Teach Us to Number Our Days

November 10, 2026

Is it good to contemplate your own death? Some would say it’s a morbid thing to do, but the word of God says otherwise. There are passages throughout the Bible that call us to remember the brevity of life—that our lives are but a vapor, that they are like a passing shadow, or like the flower of the field that soon withers away.

There is wisdom in contemplating this reality. Listen to Moses’ prayer to God, “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away… So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:10, 12 NASB95). It may seem hard for us to believe (especially the young among us), but 80 years goes by like the blink of an eye. Soon our lives are gone and we fly away. We cannot escape this truth. We should not avoid this truth. Instead, like Moses, we should ask God to teach us to number our days! Why? Because considering our own mortality will help us to be wise with the time we do have.

How does pondering the brevity of life help us to present a heart of wisdom to God?

It helps us make the most of our time. If life is short, each moment is precious. Each moment is a gift from God. How are you going to use your time? When we learn to number our days, we learn to avoid the wasteful pursuits that can easily dominate our days.

It helps us live with eternity in mind. It reminds us that this life is not all there is—that we’re briefly passing through. Realizing the brevity of life causes us to prepare for eternity rather than putting our hopes in the temporary things of this world.

It helps us not put off until tomorrow what we know we should do today. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us. Given this truth, are there things you need to do today? Is there someone you need to forgive? Is there a good deed that you need to do? Is there someone you need to share your faith with?

I wonder if you would pray this prayer of Moses today? What a difference it would make in our lives. God, teach us to number our days!

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

What Happens to a Christian when They Die?

January 22, 2025

What will happen to us when we die?  It’s an important question that many Christians are unsure about.  I myself have questions about death, the resurrection, the second coming, the judgment, what our eternal state will be like, and exactly how and when all of the scriptures on these topics will be fulfilled.  Despite these questions, one thing I have become convicted of is this:  When a Christian dies, they will go to be with the Lord.  Our bodies will be in the ground until the return of Christ, but our souls will go to be with Jesus.  Let’s examine some scriptures about this.

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13–14 NASB95) Here we see that those who have died as Christians will be coming with Jesus at His return.  This strongly implies that they have been with Jesus since their death.  Paul goes on to say that Christians who are alive when Jesus returns will be caught up together with those who have died, and we will meet the Lord in the air (verse 17).

In another passage, we learn what Paul expected to happen when he died.  Listen to his words, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better…” (Philippians 1:21–23 NASB95) Paul wrote these words as a prisoner.  He didn’t know whether he would live or die. But he saw death as “gain.”  Why?  Because he knew that when he died, he would be with Christ. Being with Christ was something he expected and was longing for.

Yet another verse that shows us that Christians go to be with the Lord when they die is found in the fifth chapter of 2 Corinthians.  As Paul encourages the saints he says, “Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight—we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8 NASB95) For the Christian, being absent from the body means being at home with the Lord.  When we die, our bodies will return to dust, but our soul will be with Jesus.  It seems that we will continue in this state until the last trumpet sounds at the return of Christ.  At that time, our bodies will be raised, and they will be changed, in the twinkling of an eye, from perishable to imperishable (see 1 Corinthians 15:50-58).

We have so much to look forward to!  Are you ready to be with Jesus?  Let’s remain faithful to Him, and look forward to being with Him forever.

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

Life Comes Through Death

November 30, 2023

Eternal life in Christ, in this life and the next, arises from death.  Think with me for a moment about all the ways in which this is true:  First, life would not be possible without the death of Jesus on our behalf.  Second, life in Him required our own death in the waters of baptism, at which point, through faith, we died with Jesus (Romans 6:5).  Third, our future life in our heavenly home will be proceeded by the death of our bodies (unless the Lord should return first).  And finally, life in Him requires an ongoing, daily death to this world.

This last death is difficult for us, but if we want to live, we must die to the world.  Thanks be to God that through the cross of Jesus, we can find the strength to do so.  Listen to the words the Apostle Paul wrote to the churches of Galatia: “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14 NAS95)It is through Jesus and His cross that the world can be crucified to us, and us to the world.  The world calls to us, it entices and tempts us to its sinful ways.  How can we overcome?  We must turn to the cross!  We must survey the wonderous cross of Jesus and choose to sacrifice all the vain things of this world to His blood.  As Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20 NAS95) Or, as he writes in chapter five, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24 NAS95)

When you were baptized into Jesus, you were crucified with Him.  Now, if we want to continue to live in Him, we must make the daily decision to die to this world and put to death our own sinful desires.  May God help us to do so through the cross of Christ.   

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

Walking in Love: A Matter of Life and Death

January 21, 2022

“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.” (1 John 3:14 NASB) There is a test that will tell us if we truly share in the life of God. The test is this: do you love the brethren? If you are practicing the love of God, then you can know that you are no longer walking in death but have passed into the life of God. On the other hand, if you are not practicing love, then the word of God is very clear: You are abiding in death. Practicing love is a matter of spiritual life and death.

This truth is made even more plain in 1 John chapter 4. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8 NASB) Only those who walk in love really know God. Many will claim to know the Lord, but the stark reality is this; if we don’t love each other, then no matter what we say or feel, the truth is we don’t know Him. It is not possible to continue in unloving attitudes and actions and also be in a relationship with God, because God is love!

So, if love is this important to God, let us walk in it! Here’s how: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” (Ephesians 4:31-5:2 NASB)

Brethren, let’s not deceive ourselves. If we are not practicing these things, then we don’t know God. We are abiding in death. It’s that serious. Are you walking in love?

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Posted by Russell Holden