Today's Devotion: 1 Chronicles 29:15 (New International Version)
We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.

Without reading the surrounding verses, we are bound to misinterpret this particular passage. It is not saying that our life on earth here is hopeless. It is really saying "without God, our life here on earth is hopeless." This passage refers to David's giving thanks to God for the abundance that he has been given for use in building the Temple in Jerusalem. He is about to turn over his reign to Solomon, his son, whom God had appointed to be the creator of his great Temple. Even as a king, David practiced humility before God, and we should do the same.

Today's Comments:

I have not been doing a very good job in keeping my blog up to date. For that I have two reasons. First, I have been spending every moment that I can with my new girlfriend, and second, I have been spending every moment that I can doing work and research on my final class project. Incompatible? Not exactly. While we have been spending some time visiting her relatives in this area (she is from the Philippines and has been visiting her son, who is a theology doctoral candidate at Fuller Seminary, in Pasadena), she has what appears to be a whole village of relatives in Cerritos. Saturday, after attending a family picnic, she came over to my house to fix dinner and just be with me while I work on my paper. She even cleaned up my kitchen and refrigerator and then went outside to pick grapefruits off the backyard tree. I have not, since my wife died, felt such love or devotion from someone. From the picnic, she had me bring home enough food so that I wouldn't have to cook last night or tonight. I haven't seen her since Sunday and won't until Thursday, after I turn my paper in and then I will only see for a few hours while I take her to the airport. I am going to miss her.

But, like David, I will have something to thank God for. It looks like her (now our) project to donate her land in the Philippines for mission use may be successful. Through a friend at church (a Biola professor) and his referral to another professor, we were able to make contact with a group who appears to be interested. I ask all who read this to pray for our success.