Welcome to Truth for Life weekend, where today we're beginning a series of life lessons

that allister originally taught to college students, but it won't take long for you to realize these lessons apply no matter what stage of life we're in.

In the first lesson, we're going to learn how to make the most of every opportunity in light of the brevity of life.

I am sure that you do not need me to come here to tell you what a unique privilege you enjoy also as members of the student body,

what is an exemplary institution. So I come simply to encourage you in the words of Paul to the Ephesians be very careful how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.

I'm going to assume that the vast majority of you want to take that to heart. I'm going to also acknowledge the fact that some of you have already begun to squander this opportunity.

And others of you actually have it in the back of your minds that you might. Of course you haven't acknowledged this to anyone on your right or your left.

It's just your own secret predilection at the moment. You may have come here as a freshman or returned in the continuing class of students, somewhat disillusioned, somewhat frustrated, perhaps even embittered out of your summer break.

And it is possible for you that you're now about to embark and re embark on a course of studies which will not lead to godly wisdom, but actually the reverse.

Therefore, I want us to stand at the crossroads in these couple of days together and to urge you to make sure that you do not join the group of those who may be tempted to squander the opportunity.

And I've chosen, I trust with the guidance of the Spirit of God, to address one or two areas of immediate and obvious practical concern. Just now, the issue of time.

Now, I want to read to you just one verse from the 90th Psalm. If you have your Bibles, I encourage you to turn to it and look at it that it might be anchored in your mind, Psalm 90 and verse 12.

Where the Psalmist says, teach us to number our days a right that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Imagine that there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400.

It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening, it deletes whatever part of the balance you fail to use during the day.

What would you do? You would draw out every cent of course. Each of us has such a bank. Its name is Time.

Every morning, it credits you with $86,400. Every night, it writes off as lost. Whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose.

It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day, it opens a new account for you. Each night, it burns the remains of the day.

If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the tomorrow.

You must live in the present on today's deposits and invest it to derive the utmost from it.

I don't know who wrote those words, but I found them particularly powerful when I read them earlier in the summer.

Keep them in mind as we look at this very simple and yet straightforward statement here in the 12th verse of Psalm 90.

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