OUR DAILY BREAD : BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

[cimi]

February 7
Saturday


BIRTHDAY
CELEBRATION

READ:
Psalm 71:5-18
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By You I have been
upheld from birth....
My praise shall be
continually of You.
__Psalm 71:6
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I used to love birthdays. I can still remember standing excitedly on our front porch waiting for my friends to show up for my 5th birthday party. I wasn't just excited about the balloons, the gifts, and the cake. I was happy that I was no longer only 4! I was growing up.

As I've gotten older, however, birthdays have sometimes been more discouraging than exciting. Last year when I celebrated a birthday that marked me by decades more than by years, my wife, Martie, cheered me up with the reminder that I should be grateful to be growing older. She pointed me to Psalm 71, where the psalmist talks about God's presence throughout his life. He remembers that God "took me out of my mother's womb" (71:6), and he proclaims with thankfulness, "O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wondrous works" (v.17). And now, when the psalmist is older, he has the honor to proclaim: "[God's] strength to this generation, [His] power to everyone who is to come" (v.18). God had blessed the psalmist with His presence through every year of his life.

Birthdays now remind me of God's faithfulness. And they bring me closer to being in the presence of the One who has been with me all these years! __Joe Stowell

``````````````Lord, remind me often that growing older means``````````````
````````````````I am growing nearer to You! Keep my heart````````````````
````````````````filled with gratitude for Your many blessings,```````````````
```````````````and keep my mind fixed on the joy of heaven.````````````````
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Count your many blessings__birthday by birthday!

*********************Today's Bible Reading __ Psalm 71:5-18*************************

5 For You are my hope, O
Lord GOD; You are my trust
from my youth. 6 By You I
have been upheld from birth;
You are He who took me out
of my mother's womb. My
praise shall be continually of
you....

9 Do not cast me off in the
time of old age; do not
forsake me when my
strength fails. 10 For my
enemies speak against me;
and those who lie in wait for
my life take counsel
together, 11 saying "God has
forsaken him; pursue and
take him, for there is none to
deliver him."

12 O God, do not be far
from me; O my God, make
haste to help me! 13 Let them
be confounded and
consumed who are
adversaries of my life; let
them be covered with
reproach and dishonor who
seek my hurt.

14 But I will hope
continually, and will praise
you yet more and more.

15 My mouth shall tell of
Your righteousness and Your
salvation all the day, for I do
not know their limits. 16 I
will go in the strength of the
Lord God; I will make
mention of Your
righteousness, of yours only.

17 O God, You have taught
me from my youth; and to
this day I declare Your
wondrous works. 18 Now
also when I am old and
grayheaded, O God, do not
forsake me, until I declare
Your strength to this
generation. your power to
everyone who is to come.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

God's faithfulness is cause for praise. The psalmist says, "By You I
have been upheld from birth" (Ps. 71:6). It is His faithfulness that
inspires our confidence in Him: "I will hope continually, and will
praise You yet more and more"(v.14).