Reluctant Retiree

Have you ever thought of a great thing to do, but busyness or fear kept you from trying to do it? I sure have. In fact I am great at coming up with fantastic ideas. But I am terrible at the follow through.

Acts 2:14 says, “But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.'” Peter, who had recently denied knowing Jesus and cowered in fear, was suddenly standing before a crowd of thousands proclaiming Jesus. The church of Jesus Christ was born through his message, as thousands believed in Jesus that day.

God has put a movement inside of you. So trust Him, be brave, stand with like minded friends and change the world around you. Don’t miss out on all that God has planned for you.

We are currently working on a disaster relief project. Our first assignment is to paint a porch. So we spent the day putting a brown covering over bare wood. Paint does a great job of covering a bad look, but it doesn’t hide poor structural damage. That requires qualified engineers and construction managers.

In the same way, we can try to cover ourselves with fine clothes, jewelry, nice cars, and money. But that covering cannot hide our faults, insecurities, and bad behavior. We need to consult the penultimate heart engineer and rehabilitation expert, God Himself.

Psalm 5:12 says, “For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as a shield.” When we trust God to do the internal transformation that we need in our lives, He does the rehabilitation we need by covering us with blessings and His favor.

Some people resist change no matter what benefit the change may bring. At the other extreme are people who embrace change without considering the consequences. And still others say that people cannot change, probably to protect themselves from people who want them to change. God certainly believes that people can change, or rather, be changed.

Revelation 1:5-6 says, “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” By His blood, Jesus transforms believers from slaves of sin into priests and royalty. Slaves can do only what their masters tell them to do. So the unbelievers only do what sin lures them to do. However, believers have been freed unto righteousness and royal blessings. Believers enjoy the presence and glory of the King.

I have always loved being near bodies of water. I grew up in Southern California and went to the beach often. When I look at the ocean, lakes, or rivers, a certain peace comes over my soul. Just the vision of the water and the sounds of the waves or rushing water soothes me in some way. I tend to forget about my struggles and focus on my Heavenly Father’s goodness and greatness.

Revelation 7:17 says, “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

Life occasionally brings us hard times. But God promises the believer that Jesus will lead us through the hard times and give us renewed strength and energy. Ultimately, Jesus will wipe away every tear caused by those hard times and the hard times and tears will no longer be remembered. Living water will replace the tears with the presence and majesty of our God.

Recently I have seen pictures of some of the most unique buildings in the world. These architects have stretched their imaginations to design oddly shaped and distinctly placed buildings. I can’t say that I agree with all of their designs but they have certainly made their mark. The question is will their distinction endure or will the functionality and attraction of these buildings become quickly obsolete?

Jude 20-21 says, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.”

God designed us to build things of eternal value. We do that by increasing in the love of God and by looking forward to displays of His mercy. Growing in godliness by the power of the Holy Spirit and building God’s kingdom bears fruit of eternal value. We can do the same thing with our lives. We may spend a lot of time and effort on things we enjoy or think are important, only to find out later that we may have wasted our time. That is sad and disappointing.

Sometimes we speak of people or events as being “out of control”. We use this phrase to describe someone or something that has seemingly lost the ability to properly govern its activities.

Psalm 50:1 says, “The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.” Every moment of every day, in every way, God has authority and power over everything. He never sleeps nor slumbers. He is always working. He is rich in mercy and full of grace. Therefore, He is completely trustworthy.