INTRODUCTION

This life offers only a window of time and opportunity to work for the Lord. Youthfulness and old age both offer their own hindrances to service. In many ways, though not entirely, youth should be spent in learning, middle age in doing, and old age in teaching those who are learning and doing. Many of the greatest servants of the Lord found in scripture began their journey in youth by learning of the Lord and His ways (1 Kings 18:12And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth.
See All...; Psalm 71:5For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.
See All...; 2 Chronicles 34:3For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.
See All...; Job 29:4As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle;
See All...; Ecclesiastes 12:1Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
See All...). As they approached the prime of life, they invested their learning by serving the Lord (Numbers 8:24-25 [24] This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: [25] And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more:
See All...). As they passed their prime, they would pass their knowledge on to the next generation in hopes of the Lord’s work continuing and flourishing (2 Timothy 4:1-8 [1] I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; [2] Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. [3] For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; [4] And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. [5] But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. [6] For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. [7] I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: [8] Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
See All...)..

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

• (For children): What can you do for the Lord? You can be like Timothy and learn your Bible verses (2 Timothy 3:15And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
  See All...). It is important to practice what you know to do: obey dad and mom; listen to your teachers in Sunday School and those in church; be helpful. In doing so, you will be equipped, ready, and able to help others (2 Timothy 2:2And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
  See All...).
• (For everyone): In what age group do you find yourself today? To the best of your abilities, are you serving the Lord? Are you learning of Him, serving Him, and teaching others about Him?
• How is each time of life just as important as every other time? How can one’s failure to learn in youth affect his service in his prime? How are others hurt and severely limited when the elderly refuse to teach because they feel they have less to offer?

PRAYER NEEDS

• Ask the Lord to help you become faithful in each phase of life.
• Ask God to help you make the best use of your window of time..

HYMN

LITTLE IS MUCH WHEN GOD IS IN IT

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