, have you “set your heart to seek the Lord?”

• Deuteronomy 6:5, 6 — You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
• Deuteronomy 10:12 — And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart.
• Deuteronomy 10:16 – Circumcise… your heart, and be no longer stubborn.
• Deuteronomy 11:16 — Take care lest your heart be deceived.
• Deuteronomy 11:18 — You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart.
• Deuteronomy 15:9 — Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart.
• Deuteronomy 30:10 — Obey the voice of the Lord your God…. Turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
• 1 Samuel 12:24 — Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.
• Psalm 40:8 — I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.
• Psalm 40:10 — I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.
• Psalm 86:11 — Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
• Psalm 119:7 — I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules.
• Psalm 119:32 — I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!
• Psalm 119:112 — I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.
• Proverbs 3:1, 3 — My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments… Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.
• Proverbs 3:5 — Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
• Proverbs 4:23 — Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

1 Kings 14:25-31 — In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house…. Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam… are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

Rehoboam’s reign is marked by loss, not gain. His compromises result in God removing blessing and allowing enemies to plunder Jerusalem. This shows us the consequences of unfaithfulness: when God is not honored, what we trust in crumbles.

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 21 September 2025: Both Psalm 90 and 1 Kings 14 press the same sobering truth: life is short, God is eternal, and sin has devastating consequences. Moses teaches us to number our days wisely; Jeroboam shows us the waste of a life spent in rebellion. The practical action: Today, examine one area of your life where you are tempted to compromise or “put on a disguise” before God and others. Instead of hiding, bring it into the light through confession. Number your days, live honestly before God, and ask Him to establish the work of your hands for eternity.

Pray: “Eternal God, You are from everlasting to everlasting, and my life is but a breath. Teach me to number our days with wisdom, so that I may live faithfully and fruitfully for You. Forgive me for the times we have tried to hide our sin, like Jeroboam, or wasted opportunities to walk in obedience. Give me courage to live honestly before You, anchored in Christ, who bore my judgment and gives me eternal life. Establish the work of my hands today, Lord, for Your glory and the good of generations to come. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”