@FirstChurchofJerusalem
Today's Early Church Wisdom
“I shall not hesitate also to put into ordered form for you, along with the interpretations, everything I learned carefully in the past from the elders and noted down carefully, for the truth of which I vouch. For unlike most people, I took no pleasure in those who told many different stories, but only in those who taught the truth. Nor did I take pleasure in those who reported their memory of someone else’s commandments, but only in those who reported their memory of the commandments given by the Lord to the faith and proceeding from the Truth itself. And if by chance anyone who had been in attendance on the elders arrived, I made enquiries about the words of the elders—what Andrew or Peter had said, or Philip or Thomas or James or John or Matthew or any other of the Lord’s disciples, and whatever Aristion and John the Elder, the Lord’s disciples, were saying. For I did not think that information from the books would profit me as much as information from a living and surviving voice.
~ Papias of Hierapolis (c. 60–130 AD) From the Preface to his lost ‘Expositions of the Sayings of the Lord’
This week's Psalm is Psalm 31 'My Rock, My Shield, My Song'

Number Your Days

How many days do we have on earth. The short answer is that we do not know. Some lives are shorter, others longer. The statistical answer is that currently the average life expectancy worldwide is between 26,000 and 27,000 days. What will we do with the days we have left to live on this earth? The idea of ‘numbering’ our days suggests an ordered and considered approach to life. Most would probably agree that life is too precious to waste, which is why we give some thought to how we will live, arranging our lives as best we can. But what does ‘best’ look like? Organisation is great, but the question arises, “Who’s organisation?” Organisers approach things in different ways. Many people organise their life on their own, but the wise organise their life with God, for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is what the Psalmist is referring to when he prays, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Let us number our days with God that they may be rich in His grace, whether short or long.